Sunday, May 01, 2011

This mining town roars into May

...while redpolls mine the willow catkins.


Yes, a few redpolls remain. A dozen this morning, 19 this afternoon.

Our yard is teaming with migrants. Juncos, American Tree Sparrows and Fox Sparrows galore. Lincoln's Sparrow. Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Purple Finch. Yellow-rumped Warbler. The ground is moving. Branches jumping. Endless singing. And just now the boom of a bird-banger on the tailings pond just north of here.

We drove down the West Arm Mine road yesterday. Highlights include six pairs of Hooded Mergansers, each pair on its own wooded pond, and a troupe of twenty Rusty Blackbirds foraging on a wooded swamp while Buffleheads fought nearby and Greater Yellowlegs went about their business. Good plan.

7 comments:

carin said...

Beautiful. Love the little 'flip' s/he does at the end!
Apparently we're supposed to have a variety of redpoll in southern Ontario but I'm sure I've never seen them. What do they eat? (besides pussy willows...!)

Brenda Schmidt said...

Thanks! They're such sweet birds, though a tad hyper. I can't believe these guys are still hanging around. In no hurry to head north I guess. According to the trusty Cornell site, they eat "very small seeds, such as birch, willow, alder, grasses, and weeds. Also arthropods in summer."

carin said...

Thanks for Cornel link!
Now I have to look up arthropods... ;)

carin said...

Also 'Cornell' link.

Brenda Schmidt said...

Ha! I'm like that too. Looking up stuff is one of the great pleasures of life.

Gerald Hill said...

I'm a fan of the language more than the birds. Maybe I shouldn't admit that?

Brenda Schmidt said...

What! I can't believe my eyes!