Waxwings are sociable and gentle birds, and sharing berries (one will pluck
it, then feed it to another) is one way they show friendliness to their
flockmates. This behavior is especially common among mated pairs.
Many of them were feeding on the ground--presumably on fallen berries. I
managed one quick shot of this cluster before they scattered.
A rear view showing this bird's strikingly colored wings:
This boreal sparrow is marked by a chestnut cap and a single, diffuse black
spot on an otherwise unmarked breast. It has a less than accurate name: it
breeds in tundra and nests on the ground. Even on its wintering grounds (which
include Ottawa), it prefers open areas to woods. I see them at marshes in
Stony Swamp and at the edges of farmer's fields in the west end.
But the number one place to find Tree Sparrows in Ottawa is the Shirley's Bay
feeders. There's always a flock of them there in winter. They forage in the
snow and on the rocks, where people leave piles of birdseed for them. Next
time I go back I think I'll give them a proper photo shoot. I snapped just a
few pictures of this guy between photographing redpolls.
The artistic prize may have been yesterday's subject, but here's the birder's
prize:
This redpoll's (mostly) unstreaked white rump, minimal flank streaking, tiny
bill and overall "frosty" appearance all mark her as a rare Hoary
Redpoll. While Common Redpolls are birds of the boreal forest and tundra
scrub, Hoary Redpolls breed in the treeless high arctic. Even in a "redpoll
winter", like this one, only a few of them ever make it as far south as
Ottawa. This was my second-ever sighting of the species.
Redpolls in Ottawa have burgeoned again. I was amazed and delighted by the
sheer numbers of them at Shirley's Bay this afternoon, teeming around the
three nyjer feeders. And so tame. They do startle easily--but return to
feeding within seconds of the startle. I got hundreds of photos as the sun
peeked in and out of the clouds. I'll share the best of them over the next few
days.
The prizes, at least artistically, are the ones with significant amounts of
red on their breasts. Right now they're a small minority. (There will be more
of them as spring approaches.) So I was thrilled when I managed to get a
quality portrait of this guy:
I saw this fellow romping with his owner in the newly-fallen snow at the
arboretum, and couldn't resist taking a few pictures. He looked like he was
having the time of his life.
These "video portraits" by Music of Nature are simply breathtaking. I could
take stills from any one of them and call them excellent photographs--the
video quality is that good. Add to that the beautifully captured birdsong and
it's a feast for the senses.
I also can't imagine how they captured some of this, with the more
bashful and secretive species. I mean really: Henslow's Sparrow? What's next,
footage of a unicorn?
Here are my favorites (besides the Winter Wren embedded above):