Birds on My Yard and More

It seems that it has been a while since I last featured birds on this blog.Today I will correct that.Here are a few recent sightings.Yes birding has been slow recently.The birds have been busy with nesting and raising their young and also,it has been fairly hot,so this photographer has not spent very much time outside.

The other day I sat on my deck and waited to see who would pay me or the feeder a visit.
The White-breasted Nuthatch came to pick out a seed and then quickly fly away to eat it.

A somewhat scruffy looking Downy Woodpecker didn't quite dare to come to the feeder,but quickly grabbed a peanut and took off.

Of course the Black-capped Chickadee is one who comes easily and doesn't mind my being there. I like the slightly cocked head,making him look inquisitive.

A little farther from my home,at the Kaleida marshes,the ducks still had young ones in tow.I believe this is a Mallard duck with her young.I shot the picture because of the birds,but I also like the look of the water.

Most recently the birders in Manitoba have mostly been focused on a small area of Winnipeg.A birder with a keen eye spotted what he thought was a Mississippi Kite.Upon further investigation,it proved that he was correct and that indeed there was not one but two Kites.After some cautious scouting,someone found a nest with young in it.If you check on a range map,you will see that these birds are quite a lot further north than where they normally are.To see one of these birds here is special,but now to have proof that they have/are nesting in Manitoba is amazing.

I,like many other birders had to make a special trip,a two hour drive,to Winnipeg to see and photograph these birds.

Just another little tidbit of excitement.The birding community of Manitoba has spent the last five years collecting data for a Breeding Bird Atlas.Well,now it seems we will finish this project on a high note,with documentation of a successful nest of a pair of Mississippi Kites.It doesn't get much better than that.