Street Biologist's Diary

  Red-winged Blackbird ( Agelaius phoeniceus ) is a symbol of spring. Every spring, when I see them visiting the feeder in our backyard, I know that nature is waking up. The male's conk-la-ree is a classic sound of wetlands in the spring in and around Edmonton and many parts of Alberta. These males are gorgeous black in colour with distinctive red shoulder patches that are visible when the bird is in flight or in display. At rest, males also show a white or pale yellow wing bar. These wing markings are very important in defending the male's territory. Males with larger spots are more effective in chasing away the rival males. On this Sunday morning, as I am looking through the window at our snow-covered backyard, I am thinking of those blackbirds visiting the feeders again and calling out loudly the arrival of spring. A few months and it will happen again.......... A high key frame of a male in early spring Every time I look at this photo, I remember Joe Cocker's song ...

 First as a student and then later as a university teacher of biology, I have always been interested in wildlife photography. During last few years, I started focusing on birds. While I am going around the trees and bushes with my camera and tripod looking for chickadees, nuthatches, warblers, and woodpeckers, I feel so calm and happy. I have photographed over 50 species of birds in and around Alberta. I will share some of those photos in my future blogs with some thoughts about the species or my experience of photographing them.  We are, right now, in the middle of Canadian winter. When it's frigid minus 20 C temperature, you might think nature is barren, nothing can be found. On the contrary, there is so much going on in the woods. One of the most common all-year around species of birds around Edmonton is Black-capped Chickadee ( Poecile atricapillus ). These little creatures will keep you entertained for hours as they flying in and out of the bird feeders.  A Black-cap...