thebirderspost

Saturday, June 13th:  Went down to 4C last night – brrrr!  Highs the next few days only in the mid-teens.  So we didn’t do much.  What with muddy roads, we stayed in!  Just about our laziest day ever!  Napped, tidied, cooked, read.

Sunday, June 14th:  Another not very nice day!  High 13C and windy!  More organizing, etc.  I guess we’re sort of winding down with only 6 more days before we go “home”!  Although, as Karen Mickelson says in her memento for us “home is where your cat is”!  HA!  We realize that we live longer in our trailer than our home in Calgary!

Here are the girls this morning.  First looking out the window together in 1 basket – then sleeping cuddled together.  These baskets are heated and there is one for each.  But sometimes they just like to be together.

Monday, June 15th:  4C this morning but no wind.  Supposed to be partly sunny today, but by 10:30 AM no sun was in sight.  So we went into town to pick up the last of our groceries.   By “into town” I mean, Maple Creek!  Well, we took out time with a couple of detours along the way and found some good birds!  A new one for the list was a N. Goshawk – seen twice, but too fast to shoot.  As a matter of fact, one of the trails in the park is closed due to “an aggressive goshawk”!!

The wildflowers are still blooming, though three-flowered avens are just about finished.  Wilf will mow his front lawn once we’re gone and all those “fluffy seedheads” (like Deen) will be gone.  Luckily there are TONS more around!

We came across an unusual fruiting species, which I researched.  It is called ground plum – and one can see why!  Next a brown-eyed susan.  I assume the next is some type of vetch, though couldn’t find the exact species, and roses amongst the thorns!

We stopped at a little lake off hwy 21, heading west (just north of the park) and found some interesting stuff!

There is a Great Blue Heron colony here, which includes Double-crested Cormorants.  Those dead trees are on an island, so looks like a pretty safe place to nest.  A large colony of gulls is nesting behind them.

We shopped in town for a few groceries to tide us over until we get home, and on the way out of town to the hills, a few nice birds posed along the fence next to the hwy.

Both Eastern Kingbird and Western Kingbirds!

For Tarie, another Western Meadowlark, still not quite facing us with his brilliant yellow breast.

So if the meadowlark is for Tarie, who could this be for?  Well, it’s my dear youngest brother, Brian.  His favourite bird in all the world.  First having a snack, then taking off.  Hope you love ’em Bri!

Also stopped at the group camping place just past the turnoff to Cypress, where we saw the N. Goshawk!  Also Canada Anemone.

Sunday, June 16th:  Nicest day of our stay! High forecast for 19C.  So, it was off to the “far side” (Alberta Cypress Hills).  The gap road between is nice and dry.  We were rewarded out on the prairies with a couple of Grasshopper Sparrows (though we only saw one take flight – no photo).  We have never actually seen one, just heard them.  This brief look was not satisfying – still hoping!

The prairies are covered in flowers.  Enough rain has fallen at last to bring them forth.  Whenever we stop for birds (or flowers) the scent in the air is beautiful. Here is blue flax, and a wild rose

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The mixed forest hills are beautiful.  Found a little stream running here on the south end of the AB hills.  There were lots of little ponds out on the prairies with various ducks.  So we upped out species count for this portion of the trip substantially.

At one pond this Willet was complaining!

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Finally got a coupole of pretty nice Mtn. Bluebird photos.  One can’t have enough of these beautiful electric blue birds I say!

On our way back, just as we were headed into Maple Creek (we tood the #1 Hwy this time) a big truck threw up a rock which hit our windshield.  It made a large star, about 1 1/2 “, then started migrating.  By the time we got back it was about 6” across.  Obviously we needed to replace our windshield.

Wednesday, June 17th:  A beautiful morning, but with promise of thunderstorms this aft and rain overnight.  3 deer graced the yard in front of the trailer this morning.

We got out flower watching this morning.

Here are a few shots.  As best I can research on line:  sunflower, buttercup, and some type of vetch.

Couldn’t resist this fat Savannah Sparrow with the a mouthful!

This is the view from the top of the Bluff/Viewpoint road looking out toward Maple Ck. but pretty smoky.  Couldn’t quite see the town from here today.

Forgot I had this photo of Wilf in his tractor with the mower attachment.  His toys are big!  You can see the size of the barn which houses this, his ATV (just in front of the barn) plus other stuff!  What a beautiful place this is – no car sounds just birds and wind in the trees.  The odd thunderstorm as well – nature at its finest!

Thursday, June 18th:  Cloudy and windy so we stayed in.  Bill worked.  In the evening, Penny and Wilf dropped in to see us!  It was threatening thunderstorms, but they had no problem.  They are off on Friday to see Uncle Bud in Creston for Father’s Day.

Friday, June 19th:  Heavy thunderstorms overnight.  When Bill tried to get out this morning (just with the truck), the road was too slippery to drag the trailer, so we were stranded.  Waited until after lunch and when he tried again – the roads seemed better. So we madly cleaned up, hooked up and left.  By the time we got onto pavement, the skies opened up.  That means we JUST MADE IT OUT!  Actually, it rained so hard that both the truck and trailer were cleaned off pretty well of the mud thrown up getting out.  A very fortuitous escape!  We were able to set up our trailer in the park in Maple Ck, borrow a vehicle from Wilf’s dealership (he owns Cypress Motors), and drop off the truck at the windshield repair place.  They needed to keep it overnight.

Saturday, June 20th:  We picked up the truck, hooked up the trailer (which BTW was sitting in water in the campground – it rained so much yesterday) and dropped off the loaner truck with key back at Cypress Motors.  We were away before 9 AM!

Out totals for the trip are as fofllows:  Grand Total:  189; Waskesiu:  124; Cypress Hills:  80

List of other animals:  Coyote, White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer, Elk, Antelope, Red Fox, Bison, Groundhog, Richardson’s Ground Squirrel (gopher!), Prairie Dog, Muskrat, Beaver, Black Bear, River Otter, Mink.  Pretty cool to see all these wonderful animals.

It’s been a great vacation with lots of nice wildlife, flowers and birds.  We look forward to more good stuff next year!

See you in the fall when we head for Florida!

Sunday, June 7th:  Saskatoon.  Had dinner with Ron and Julie – it was great to catch up with them.  It’s been a year, but seems like yesterday!  Of course we keep up via email.

