Showing posts with label Goldfinch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goldfinch. Show all posts

Friday, February 21, 2020

February Impressions

February has been both very cold and very mild.
Some days I would see the 
F. D. Roosevelt Cottage blanketed with snow.
On warmer days the the white stuff melted away 
and American Robins
were seen in the grass searching for food.
Freezing temperatures and fresh snow 
that would make the trails treacherous to walk on.
 But walking I did, every day, looking for birds 
in the woods or on the water.
 There are 
a lot of gulls around, like this Ring-billed Gull.
On sheltered trails along the coastline ... 
... small flocks of American Goldfinches roam 
around through the shrubs.
Soon they will be bright yellow again.
On mild rainy days droplets 
adorn simple weeds with little diamonds.
On the open bay feathered 
winter guests can be observed. 
Horned Grebe (above)
Surf Scoter (below)
 Soaring in the sky are Bald Eagles,
 looking for an easy prey.
With all this beauty around
I get never tired of walking
the beautiful beaches
of Campobello Island




Translation 
__________________________________________________________

Der Februar war sehr launisch. Kalte schneereiche Tage 
wechseln mit mildem, stürmischem und regnerischem Wetter ab.
Manchmal war das FDRoosevelt Sommerhaus tief verschneit.
An anderen Tagen konnte man die Wanderdrosseln (American Robin)
auf dem Rasen nach Futter suchen sehen.
Auf Wanderpfaden entlang der Küste gibt es viele Möven, 
wie diese Ringschnabelmöve. (Ring-billed Gull)
Auch andere gefiederte Wintergäste wie Ohrentaucher (Horned Grebe)
oder Brillenenten (Surf Scoter) sind noch anwesend.
Überall in der Luft segeln Weisskopfseeadler (Bald Eagle) auf der
Suche nach Futter.
Bei soviel schöner Natur wird es mir nie langweilig entlang unserer
Strände spazieren zu gehen.

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Flu time - also for birds

It is this time of the year when the flu seems to be everywhere. 
Also in my bird community. 
That is so sad.
Today, there was high activity at the feeders. 
 We are expecting bad weather for Sunday and Monday.
It is predicted to get cold, snowy and high winds with a wind chill
down to -29C (-20F).
It seemed as if the birds were eager, filling up their "batteries."
I saw mostly finches and chickadees.
The temperature had dropped to -10C (14F).
No wind, yet.
One of the little finches was bullied by the others. 
Several times the other birds 
chased him away from the feeder. 

Taking a closer look you could see -
there was something wrong with this little fellow.
The other birds were looking sleek, compared.
It looked more like a feather ball, double it's size. 
My guess was that it has "the flu" and was feaverish. 
Therefor, the feathers are raised, it was freezing. Poor thing. 
With a winter storm approaching there is no chance of survival for this one. 
The sun has set, it is getting dark, all birds have left, 
except this little sick guy.
Not all will make it through the winter.
Nature is cruel.