Summer doldrums…..

Call it what you will, the dog days of summer or the summer doldrums….it sure is quiet…

Today being a perfect summer day, just the right temperature, I sat down by the boat launch for a while, at the rate the water is dropping maybe we’ll be able to get down onto the grasslands in the next week or so – sure hope so, even though they are always disgustingly mucky for the first while!  At first, today, there seemed to be nothing moving but slowly activity started up..

a family of Black-capped Chickadees moved through, and then a family of American Goldfinch.  Could hear some Cedar Waxwings but never saw any.  A few Barn Swallows were flying around but not anything near the numbers that had been here.  Spotted a couple of Red-wing Blackbirds and heard a Common Yellowthroat.  Earlier there had been 3 Osprey flying over head which much mean that some young had fledged and left the nest.  On the way home I could hear a Raven up on the hillside and spotted a Robin which made me realize I hadn’t actually seen one of those for days!

The Bullock’s Oriole have obviously left for the year, as have most of the Rufous Hummingbirds although we may see more of them again as they migrate through towards the end of the month and in early September. 

 

Back at home the most activity is being provided by Pine Sisken….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and American Goldfinch, this being one of the very vocal youngsters!

I’m really thrilled with this ‘volunteer’ Sunflower which must have grown from a Black Oil Sunflower seed.  I’ve never had luck when I’ve tried to grow sunflowers…I’m hoping for some good photo ops somewhere down the road when birds decide to feed on the seeds…

right now it is the Honey Bees that are enjoying the flowers.  I haven’t seen the Rose-breasted Grosbeak again but there are a number of birders working behind the scenes trying to decide if it is the same bird that keeps returning or not….I think not as the markings appear to be different.

One last picture, this from our August long weekend trip to a very hot Tunkwa Lake…

some Least Sandpiper – we tend to think of shorebirds as being quite large but these guys are really tiny.  Of the small shorebirds or ‘peeps’ they are easiest to identify as they have light coloured legs – also their bill has a slight downward droop at the tip.