2014 - Maybe not a Big Year, but definitely a good year
In January, Margaret (my long suffering wife :)) & I headed to the Holquin area of Cuba for our annual winter vacation. Hotel was chosen to give the best of both worlds a) a decent AI Hotel Resort that was reasonably close to a decent birding location. The spot was well chosen as in and around and close to the hotel there were lots of birding/photographic opportunities. By coincidence, my friend Steve and his wife were staying at a neighboring hotel, so we teamed up for a couple of days to go on guided trips using local guides - the best being our guide Carlos, who provided great locations within a short distance of our hotels .. Carlos is very well recommended for field trips, but not necessarily only birding trips.
February is an excellent time to visit Algonquin - a 3000 square mile wilderness park, located about 4 hours north of my home base in Kitchener, Ontario. This popular but pretty remote location is an excellent spot to see some of Northern Ontarios wildlife gems, including moose, wolves, martins and a host of birds that we don't get to see in Southern Ontario. We (Steve & I), unfortunately missed out on a few of them, including Grey Jays (Whiskey Jacks) that are pretty common in that region, but we did get some great shots of Evening Grosbeaks (a new species for both of us).
The cold weather continued into March, but there were a few weekend day trips, mostly down to the Lake Ontario area. Fifty Point, a conservation area South East of Hamilton, had a few over-wintering owls, including Long-eared, Short-eared and a Saw-whet Owl. One particular day we came across a tree with (4) Long-eared Owls, but with the heavy evergreen foliage it was very difficult to get a clean shot, but excellent none the less. I should say that I never did see any Short-eared, even after several visits. Towards the end of the month a Bald Eagle pair began to build a nest next to the Grand River, very close to Cambridge, and only 2 or 3 miles from home. For a period of about 2 weeks the eagles gave us excellent sightings and photographs (even although the nest was about 200M from our closest vantage point), and especially when an Osprey pair set up their nest within about 200M from the eagle nest - The Ospreys continually heckled the Eagles, until the Eagle pair eventually abandoned the nest in early April, but I'm hoping they will return in 2015.
By April the weather was starting to warm up, but the snow held on for a bit, but nevertheless some of the early spring birds were beginning to show up. A trip on the 6th of April to Long Point was productive when it came to Brown Creepers and Kinglets - the Creepers were everywhere. We see an occasional one through late spring and summer, but this particular day we had as many as a dozen or more in a small area. As April progressed the migration heated up and many good days were had.
May, always the best month of the year as migration hits a peak. On the 6th of May Margaret & I had our 2nd trip of the year, this time to Alaska, where we did a 7day cruise from Vancouver to souther ports of Alaska - Only one word to describe it - Spectacular! Not much in the way of birds, but we did see lots of Humpback Whales, Grizzlies, Seals, Dolphins, Porcupines. May is Birding Festival at Point Pelee time, and for the 3 weeks of the festival a plethora of migrating birds pass along the narrow peninsula (the most southernly point in Canada). We had 2 or 3 trips down to Pelee during the festival period, with some excellent sightings, including Orchard Orioles, Scarlet Tanagers and several Warbler & Vireo species - Eagerly awaiting May 2015 to repeat the opportunities.
Good birding continued into June pretty much everywhere you went. I had a few day trips to many of the hot spots around the region, but especially Grass Lake, just outside Cambridge. Every year Grass Lake becomes the breeding location for many hard to find birds, including Sandhill Cranes, Bobolinks, Savannah & Grasshopper Sparrows, as well a few Bluebirds. Good sightings for me were a few Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings & Eastern Towhees - two of my favorites.
In early July I headed north for a long weekend in the near north - starting at Carden Alvar and then on the Algonquin Park, where I hiked the 14km long Mizzy Trail - no mean feat for a 63 year old carrying about 30lb + of camera gear in 30C+ weather. Mizzy Trail proved to be a little less than bird productive, with only a few sightings of note, although I did get some very close up views of a Spruce Grouse. The scenery on the trail made up for the lack of birds, with spectacular wilderness & lakes at every turn. Carden Alvar, as always,was excellent with many views & photographs of some decent birds, with one notable exception - on previous trips here I had always seen the Loggerhead Shrikes (sometimes as many as 4 or 5 at a time) but this trip - nada!
August Margaret & I, yet again, headed off on another vacation, this time back to Cuba, but decided on Cayo Coco, an island on the north end of island, that is reached by a long causeway. I had checked the Internet to research a potential guide and with help of my friend Steve (he had used this particular guide the year before), I contacted Paulino. Paulino, unlike the guides in Holquin, had his own vehicle - an immaculate, and original 1955 Chevy Belair. Unfortunately the Chevy was minus an AC option, so in the 35C+ heat it was a mobile oven :). Nevertheless, I hired Paulino for 3 days and was money well spent, with each trip he took me to (3) different habitats and locations and was able to point out many unusual birds - some I had seen in the past, but many were lifers for me including Bahama Mockingbird and West-Indian Whistling Duck. Back in Ontario I had a couple of field trips to the Long Point area, where I had the best shots yet (for me) of a Black-billed Cuckoo. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo remains elusive for me in Ontario, although I had seen one in Cuba earlier.
