Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Eastern Phoebe

This is NOT my main photo (on Flickr) for today, so should not show as my main one - my photo of the female Common Merganser and her four babies is supposed to show as my main (better) image! The babies are so cute : ) Yesterday afternoon, 11 June 2017, I decided to join a few friends for a walk in Weaselhead. No rain was forecast, so I thought I had better make the most of it. We were hoping to see the three species of Hummingbird, but the Rufous stayed hidden. We only had a very distant look at a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and a very fleeting look at a tiny Calliope Hummingbird, when it flew past us like a huge bumblebee, and disappeared from sight. Still good to see them,, though. We saw two Merganser families - such a delight to see. One Mom had four babies and the other had eight ducklings. I have added our leaders' list of species seen, in a comment box below. We were pleased to see a pair of Eastern Phoebes in their usual place. One of the birds had a piece of fishing line in its beak. It is such a distant photo, so the quality is poor, making it impossible to enlarge and be able to tell if it was caught or just being carried to perhaps add to their nest. The bird kept flying around and the fishing line stayed in place. I do hope the the nylon line had not got tangled around the bird somehow. Fishermen need to be far more careful and not discard any unwanted line - wildlife pays the price! Simple enough - just take it home with you! "One of our most familiar eastern flycatchers, the Eastern Phoebe’s raspy “phoebe” call is a frequent sound around yards and farms in spring and summer. These brown-and-white songbirds sit upright and wag their tails from prominent, low perches. They typically place their mud-and-grass nests in protected nooks on bridges, barns, and houses, which adds to the species’ familiarity to humans. Hardy birds, Eastern Phoebes winter farther north than most other flycatchers and are one of the earliest returning migrants in spring." From AllAboutBirds. As well as birds, we saw quite a few species of wildflower. There were so many beautiful wild Roses in bloom.

Last night, I got the dreaded Blue Screen on my computer, so in a panic, I knew I just had to start backing up almost the last year's worth of photos! Will have to spend time the next few days continuing with this chore. Yesterday morning, 11 June 2015, I joined a group of friends for a walk in Weaselhead, hoping to see three species of Hummingbird - Calliope, Rufous and Ruby-throated. The Calliope (5 of them) gave us the closest (but still distant) views, while the other two were very distant. It never fails to amaze me that these three species are all found in Weaselhead. As usual at this time of year, it was good to see the huge number of Cliff Swallows, swarming like a cloud of large insects around the metal bridge over the river. In flight, they catch insects and fly back to their mud nests, that are built under the bridge, to feed their babies. It amazes me how each bird knows which is its own nest - they all look alike. Another bird (a pair) that was good to see was the little Eastern Phoebe, back at the same location where it has been at least the last few years. This photo is the closest one I've been able to get, taken when the bird flew to a piece of driftwood in the water. "One of our most familiar eastern flycatchers, the Eastern Phoebe’s raspy “phoebe” call is a frequent sound around yards and farms in spring and summer. These brown-and-white songbirds sit upright and wag their tails from prominent, low perches. They typically place their mud-and-grass nests in protected nooks on bridges, barns, and houses, which adds to the species’ familiarity to humans. Hardy birds, Eastern Phoebes winter farther north than most other flycatchers and are one of the earliest returning migrants in spring." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/eastern_phoebe/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_phoebe The group divided into two for this walk and the following is the combined list of species seen. As usual, I didn't see all the listed birds, but was happy especially to see the three Hummingbird species. Mallard-2 Great Blue Heron-1 Swainson’s Hawk-2, 1 captured juv. BBMagpie. Merlin-1, captured a Cliff Swallow. Spotted Sandpiper-1 Franklin’s Gull-50 Ruby-throated Hummingbird-2 Rufous Hummingbird-1 Calliope Hummingbird-5 Northern Flicker-4 Olive-sided Flycatcher-1. Eastern Phoebe-2 Black-billed Magpie-6 American Crow-4 Common Raven-1+ Tree Swallow-12 Cliff Swallow-249 Black-capped Chickadee-3 White-breasted Nuthatch-2 House Wren-6 American Robin-5 Gray Catbird-6 Cedar Waxwing-12 Yellow Warbler-10 Spotted Towhee-1 heard. Clay-colored Sparrow-12 White-throated Sparrow-6 Common Grackle-1 Brown-headed Cowbird-6 House Finch-2 American Goldfinch-2 Red Squirrel-3 Muskrat-1

Not a very good photo of an Eastern Phoebe, but these small birds are always seen from quite a distance in Weaselhead, where they seem to nest each year in the same hidden spot. Adding to my Birds of Alberta 9 album, as I don't seem to have a photo of this species in my photostream. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/eastern_phoebe/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_phoebe