Here we are in 2 selfies – 1 taken by me, and 1 by Julie!

Monday, June 8th:  Got our trailer in for service by 8:30 – out by 11 AM!  This meant we could get grocery shopping done!  So we’re ready to go for tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 9th:  Drove to Maple Ck. and got set up in the local campground.  Met Penny and Wilf for dinner  at the Star – had a wonderful meal and visit.  Then drove out to the “farm”.  Bill said he thought he remembered the way – but it turned out he did NOT!   So it was good we did it!

We saw a moose disappearing into the trees.  Just took a shot with my iPhone – not worth a hoot,  but here it is anyway.  Our first moose of the year. Didn’t get to bed until about 10 PM (about 2 hours later than usual).

Wednesday, June 10th:  This was some day!  Slept in until 5:30 this morning.  When Bill got up about half an hour later and we checked the forecast, it said possible thundershowers in the Cypress Hills area.  So we had 1 coffee each, packed up the trailer – no showers, no makeup – and boogied out to the farm. We could see it had rained overnight so by the time we were getting close to the place, we’d picked up some world famous SK gumbo!  Yikes!  Both on the trailer and the truck.  We could see that someone else had gotten down the road, and as we neared it, Bill heard a motor.  Wouldn’t you know it, Wilf is out here mowing the roads and lawns for us!  So that lovely man power washed the trailer for us and helped us get aligned into the good spot for our satellite to work.

Here we are all set up next to his little “well house” which is about 12′ X 12′.  We had about half an hour before we had to leave for the Winery to celebrate Karen and Harold’s 48th anniversary.  But we made it right on time.  Had a lovely picnic.  It was a perfect day.

Here we are.  First the lovely anniversary couple, Harold and Karen – then Penny and Wilf.

And here we are. We birded on the way back.  Saw and heard lots of birds, but only a few photos.

There were a pair of Red-tailed Hawks courting and calling to each other – couldn’t get them both in the same shot.

This Western Meadowlark wouldn’t come out into the open to show us his lovely yellow breast with the black V.  I love it that he’s nestled amongst the pussy toes!

We saw both antelope and deer.  This lovely buck with the gorgeous velvet antlers stayed lying down when we stopped to take his photo.  Apparently these are “monster” mule deer – according to our financial advisor, Dave.  Honestly they’re the largest I’ve ever seen!

Here are a few of the hills.

I phoned Mom after we returned – she sounds good and but is looking forward to our return.  I  then got organized in the “house”, had dinner and got to bed pretty late (10 PM) – waaay past our bed time of 8 PM!

Thursday, June 11th:  We walked around the property and found a few new birds, but not many photo ops.  So many Least Flycatchers around, it’s amazing!  A few Yellow-rumped Warblers.  Heard Cassin’s Finch and saw a couple of Townsend’s Solitaires, but the only bird we could shoot was Dark-eyed Junco.

This pink-sided variety is exclusive to Cypress Hills in all of Canada.

There are dragonflies around, but not many mosquitoes.  A few butterflies.

Three-flowered avens are coming to an end.  I jumped out of the truck when Wilf was mowing to stop him from cutting them down.  But they are everywhere!  I remember when they do go to seed, Bill’s Mom (Deen) always said they looked like she did – gray, fluffy and past their prime!  The second shot is an individual flower.  Later, we drove around the town, checking out where propane was available, getting a local bird list and dropping into the general store.

We found a pair of Red-necked Grebes on the lake in town – this one on a nest.

Also a Double-crested Cormorant.

Dappled sunlight came through the trees.

Friday, June 12th:  Walked around the property.  It was a hot sunny day with highs near 30C!  Weather warnings are in effect for thunderstorms, strong winds possibly leading to tornadoes and hail.  But it was so nice in the morning we walked around everywhere Wilf had mowed…and more.

Chipping Sparrows are common here – and pose nicely, and sing their little rat-a-tat song.

There are many different looking Yellow-rumped Warblers, though they’re divided into 2 varieties.  This is the most colorful, Audubon’s.  This guy was singing, preening and fluffing (if you’ll excuse the expression)!

A House Wren is nesting out behind the trailer.  We saw one go into the nest hole while this one sang his beautiful song.

The wildflowers are everywhere, though we need rain to make more grow.  Here’s lanceleaf springbeauty, early yellow locoweed, sunflower, slender beardtongue and pussy toes (a very dark pink variety I’ve never seen before!).

Later it started to rain off and on – then hail.  Here’s the view out our skylight.  Those are hailstones – though they didn’t get huge, thank goodness!   Also the dark reflection of the overhanging tree.  Hail covered the ground about an inch apart!  It was good to get lots of rain.

(Second-last posting for the spring.)

With such a late start to spring, it seems we’ve just begun our trip when we have to leave!  We love it so much!

Thursday, June 4th:  A gorgeous day – sunny, high 24C, winds to 15 kph.  However, the winds were very light for the morning of our walk down the trail.  One can drive to an area of Spruce River off the main highway.  Apparently there’s been a huge hatching of horseflies, as they’re buzzing everywhere.

They seem to be attracted to our white truck!  I’ve heard insects like light colors – maybe this proves it?  (I don’t mean for your to see horseflies – I just liked the photo of our truck.)

We chased down a Winter Wren again, but Bill couldn’t get a shot worth much.  No thrushes around today unfortunately.  After the Winter Wren song, thrushes have one of the most ethereal, beautiful songs in birdland, I think.

We had another red fox encounter here.  I just saw him go off the road and when we looked for him, he was leaving the way we’d come.

It was very funny to be walking along and getting text messages while we are birding!  One was from Don (who just visited) to wish us good birding for the rest of our time.  I responded that a Broad-winged Hawk had just flown over – a new bird!  Then one from cousin Karen, who wished me belated happy anniversary and asked if we’d like to join them for lunch at the Maple Ck. Winery on the 10th!

Our quest for a photo of the Nashville Warbler yielded these results.  Good view of gray head and yellow underbody.  Also singing its song!

Besides a large hatch of horseflies, there are more and more dragonflies with those delicate and beautiful wings.