As September comes around, the reverse migration is underway, so opportunities return for many species. I read a report in eBird that a Least Bittern had showed up at Samuel Smith Park in Toronto, so it needed checked out :). I spent a couple of hours checking all the little inlets and eventually the Bittern showed up and gave me, and about another half dozen birder/photographers excellent views as it fished/hunted in the inlet shallows. Bonus on that day was a Sora that was also forraging in the same area - my first photo shots of this little guy, although I had seen this species in the past. During September I also spent some time at Hendrie Valley and Valley Inn area of Burlington. The boardwalk at Hendrie was especially productive at the tail end of the month with many good sightings incl Black-throated Green Warblers.
October is (for me anyways) the least productive, but I took my first trip to Cranberry Marsh, near Oshawa. It was a mediocre location in October, although other times of the year I'm told it is excellent. However, it was a fun trip with some great sightings of a Fox Sparrow. Later in the month of October the Arboretum at University of Guelph is usually decent, and this year I saw a few decent birds, most noticeably were the Hermit Thrushes that pass through the area at this time of year. Funnily enough the shots I got, were in the same tree as I the shots from the previous October ... mmm!
Into November, and I had the opportunity to head to the old homeland to visit my sprightly mother who never ceases to amaze me. 87, and still relatively active - I'm hoping for similar mental & physical wherewithal at that age. Anyways, off to Scotland for a family visit, but still managed a few side trips in around the area. Lots of Chaffinches, Robins & Pheasants, but spotted a Bullfinch one day ... nice! Fieldfares, and a few others. Home ground is around the Solway Firth estuary, which is the wintering grounds of thousands of Geese, mostly Barnacle, Pink foot and Grey Lag. I had the opportunity to witness several hundred Barnacles in a field close to the estuary ... quite a spectacle as they took flight!!!
Finally December, and with Sedgwick Park in Oakville being the best location around, I spent almost every Saturday & Sunday watching & Photographing the warblers that were held back from migration by the super abundant food supply provided by the generation of bugs at the local Sewage treatment plant. Northern Parula, Wilson's, Yellow-rumped, Tennessee, Nashville & Orange-crowned continued to feed and forage in and around the plant into 2015 (and will likely continue into spring). Ruby & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Winter & Carolina Wrens and a Hermit thrush have also been sighted on a daily basis in the same area ... spectacular!!!
Roll on 2015 ......
In January, Margaret (my long suffering wife :)) & I headed to the Holquin area of Cuba for our annual winter vacation. Hotel was chosen to give the best of both worlds a) a decent AI Hotel Resort that was reasonably close to a decent birding location. The spot was well chosen as in and around and close to the hotel there were lots of birding/photographic opportunities. By coincidence, my friend Steve and his wife were staying at a neighboring hotel, so we teamed up for a couple of days to go on guided trips using local guides - the best being our guide Carlos, who provided great locations within a short distance of our hotels .. Carlos is very well recommended for field trips, but not necessarily only birding trips.
February is an excellent time to visit Algonquin - a 3000 square mile wilderness park, located about 4 hours north of my home base in Kitchener, Ontario. This popular but pretty remote location is an excellent spot to see some of Northern Ontarios wildlife gems, including moose, wolves, martins and a host of birds that we don't get to see in Southern Ontario. We (Steve & I), unfortunately missed out on a few of them, including Grey Jays (Whiskey Jacks) that are pretty common in that region, but we did get some great shots of Evening Grosbeaks (a new species for both of us).
The cold weather continued into March, but there were a few weekend day trips, mostly down to the Lake Ontario area. Fifty Point, a conservation area South East of Hamilton, had a few over-wintering owls, including Long-eared, Short-eared and a Saw-whet Owl. One particular day we came across a tree with (4) Long-eared Owls, but with the heavy evergreen foliage it was very difficult to get a clean shot, but excellent none the less. I should say that I never did see any Short-eared, even after several visits. Towards the end of the month a Bald Eagle pair began to build a nest next to the Grand River, very close to Cambridge, and only 2 or 3 miles from home. For a period of about 2 weeks the eagles gave us excellent sightings and photographs (even although the nest was about 200M from our closest vantage point), and especially when an Osprey pair set up their nest within about 200M from the eagle nest - The Ospreys continually heckled the Eagles, until the Eagle pair eventually abandoned the nest in early April, but I'm hoping they will return in 2015.
By April the weather was starting to warm up, but the snow held on for a bit, but nevertheless some of the early spring birds were beginning to show up. A trip on the 6th of April to Long Point was productive when it came to Brown Creepers and Kinglets - the Creepers were everywhere. We see an occasional one through late spring and summer, but this particular day we had as many as a dozen or more in a small area. As April progressed the migration heated up and many good days were had.
