Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Junco hyemalis

This little Dark-eyed Junco was seen, along with a second one, yesterday morning, 19 November 2015. I so rarely see these birds, though they are not uncommon. "Dark-eyed Juncos are neat, even flashy little sparrows that flit about forest floors of the western mountains and Canada, then flood the rest of North America for winter. They’re easy to recognize by their crisp (though extremely variable) markings and the bright white tail feathers they habitually flash in flight. One of the most abundant forest birds of North America, you’ll see juncos on woodland walks as well as in flocks at your feeders or on the ground beneath them." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/dark-eyed_junco/id "Adults generally have gray heads, necks, and breasts, gray or brown backs and wings, and a white belly, but show a confusing amount of variation in plumage details. The white outer tail feathers flash distinctively in flight and while hopping on the ground. The bill is usually pale pinkish. Males tend to have darker, more conspicuous markings than the females." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark-eyed_junco Friends had seen a family of three Bobcats two days earlier, and, though I knew it was highly unlikely that they would be seen again, I didn't want to learn later that I had again missed seeing them. Needless to say, there was no sign of them yesterday. Also, I had missed the walk last week, so didn't feel guilty about going on two mornings this week. As it turned out, there was little of anything to be seen during this three hour walk in Weaselhead, but the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day, despite the temperature being -6°C to -2°C. There was a fair amount of new snow, but it had been packed down and so was reasonably safe for walking. This is the leaders' list of the 21 bird species seen: Canada Goose-300+ Mallard-8 Bald Eagle-2 (1 ad/1 juv.) Downy Woodpecker-5 Hairy Woodpecker-1 Northern Flicker-4+ PILEATED WOODPECKER-1 Northern Shrike-1 Blue Jay-3+ Black-billed Magpie-12 Common Raven-2+ Black-capped Chickadee-40+ Boreal Chickadee-2 Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 White-breasted Nuthatch-3 Bohemian Waxwing-150+ Dark-eyed Junco-3 Pine Grosbeak-10 House Finch-6 White-winged Crossbill-100+ Common Redpoll-20

I know for sure this is a Dark-eyed Junco - female or juvenile? It was seen on a trip east of the city on 27 September 2015, when it flew to a fence near where we were standing and stayed long enough to get a couple of shots. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/dark-eyed_junco/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark-eyed_junco A week ago, on 27 September 2015, I joined friends on a most enjoyable day of birding east of the city. Below, I have added Howard Heffler's report of the day's sightings, adding that, as usual, there were some species that I didn't see myself. We were all delighted to see a huge flock (estimated 5,000) of Greater White-fronted Geese fly over the wetland at Marsland Basin. In the far distance, we could see a second huge gathering of them, but these didn't fly towards us. People were seeing several Snow Geese mixed in with the flock, but I only spotted them when I got my photos downloaded to my computer. It was also nice to see one of the four Badgers in the family that lives on a property adjacent to our friend Lyn's land. On a previous visit, I had been lucky enough to see three of these Badgers. These are so rarely seen. "We had 12 people show up for a beautiful day to explore the sloughs east of Calgary. This included a lovely young family visiting from Lac la Biche. It was a bit chilly for the first two stops at the slough on Glenmore Trail and RR 284 and at Chestermere Lake. We then went directly to Marsland Basin when we spent much of our time. Although Lynn and Sue were not at home, we explored their property and listed 38 bird species and had a good look at one member of the badger family that lives on the adjacent property. By now the sun was up, we were all warm and there were a few passerines to add to the waterfowl. A highlight was an estimated 5000 Greater White-fronted Geese flying over. From there we went to the south side of Eagle Lake where we saw a distant murmuration of an (estimated) 10,000 European Starlings. Even from a distance this is a moving sight. Cattleland Slough did not add anything new to the list so we headed for home. Thanks to everyone for their sharp eyes and to Andrew Hart for his listing skills on eBird. The list below includes birds seen by the group and includes birds seen while driving and even the Downy Woodpecker in the Carburn parking lot. The numbers reported are the (best guess) of totals from all sightings. Errors of omission or commission rest with the author…. Greater White-fronted Goose - 5000 Snow Goose - 8 Canada Goose - 100 Gadwall - 74 American Wigeon - 7 Mallard - 44 Blue-winged Teal - 4 Northern Shoveler - 22 Northern Pintail - 71 Green-winged Teal - 110 Canvasback - 8 Redhead - 6 Ring-necked Duck - 8 Lesser Scaup - 150 Bufflehead - 38 Common Goldeneye - 12 Barrow's Goldeneye - 4 Ruddy Duck - 24 Gray Partridge - 12 Horned Grebe - 21 Eared Grebe - 9 Northern Harrier - 1 Bald Eagle - 2 Red-tailed Hawk - 3 Swainson's Hawk - 1 American Coot - 390 Greater Yellowlegs - 2 Lesser Yellowlegs - 22 Long-billed Dowitcher - 3 Bonaparte's Gull - 36 Franklin's Gull - 42 Ring-billed Gull - 185 Rock Pigeon - 4 Downy Woodpecker - 1 Northern Flicker - 1 Black-billed Magpie - 7 American Crow - 24 Common Raven - 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2 American Robin - 2 European Starling - 10000 Yellow-rumped Warbler - 8 Wilson's Warbler - 3 Dark-eyed Junco - 5 Savannah Sparrow - 2 Red-winged Blackbird - 8 Yellow-headed Blackbird - 1 Western Meadowlark - 2 Brewer's Blackbird - 2 Common Grackle - 1 Brown-headed Cowbird - 10 American Goldfinch - 1 House Sparrow - 20 TOTAL: 54 species Howard Heffler" Thanks so much, Dan and Cindy, for driving Darlene and myself there and back! We both greatly appreciated it!

