Good news!   CZ and KB have identified the unknown bird as a House Finch…. without breast streaking.  Juvenile Female?

More photos taken yesterday:

Rocks in front of DW’s house, wild rose.  (No political affiliation with those folks in AB)

Pansies on his lawn.  No comment.

Structural coloration on this Common Grackle on Hwy 529.

One of my favourite, but heavily abused tree.

Wooly aphids being tended by their farmers.

These yellow lilies follow the last of the Trilliums and bloom at the same time as purple ladyslippers

These are also known as blue-beads because of the brilliant blue seed berries they produce.

Hard to resist photographing these Aquilegia, eh?

Last few days of the T. grandiflorums.

First 4-petal flower seen this spring….indicating a dogwood.  Apparently the berries, “bunchberries” are edible, apple flavoured.  Maybe I try some this summer.

(Did you continue reading the above link to  “Release of Pollen”?  Amazing speed and acceleration!

When we visited Burwash I photographed on of my favourite members of the Iris Family.   Here it is:

Lots of  magic out there, eh?

Tom

Today was a good day to see plants in the morning fog and later rain showers.

We also saw some birdies.  This was the second one photographed.   I cannot ID it.  Has many characteristics of a seed-eating Finch.  But it doesn’t seem to be on this list:  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/browse_tax/27/

Can anyone help to ID this birdie?  It hopped around low down in a pin cherry thicket then flew off.  Didn’t sing.

This fellow’s face mask, silky appearance and yellow-tipped tail made it easy to ID.

The brood is intact and growing quickly.

This is one of the patch that I photo’d on Thursday.  19 years ago, when I came to Britt, there were two blooming Ladyslipper orchids on that spot.  Today, about 30+ to form a very nice colony.  Although they are visible from the road,  one has to look for them …. and getting to their location is not at all obvious.   They  now belong to the P family.

It is probably worth while clicking on the above two images to see the detail close up.   Click on the back button in your browser to come back.

These two lichens were on a little Jackpine over the ‘slippers.

And this blade of grass with little magnifying glasses was adjacent.

Another Viburnum, close relative of Highbush Cranberry,  good for grouse and other sweet seed eating birdies.

Young maple shooting up.

I photo’d some other interesting stuff and will process and post samples a little later … in Part Two.

T