04-Jan-2021
Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
04-Jan-2021
Northern cardinal
Yet another image of the only cooperative cardinal around! The males refused to turn around and kept their backsides to me.
04-Jan-2021
Northern cardinal
One of about 6 cardinals hanging out in a thicket at the site.
04-Jan-2021
Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
As always there were quite a few reds around the garden, if not seen, then heard as they are not shy about making their presence felt. The next photo shows a large red squirrel nest.
04-Jan-2021
Red squirrel nest
Red squirrel nests which also serve as shelters, are very different from the large leafy masses (dreys)made by grey squirrels. The red squirrels use plenty of plant fibre along with strips of tree bark and often include man-made material such as bits of plastic, cloth, and here, what looks like a bit of knitted material peeking out from under the snow.
04-Jan-2021
White-breasted nuthatch
I counted at least 4 nuthatches today in different parts of the garden, very vocal and active.
04-Jan-2021
Black-capped chickadee
Everyone's favourite, the chickadees were cheekily everywhere!
04-Jan-2021
Mourning dove
While this was at the feeder, three more were perched in a tree just behind it. We don't seem to see as many mourning doves as once. I well remember in the early days of the FWG, finding 10-15 doves spending the winter in a tangled thicket of vines that draped a dead tree. They could be reliably found every winter for some years, but then the tree fell down, and the doves became sporadic visitors. Nothing to do with the dead tree keeling over of course, it was just coincidence.
04-Jan-2021
Ash flower galls
These galls are caused by the Ash flower gall mite (Aceria fraxiniflora). Because they persist through the winter, these clusters are often mistaken for ash seeds, but are really distortions of the tree's flower buds. Ash seeds are quite different, being long, tapered and flat, and produced in clusters, somewhat like maple keys.
04-Jan-2021
Northern cardinal
On a very overcast day with a light snow, the garden was fairly quiet for birds. However, about 6 cardinals were hanging around in a small flock.
04-Jan-2021
Downy woodpecker, male
Not many birds on the overcast day, and this was the only woodpecker I saw in the hour or so I was there.
04-Jan-2021
Old woods
This split rail fence, so typical of the Ottawa Valley, marks the southern edge of the old woods.