I rarely see Dark-eyed Juncos and get photos, but this little Dark-eyed Junco sat for a short while. Probably the best chance I've ever had, to photograph a Junco. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark-eyed_junco www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/dark-eyed_junco/id Sunday, 25 May 2014, was the annual May Species Count, and it went really well. There were seven people in my group and we travelled in two vehicles, covering a large area SW of Calgary and W of Priddis. The Count lasted from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the weather was mostly clear but clouded up by noon, with a short shower while we were having lunch at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park. Heavy clouds for the rest of the day, calm, 9-18°C, with 88km travelled by car. 69 bird species were found, plus 15 White-tailed Deer and two Moose. Most species were seen from far away, but I did manage to get just a few photos of several of the species. A good day : ) Thanks for driving Rob and myself, Phil! Much appreciated! Each year on this Count, a highlight is calling in to see the much sought-after Evening Grosbeaks at Barb Castell's acreage. They didn't let us down, and even gave us some chances to get a few photos. Feeder photos are not my favourite, but we were also able to catch them in the trees, too. After the Count ended, it was pointed out that we could return to the city by one of two different routes. If we had chosen the other route, we would have missed the other highlight of the day - a Great Gray Owl! It didn't stay around for more than a few minutes, as it was busy hunting, but we did manage to get a handful of shots. We also saw a Ring-necked Pheasant in a field, just within camera range. I will add the list (compiled by the Count leader, Gus Yaki), of the 69 bird species seen, for my own memory. It probably won't be of much interest to most of you : ) I should add that I didn't see every single one of these species. Canada Goose-60 ad/30 juv. Gadwall-3 Mallard-19 Blue-winged Teal-16 Cinnamon Teal-2 Northern Shoveler-10 Green-winged Teal-6 Redhead-2 Ring-necked Duck-9 Lesser Scaup-19 Bufflehead-10 Barrow's Goldeneye-2 Ruddy Duck-10 Ring-necked Pheasant-1 heard. Common Loon-1 Pied-billed Grebe-1 Great Blue Heron-1 Swainson's Hawk-1 Red-tailed Hawk-7 Sora-5 American Coot-6 Killdeer-3 Spotted Sandpiper-3 Wilson's Snipe-10 Wilson's Phalarope-5 Black Tern-22 Mourning Dove-1 Great Gray Owl-2 Red-naped Sapsucker-1 Downy Woodpecker-1 Northern Flicker-1 Western Wood-Pewee-2 Least Flycatcher-7 Eastern Phoebe-1 Eastern Kingbird-4 Warbling Vireo-1 Blue Jay-7 Black-billed Magpie-8 American Crow-7 Common Raven-6 Tree Swallow-213 Barn Swallow-4 Black-capped Chickadee-12 Mountain Chickadee-5 Boreal Chickadee-2 White-breasted Nuthatch-1 House Wren-7 Ruby-crowned Kinglet-5 Mountain Bluebird-24 American Robin-12 Gray Catbird-2 European Starling-7 Tennessee Warbler-6 Yellow Warbler-3 Northern Waterthrush-1 Chipping Sparrow-9 Clay-colored Sparrow-26 Savannah Sparrow-3 Song Sparrow-2 Dark-eyed Junco-3 Red-winged Blackbird-164 Brewer's Blackbird-11 Common Grackle-8 Brown-headed Cowbird-9 Baltimore Oriole-1 Purple Finch-2 American Goldfinch-1 Evening Grosbeak-15 House Sparrow-4 Red Squirrel-4 Richardson's Ground Squirrel-1 Columbian Ground Squirrel-1 Meadow Vole-1 White-tailed Deer-15 Moose-2

