Spruce Siding Road

A Friday off of school! A perfect day to head out and see what there is to be seen during February in Mani-snow-ba. The day was mild and clear, and relatively windless; one can't ask for more in the dead of winter. I decided to make the most of this weather and my free time by heading out to a certain road in Sandilands Provincial Forest; Spruce Siding Road. This forestry road and access to the village of Spruce Siding is a decent stretch of mixed woodland, swamp, conifer stands (both alive and dead), and grassy clearings; a perfect place to observe winter birds of all kinds! The day did not disappoint. I was expecting some Pine Grosbeaks, Crossbills, and Canada Jays and got all of the above and more. I recorded eight FOYs on this trip with including two lifers!

I spent the ride memorizing the calls of winter finches found in the area so that I would have the best chance at identifying the birds by ear even if I didn't see them. Knowing the calls paid off (as it often does) as I knew what I was hearing and therefore where to look. Crossbills are often found at the very top of conifer trees or on the road where they like to peck at the salty gravel. Here are a couple shots of a number of individuals.

Male White-winged Crossbill

Male White-winged Crossbill

Female White-winged Crossbill

Male White-winged Crossbill on the road

These birds presented themselves often and were not too shy, often allowing me to creep up to right beneath the tree where they were perched. Pine Siskins (a close relative of American Goldfinches), on the other hand, are a little more elusive and were flitting around too fast for me to take any photos that I am proud to be share, but here is one nonetheless.

Pine Siskin that sat still long enough for me to get a non-blurry picture.

Another highlight of the day was some Canada Jays (formerly called Grey Jays). These birds, to me, are symbols of wilderness and their inquisitiveness, effortless flight, and quiet melodic whistles make them one of my favorite birds to observe. Here are some shots of one perched atop a pine tree.

Canada Jay

Canada Jay

When I first stepped out of the van in the morning to do an aural scan of the area, I heard the familiar chickadee calls from Black-capped Chickadees, but mixed among them were some chickadee-like calls, just slightly more nasal which I assumed to be just a different type of call (Black-capped Chickadees do make a wide variety of sounds). But I wasn't fully convinced and was not letting the possibility of the presence of Boreal Chickadees go. Later in the day my suspicion was confirmed when a number of individuals popped out of the bush beside the road and actually stood still long enough for me to capture some picture of them! (This is extremely rare as chickadees are normally flitting around and moving constantly making them difficult subjects to photograph.)

Boreal Chickadee

Boreal Chickadee

Notice the brown head and brownish back which sets these elusive little bundles of energy apart from the much more common Black-capped Chickadees.

I was hoping to see some Red Crossbills (as they would be lifers) but was not able to spot them while on the road. As soon as I turned back onto the highway to head home three males flew close in front of my van (distinguished from White-wings by the lack of wing bars and richer red color) and into the bush. Just a brief glimpse, but a lifer nonetheless! Further down the highway I was able to see my first Snow Buntings of 2020 as well. It was a successful day by my standards for sure. Two lifers on the same day in the winter sure ain't bad, neither is eight FOYs in one day, nor is 11 species in one checklist!

Thanks for following along once again.


Till next time,

Joel G.

Ducks In February!?

Yup, you read that right. Ducks in February. This winter at the bend in the river near the corner of the Perimeter Hwy. and St. Mary's Rd., a number of ducks and geese were keeping the water open for themselves and braving the cold to avoid having to migrate. Anxious to see some birds other than the regular winter residents (Ravens, Chickadees, House Sparrows, etc.) I decided to grab my camera and head over and check the reports out for myself. My travel and time was well worth it.

First cool thing was the sheer numbers with nearly 150 Mallards chilling together (quite literally). The wind was whipping down the river and I had tears pouring down my face from the wind in my eyes as I counted the birds through my binoculars. Here is a shot of the group which was packed together to rest.

Mallards resting beside the patch of open water

Who doesn't love to see Canada Geese in the winter? Whether they were early migrants or others braving the winter didn't matter... geese are geese.

Canada Geese

Another cool part of the trip was a female Common Goldeneye who was hanging out with the Mallards. I apologize for the heavily cropped picture.

Female Common Goldeneye

The personal highlight was an American Black Duck (a lifer for me) which was also part of the gang. Whoever first spotted it had a sharp eye as it blends in pretty well with the female Mallards.

American Black Duck with Mallards

Just so it's clear, the American Black Duck is the one with the yellow bill and dark eyeline. This picture makes it seem like it should be easy to differentiate as it came out pretty dark, but in reality, when viewing with your eyes it appears a lot similar in color to the female Mallards. The biggest difference is that female MALLs have an orange bill while ABDU's have yellow ones. For more information on American Black Ducks follow this link.

Overall, this little excursion produced four FOYs as well as one lifer... and it fired me up for migration; geese start returning in March and Mallards aren't too far behind. By the time the Mallards in migrating in force, everything else starts migrating too and things explode with life. Looking forward to that time!

Thanks for checking in!

Joel G.