There are some lovely wildflowers just starting.  I’m hoping for more at Cypress Hills, but I’ve seen this pink one each time we go on this path.  The yellow isn’t quite open.

Another hope was to spot a Common Yellowthroat singing, and staying put for a photo.  Ta-da!  He sings “witchety-witchery-witchety”.  This little “bandit” is such a cutie patootie and was Bill’s nemesis bird for many years (before I knew him) when he would hear it but never see it!  So, take that you little Yellowthroat!

Friday, June 5th:  Last walk at Mud Ck.  A calm but cloudy morning with forecast of thunder showers this afternoon.  The birds were very quiet – not even a Tennessee Warbler in the beginning.  The call of a loon was haunting from nearby as we walked the path edging the lake.

Our first signting was a Blackburninn Warbler – always worth another shot or 2.

While Bill was making adjutments to his camera, this Gray Jay landed nearby, then took off.

The woods everywhere we go are filled with the famous song of this White-throated Sparrow:  “oh-sweet-Canada-Canada-Canada” (or as the yanks say: old Sam Peabody-Peabody-Peabody).  He turned to look at us looking!

We spent awhile looking for this bird, which we’ve been trying to photograph – Ovenbird.  Not a very good shot, but a record at least.  He says:  teacher–teacher–teacher-TEACHER-TEACHER – getting louder and louder.

Bill isn’t much for wildflowers – sometimes I ask him to take photos for me.  This however, is his favourite flower (declared many years ago when we were first dating) – blue-eyed grass.  Lately, I’ve just been using the iPhone (yeah, I know you can tell) but this blog is for my enjoyment, not just his.  He also sometimes objects to the bird photos I choose and would like to strongly declare that the shots I choose are my choice – not necessarily the ones he would choose!  So now I’ve made it perfectly clear!

Saturday, June 6th:  Last day here.  It rained overnight – more relief for the drought-stricken area.  Not widespread however.  Laundry and cleaning, but we got out for 2 short walks this morning.  The end of Waskesiu Drive netted our long sought-after Mourning Warbler, though no picture.

At Waskesiu River boardwalk we saw a mink run across the road just as we got there.  Waterfowl was all Bill was able to photograph.

Great Blue Heron flying by.

Lots of Amer. White Pelicans arriving/taking off/fishing.

This group of Common Mergansers started out as just 1 male and 1 female.  Then along came another female.  At first we thought the male would chase her off, but she eventually climbed up on the mound where the other one was lying (we thought on a nest) – then up came the male!  There seems to be some consternation, but I guess a truce was called!

I guess this pair of mallards isn’t on a nest yet.

We leave two empty chairs for the next folk.

Saturday, May 29th:  After our successful trip to PA yesterday afternoon and Bill’s fixed, good-workin’ hearing aids, we got out in the morning across the road to Red Deer trail.  It was a pretty cool morning (heavy coats and gloves), but a few birds were singing.  We chased an Ovenbird relentlessly, but to no avail.  They sing low in the forest and are very hard to spot.  It is called an Ovenbird because it builds a nest like an oven with an opening in the side.

We did however, manage to find a Robin!  Oh well, they are pretty nice birds and have a lovely song.  It is the first song I leaned when I returned from Australia and realized I didn’t know anything about birds here at home.  I went over to Edworthy Park (we used to call it “the woods” because Mr. Edworthy hadn’t donated it to the city yet) and I walked until I found the bird singing.  Imagine my surprise that it was a Robin!  That’s 40 years ago this Month!  Just before I met Bill on June 15, 1975, teaching the birding class as Inglewood Bird Sanctuary!

Anyway, back to our walk.  We’ve seen a Brown Creeper before, but no photo was available.  This isn’t much better, but there is one anyway, making its way up a tree trunk.  We looked closely, but couldn’t decide if it had a grub in its mouth, or was removing a fecal pack from the nest.  We’ll never know!

This little Chipping Sparrow was so cooperative and sat up so nicely, we took his picture.  We had lunch and a nap (well, Bill did) then we did the Waskesiu Drive walk.  There wasn’t much around at first, but we ended with a bang!

Here are a coupld of shots of a Magnolia Warbler – such a little nbeauty!

This Blackburnian Warbler usually sings from a tall fir, so high up it’s hard to ever get a shot, so I was thrilled to get one so low down!  That orange throat – wooh!

Monday, June 1st:  Yesterday was a laundry/cleaning day, so we didn’t go out.  It was also very windy, which never helps when birding!  So today we visited Boundary Bog at the east entrance.  Two birds with one stone – needed to renew our park pass which expired end of May.  It was a mostly sunny morning and the wind picked up as the morning progressed.  We followed the song of a Connecticut Warbler back and forth through the trees, but never did get a siview of it.

Our luck was better at the boardwalk where we finally got us a Palm Warlbler!  We could see his little rust cap and yellow throat.

A Philadelphia Vireo sang in the tree-tops, but didn’t stay still long enough for a shot.  But luckily the flora was cooperative.

Pretty bracket fungus – and a flower I don’t know.

Also these pretty ones:  Bluebells and another I don’t know.  Though I did look quite awhile for both of the above.

We got our new park passes (both senior now) and headed back.  Bill spotted a fox and at first it ran away.  He stopped the truck to take shots out the window, but then it started coming toward us – just like last year!

He came right up to the window, too close for the camera and Bill said to the little beggar:  “No!”

Tues. June 2nd:  Today is our 37th wedding anniversary.  For your amusement, here is a shot from that day in 1978:

I always think about how lucky we are to love the same pastime – birding!  There are so many couples who RV but one golfs and the other one shops (or some other type of thing).  Sure makes our time fun!

We visited the West Side this morning and had a wonderful day.  Walked for about 4 hours today!  It was sunny but cool (6C in the morning, rising to only about 13 by noon).

Our first bird was this male American Redstart.  His little orange patches glow in the sun.

One of our first sightings was this Western Tanager.  What a handsome bird.

In contrast, this Least Flycatcher isn’t much to look at, nor is his song very notable:  Che-beck!

Further along the path we came upon this Rose-breasted Grosbeak, gleaning some type of food from this fir tree.  I mean, he was really workin’ it!

This female Yellow Warbler isn’t quite as pretty as her partner.

Bill took a much better photo of bluebells than I did with my iPhone.  The next shot is especially for Moe:  dandilions – he loves ’em!

