Saturday, January 10, 2015

Jardin Botanique, Montreal, January 10, 2015







Junco hops
Junco hopway
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus
male House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus
Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco Junco hyemalis
Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco Junco hyemalis
Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco Junco hyemalis
White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis
American Goldfinch Spinus tristis eye detail
House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus eye detail
American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
  And we're still at it. Taking advantage of balmy -15 weather, Dan and I hit up the Jardin Botanique in Montreal's east end - the same spot where we saw Pine Grosbeaks in February of 2013. No such luck this time, but there was a good selection of 'old friends' around the feeders.
  My favourite moment was a close encounter with impossibly-rotund Slate-colored Juncos eating ice and snow from tree limbs - is that snow sweeter than ground snow? Also noteworthy were two new feeder stations that were essentially unused, due to being set up far from cover like the extensive bushes found at the busier feeders. We noticed both an American Goldfinch and a House Finch that appeared to have one eye permanently closed. With recent temperatures as cold as -35 at night with windchill, are the birds just closing their eyes because they're cold, or have the eyes been damaged by the cold or some illness?
  
American Crow - 1
Black-capped Chickadee - 45+
White-breasted Nuthatch - 2
Northern Cardinal - 1 male
Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco - 25+
House Sparrow - 30 regulars in front of my place in NDG
American Goldfinch - 12
House Finch - 9

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