I rarely see Dark-eyed Juncos and get photos, but this little Dark-eyed Junco sat for a short while. Probably the best chance I've ever had, to photograph a Junco, though unfortunately this cropped shot looks far too grainy on my screen (24"). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark-eyed_junco www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/dark-eyed_junco/id Sunday, 25 May 2014, was the annual May Species Count, and it went really well. There were seven people in my group and we travelled in two vehicles, covering a large area SW of Calgary and W of Priddis. The Count lasted from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the weather was mostly clear but clouded up by noon, with a short shower while we were having lunch at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park. Heavy clouds for the rest of the day, calm, 9-18°C, with 88km travelled by car. 69 bird species were found, plus 15 White-tailed Deer and two Moose. Most species were seen from far away, but I did manage to get just a few photos of several of the species. A good day : ) Thanks for driving Rob and myself, Phil! Much appreciated! Each year on this Count, a highlight is calling in to see the much sought-after Evening Grosbeaks at Barb Castell's acreage. They didn't let us down, and even gave us some chances to get a few photos. Feeder photos are not my favourite, but we were also able to catch them in the trees, too. After the Count ended, it was pointed out that we could return to the city by one of two different routes. If we had chosen the other route, we would have missed the other highlight of the day - a Great Gray Owl! It didn't stay around for more than a few minutes, as it was busy hunting, but we did manage to get a handful of shots. We also saw a Ring-necked Pheasant in a field, just within camera range. I will add the list (compiled by the Count leader, Gus Yaki), of the 69 bird species seen, for my own memory. It probably won't be of much interest to most of you : ) I should add that I didn't see every single one of these species. Canada Goose-60 ad/30 juv. Gadwall-3 Mallard-19 Blue-winged Teal-16 Cinnamon Teal-2 Northern Shoveler-10 Green-winged Teal-6 Redhead-2 Ring-necked Duck-9 Lesser Scaup-19 Bufflehead-10 Barrow's Goldeneye-2 Ruddy Duck-10 Ring-necked Pheasant-1 heard. Common Loon-1 Pied-billed Grebe-1 Great Blue Heron-1 Swainson's Hawk-1 Red-tailed Hawk-7 Sora-5 American Coot-6 Killdeer-3 Spotted Sandpiper-3 Wilson's Snipe-10 Wilson's Phalarope-5 Black Tern-22 Mourning Dove-1 Great Gray Owl-2 Red-naped Sapsucker-1 Downy Woodpecker-1 Northern Flicker-1 Western Wood-Pewee-2 Least Flycatcher-7 Eastern Phoebe-1 Eastern Kingbird-4 Warbling Vireo-1 Blue Jay-7 Black-billed Magpie-8 American Crow-7 Common Raven-6 Tree Swallow-213 Barn Swallow-4 Black-capped Chickadee-12 Mountain Chickadee-5 Boreal Chickadee-2 White-breasted Nuthatch-1 House Wren-7 Ruby-crowned Kinglet-5 Mountain Bluebird-24 American Robin-12 Gray Catbird-2 European Starling-7 Tennessee Warbler-6 Yellow Warbler-3 Northern Waterthrush-1 Chipping Sparrow-9 Clay-colored Sparrow-26 Savannah Sparrow-3 Song Sparrow-2 Dark-eyed Junco-3 Red-winged Blackbird-164 Brewer's Blackbird-11 Common Grackle-8 Brown-headed Cowbird-9 Baltimore Oriole-1 Purple Finch-2 American Goldfinch-1 Evening Grosbeak-15 House Sparrow-4 Red Squirrel-4 Richardson's Ground Squirrel-1 Columbian Ground Squirrel-1 Meadow Vole-1 White-tailed Deer-15 Moose-2

A rather blurry image of this little Junco, but I don't have one in my Birds of Alberta Sets. Photographed at Keith Logan's property on June 17th.