Funny Finch

 Well, there are some who would be ashamed to share this little story, but not me. This little Purple Finch pulled one over on me today.  I spent over 45 minutes trying to get these pitiful pictures.

Here's how is all went down:  I stopped by a familiar feeder this afternoon (on my second trip out today!) and found numerous juncos, goldfinch and a chickadee. While looking through my "new" binoculars, I spotted a bird with streaks. I looked and looked but couldn't get a full-body image.

What I did see was a small bird, not much bigger than the nearby goldfinch. It had a lot of yellow showing on it. The patch above and below the eye looked yellow. A rear patch looked yellow.  Well, you can imagine I really perked up.  I was turning that dial on my binos as if I were going to be able to bring the bird closer and turn it around.

I kept flipping between my camera and binoculars, trying so hard to tell what I had.  Not only did it seem small, its behaviour was not like a Purple Finch.  Most times I have seen them, they are bold, agressive at the feeder and act like they are in charge.  Not this little lady.  It only scooted out to the feeder for a brief moment and then rushed back again to hide behind the branches.  I was sitting in my car so she was not afraid of me.

Finally, 40 minutes later, I got what I was looking for, a clear view of this mystery bird. Ah, it didn't have the dark malars that clearly show on a female Purple. Its beak looked big (new binoculars again). At one point it opened its mouth and it looked like a cavern.

The coloring around the beak looked different from a Purple. Hmmm.... is this a hybrid? Well, I was kind of glad when it vanished back among the branches again because I had spent too much time already. I hurried on home and downloaded two-weeks worth of pictures right away, just to get a look at this one.

Well, in this shot she looks bluish. What's up with this bird.  I actually included this image because it was the only one where I could see the tail.  It has a forked tail. After double checking all of the field marks of a Purple Finch, I came across this shot that showed the tail. That, I guess, is the clincher.

So how is it when I am 24 months into this sport, that I can't ID a Purple Finch with ease.  I have certainly seen enough of them in my yard. It was the chase that got me.  I saw something that looked unusual and I couldn't rest until I put a name on it ..... Funny Finch.

Blue Grosbeak

I really hoped that when I saw a Blue Grosbeak it would be blue. However, when the bird is a rare visitor to the area, I was happy to see what I did.

There had been a couple of sightings on Bear Cove Point Road in September, and I tried but never saw one there. These shots were taken on October 16 and 17, 2011.

On a special opportunity in October two other birders and I headed to the Southern Shore for a whole day of birding.  The weather was extremely foggy but it wasn't too cold and nothing was going to damper our enthusiasm.  We stopped at several locations on the way down and finally reached Portugal Cove South.

It was there that we saw our first Blue Grosbeak through the mist and fog. It certainly wasn't blue but exciting, nonetheless. We watched it for quite a while as it was visiting a feeder. It was quite a sight, all three of us craneing to see it and fine tuning our binoculars through the waves of fog.  Every now and then we could get a clear view.

We continued our trip down the shore where we learned there was another Blue Grosbeak hiding in the grass near a brook.  We began a walk down the path coming at it from both ends when we flushed the bird. Up she comes and flies into a tree across the road.  We stepped up the pace in pursuit, and I was able to get these shots.

 The very next day I drove to the community of Blackhead where I came upon a mixed flock of woodland birds.  There were so many birds and several species and I hardly knew where to look. The birds were clustered in a field some distance from the road and I had to get closer.

In less than one minute I sank into the marsh!  Oh, well, once wet it is hard to get wetter so I carried on. Out of nowhere, this Blue Grosbeak flew up to a wire quite close to me. It hardly looked like the shadowy figure we saw the day before.

Yet, I was sure that it was a Blue Grosbeak because of the flicking tail and the large silvery beak.  I tried to get closer and get a better picture when it lifted off and flew to the woods.

No longer afraid of getting wet, I followed and got only one picture of it in the tree before it vanished. Wow! I had never seen a Blue Grosbeak and now in less than 24 hours, I saw three! Two missions remain:  See a BLUE Grosbeak and get some decent pictures.

A Common Seabird: Black Guillemot

 Scanning the shoreline for seabirds is common during winter.  Also common is the Black Guillemot.  Sometimes, I brave the wind and cold and the icy boardwalk to arrive at the lookout at Cape Spear.

It is my hope to see some wayward seabird that somehow got off course. I brace myself against the fence in the hope of holding my binoculars steady against the wind and peer across the sea. With the naked eye, it looks like there is nothing on the water. Binoculars change the scene.




Last Sunday morning, I looked and looked hoping to see a Black Scoter, a Common Eider, maybe even a King Eider. Are there any Dovekies still around? Nope, none of these on the radar.

What do I see? The Great Cormorant is a mainstay in this area.  I can always count on that. There is also the very predictable presence of numerous Black Guillemot.  They are pretty easy to pick out at a distance. When the size, shape and grey winter coloring doesn't give them away, it is usually the white patch on the wing that I can pick up at most any distance.

When the opportunity arises and I get a really close look at this bird, it is really amazing how pretty it is. Thank goodness for Black Guillemots and Great Cormorants or else my trek to the lookout would be all for nought.

A Winter Picnic

Winter is walloping the Avalon!  My time is not so much my own these days and to further complicate matters, the snow just keeps coming. 

How does that impact my time?  Well, it would have been great to be able to go birding last Saturday, but it turned into another day of heavy snow. I could have used the time to put my house in order but in anticipation of a call that would take me out into the storm, I had to clear the driveway four times during the day! What a waste of time!

There was a Lincoln's Sparrow reported at Kelly's Brook on Sunday.  Monday is a very busy day for me and I couldn't make it over. Then, came yesterday!  A blinding snow storm of 21cm blasted St. John's again.  When I got home in the late afternoon (it took an hour to make at 10 minute drive), I planned to plow right through the snow in the driveway and leave my car floating in it. When I rounded the bend to see my driveway, I was shocked!  The snow was almost as high as my car.  I just sat and laughed because I didn't know what else to do.  I parked on the side of the road and hurried in to change into my snow-clearing clothes and took it on!

We cleared only enough to get the car into the garage. That took about an hour in the blinding storm.  After supper I went out to properly clear the driveway and that took another hour. By 8:30 along came the plow and out we went again to remove the huge wall of snow that the city put back into the end of my driveway.  That took 30 minutes.  When time is already scarce, spending 2.5 hours of the day to shovel and blow snow it just too much!

Now, this morning when I awoke, I looked out and there is another 3' x 3' x 12' wall at the end of the driveway again!  Here I sit dreading going out in the cold morning to take it on, but it is inevitable, and I will go out in a few minutes.

I checked the forecast for the next ten days and what should I see but more and more snow in the future!  Today is shot, and I don't think I will get over to see the Lincoln's and more snow is coming tomorrow followed by a possible "monster" storm on Saturday. Will the Lincoln's survive?  Will I be able to get through the deep snow to see it?  I'll put my snowshoes in the car and hope that an opportunity arises before Saturday's dumping.

When an amount of snow is predicted in our area, my driveway fills up with double or triple that amount due to drifting.  I wonder if I will even dig out by Monday!

Oh, the trials of Winter!  Trust me .... it is no picnic!