While the Spring weather may not have arrived quite the way we expected (-7 this morning as I write this), the birds have been returning and delighting our senses from the cacophony of calls heard at the river to the flashes of markings glimpsed of another arrival. Birding is the natural high I pursue.

We will have ups and downs in the temperature, the onset of spring storms that will continue to bring sub-zero temperatures along with brief (we hope!) snowfall and through it all, the birds will keep on migrating and populating our region.

Below are pictures of birds I have taken recently (and some animals/insects too) with brief descriptions and links to websites with more information. Learning more about the species that we share this region with, whether they stay or just stop by on their way further north, is a great way to stay connected to all life. The diversity of species and behaviours is astonishing and fills me with awe daily.

Thank you birds, thank you life!

Hooded Merganser (Male)

Tree nesting ducks, the smallest of the mergansers that we get to our region, and almost as small as Buffleheads which are also tree nesting ducks. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/hooded-merganser

Hooded Mergansers (male and female)

Trumpeter Swans in flight

The Trumpeter Swans are so beautiful to see and hear. They are large swans and we are seeing more of them each year stop at the Point and down the Lesser Slave River. This year we have counted 28 at one time. One had a GPS collar that we found out was a female and collared in Oregon in February 2021. The Canada Geese are the first to return, followed by the Trumpeter Swans. You can report sightings here: https://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/what-we-do/trumpeter-watch/report-a-swan.html

Trumpeter Swans

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagles have to eat too and this unfortunate female Common Goldeneye duck was snatched close to the river’s edge where the Bald Eagle had been perched above trying to catch a meal. This eagle went to the top of the beaver hut on the side of the river and quickly devoured its meal. They are predator birds and the larger predators are not successful often - in many cases, they have a 10% kill rate. Bald eagles will hunt (as this one was clearly doing) but they also rely on carrion - often you will see them amongst a group of Ravens feasting on a highway kill of a deer/moose. They also steal fish from Osprey, easier than catching fish themselves. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/bald_eagle/id#

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagles

Common Goldeneye (male)

Another tree nesting duck, they lay their eggs in tree cavities or nest boxes. They are diving ducks and some can overwinter as long as there is open water somewhere with food sources. The Common Goldeneyes are part of the cacophony of sound in the spring with their many courting moves, my favorite is when they throw back their heads to their backs and make a “beep beep sound”. They are a lot of fun to watch. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Goldeneye/lifehistory

Common Goldeneye (female)

Tundra Swans

These swans are more numerous, flying in big flocks to get to the tundra of the Arctic to breed. They stop along the way to feed and in this case, display/fight as they are in the breeding season. They are smaller than Trumpeter Swans and they typically have a yellow patch by their eye. The North American population is often called the Whistling Swan because of a characteristic whistling in their wings as they fly. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/tundra-swan

Coyote

Where there are birds, there will likely be coyotes. This coyote was roaming the ice probably looking for an easy meal, but it wouldn’t be easy to get a meal when they can fly or swim away.

Greater Yellowleg (I think)

The shorebirds are arriving and in our region, Boreal forest, mosquito-laden bogs, we are a prime area for these large shorebirds to breed. It is hard to tell the difference between a Greater and Lesser Yellowleg until you see them together, the Greater is larger. One more key characteristic is when they are nesting and have young, you will know because of how they start to call (loudly!) and swoop towards you with that long beak of theirs just avoiding taking out your eyes at the last moment. And they will have alerted every other bird to your presence! https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Yellowlegs/overview

Redhead Duck vs Canvasback

Both male Redheads and Canvasback ducks have red heads. The difference is in size - Canvasbacks are larger and their bills. The Redhead has a black-tipped blue-grey bill. The Canvasback has an all black bill. Interesting fact about the female Redhead, she lays her eggs in another duck’s nest (brood parasitism) and is tops in that category, often laying in another Redhead, Canvasback, Northern Pintail, Ruddy, Northern Shoveler, American Widgeon and even a Northern Harrier (Harriers are hawks!). https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Redhead/overview

Common Ravens

They are here all year round and so delightful to watch as they fly the sky with acrobatic feats in flight. Eagles may be larger, but ravens can harass an eagle until it flies away from its perch. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/overview

Common Merganser (male)

These ducks are tree nesters and diving ducks. They are the largest of the 3 mergansers we get in our region and the males have this wonderful red beak with a black line down the middle. They dive for fish and aquatic insects/invertebrates. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory

Common Merganser (female)

Common Mergansers (female and male)

American Coot

These birds are part of the Rail family and although they swim on the water, they don’t have webbed feet like ducks, they have strong legs with big feet that have separate toes that are lobed and they look like chicken feet. When you watch them on the water they have jerky movements and if you surprise them, they patter across the water, quite quickly. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/american-coot

American Coot

Bufflehead (female)

These ducks are the smallest, are diving ducks and tree nesters. They are small enough to take over an old Northern Flicker tree cavity nest. Their courtship displays include head bobbing and short display flights. They are a treat to watch. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/bufflehead

Bufflehead (male)

Buffleheads (female and male)

Buffleheads (male and female)

