98 Short-eared Owl

• A group of Shot-eared Owls are called a; Bazaar / Glaring / Parliament / Stooping / Wisdom.
• This one I took with its back to me and yes it was Glaring.
• They generally have a nice round face but when scarred or angry (iritated) they puff up their face and look like they have ears.
• Usually they are nocturnal or semi-nocturnal. You can see them floating above the ground like a Hen Harrier.  They have a bobbing type winged flight that is very graceful.  Rising with several wing beats and then gliding down and repeating this over.  During courtship this is exaggerated to 200 feet above the ground.  Their flight has been referred to as Bat like.
• They are also known as; Evening Owl, Marsh Owl, Bog Owl, Grass Owl, Meadow Owl, Mouse Hawk, Flat-faced Owl, Cat face.  All good names for this bird.
• They prefer open areas, grassland, fields, tundra and marshes.  Places where they can guild and hunt.
• They nest on the ground having 4-6 eggs but when vole are abundant can have up to 12 eggs.  They will fake a broken wing to lure predators away from the nest.
• "Waowk, waowk, waowk, toot, toot, toot" can be herd from these birds at dusk. 
• They can hunt in pairs looking for rodents. 
• They arrive early in March and nest in April.

97 Prairie Merlin

• A group of Prairie Merlin are called a; Brace / Leash / Illusion.
• I like the term illusion for them, they are in and gone before you know what just happened.
• This one was feasting on our birds at the feeder. 
• Notice the black tip of the curved bill and the black talons on the yellow feet.  This bird is a real predator.  It has been used in falconry.  It uses its speed to do its work.
• The female lays 3-6 eggs and stays on the nest for bout a month.  In this time she stays there while the male feeds her.  She will only leave the nest for short break or to defend the nest with a "Kee-kee-kee".
• The Merlin in North America was Known as the Pigeon Hawk, but it is not a hawk at all.
• It eats song birds and larger insects like grass hoppers.

• This one was about 5 miles from our house.  Looking for something to eat I'm sure.

96 White-throat ed Sparrow

• A group of White-throat ed Sparrows are called a; Crew / Flutter / Meinie / Quarrel / Ubiquity.
• Individuals almost always mate with an opposite morph.  A male with brown stripes will prefer a female  with white stripes, where a male with white stripes will prefer a female with brown.
• It comes in two morph colors a White stripe on its crown or a brown.  This one is the White crown stripe.
• It nests in thickets and bush.  They lay 3-6 greenish to blue eggs flecked with brown.
• They have an interesting song with a cadence of "Oh sweet Canada, Canada, Canada."
• This guy arived early in the spring.

95 Fox Sparrow

• A group of Fox Sparrows are called a; Flock / Den / Slyness.
• This is one of the largest sparrows.
• The adults are known to perform a broken wing display much like a killdeer.
• They are very active in scratching for seeds and insects amongst the leaves they are often mistaken for larger animals for all the noise they make.
• They nest on the ground in thickets or in small bushes.  They lay 3-5 greenish white eggs with reddish brown speckles.
• There are 4 main subspecies this one is the Red Fox Sparrow.  It came early to my feeder as you can see by the snow.  It scratched about on the ground to find some seeds.

 

94 Green-winged Teal

• A group of ducks are called a; Team / Flush / Raft / Paddling / Brace.
• This is the smallest of the Dabbling Ducks.  The size is a real give away with the chestnut head and small bill with an iridescent patch of green to purple running from the eyes down to the nape of the neck.  The chest is a pinkish brown with speckles.
• The male has a "preep-preep" high pitched call, while the female has a loud "quack".
• They nest in heavy reed or cattails and lay 6-14 eggs very early in the spring.
• They feed on seeds, aquatic insects, mollusks, crustaceans and tadpoles.
• They are one of the first birds to arive in the spring and migrate as far away as South America.

93 Blue-wined Teal

• A group of ducks are called a; Raft / Brace / Flush / Team / Paddling.
• This is one of the ducks that is easily identified by its crescent moon in front of its eye and before its long black bill.  The Blue -winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal and Northern Shoveler are the only ducks with a noticeable blue on the wings when they fly.
• The male has an interesting High or low pitched raspy "paay" sound during courtship.  The female a long single "Quack".
• They nest on the ground near water in a depression lined with grass having 6-14 eggs and one brood.
• Skunks are the chief predator, scavenging the eggs.
• They are surface feeders, eating aquatic plants, insect larvae, incrustations and snails. 

