Migration ...

My soul is in the sky.  

~William Shakespeare

The grace and beauty of Spring Migration ... like the Aurora Borealis, one never tires of seeing the birds return after a long winter!  

Flight of the Honkers

I love migration, although I admit I prefer spring migration and the 'welcome back' in comparison to fall migration and the 'good bye!'  Either way, I find migration fascinating.    As each bird comes and goes, I would just love to know where they've been or where they are heading!  Aaaah ... the travel journals locked in their brains and the stories they could tell!  Although the big groups of birds from the 'great white north' are not yet heading south (at least not in big droves), the local birds are filling the air while moving from their feeding grounds to the safety of water.  There is something to be said about a sky filled with early morning 'honkers' ... it beats the large urban centre honking any day!

Get Ready ...

They say ... or at least the Weather Network 'says' ... spring officially arrives tonight at 23:15pm for our little location in the world!  After a cold, windy, dreary day ... I for one, am looking forward to the return of spring and all that it brings.  I guess it will also be the official kickoff of Seasons 365 Year Two!  YIKES!  So long WINTER ... see you on the 21st of December, 2012!

Fall Migration ... Has It Begun?

Yesterday, while heading to town, I large flock of "Yellow-Headed Blackbirds" flew up out of the slough ... today they are gone.  They are heading south!  While out in the pasture ... this crazy bunch of Canadian Geese flew overhead ... heading south!!  I'm really not ready for fall ... let alone what comes after fall.  Truth be known ... I'm just not ready for another season to say 'goodbye!'

These two "Solitary Sandpipers (Tringa solitaria) are still stalking the shorelines of our big pasture slough ... but not for much longer ... their migration has already likely begun.  Solitary Sandpipers are located more central and north during the breeding season ... its during migration that we find them in these muddy sloughs.

I guess this would indicate fall migration has really begun!  I repeat "Bah! Humbug!"

Bird on the Run!

Well, at first the boys yelled "Mom, there is a duck on the road!"  (I swear we have more ducks on the road than gophers ... I am serious!) ... but it didn't waddle like a duck!  So, I quickly snapped some pics and thought for sure this was a female ring-necked pheasant!  After all, the male keeps wandering through our yard, in front of our big windows ... when I am on the phone and can't grab my camera!  However, this lady does not have the long tail feathers.  So...

... with that fancy lil' head crest she is sporting, my best guess is a female Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)!  But I have been wrong before!  If I am, please let me know!!!

Something that I do know for sure ... while out feeding "Lucky" we spotted our pair of geese and their 2011 offspring!  We are happy to report that it looks like there are 4 new goslings swimming with "Honker 1" and "Honker 2!"