May, always the best month of the year as migration hits a peak. On the 6th of May Margaret & I had our 2nd trip of the year, this time to Alaska, where we did a 7day cruise from Vancouver to souther ports of Alaska - Only one word to describe it - Spectacular! Not much in the way of birds, but we did see lots of Humpback Whales, Grizzlies, Seals, Dolphins, Porcupines. May is Birding Festival at Point Pelee time, and for the 3 weeks of the festival a plethora of migrating birds pass along the narrow peninsula (the most southernly point in Canada). We had 2 or 3 trips down to Pelee during the festival period, with some excellent sightings, including Orchard Orioles, Scarlet Tanagers and several Warbler & Vireo species - Eagerly awaiting May 2015 to repeat the opportunities.
Good birding continued into June pretty much everywhere you went. I had a few day trips to many of the hot spots around the region, but especially Grass Lake, just outside Cambridge. Every year Grass Lake becomes the breeding location for many hard to find birds, including Sandhill Cranes, Bobolinks, Savannah & Grasshopper Sparrows, as well a few Bluebirds. Good sightings for me were a few Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings & Eastern Towhees - two of my favorites.
In early July I headed north for a long weekend in the near north - starting at Carden Alvar and then on the Algonquin Park, where I hiked the 14km long Mizzy Trail - no mean feat for a 63 year old carrying about 30lb + of camera gear in 30C+ weather. Mizzy Trail proved to be a little less than bird productive, with only a few sightings of note, although I did get some very close up views of a Spruce Grouse. The scenery on the trail made up for the lack of birds, with spectacular wilderness & lakes at every turn. Carden Alvar, as always,was excellent with many views & photographs of some decent birds, with one notable exception - on previous trips here I had always seen the Loggerhead Shrikes (sometimes as many as 4 or 5 at a time) but this trip - nada!
August Margaret & I, yet again, headed off on another vacation, this time back to Cuba, but decided on Cayo Coco, an island on the north end of island, that is reached by a long causeway. I had checked the Internet to research a potential guide and with help of my friend Steve (he had used this particular guide the year before), I contacted Paulino. Paulino, unlike the guides in Holquin, had his own vehicle - an immaculate, and original 1955 Chevy Belair. Unfortunately the Chevy was minus an AC option, so in the 35C+ heat it was a mobile oven :). Nevertheless, I hired Paulino for 3 days and was money well spent, with each trip he took me to (3) different habitats and locations and was able to point out many unusual birds - some I had seen in the past, but many were lifers for me including Bahama Mockingbird and West-Indian Whistling Duck. Back in Ontario I had a couple of field trips to the Long Point area, where I had the best shots yet (for me) of a Black-billed Cuckoo. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo remains elusive for me in Ontario, although I had seen one in Cuba earlier.
As September comes around, the reverse migration is underway, so opportunities return for many species. I read a report in eBird that a Least Bittern had showed up at Samuel Smith Park in Toronto, so it needed checked out :). I spent a couple of hours checking all the little inlets and eventually the Bittern showed up and gave me, and about another half dozen birder/photographers excellent views as it fished/hunted in the inlet shallows. Bonus on that day was a Sora that was also forraging in the same area - my first photo shots of this little guy, although I had seen this species in the past. During September I also spent some time at Hendrie Valley and Valley Inn area of Burlington. The boardwalk at Hendrie was especially productive at the tail end of the month with many good sightings incl Black-throated Green Warblers.
October is (for me anyways) the least productive, but I took my first trip to Cranberry Marsh, near Oshawa. It was a mediocre location in October, although other times of the year I'm told it is excellent. However, it was a fun trip with some great sightings of a Fox Sparrow. Later in the month of October the Arboretum at University of Guelph is usually decent, and this year I saw a few decent birds, most noticeably were the Hermit Thrushes that pass through the area at this time of year. Funnily enough the shots I got, were in the same tree as I the shots from the previous October ... mmm!
Into November, and I had the opportunity to head to the old homeland to visit my sprightly mother who never ceases to amaze me. 87, and still relatively active - I'm hoping for similar mental & physical wherewithal at that age. Anyways, off to Scotland for a family visit, but still managed a few side trips in around the area. Lots of Chaffinches, Robins & Pheasants, but spotted a Bullfinch one day ... nice! Fieldfares, and a few others. Home ground is around the Solway Firth estuary, which is the wintering grounds of thousands of Geese, mostly Barnacle, Pink foot and Grey Lag. I had the opportunity to witness several hundred Barnacles in a field close to the estuary ... quite a spectacle as they took flight!!!
Finally December, and with Sedgwick Park in Oakville being the best location around, I spent almost every Saturday & Sunday watching & Photographing the warblers that were held back from migration by the super abundant food supply provided by the generation of bugs at the local Sewage treatment plant. Northern Parula, Wilson's, Yellow-rumped, Tennessee, Nashville & Orange-crowned continued to feed and forage in and around the plant into 2015 (and will likely continue into spring). Ruby & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Winter & Carolina Wrens and a Hermit thrush have also been sighted on a daily basis in the same area ... spectacular!!!
Roll on 2015 ......