These beautiful copper leaves are part of the 3-lobed sasparilla flower.  You can see the unopened flowers on the bottom, left side of the right photo, low down with unopened copper leaves like folded prayer hands.

I spotted this nest about 25-30 feet high, as a bird flew away from it.  The flash of bird I saw looked brown – but it never returned.  Any ideas what it could be – anyone?

Our last photo is our regular visitor to Elk trail – Bluejay!  If you zoom in on his back and tail, it looks like perfect turquoise rectangles have been placed there.

Dinner at the Hawood Inn in honour of our special day!  We will also toast our friend Geri, whose birthday it is today!

Wed. June 3:  A year ago today we lost our sweet Sasha.  He is on my mind today.

With only a few days left before we leave this wonderful place, we decided to go to Mud Ck. this morning.  It was calm and cool, with a promise of a high of 19C.

The lake was a mirror as this pair of American White Pelicans took off.

This sign is posted permanently (I think) – for every time we’ve come here, it’s up.  We have never seen bears on the path.  But we certainly do see lots of bears in the park.

The marsh marigolds are profuse and in their prime.

There are many hatching caterpillars making great bird food.  I found a Western Canadian violet also – they’re white, compared with early blue violets.

Not many birds were singing – very unusual for this time of day and year.  However, I guess it was going to be a day for cavorting with river otters.

This was a family of 2 adults and 3 kits – probably a year old.  They were feeding on a large fish, preening and doing what otters do.  They are big for otters – males nearly 4 feet long, females a little over 3 feet.  But boy are they cute.  We came on them from a small cliff, so they didn’t see us – nor pay attention to Bill’s camera clicking.  What fun!

Our only bird photo was this Black-and-white Warbler.

This seems long enough to post now.  Maybe only 1 more posting from Waskesiu, then on to Maple Creek and Cypress Hills.

PS: Interestingly, I just checked the sunrise and sunset times in PANP and Calgary.   For us, it’s 4:39 and 9:24- for Calgary, 5:26 and 9:41.  We have over an hour extra sunshine up here!  How wonderful to have the long days!

Thurs. May 28th:  An effing (as in “freezing) cold and windy day with high only 11 (winds gusting to 50 kph).  It was only 6 when we left – a far cry from the 20’s we’ve been enjoying for almost 2 weeks!  It rained overnight – THANK GOODNESS – much needed, since there is a fire ban in effect.  It spat a few drops most of the day, but nothing for which we needed rain gear.

We stopped at Spruce River before we met our pals and captured an American Goldfinch.

Don and Carman had just pulled in a minute earlier at the Elk trail at 8:15 AM where we met.  The sound of the wind blowing in the trees sometimes drowned out the sound of birds!  But Don has very sharp ears and knows his birds, so we got a few new ones.

We’ve seen families of Gray Jays for over a week, so the young have fledged.  Here’s one now, not quite the same as an adult.

This is an American Redstart and they put on quite a show.  Both males and females sing.

I was unable to see this Chestnut-sided Warbler.  It was buried in the foliage, singing in one spot, and only Bill’s height allowed him to get this shot.  I know I’ll see one later, probably at Mud Creek.  One of our favourites!

We walked into a more protected pathway and the sun started to come out.  Boy it felt good!  As we returned to our vehicles, Moe & Marg had arrived and were on their way up the path.  We decided to head back, with a stop here and there, have lunch and a nap – then go birding later.

The only thing we saw on the way “home” was this muskrat.

Our afternoon outing was at Waskesiu River which has a boardwalk along one side and a meandering path on the other.

One of our first wildlife observations was this American red squirrel.  They usually chatter and run away, but this guy stood stock still.  The birds were pretty quiet this afternoon (morning being the best time to hear them).

But the flowers were sitting low and not moving!  Coltsfoot.

This Greater Yellowlegs (which we posted a photo previously, up to its thighs in water) was sitting on a rock, showing its yellow legs!  When we got back to the highway this family was basking on the shore in the grass, but moved away as we got closer.

Canada Geese are very attentive parents.

Overhead, American White Pelicans soared.  They are wonderful flyers and we often see them wheeling high in the sky.  Then it was back to Pete’s Terrace for pizza and beer with our buds.  Not only did we enjoy the company immensely, but the pizza was awesome!  We haven’t eaten here before, but we sure will again!  Moe & Marg had to leave for Birch HIlls right after dinner since they didn’t want their garden to freeze and needed to be there to cover it.  But not before Marg presented me with 3 bottles of her home-made chokecherry syrup — YUMMM!

Fri. May 29th:   A later morning birding with Don & Carman, due to the cold –  birds aren’t moving so much at freezing temps.  Nonetheless, we headed to Mud Creek.

Our first sighting was these 4 Common Loons near the shore.  We haven’t yet got a photo of loons but we find them on most of the larger bodies of water.

Although this isn’t a very good shot of a Pileated Woodpecker, it is a sad story.  Just after Bill photographed him, a Sharp-shinned Hawk chased him away.  The woodpecker is much larger than the hawk.  Pileated is 16 1/2″ beak to tail with nearly a 30″ wingspan.  The hawk is only 11″ long with a 23″ wingspan – but faster and more deadly.  I’m afraid we’re one woodpecker poorer now.

This interesting large mushroom is about 6″ across.  There was another on the same tree, stunted by growing up against the next tree.  I couldn’t find out what it was by Googling.

A pair of Green-winged Teal moved away as we approached.  I think this male is beautiful.  He’s showing a thin line of green on his wing but when he flies it a large patch of green.

We were happy to find a Swamp Sparrow singing out in the open, a little closer than the last photo from another bog.

Canada Warblers were singing in several places.  Don said it is the most he’s seen in one area.  What a beautiful bird and a lovely song to boot!

Finally got a shot of a Tennessee Warbler – the ubiquitous bird of PANP!  It may not have all the colours of other warblers, but it has a lovely blue-gray head, white eye stripe and green back.  What a singer!

We found another Chestnut-sided, but couldn’t get a very good shot of it.  As we were looking we saw a Ruby-throateded Hummingbird alight on this stick.  No colors visible, as it was against the sun.  At least you can tell it’s a hummer.