 

92 Northern Pintail

• A group of ducks are called a; Brace / Flush / Paddling / Raft / Team.
• This duck has the largest tail of any freshwater foul.
• It has a very long neck and flies with it extended.
• It has a pale chocolate brown head, with a intricate pattern of back feathers.  It has a band of green on its wings with a fringe bar of buff.
• It eats grain, rice, seeds, aquatic weeds, insect larvae, crustaceans and snails.
• It is one of the first ducks to nest, right after the ice thaws.
• It has a very harsh Quack amoung other sounds like a Wheeee, and Prreep. 
• Its numbers have been on the decline over the last 30 years due to habitat loss.

91 Western Grebe

• A group of Grebes are called a; Water Dance.
• The western Grebe is different from the Clarke's Grebe in that the Black Crown extends down past the eye.  And what an eye, red a very intense.
• The other distinguishing feature is the greenish yellow bill.
• The Western Grebe has 9 vocalizations that are used in different circumstances.  Alarm, begging, matting, are a few different calls.  They build a floating nest and attach it to reeds and coattails.   They lay 2-3 eggs and have one brood.   The babies can be seen often riding on their parents back.  How cool.
• This is one of the birds that is not afraid to defend itself.  No doubt with those red eyes.
• It is known for its artful water dance in matting ritual.  It is a great swimmer with its bulbous toes like all grebes, and can stay submerged for 30 or more seconds.
• It eats crustaceans, worms, insects and fish, large fish it will crush their heads before swallowing.

90 Horned Grebe

• A group of Grebes are called a; Water Dance.
• We found this one in a pond with 3 of the other types of Grebes.  It gets its name from the feathers behind the eyes that it can puff up to make it look intimidating. Add in those red eyes and yes it is a scary sight.
• Like all grebes they have bulbous toes instead of webbed feet.  It is a very good swimmer.
• Its nests are made of floating material that it attaches to reeds or cattails.  They lay 3-9 eggs.  Often they are seen with their chicks riding on their backs.  A common thing for Grebes and Loons.
• These birds will stay late in the fall until the pond is frozen over, then fly south.
• They eat crustaceans, insects, fish amphibians, and some aquatic plants.  It eats some of its own feathers, probably to help carry out bones from the gut.
• This is a very cautious bird.  In Blackfeet lore the Old Man Trickster would put to sleep the ducks then kill them but not the Horned Grebe he saw through this trick and warned the other birds.  Cool story.

89 Wilson's Snipe

• A group of snipes are called a; Leash / Walk / Whisper / Winnowing / Volley.
• Wilson's Snipe is still a shore bird that is hunted.  It is a fast flyer and very elusive to hunt.  Hunters who became good at hunting Snipes became known as Snipers. Sharpshooters of the 19th century and the term has stuck.
• The male makes a non-vocal sound known as Winnowing or drumming the sound is made by Vibrating outer tail feathers that are spread wide when diving.  This he does to impress the females.
• He has 16 tail feathers compared to 14 in the Common Snipe.
• Insects worms and plant material are its food.
• I took a picture of this guy in flight and it was just a blur. 

88 Pied-billed Grebe

• A group of Grebes are called a; Water Dance.
• This little grebe compared to the 4 other types I've seen is the smallest.  It avoids predators by diving under water.  It can also compress its feathers changing its specific gravity allowing it to swim with only its head showing.  "Up para-scope".  In fact it is very rarely seen flying at all.  During migration it will fly at night.  Try that without lights. Yikes. 
• The bill looks quite different than most water birds.  It reminds me of a hawk bill.
• It doesn't have webbed feet but bulbous toes and does quite well in swimming.
• It can swim for great distances underwater and has been given the nickname "Hell-diver".  Other names include; Dabchick, Devil-diver, Dive-dapper and Water-witch.
• It eats tadpoles, shrimps, aquatic insects, and other water food.
• It builds a floating nest and attaches it to reed or cattails.

87 Ruddy Duck

• A group of ducks are called a; Brace / Flush / Raft / Paddling / Team.
• This colorful duck is found in ponds ad marshes. 
• It has a chestnut colored body black neck, chest and head can have white cheeks like this one and a large blunt "beautiful blue" as Eve would say bill.
• During breeding the males will puff themselves up bill to chest tail erect and stiff, quite a show.  After the eggs are hatched they then go off and leave mom to do all the raising.
• They nest in wet boggy ground to avoid predators.  The only way to get to the nest is by air or water.

•  They are a member of the 'stiff tailed Ducks'.

