Pine Warbler Over Time

 Found on December 5, 2014 by Allison Mews and Lancy Chang at Bowring Park, this Pine Warbler seems to be robust. Despite some extreme temperatures and plenty of snow, it thrives and is becoming more comfortable with on-lookers. As it stands here, knee-deep in shelled sunflower seeds provided by Andrea Dicks, it is obvious it has plenty to eat. It is frisky and alert.

 The first shot in this series and those that follow are taken chronologically since it was found. The first sun-washed photo doesn't show much color, but the bird was pretty pale at that time.

 These shots are not doctored to alter the color in any way, but the camera settings at the time of the shoot no doubt affect the color rendition.

Despite all of the variable, this bird seems to be brightening up with each passing day. If it continues to weather the harsh winter of St. John's, I will keep shooting to see if indeed this bird's yellow breast is brightening up. This bird has won the hearts of many birders who visit it regularly and continue to top up the food supply.

What are the chances?

In the first week of December, I got out for a morning of birding. Hitting lots of places, I got plenty of photos. Today, I will share the Cape Spear leg of the trip.

Arriving at the Cape parking lot, as usual, I scanned the waters to see if there was anything that warranted a walk down to the look out.

I spotted one dark bird on the water and headed down. The closer I got, the more obvious it was the bird was an eider. Then, I got a better look with the camera to see it was a female King Eider. What are the changes that a lone dark bird would turn out to be a King Eider. My watching was interrupted by a boatload of hunters who zipped by the point. My bird lifted off, flew behind their boat and flew into the distance. It appeared they never even saw it.

New Year Starts With a Bang!

 Literally!  As if 2014 didn't bring me enough challenges, my hopes of a quieter, calmer 2015 were shattered this week when a stolen truck slammed into my fence. The driver decided to leave the scene after bulldozing a 600 pound bank of mail boxes through 32 feet of my fence, plowing over a 30 foot tree and a Cedar shrub. Watching it happen, I was left aghast as the driver drove off.

 What can you do? Because the vehicle was stolen, I am probably going to be on the hook for the repairs. It is times like this that make me grateful for the diversion of birding.

 To step out of time for a while, I sat down to work on these photos of Ruby-crowned Kinglets taken over the summer months.

 It is tricky to get shots of kinglets, but Ruby-crowned are easier to capture than Golden-crowned.

 Most of these shots were taken in Goulds, some at Bidgood Park, some on Power's Road and Cochrane Pond Road.

 Now, if I could only transport myself back to the calm, yet attention-grabbing, moments of my summer strolls.

 Well, that won't happen in reality...only in my dreams. The only stroll I will take today is out to my yard to try to clean up some of the debris scattered all around the yard.

 The last thing I want to happen is for the wind to turn the slats into spears and do more damage around the neighborhood.

 In the meantime, the gap in my fence allows all of the neighborhood cats to settle into the yard under my feeders and torment the few birds I have regularly visiting.

Fate has a way of removing all control from mere mortals.

Thirteen New Species in 2014

 Seeing new birds in Newfoundland is getting harder and harder as my NL Life List grows. I really wasn't expecting to see 13 new species throughout the year, but I was delighted.

In no specific order, here are shots of many of them. For details about who, where and when these rarities were found, please check the NL Rare Birds page above.

 Shown here in the order of the photos are: Canvasback Duck; Common Redshank;

 Little Gull;

 Ross's Gull;

 Black-tailed Godwit;

 Eastern Phoebe;

 Yellow-throated Vireo;

 Chestnut-sided Warbler;

 Nelson's Sparrow;

 European Whimbrel;

and Eastern Meadowlark.

Not pictured are the Marsh Wren, Worm-eating Warbler and the Gray Catbird. I was able to get a recording of the catbird's call which identified it.

Thanks to the many people who turned up these rarities and shared the locations. Also, thanks to those who helped me throughout the year to identify some troublesome birds.