On A Winter’s Morn

Juvenile Bald Eagle

It snowed again yesterday. I went out early in the morning to try to find some gulls at the Trail Road Landfill but the white skies were spitting snow even as I left. I found three Red-tailed Hawks along Trail Road, several European Starlings, and at least 200 crows near the dump, but no gulls. Further along the road I saw a single Dark-eyed Junco and some chickadees. I then checked some of the back roads near Richmond and came up with a single Rough-legged Hawk flying over and a Snowy Owl perched on top of a telephone pole, both new for my winter list. I didn’t stay out too long because the snow was beginning to accumulate on the roads and visibility was poor.

Snow Birding

Last weekend it was too cold to go birding.  This weekend it was too snowy.  Although the temperature was better for birding (only -9°C compared to -19°C), it snowed all day on Saturday and all morning on Sunday. I can’t say that I am impressed with the weather so far this year; good birding days  – at least during the weekends – have been few and far between. 

In defiance of the snow, however, I decided to go out to Jack Pine Trail on Saturday morning.  I haven’t been out for a walk in the woods in a while, and this time when I arrived the feeder was humming with activity.  Several chickadees, a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers and a single Downy Woodpecker were all visiting the feeders.  At least one Dark-eyed Junco was flitting about in the shrubs behind the feeders, and I even saw two Blue Jays and a brilliant male Northern Cardinal patiently waiting in the trees nearby.  While I usually see one or two jays hanging around the feeders, the cardinals don’t stop by very often.  In fact, the cardinals are more frequently seen – and heard – during the warmer months of year.