Nov. 6, 2011 - Fall Birds (and a cute Squirrel)

We know that fall is arriving when the Dark-eyed Juncos start to appear in our yard. This photo was taken October 7. This is a male; he is quite dark on top and white underneath.

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Here is a female Junco. You can see her lighter gray feathers and almost brown back. Notice the white outside edges of the tail feathers. They are much more obvious when the bird flies. Juncos usually feed on the ground, scratching around in the leaves looking for seeds. They nest across most of Canada and move to the United States for the winter.

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This Savannah Sparrow was photographed in Grand Rapids, MN. This species is comfortable in habitats ranging from open grasslands to wet meadows, grassy marshes, and even arctic tundra. They breed in all of Canada and Alaska and the northern United States.

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Notice the tiny goose in front and compare it to the much larger Canada Geese behind. A few years ago the smaller races of Canada Geese were separated from the larger races. These smaller geese are now called Cackling Geese. They are only about the size of a Mallard. They also have a stubbier bill than the Canada Goose. This photo was taken at Trout Lake in Bovey, MN.

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We have several Red Squirrels at our home in northern Minnesota. They can be really cute when posing like this. But, they can be just as annoying as Gray Squirrels when trying to get into our bird feeders. By hanging our feeders from a wire between two trees, we have managed to outwit these wily animals.

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Red Squirrels are very feisty. I have seen one chase a Crow out of our yard. This one is chattering at another Red Squirrel, trying to make it clear who is the boss in this yard.

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