We said goodbye to Don & Carman in the parking lot.  It always seems such a short time birding with Don, especially after he comes all the way from Broadview (a 6-hour drive)!  I guess the birds in his yard holds more intrigue than we do (or the birds here!).  Actually we stopped again with Don to find this:

A Black-and-white Warbler.  It has sufch a faint little song – I don’t know how Don heard it.  I guess it’s great when you’re young and have good ears!  (Don turns in 60 mid-August!)  Unfortunately, we didn’t get a photo of the group this time…

…so here we are!  L-R, Carman, Marg, Moe, me & Don.  Bill taking the photo.  Selfies weren’t so common back then – should done it now, I know!  We thank our friends for coming up to see us – we love them and we love PANP!

Sat. May 23:  Got out with Moe and Marg to the Treebeard trail.  Interestingly, in all the years Moe has been coming here – leading kids on hikes, etc. he has never hiked this trail!  We were shocked!  We stopped a few places along the Narrows road on the way, but didn’t get a lot of new species .

However on the first stop by a pond a beaver came along…then oops!  Disappeared!

On the same pond, we did add Swamp Sparrow!

These dead bullrushes provide good nesting material for birds.

The Harris’ Sparrows are still here (which makes us a little wary of the weather), but a Savannah Sparrow made an appearance.  See the little bit of yellow on the streak above the eye?

A pair of  Barn Swallows are nesting in the picnic shelter.  This guy sat and chatted to us the whole time.

On the Treebeard Trail, the only  bird we photographed was this Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.

Bill nicely captured these beautiful white  bracket fungus, as well as horse-tails.

On the way back another vehicle had stopped ahead so we checked it out – a black bear!  This is our 2nd.

We had M&M over for dinner to our trailer.  How lucky the day was so beautiful, we could sit out at the picnic table – no mosquitoes yet!  They brought potatoes & wine (Moe’s home-made, delicious varieties) – we supplied steak & salad.  We had a delightful evening.

Sun. May 24:  Moe and Marg left this morning but will be returning Thursday – to join Don and Carman who are coming from Broadview and PA respectively!  Don is the best birder we know, so he’s bound to find us a few more species!

Today was another gorgeous day with high 25C & low wind.  We went to one of our favourite places – the “west side” of the park, right at the south end.

Before we got there, we stopped at Spruce Lake where a Yellow Warbler was singing.

Past the kiosk to the south entrance, heading west, the road is closed to traffic at one point, so we moved the barriers and went through (don’t tell anyone!).  It’s just a little way along the road to the trail.  We weren’t sure if there would be much happening yet, but we were in luck!  We added 19 species to our Waskesiu list today!  Not many cooperated with Bill to get their picture taken.  With the trees now fully leafed-out, it’s hard to see those guys up there!

Just this little frog – of which there were lots in every wet patch along the trail.  Can you spot it? Looks like another dead leaf (hint: has a light stripe down its brown back).  It’s only about an inch long.

Also a House Wren singing from the top of a dead snag in a bog.

On the way out, we spied a couple of bears on the road – then a 3rd!  Yup – Goldilocks came upon the 3 bears!

With the addition of 19 species today, our Waskesiu list comes to 89 (157 for the trip).  Amazing!  A bit too hot of a day for us actually, lots of sweat.  Luckily we are willing to sweat for birds (but not much else!). Ha!

Mon. May 25:  Off to Boundary Bog.  First sight were these lovely calypso orchids!

My hand shows how small they are.

We were hoping for a Palm Warbler, but no suck luck.  However, we added a Nelson Sparrow! Only the 2nd time I’ve seen one – then other in Red Deer, AB many, many years ago.  No photo, since it disappeared in the dry grass.

The place is rife with pitcher plants.

Our only bird photo is this Bay-breasted Warbler, who sang for us.  High in the shadows.

We stopped at the trail across the road from our campground on the way back, to check out the water treatment ponds and added a few ducks to our repertoirs.  There were lots of warblers singing, but I just don’t know their songs.  We need Don!

Tues. May 26:  Have to go into PA to see if we can get Bill’s 1 hearing aid fixed.  It’s not so easy to hear the birds with only 1 ear.

In the morning we walked along Waskesiu drive at the end of the cabins and picked up 2 new warblers.

Canada (what a beauty with his black necklace)…

…and Magnolia.  Showing tail, then head (or most of it).  Tough to get a shot high in the branches!

After lunch off to PA.  Bill indeed had a speaker out in 1 hearing aid.  Have to order 2 new ones, but they won’t come for a day or 2.  So another trip forthcoming soon.  Did a big grocery shop, ate in town and home by 7:30.

Wed. May 27th:  Drove to the other end of the park road by Gray Owl’s trail.  Not much new today.

Stopped at one of regular bogs but the only shot we would get was this beautiful Bufflehead.  we did however, hear a lovely Winter Wren singing.

This bog has lots of dead firs, providing good cover!

The highlight of the day was this cinnamon colored black bear – a large male.  He only turned briefly a couple of times to check out our slow moving truck, then ran off into the bush.

Every evening the elk come to visit.  Here is a flock of about 14!  Taken from our trailer door.

Tomorrow we meet Don and Carman at the south end of the park, Elk Trail.  Yipee!

NOTE: I do not know why all the photos are now half the size they used to be.  I tried but failed to change their size on the wordpress site.  Just letting you know.

Last Friday, May 15th, was Mur and Patsy’s 50th anniversary.  I believe (though not entirely confirmed) that it was Norm and Joan’s 30th!  I was reminded of Mom and Dad’s 50th celebrated here 15 years ago with a double family reunion.  Lots of good memories here at the Hawood Inn.  We celebrate our anniv on June 2nd with dinner here every year.

That’s Mom & Dad sitting – with Lloyd’s family.  Mur is the guy in the white shirt behind Mom, Pats to his right.  Lloyd is Mom’s brother, 2nd from right.  We just had dinner in Swift with Karen (far right)!

Tuesday, May 19:  Most of the campers from the long weekend have left and it is nice and quiet at Waskesiu!  Yay! Unforunately, it is also quiet in the woods, since the majority of the birds have yet to arrive.

We set off for Waskesiu River which has a lovely boardwalk along one side.  There are usually lots of warblers here, as well as some waterfowl.

