Haven’t been to the Pond for weeks. For one thing, March and even April we were still having snow, too early for spring birding. Another reason is the provincial park where the Pond is had been closed due to Covid-19.
It reopens this week and I take the first opportunity to head over there with my camera. The woods are lovely, teeming with life, cacophony of bird songs and goose calls. The deciduous trees are still bare, but buds are bursting out.
What a joy to meet my avian friends. May is a busy time for migratory birds to come back and nest. Social distancing is no problem. They make sure I stay away at least 30 ft. Hence, these blurry photos even with my 300mm tele lens.
First arrival is usually the American Robin. Here’s one relaxing among the buds:
Delighted to find the Yellow-rumped Warbler:
Here’s another one. But when I get home and upload the photos, I see this one has a yellow throat, different from the one above with the white throat:
Upon some digging, I learn that the white-throated one is called the Myrtle Warbler of the East and far north, and the yellow-throated one the Audubon’s Warbler from the West. Two different species of Yellow-rumped Warblers that meet at a small locale here in Western Canada. Right here at the Pond is where I’m fortunate to see both of them. Here’s a map showing their distribution.
A “Where’s Waldo the Warbler” puzzle for you: 
Answer: Right in the centre of the photo.
By the water, a Northern Flicker:
In another locale, the House Finch:
And from a much farther distance, another life staying close to its home. It has to be much bigger than a bird for me to see it among this environs from so far away:
And that’s my neighbour keeping the social distance, yet so amazingly close. An excited “hello,” my heart shouted, for this is the first time we meet:
No, it’s not a deer.
***
Ripple Effects 
I’ll bet your new friend doesn’t say “Mooooo,” either!
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Nope, eliminating that one. 🙂
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They’re so beautiful, such vibrant colours.
I started feeding the birds and was excited when two blue tits came. Now I appreciate how difficult it is to take pictures in such good focus. Thank you for giving me such close up shots so I don’t have to take them!
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I don’t know about that one. Don’t think it’s in N. Am. So interesting to see our birds differ and just curious to see what a birding trip is like in England. Would love to do that one day.
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Wow that is a real education for me. The blue tit is probably one of the most “accessible” unusual garden birds for us ie the smaller, more timid kind that get scared off by big birds. I assumed they were everywhere, but why would they be? I just looked it up and it is from the Paridae family, same as the boreal chickadee. And apparently you can’t see these birds in Australia or South America at all.
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We have the Boreal Chickadee but it’s rare. The Black-capped Chickadee is most “accessible”. Now, I’m talking about my area, Southern Alberta in the foothills of the Rockies, specifically, Calgary. 🙂
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Arti,
So glad you get to go out to enjoy nature. Great pictures!
Yinling
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It’s been over two months, for before the lockdown, we were having snow storms!
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Is it a moose? An elk? What an array of beautiful birds you have here! Well done with the shots — it’s hard sometimes, isn’t it? By the time you frame and focus they decide to move on. Very nice photos and I’m so glad you are back at your park.
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I think it’s an elk. But I’m just surprised to see it, from very far away on an escarpment near my home! 🙂
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An amazing sighting of the elk! Love all the birds, too. Glad you could get out and take these photos.
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Umm… just my guess it’s an elk. No matter, moose or elk, I’ve one wild neighbour. 🙂
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Elk or moose (hard to tell from the distance), what a wonderful meeting! So glad you got to visit the pond and the birds at last.
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Yes, I missed the Pond during isolation. Re-visiting just reminds me that life, lives, multitude of them, don’t depend on my visiting. They thrive during our absence. 🙂
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Lovely pics Arti.
I would have guessed moose, but too far away as you say to be sure.
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My instinct says it’s a moose. But when I looked up the difference between the moose and the elk, I tend towards the latter. Either way, I’ve got one wild neighbour. 🙂
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You are fortunate to have such a lovely park with these beautiful birds and the wildlife as well. I know how difficult it is to take clear photos of birds. The only time I could was when they were eating at my bird feeders in Georgia, and so not moving much. I need to move the bird feeders to Nashville. I had never seen that pretty Audubon Warbler, that was a good picture. I live in center Nashville so no moose or elk sighting for me, but do you know that because of confinement a fox and her cubs were walking down the street not long ago.
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VB,
Yes I’m fortunate to be living so close to one of the largest urban parks in N. America, that is within the boundary of a city. It’s called the Fish Creek Provincial Park in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. You might like to do some research on it. That’s where I do my birding and thank God I can get back there after an unprecedented closure of the Park for weeks. Also, the world famous Banff National Park is just an hour’s drive from my home. Further out that way is Lake Louise and further north is Jasper National Park. The drive from Lake Louise to Jasper has been cited as the most scenic drive in the world. 🙂
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