Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: feeding on ground

I believe this is the first Purple Finch that I've ever seen, so despite the fact that this is a really bad photo, I wanted to add it to my Birds of Alberta 9 album. This colourful little bird was seen through a chain link fence at Barb Castell's property. It gave us just a couple of quick chances for a photo. Taken on 25 May 2014, when a small group of seven of us covered the roads SW of Calgary, and W of Priddis, for the annual May Species Count. Barb has such a great garden with feeders and we look forward each year to visiting her on our count. Evening Grosbeaks are almost a guarantee there, at certain times of the year, so we really appreciate Barb letting us come and see them. Total of 69 bird species were seen on this Count day. "The Purple Finch is the bird that Roger Tory Peterson famously described as a “sparrow dipped in raspberry juice.” For many of us, they’re irregular winter visitors to our feeders, although these chunky, big-beaked finches do breed in northern North America and the West Coast. Separating them from House Finches requires a careful look, but the reward is a delicately colored, cleaner version of that red finch. Look for them in forests, too, where you’re likely to hear their warbling song from the highest parts of the trees." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/purple_finch/id?utm_source=Co... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_finch

This, and a number of other, Common Redpolls were feeding on the ground in someone's yard along one of the backroads SW of Nanton, Alberta. Taken on 30 December 2012, when three of us drove all the backroads in the SW quadrant of the circle for the annual Audubon Nanton Christmas Bird Count. It was such a great day, in such beautiful scenery. "As energetic as their electric zapping call notes would suggest, Common Redpolls are active foragers that travel in busy flocks. Look for them feeding on catkins in birch trees or visiting feeders in winter. These small finches of the arctic tundra and boreal forest migrate erratically, and they occasionally show up in large numbers as far south as the central U.S. During such irruption years, redpolls often congregate at bird feeders (particularly thistle or nyjer seed), allowing delightfully close looks." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Redpoll/id