A family of Canada Geese greeted us as we crossed the bridge.

We saw this Greater Yellowlegs (though you can’t see much of his yellow legs) and it was joined by another, then another!

Common Goldeneye are plentiful on the river.  This one shows why he has the name with his golden eye glowing in the sun – along with his glossy green head.

One new bird was this Golden-crowned Kinglet.  Very difficult to photograph as it flitted high in the trees, but this lucky shot shows just manages to reveal it’s golden crown.  (You may have to zoom in!)

A Spotted Sandpiper, also a regular here, was “spotted” along the shore.

We also walked down by the lake in case a few shorebirds straggled along the shore.  Nothing in that regard, but a broken tree with sap glistening in the sun attracted some small insects.  Also observed a Brown Creeper which didn’t stay in one place long enough for a pic.

May 20: Off to Spruce River where a few new warblers were coming thru.  An absolutely gorgeous day with high 22C and low wind.

I don’t know how Bill spotted this bird – but it is a Ruffed Grouse sitting in a tree!  This seen along the side of the road as he was driving!

One of the first sounds was a Wilson’s Snipe calling.  It took us awhile to locate him, sitting in one of the tallest firs around!  His calling went on most of the time we were there (over an hour).  Love struck!

Our first new warbler was a Wilson’s.  This little yellow guy with a black cap looked a bit “punk” with his feathers blowing up behind the cap!

An Orange-crowned Warbler perfectly matches the color of the catkins.

A White-crowned Sparrow is one of the most common sprrows we see in AZ in the winter – extremely plentiful.  But it doesn’t nest here – further north!

But this Clay-colored Sparrow nests right here and was busy singing it’s little buzzy song!  It always seemed sad to me that it has such a dull name, when it really has such lovely markings!

We stopped at a couple of our other regular spots before heading home.

We were rewarded with this Eastern Phoebe flycatching at one place.  I guess it’s an indication of why so few birds are back yet – the mosquitoes aren’t really out yet!

At a road which goes in a back way to the Spruce River we finally found our first thrush – Swainson’s.  Also spotted a Black-backed Woodpecker, but it was chased away by “something”, so we didn’t get a photo.  Usually they are pretty slow moving and easy to shoot.

We did the walk by the lake once more, to see if anything new had shown up.  Not much happening once again, but…

This groundhog ran away down the path from us.  This for the record.  We’ve seen 1 black bear only so far.  Lots of elk around this campsite – right next to the trailer.  The girls don’t really know what to do with elk – just bugs and birds which they stalk.

Friday, May 22nd:  Another scorcher today – high 28C!!  Off to Mud Ck. hoping more warblers have returned.  It was hot and windy, though only forecast to be light winds around 10 kph!  Heard a Bay-breasted Warbler way up high, but it never came close enough to see, nevermind photograph.

Something which did show off for a photo was this marsh marigold.  It will soon be thick in the swampy area with them.  They are outstanding!  The only other yellow flower was a dandilion, which is beautiful despite its pariah-like status!

At least the flowers stayed put for photos.  Here are early blue violets (also saw the white ones, Western Canada violets I think).  Here is a white flower which seems to grow in damp areas, thought not quite bog.  No idea what it is – tried and failed to find it on google.  WAIT – HEARD FROM MOE MAY 27 – COLTSFOOT!

The first strawberry flowers showed up.  This bracket fungus – which I think is beautiful is about 5″ across.

The only birds we got a pretty good shot of were:

White-throated Sparrow and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  What a pair of handsome devils, eh?

Moe & Marg have arrived today, so we’ll go birding with them tomorrow and we’ve invited them to dinner.  More later!

May 13:  Grasslands National Park.  On the road to Val Marie, which is the town with headquarters for the park, we found our first warblers!  In a row of bushes along a farmer’s field, a Ruby-crrowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Yellow Warbler!

We love Grasslands – an oasis for grassland species, including the elusive Burrowing Owl.  We were hopeful we would spot at least one – and one it was.  Unfortunately it was waaaaay too far away for a photo.  It finds an unusued burrow in a prairie dog community (or maybe it just takes one?).

The prairie dogs were very vocal, chirping to each other, bobbing up and down, running around – in general it looked like they were having a great time!  They’re about 10 times the size of a ground squirrel. Also near the entrance (and in a few other spots) the bison is making a return to this area.

I loved this one buried in dried grass – some pair of horns!

We did have a close encounter however – actually more than once!  Impressive beasts!

We’d hoped for Chestnut-collared Longspurs and managed to capture it from side view as well as its black belly! There was a little more traffic than we expected, but we did see a couple of other birders.  Some people just barrelled through at full speed!

We didn’t expect to find an American Bittern here – but we saw it both coming and going.  It pretends to be grass amongst the reeds.  These reeds were just a little too underdeveloped.

In the same little slough, a Solitary Sandpiper

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Sharp-tailed Grouse have an excellent camouflage.  If we hadn’t seeen it cross the road, probably wouldn’t have spotted it.

As well as deer and antelope (yep, it’s where they play – on the range), we also spotted a couple of coyotes.  This is a pretty good lookin’ one who seemed more curious than afraid.

This Harris’ Sparrow is only seen on migration, since it nests in the arctic.  We saw one in AZ 2 winters ago, and before that it had been quite a few years!  The other sparrow which gave us a thrill was Grasshopped Sparrow!  Only our 2nd one – and no view – just its song! We added 14 species to our list on this trip – making our 3-day total 99!  Pretty good! Had dinner with Karen and Harold at one of their favourite restaurants – Akropol.  A great time was had by all, though too short! May 14:  This morning I heard a House Finch singing in the RV park – our 100th bird!  This is the final day birding this area and we decided to go to Nelson Reservoir east of town.

First bird on a fencepost alongside a slough was this Wilson’s Snipe.  He chattered at us in protest of us taking his photo! We saw a pair of Forster’s Terns last time we were at the reservoir.  Not so lucky this time.

Here are a couple of views of a Common Tern.  They were vocal as they hunted along the shoreline road.

Insects are hatching at a great rate.  Evidenced by the number of swallows hawking over the water.  Here are some of the swallows we saw when they perched on some twigs on shore.  On the left a pair of Barn Swallows – on the right 2 Bank Swallows on the top-to-bottom branch and 2 Cliff Swallows on the lower branches.