86 Greater Yellowlegs

• A group of Yellowlegs are called a; Incontinence.
• These shore birds are active feeders seen running along catching fish and other fast moving aquatic prey.
• They breed in mosquito infested muskegs so they aren't studied much.  Go figure.
• They have a swift direct flight, sometimes at great heights.
• The bill is slightly turned up compared to the lesser and the vocalization is different as well 2 quick whistles for the lesser and  3 or 4 piercing notes.

85 Eared Grebe

• A group of Grebe are called a; Water Dance.
• This peculiar bird is often ignored, living in ponds and marshes most of the year.
• Feeds on fish, insects and Crustaceans by diving and swimming under water.
• It holds the record for the longest flightless period of a migratory bird of 9 to 10 months.  Yes months.  Then south it goes.
• Although I think I have ever noticed one before, they are the most prolific Grebe in the world.  Who Knew?
• This strange bird during a cold day will raise its dark rump to the sun to absorb the heat it gives.  Kind of like warming your butt by the fire.
• Kind of a cool mating call; "Poo-ee-chk".
• This bird will dive under the water to avoid predators.

84 Redhead Duck

• A group of ducks are called a; Brace / Flush / Paddling / Raft / Team.
• They are a diving duck with a Rufus-brown neck and head, blue grey bill with a black tip and bright yellow eyes.  They are a very striking bird.  I could not get a close picture but will add one later as summer comes.
•  Feeds mostly on aquatic vegetation.
• Lays eggs in other Redhead's nests or other ducks especially Canvasbacks.
• It has a rapid direct flight and will fly in V shaped formation.
• They have a very long molting period, up to a month where they are flightless.  During this time they will travel to big bodies of water.

83 Black-crowned Night Heron

• A group of Herons are called a; Battery / Hedge / Pose / Rookery / Scattering. 
• This was such a cool find.  I am not sure I have ever seen them before.  They are the most wide spread heron, living on 5 continents.  They feed at dusk or at night.
• They are patent hunter waiting for prey to come by or vibrating bill in the water to get something that comes to investigate.  Nice Trick.
• When attacked or disrupted they will disgorge their stomach contents leaving it to its attacker.  Disgustingly effective escape plan.
• It grasps its prey in its bill not stabbing it.  It eats invertebrates, amphibians, small males, birds young, eggs, lizards, snakes and other food.
• Builds a platform to nest in a tree or in cattails.  May have up to a dozen nests in one tree.
• I love the cool feather tag at the back of its head and the red eye.

82 Bonaparte's Gull

• A group of Gulls are called a; Flotilla / Gullery / Screech / Scavenging / Squabble.
• This is one of the smallest gulls seen on the prairie.
• One of the only gulls that nest in trees.
• It got its name from Charles Bonaparte the nephew of Napoleon in  the 18th century, who was and avid ornithologist.
• The only other black-head gull I can think of is the Black-headed Gull that only lives on the far east coast line.  This makes it easily identified.  It also has a distinct black bill.  Winter coloring is quite different in that it is mostly white with a small dot of black on the head.
• Catches fish by wading and diving.  Good swimmer.  They fly a bit like a tern with rapid wing movement and a light direct flight pattern.

81 American Avocet

• This is a big water bird about 18 inches tall.  I has a unique curved bill for foraging under the water for food.   
• They are easily photographed, this guy was close to our home.
• During the breeding season the neck and breast are a cinnamon color.  Later the neck and breast will turn a pale blue grey.  The legs are the same blue grey where the nickname "Blue stockings" comes from.
• These birds also have webbed feet and can swim, dive and even tip upside down like marsh ducks.
• During courtship they will be seen crossing bills and draping their wings over each other like in a hug.  I like a good hug myself so why not.
• The nests are depressions in the sand or floating platforms.
• The parents aggressively protect their young from predators and stay with them until they can fly.

80 Killdeer

• A group of Killdeer are known as a; Season.
• Although these birds are shorebirds they are found far away from water in fields, meadows and pastures.  They are very adapt to agriculture and semi-urban areas.
• They nest right out in the open on the ground.  The eggs are camouflaged and hard to see.
• This is one of the birds remembered in my childhood.  My brothers and I would chase this bird to catch it.  It would appear to have a broken wing and would put up quite a fuss.  Its vocalization sounds like "My Baby" .  Later as we got older, smarter or just by chance we found out that this broken wing act meant it was leading us from the nest or from the young.  finding the nest or young was really cool. The eggs were speckled brown and could easily be stepped on if you weren't careful when looking.  The chicks were fluffy and fast, if you did catch them there was a chance that the parents would abandon them, so this was mostly a lets see what she's hiding search.

• See the four eggs right behind her.  This is from last year.  She is about to go into the broken wing act.

 

•  Here is a couple of chicks and one unhatched egg.  See how well both blend in.

