LittleRed

Day # 19 - Date : Thursday, November 2, 2017

Finally one of my characters from the north has arrived. They came in yesterday accompanied by heavy overcast, on and off rain/snow showers and dang cold temperatures. Twasn't a good day fer the camera, especially with the Tamron 6.3 lens. Should have switched to the faster 300 but was a bit lazy. Pics came out not too bad though even though they had to be taken from inside the house between snow showers off Lake Superior. These birds spend their spring and summer breeding season way up north of the Arctic Circle on the tundra. During the winter they migrat south to the "tropics" of southern Canada and the middle area of the United States. Only 3 or 4 came in yesterday late in the day but it's a good sign of what should be coming. As you can see they are one of the easiest sparrows to identify, having an unstreaked breast with a large 'beauty' mark and a bi-coloured beak. Other than that they are very similar to the Chipping Sparrow. Now to await the other northerners - the Siskins and the Redpolls. Hopefully they won't be too far behind in my area as plenty have been seen at the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory which is about 100km west. If they do come in I will be sure to post some pics of them.

LittleRed (Ron)

Canon T6i, Tamron 150-600mm @552, 1/640, f6.3, auto ISO @2500, dist 8M


Canon T6i, Tamron 150-600mm @552, 1/640, f7.1, auto ISO @2500, dist 8M


Canon T6i, Tamron 150-600mm @552, 1/640, f6.3, auto ISO @ 2500, dist 8M


Canon T6i, Tamron 150-600mm @552, 1/640, f6.3, auto ISO @2500, dist 8M


Canon T6i, Tamron 150-600mm @552, 1/640, f6.3, auto ISO @1800, dist 8M

Tikva Loc: Waukesha, WI

Nice photos. Yep they are telling us that Winter is on the way. Oh well, that just means that Spring is growing closer. At my age, I shouldn't wish away any time.

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

Great shots.

We are about 150 km south of the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory and have not seen American tree sparrows, Siskins or the Redpolls yet. Lots of Juncos, both sexes.

Mike

LittleRed

Fraid so, tis been snowing on and off most of the day here. Thanks for the kind comment.

Ron

LittleRed

Just hold on the redpolls are on their way. Chris Neri (bird counter and owl bander) at the WPBO on e-bird shows a count of close to 1000 them there. Personally I don't have know if I can afford to support that many in my back yard. Not too many Siskins (11) or Tree Sparrows (9) there yet but business should be picking up. One interesting sighting was the first early sighting of a Snowy Owl along with a few Snow Buntings. Thanks Mike for l ooking

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Very nice set.

LittleRed

Thanks kpmac for the nice comment.

Ron

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Pretty bird

MikWar Loc: Chicago, Western Suburbs

Perfect exemplars of the Tree Sparrow. Wish you would have allowed downloads so I could capture them and compare to my picts when I'm trying to figure out which sparrow I've taken a shot of.

LittleRed

Thanks Jerry for the kind comment.

Ron

sailorsmom Loc: Souderton, PA

Beautiful shots, Ron!

LittleRed

Thanks sailorsmom for looking in and commenting, is appreciated.

Ron

Swamp-Cork Loc: Lanexa, Virginia

Beautiful set, Ron!

LittleRed

Thanks Corky for the nice comment.

Ron

Emp Loc: new york state nassau county

Great shots!