Birds of Manitoba - Craig & Rose: Bird Photos - Fort Whyte Alive

Friday 18 May 2012

Bird Photos - Fort Whyte Alive - May 18 2012

Pretty good week so far, but, birds seem to be arriving in fewer numbers than the last few years. They used to come through in fairly large flocks. It is still pretty early in the spring migration though, our mild winter and really early spring might be affecting the migration.
Orioles are at our feeder regularly now, we have at least 4 stopping by. They are so funny, they signal their arrival with their loud raucous call as they sit on the feeder post, then make a chattering sound as they jump from the pole to the feeder. If two of them show up at the feeder at the same time they make the chattering sound as they strike at each other in between sips of nectar. Last year they were emptying the 12 oz feeder every two days. Most I've counted at the feeder at one time, a few years ago, was 7.
Have seen two sets of Canada Geese gosling's this week, one set at Fort Whyte Center the other at the lagoons near town.
We are going through a kilo of dried corn and 1/2 a block of suet every day now. The black oil seed and mixed bird seed is lasting 3 or 4 days now since we move them into tube feeders, last year the birds were emptying all feeders in less than a day.

Blue Wing Teals - Fort Whyte

Gosling's - Fort Whyte

Cedar Waxwing

Coopers Hawk - Fort Whyte - We saw a Coopers Hawk 3 times at Fort Whyte on this outing, this was the first sighting, flew past us at about 20 feet, these pictures are at about 40 and 60 feet as we didn't see the hawk until it was right in front of us. I later saw a Coopers Hawk briefly as it glided over a bush in front of me and then again later as it came out of the bush, crossed the trail about 20 feet in front of me and disappeared into the bush on the opposite side of the trail.