I couldn’t resist this shot of a number of them on a fence.  It also includes (L-R, T-B) a Tree, Cliff, Tree, Bank, Bank.  That’s 4 species in this location.

There were hundreds of Western Grebes, but we were lucky to see a double-headed one, along with the regulars.  No Clark’s.

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There don’t seem to be many hawks yet.  The most common we see are Swainson’s and one Northern Harrier.  One is again nesting near our home which we observe flying up and down the river.  This one sat on a post but when it flew off, it landed on another and they mated (had sex?).

The last new species near the reservoir was a Loggerhead Shrike.  It kept moving a few more fence posts away each time we got closer to take its photo.  Bill finally stopped the truck and got out, since he was shooting on my side of the road. We headed back to town, stopping to fill up our truck with diesel fuel and our propane tank for – we leave tomorrow.  Then off to a slough on the west end of town, pretty much behind Wilf and sons’ Cypress Motors.  Just south of the railroad tracks.

There was some muddy habitat and Black-neked Stilts were nesting here!

Around the corner Stilt Sandpipers probed the mud alongside Long-billed Dowitchers.  The big one in front in the dowitcher – 2 behind sandpipers. Then it was back into town the back way to see if we could find a Eurasian Collared Dove.  Ron, who used to live here, took us through the residential area to find one another time.  Luck was on our side – got ‘im!  That was 9 new species today!  Off to S’toon tomorrow!

So.  A day in the Toon to shop and get ready for the Park.  A gorgeous day with high about 20C and low winds.  Awesome!  This is where our friend Ron now lives.  He had a pretty rare moment the other day and I can’t resist sharing this with you all.

This Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was seen on the outskirts of the ‘toon!  It is the Oklahoma State bird, and that is where I saw my first many years ago while visiting Bill’s Mom.

Arrived in Waskesiu early-ish, about 11 AM.  The only bird I heard while still outside was a Winter Wren somewhere off in the bush.  No Tennessee Warblers, nor even a Ruby-crowned Kindlet!  Got set up, but it was cool and windy, so didn’t even go for a drive.  It’s packed with people here.  We did go out for dinner to the Hawood (very good meal).  The next day it was also cool and windy, so another day inside.  We watched Canada beat Russia in the world hockey championships.  Bill watched his backetball team (the Clippers) get beat in the 7th game of that series.  I didn’t even do my makeup!!!  Only happens a few times a year!

May 18:  A much nicer day with low winds and highs around 14C.  Off to Mud Creek, our favourite hiking trail.  It is still pretty early, hardly any trees with leaves and ground cover just starting to spring up on the forest floor.  We netted 30 species in the park so far.  Not many photos, but here is a 1st for us in this park:

Harris’ Sparrow.  Moe had just seen some in Birch Hills, so I guess they’re still on their way north!

These female Common Mergansers were sitting on a grassy knoll in the creek.

The first marsh marigolds were blooming, and lots of early blue violets.  A beautiful day!

Caught up on a bunch of stuff after returning from the south.  It was good to see family, especially Mom!  Jane had left our home sparkling, as usual, so it was nice to be there.  Egads – Robyn and Arnie eloped in Tofina April 1st – HOLY MACKEREL!  Way to go you 2!

Now we’re in Swift Current for 6 days.  A lovely drive in sunny weather, arriving to calm winds and 15C!  Took awhile to get set up again, ran some errands, ate out and early to bed – 7:20 PM!!  Slept for nearly 12 hours!

May 10:  Mother’s Day.  We celebrated with my Mom last week (dinner and a movie, plus a few other gifts).  So, our first really good day of birding was to SK Landing on Diefenbaker Lake.  We walked in the morning in t-shirts only – light wind and high 15C.  The crocuses (croci?) are finished, but we found a few flowers blooming.

These early blue violets were profuse in a sheltered path – I’ve never seen so many all at once!

On the north side of the lake, where the campgrounds are, these pink bushes (not sure what they are) are gorgeous.

We saw a couple of these huge bumble bees – this one on a dandelion.  They are fat and slow-moving.

Of course the ground squirrels are out in full force – though it was interesting that we didn’t see many hawks.

On the lake a few Am. White Pelicans were floating around.  They have grown a special nose protuberance for spring mating!  It disappears after breeding season.

The first birds we saw were these 2 Barn Swallows.  Only 2 amongst many, many Tree Swallows, which have taken up most of the nest boxes along the road.  Next to the little pond here was a Brown Thrasher singing, bukt Bill did’t have his camera set up yet!

My favourite bird of the day was Mountain Bluebird.  We saw both male and female – this bright blue male was set off so nicely by a yellow post.

Two different woodpeckers drummed in the equestrian campground,  but only this male Downy was photographed.  The male Hairy was also busy.

There were a few sparrow species – the most common Vesper.  They have a distinct rust shoulder and lots of nice face markings – plus a beautiful song!  They sang everywhere we walked today.

This Spotted Towhee  sang from a blossoming branch.

Two Caspian Terms hunted fish along the shore of the lake.  This is 1 of about 30 photos, which, if seen quickly, show the complete act of hovering and diving for fish!  We also managed to find a Clark’s Grebe, among only 5 Western Grebes on the far side of the lake (their usual spot).

Interestingly, not a single warbler was seen – not even a Yellow-rumped!!  It is obviously a bit early.  Our pals who just returned from a successful AZ birding trip (with a total of 170 species – and a 5-year grand total of 238!) – have not sent those warblers up here yet!

May 11:  To the east of us, Reed Lake has a road running through the lake, but it was closed because it was washed out!  It is our favourite place to spot shorebirds, so we were sorely disappointed.  However, ther sloughs everywhere are so full, there is very little habitat (mud flats) for those guys.  Onward to Chaplin Lake, where we did get some much wished-for species!

One of our first sightings was this Black-necked Stilt in the slough outside the town of Morse.  We’ve seen them here before, so were specifically looking.  This guy was chattering away to beat the band!  This is especially for Lorne!

A Marbled Godwit has a huge bill for probing the mud.  It is not often we see it slightly agape!  As you can see our winds were very calm, enabling a lovely reflection.

Another one for Lorne is this Avocet.  We have a wooden model in our bathroom at home, behind the sink, reflected in the mirror.

