Wind and snow deliver delightful close-ups

A museum of Bohemians

I'm suffering from spring fever, or cabin fever, take your pick.  So I have been waiting anxiously for the weather to warm up and it did overnight, but not as expected and certainly not for long.  The snow is still coming down, drifting and whirling violently with the gusting wind, to cover everything with a thick sheet of white.   In other words the weather turned nasty.  With the change in weather and the wind came an unexpected delivery however, right to the end of my driveway and the fulfillment of a wish.  My wish for a close up portrait of a winged nomad, in detail with all it's glorious color.

Bohemians and Woodpeckers: a weekend adventure

Flight Silhouette-Bohemian Waxwings

I had the most wonderful weekend. Not only was the temperature outside a balmy plus five degrees, which is extraordinarily warm for the month of February, but it was mostly sunny as well.  Since then the temperature has dropped to minus 30, so I am very glad that I went out when I did.

Winged Nomads: another encounter

I simply couldn't resist.  I kept thinking about the possibilities of seeing the waxwings again and decided I simply didn't want to miss out on any opportunity I might still have.  After all the only thing I know for sure about these birds so far, is that they would be there for only as long as the food source remains.  Bohemian Waxwings really are nomadic.  They descend in flocks where ever the food is plentiful and disappear again as soon it has been consumed.

Flock of Bohemian Waxwings

Winged Nomads: Febuary's delight

Typically January and February are the coldest months of the year here in Alberta, however, we have had unusually warm and sunny weather recently, which made me a very happy camper indeed.  In fact, I couldn't wait to get out and go for a walk.  However, this is also the time of year, when it is dark when I leave for work and dark again when I return, and I for one do not find walking in the dark to be much fun, since there is so little to see.  Because of this, I was praying that the weather would hold until my day off.  Which it did, although I waited until late afternoon, in hopes of going out in sunshine, since that is when the sun had been coming out and sunlight makes for better photos.  However it was the insistent call of a Raven coming through my kitchen window that got me moving, not the sun's shine.

Flock of Bohemian Waxwings