Mourning Cloak Butterfly

Birding leads to seeing insects and they are a key part of the cycle for birds. The early-bird gets the worm, in this case, the butterfly that is here already is ready to mate and lay eggs when the first stages of spring are here. These butterflies over-winter in the adult stage in a type of hibernation. They have lived since the previous summer and are about 10-11 months old by the time they die. They emerge ready to mate, lay eggs, die and the next generation will appear in July/August and will be the adults we see in the spring. Impressive! https://blog.nature.org/science/2021/04/06/the-butterfly-of-spring-meet-the-mourning-cloak/

Mourning Cloak

Northern Shovelers (female and male)

The “Jimmy Durante” of ducks with that impressive bill. This bill has tiny projections along the edge (lamellae) that act as a colander and filter out tiny crustaceans and seeds from the water. They are monogamous and stay together longer than most ducks. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shoveler/overview

Red-breasted Merganser (female and male)

When you see the Red-breasted Mergansers you notice that wild feathers sticking out of the crown of their head - like the punk-rocker of ducks. They are diving ducks but unlike the other mergansers, they tend to nest on the ground, not in tree cavities. Most are likely migrating through heading farther north to breed and have their young. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/red-breasted-merganser

Red-breasted Merganser (male)

Herring Gull

Herring gulls are larger than the Ring-billed Gulls that are much more numerous in our area. They have a red spot on the lower part of the bill and they have pinkish legs. The male will feed the female during courtship and they both rear the chicks which takes up to 3 months after the chicks have hatched. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Herring_Gull/lifehistory

Herring Gulls

Mallard (male)

Mallard ducks are the most familiar and abundant of ducks. They have the telltale “quack quack” for their call. While they may be numerous in parks in numerous cities, we don’t get Mallards until Spring when they migrate. They are fast fliers and will be gone before you have a chance to get that camera focused. Seeing the flash of green and the yellow bill against the blue water is a sure sign that spring migration has begun. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/mallard

Green-winged Teal (male)

The Green-winged Teal is the smallest of the dabbling ducks (Buffleheads are smaller, but they are diving ducks). You will know they are there by their whistle call. Look closely and you will catch a glimpse of the cinnamon-head with a green crescent extending from the eye to the base of the head. The brown females are hard to see and if you look closely you will likely find her by the male somewhere. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Green-winged_Teal/overview

Red-necked Grebe

The Red-necked Grebe has a very unique call and courtship routine. The crest of their heads get raised as they face each other and the call can be heard from quite a distance. They build a floating nest out of vegetation and anchor it to standing plants. They are diving ducks that eat small fish and insects. The very young will travel on the back of their parents. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/red-necked-grebe

American Widgeon (male)

I like to call them the “squeaky toy” ducks, that is what they sound like. They are dabbling ducks and they have a goose type bill which makes them excellent foragers for plant material, easily plucking vegetation to eat. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Wigeon/overview

Snow Bunting

While most birds are arriving, snow buntings will be leaving us heading farther north for the summer. It is always a surprise (to me) what birds consider us their south and wintering grounds. Snow Buntings are one of those birds. The males leave first with the females going 3-4 weeks later to join them in the Arctic when the weather is a bit warmer. The female has to stay on the nest in the high Arctic and the male must feed her every 15 minutes. The males have a lot of work to do! https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snow_Bunting/overview

Kildeer

Kildeers are plovers and are quite noisy making a call that sounds like their name. When predators or humans get too close to a nest/young they use a broken-wing act to lure them away. Their nests are on the ground in open areas and large hoofed animals like cows and horses can step on their nests/eggs. That requires a different tactic so they puff themselves up with their tail feathers above their head and run towards the animal to get the cow/horse to change course. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Killdeer/overview

Satyr Comma Butterfly

This butterfly emerges early in Spring after hibernating all winter. They lay their eggs on stinging nettles. They eat tree sap along with flower nectar. https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Polygonia-satyrus

American Tree Sparrow

Tree sparrows are a sure sign of spring migration, they appear early in the spring on their way to the north to breed as far as the Arctic tundra. They are often seen on the ground foraging for seeds from grasses and weeds and any insects that have appeared. In the summer their diet will mostly consist of insects. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/american-tree-sparrow

Lesser Scaup (male and female)

Lesser Scaups are diving ducks and when their young hatch, they quickly start diving under and by the time they are 5 to 7 weeks old they can stay under for up to 25 seconds and go as far as 60 feet underwater. These ducks are the most abundant of the diving ducks in North America. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lesser_Scaup/overview

Milbert's Tortoiseshell Butterfly

These butterflies are one of the earliest to emerge in the Spring after overwintering as adults in hibernation. They feed on tree sap and will last about 10 days. They will lay their eggs and the first broods to appear will be in May/June. http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitDa.do?method=preview&lang=EN&id=7204

Beaver

You can’t go birding without seeing the tell-tale signs of beavers, from their huts on the sides of rivers or in the middle of ponds to the dams they create, the beaver is prolific. If you go early enough, you will likely see them swimming by and maybe chewing on a tree. A good slap of their tail lets you know that you are too close! https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/five-fascinating-facts-about-beavers