We saw many Eared Grebes, but only a few Horned.  It is amazing how much birds can change from winter to summer.  Here is the Horned Grebe in winter (from the internet).

Onward to Chaplin Lake, where we did get some much wished-for species.

Here are a couple of Semi-palmated plovers.

Very similar, but smaller, and more delicate, is a Piping Plover.  They are monitored since they are quite an endangered species.  It’s wonderful to be able to see them when we can.  Unfortunately Bill is having issues with his lens or camera and sometimes the photos are a but blurry.  These are for the record only and he apologizes for the quality.

Another bird we don’t often see are these Red-necked Phalaropes.  They occurred alongside the more common Wilson’s, which I didn’t bother including (sorry guys!).  They are one of only a few species of bird where the female is the prettiest of the sexes – and she doesn’t raise the young – it’s left ot the males! HA!

Here is another bird we don’t often see – Short-billed Dowitchers.  Long-billed are more common.  Their bills aren’t very much shorter, but there is a definite difference between them.

The next 2 species aren’t very common in SK, so we were happy to record them.

First we found 3 Cattle Egrets near Old Wives’ Lake.  Here’s one, a but blurry again.

Also common in AB but not so much in SK are White-faced Ibis.  They lose most of their rust color in winter and look black.

This Black-crowned nNight Heron sat for its photo, even though we pulled up right alongside it.  It did not get off its one leg, just continued to sit there.  Thanks bud!

It got windier as the day progressed, so a good day for birding from the truck.  There were sloughs everywhere, mostly much fuller than normal – evidenced by sunken trees!  It is an exciting time for birders and we had a marveous day!

Think I’ll post this, since Bill is working today there are so many photos!  More later!

Mar. 21:   1st day of Spring!  Count on cousin Steven Usher to bring us all together this day – with a challenge: send in a photo from your back yard.  The Larson cousins (Primos) have been getting together and keeping in touch regularly since they grew up (did they really grow up?).  Hence Steven’s communication which included folks from England to Ontario, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Arizona, and Utah.  So much fun!

Steven’s photo shows 2″ of new snow (after he’d seen the irises poking up their heads the day before.

Next Jane sent a photo from our balcony in Calgary, since she’s living there while we’re gone.  Normally it is a great view of the Calgary downtown skyline.  But thick ice fog has obscured everything!

Then from Lorne in Cambridge, England, his beautiful green yard.

Erling and Ann in Nanoose Bay, BC have (of course) goreous blooms.

From us here in Brigham City, UT – our Airstream with catkins raining down!  (Temp about 20C).  There are flowering trees all over the city – both white znd pink – as well as yellow forsythia bushes.

Desiree, who is also in beautiful Burnaby, BC, is enjoying a very green yard with a crow in it!

Joan and Norm are in Arizona at Organ Pipe Cactus Park – and here is a photo of Ocotillo in bloom (which I had in a previous blog!) with a few saguaro’s in the background.  Temp’s around 30 C.

From Karen and Harold – one from their apartment in Swift Current…

and one from their farm near Hazlet.  A new snowfall!

From Robyn and Palmer in Cochrane, a lovely sunny yard.

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Mar. 22:  Heard a Robin singing in our RV park as we boarded our truck to head out.  Also House Finches (though we’ve heard them throughout the winter).  Great to hear the Robin!

Birded Bear River Migratory Bird Sanctuary.  It is still a little early for many migrants, but we did see some nice sights.

One of the first birds we saw – just like a few years ago – were these Guineafowl.  Whether they’re wild or not is another question.  They sure are cool though!

The valley is wide and brown with hills on either side.

There are a few streaks of snow on some of the peaks.  That’s a goose flying right.

There were indeed lots of Canada geese flying around.  I always think to myself when I see them “good luck you guys – hope you make it!”.

We spotted 5 Sandhill Cranes a long way off.  Here are 2.

Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds sang amongst the reeds.

And Marsh Wrens could be heard along the water’s edge, just like in Henderson, but many more!

We were very happy to add 2 new grebes to our list (which now stands at 270).

Western Grebes (courting)

…and Clark’s Grebe.  In case you think they look the same, the red eye is exposed on a white background on the Clark’s.  On Western it’s within the black.

There isn’t much cover for deer yet.  Not until the grasses grow taller.

The midges are hatching at a great rate – making lots of food for birds. This Common Grackle was picking them off a sign (which said: PARK BETWEEN SIGNS ONLY).

Had to throw one in for Gallie – whose remains were scattered in Costa Rica by Dougall recently.  We love you Dougall and still feel Ann’s spirit strongly!

Finally heard a Savannah Sparrows singing.

This Double-crested Cormorant is showing lovely orange face color, which accentuates his blue eye.

Mar. 23:  Rainy and windy this morning, so work for Bill and laundry for me.

But in the afternoon we headed out to Antelope State Park, about 45 minutes south.  A long causeway joins it to the mainland.   It was clear when we left but lots of dramatic clouds around  Started to rain on our drive, then sleet.  Turned from 10C down to 5C.  At least the front windshield got cleaned off (Bill didn’t do a great job cleaning it last time we filled up).  So here are some scenery shots, showing the drama.

The grasses are all dried and brown and have not yet acquired any green.  This weather should go far to start things off!

We didn’t see too much here, but acquired our target bird, Chukar!  We saw 3 – they’re very common.

This place isn’t called Antelope Island for nothin’.

Sitting on top of a picnic cover – this California Gull begged for a photo (or was it for food?).

The dried fields are quite attractive I think.

The wind had picked up, the sleet was driving down and this poor Long-billed Curlew looked a bit bewildered.

We were happy to see a pair of Burrowing Owls in the nest sites which have been man-made for them.  Only 1 pair though.  They are so cute!

A couple of hours was enough for today.  Home to hope for better weather tomorrow!

Mar. 24:  Cloudy, rainy and windy.  More work for Bill – the last of the laundry and cleaning for me, including defrosting the fridge.  Tomorrow it’s a quick dash for home, with stops in Dillon and Shelby Montana.  The weather looks promising for our trip home, with temp’s of 17 in Calgary by Friday!

Probably no more bird photos, so here ends this winter edition of the blog.  More to come when we go to SK in May!