Photography #17: A Couple Photos

This is the best I could do to get a picture of a woodpecker. Looks to be a Downy Woodpecker.
To give you an idea of how well adapted these birds are to this climate, keep in mind that it was -17C when this picture was taken! On the other hand, these birds are easy to find because at this temperature there is not a single solitary sound in the forest except for the pecking of a woodpecker!

All the other birds are down at MsDeb’s birdfeeder.

-- Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves. - Thoreau

Glad you got the snow and not me ;-))

-17 brrrr
Good shot of the woodpecker in its natural environment!
It’s hard to get a picture of these little guys because they keep hopping around the tree.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Very nice pictures Debbie. Junco is superb. Hear the sound of Junco here: http://www.almanac.com/content/bird-sounds-dark-eyed-junco . I feel so sad when I see pictures of sparrows, because they have almost disappeared in our area. Sparrows used to be part of our life because they used to build nests behind photoframes or any other hiding place inside the house. Their chirping was all the time in the background and we were used to it.
Daltxguy, a very rare photograph of a woodpecker in such a cold climate. The lowest temperature we have had here in this month was 7C and we were shivering. What will happen in -17C ?

Sharad

-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein

In 1851 sixteen sparrows were brought to North America and released. For the following two years 100 more birds were introduced. Many of them did not survive the environment. But some did.

Today it is perhaps the most common bird that we see.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

The history of how non-native species came to inhabit the British colonies and the Americas is an interesting account of misguided ecological meddling by the wealthy and wannabe scientists.

They were introduced by so called ‘acclimitisation societies’.

In many cases, the meddling was disastrous. For example the introduction of rabbits in Australia and New Zealand.
Mostly, the introductions were done for their amusement. For example the birds introduced into the US is said to be based on the list of birds mentioned in the works of Shakespeare!

The disappearance of the sparrow in India would be an altogether different matter but it may be linked to the other kind of meddling humans do to nature…

-- Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves. - Thoreau

Daltxguy what you say is very very true.

Sharad

-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein

DTG, nice picture of the little WP. From this distance it’s hard to tell if it’s a hairy wp or a downy. Not only do they look so similar, they also sound quite similar. The only way I can be sure when I see them is by the black stripes under the tail of the downy.

MsDeb, I find the little junco one of the hardest birds to photo as they just will not sit still long enough for my camera to focus. :D

One of the reason we see so many sparrows is bc there are so many different kinds of them. You have caught the sweet, little American tree sparrow(spizella arborea) feeding at your feeder, MsDeb. Not to be mistaken for the larger eurasian sparrow(passer montanus). It was the eurasian sparrow they imported and has taken over so much of NA bird habitat. Many birders do everything possible to eradicate these undesirable birds.

The tree sparrow can be identified by the two-toned beak, you see in your above pictures. And by the dark chest badge. They have a very attractive song.

You’ve caught an excellent picture of this little beauty, MsDeb.

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'

thanks for the id, Iris.
Now i’ll have to try and take some more photos of the many other versions of the sparrow that we see here.

Another challenge!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Iris43: Good point re: downy vs hairy. I see they are very similar with the hairy being somewhat bigger – but I had nothing to compare to.

Well good, you have the native sparrows MsDeb!

-- Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves. - Thoreau