FOAM LAKE BIRDING
No. 174
In February I was optimistic about spring
being just around the corner. However,
Mother Nature has had other ideas giving us more snow and record breaking cold
temperatures. Even so there are signs of
the coming spring. The large flocks of
redpolls have thinned out considerably and the Juncos are back.
On April 9, in Saskatoon,
I looked out of the window and saw a gopher sunning itself on a sidewalk. About ten feet away a Robin was on the lawn
looking for earthworms and appeared to have found one. All this was occurring with temperatures well
below freezing although the day was sunny.
Both seemed to have had enough of winter.
In my last article the location of the
bluebird birdhouses was omitted. The
birdhouses are mounted randomly on fence posts on either side of the Yellowhead Highway
from Wolverine Siding to the village
of Plunkett. There are not as many bird houses as there
used to be as the deteriorated ones have not been replaced. It would be a good cause for somebody to
undertake.
I got an email from Dr. Stuart Houston
from the University of Saskatchewan asking Saskatchewan residents to report Turkey Vulture
sightings to him if the birds carry wing tags or are nesting. If a tagged bird is spotted note on which
wing the tag is located and of course where the bird was seen. If nesting vultures are seen (usually in abandoned
buildings) report the location. If it is
more convenient contact me and I will forward the information.
This week's picture of a Robin weathering
a late spring snowstorm was taken several years ago but seemed very appropriate
this spring. The White Throated Sparrow
was photographed during the same storm.
As of this writing neither bird is here yet but, I do expect both to be
here by the time this goes into print.
Finally, I will be taking a hiatus of
several weeks for surgery and some recovery time. Hopefully, the spring birds are here by then
and perhaps even some surprise visitors.
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