• Here a parent goes into its broken wing display to lead danger away from the nest.
• They group together in the fall as a Season an d migrate south.

79 Purple Martin

• A group of Purple Martin are called a; Collony.
• I have yet to take a picture they are so fast and have yet started to nest.
• These birds nest in man made structures. Many patterns can be found on line.  Even the early Native Americans would hang hollowed gourds to nest in.  In The west they can be still found nesting in rocky crevices.
• Large vocal swallow with dark wings and blue-purple body with a split tail.
• It catches and eats insects in the air and will also forage on the ground.
• This is the largest North American Swallow. 
• This smart bird winters in the tropics.

• I like this design because it has a catch or fence to keep the young from falling out.  These Martin houses have to be cleaned out eat year. 

78 Yellow-headed Blackbird

• A group of Yellow-headed Blackbirds are called a; Cluster / Cloud / Merl.
• Depending on his territory a male may hve up to 6 females and defend off any other male in that territory.  Even if he defends off a male that has sired a brood he will not kill or hurt the chicks.
• In the winter Clouds of rolling all males or all females will gather and fly bakc to front in a rolling fashion.  Sounds Cool.  Some say it sounds like a rusty gate opening.
• They have one of the most unique vocalizations.  It is a combination of honking, gurgling and strangling noises.  No it does not sound nice.  When a whole Cluster of them appear and are singing it is scary.
• They nest in prairie wetlands and marshes.  They eat what they can find there insects and seeds.
• The male will also have a white patch on his wing.

77 Oregon Junco

• A group of Oregon Junco are called a; Crew / Flutter / Meinie / Quarrel / Ubiquity.
• We have had up to 120 Dark-eyed Junco at the feeder some days but only seen this one Oregon.  He really stood out with his dark head and brown body.  The Slate colored ones we see here seem vry different.
• Junco have a pair of white feathers and when there is danger they fly off signalling the others.
• This species of junco is normally found in the mountains and on to the pacific coast.  It was really gerat to have a visit here in Hamiota MB.
•  These birds are also known as Snow Birds because they are the first birds to return to the feeder each fall.  Canadians that travel to Florida in the fall have been given this name from the Junco.
• They have two clutches and 4 eggs in each.  They eat seeds and insects.

76 Ring-necked Duck

• A group of Ring-necked Ducks are called a; Brace / Flush / Raft / Team / Paddling.
• I had a hard time taking a good picture, this one is seen with a couple of Coots.  I will add more pictures when I get them.
• The name comes from the brown rings on its neck.  Funny thing is you can't see these rings unless you are really close but the white ring at base of the bill is easily found.  It also has a ring farther down on the bill and a black tip.  The female is brown with a more pronounced white ring at the base of its bill and the same white ring farther down and black tip.
• These birds don't flock up for migrations north but do migrate in the fall when they gather by the thousands further than most diving ducks and are fast flyers.
• They get chased by loons, and grebes in which they share ponds and  bogs.
• Ring-necked Ducks eat submerged aquatic plants and invertebrates.  The plants they eat include leaves, stems, seeds and tubers of pond-weed, water lilies, wild celery, wild rice, millet, sedges, and arrowhead.  They also eat mollusks, swallowing whole and having the gizzard crush them, snails, caddisflies, dragonfly nymphs, midges, earthworms and leeches. Protein rich diet is important during breeding and when they raise their young.  They dive for their food rather than bob with theirtail in the air like most ducks do.

75 Red-Winged Blackbird

• A group of Red-winged Blackbirds are called a; Cloud / Cluster / Merl.
• It is great to see them back this spring.  They have such a cheerful song. I stopped and listened to this one and took a few pictures.  These birds love to sing.  Notably after a rain and on through mating season.  Well they have 2 or 3 clutches a year so mating season is on going, no wonder he is singing.
• The Red-winged Blackbird is polygamous, meaning he mates with more than one female and she will mate with another if he is busy.  He will have a territory with up to 10 females that he defends and sings for.
• The female, with a bit of help from the male, will build a new cup shaped nest for each clutch in reeds or cattails, willows and grasses.
• They eat insects, seeds, fruit and nuts.
• In the spring a Cloud of them appear and then a Cloud again in the fall before heading south.  In the fall this is one of the first signs of the coming of winter is the Cluster of Blackbirds getting ready to head south.
• The nests are victim to snakes, mink, raccoons, skunks, and birds.  They also fall victim to brood parasites like Brown-headed Cowbird who lays their eggs in the nest for the Blackbird to raise.
• They will chase away large predator birds.  This is very common.