Location: La Salle, Burlington and a run around Stoney Creek

Weather: Freezing wind .... 

It was a chilly one, but the signs of spring keep showing up. Today, at La Salle (again) I spotted a few more migrating ducks, including the cute Ruddy Duck, and the ever beautiful American Widgeon, A few Long-tailed Ducks were hanging around the Marina Dock and the males were a tad frisky (another sign of an impending spring). Before heading home we took a run up the the Mountain section above Stoney Creek to see what was around the flooded fields (always at this time of year), and weren't too surprised to see a couple of flocks of Tundra Swans. Thanks to Jamie for driving today, and of course the great company that he provided. Cheers,.!! 

Location: La Salle Burlington

Weather: Sun & Cloud and above freezing (+4C) woohoo!!

Over the last day or two the weather has taken that very welcome turn towards spring, and with that thought I headed down to La Salle Marina in Burlington - one of the better spots (in my humble opinion, although there are many all along the great lakes) at this time of year. The ice had receded somewhat and so with all this new open water the water birds made good use of it - feeding and courting.
The big number was of the Goldeneye - there must have been 60-70 birds in and around the dock area.
It was nice to see a couple of Surf Scoters and a single Horned Grebe, both of which were first of year for me.

Location: Amherst Island

Weather: Sun & Cloud. Bitterly Cold

One of my nemesis subjects, and has been for several years, is the Short-eared Owl. Over the last couple of months I have made a few trips to Amherst Island, where several of these little beauties have been hanging out this winter, in an effort to fill this gap in my photo collection. Thankfully I can now say I have several half decent shots of a "Shortie" after a very cooperative individual gave us some great close proximity shots over a period of almost an hour or so, late in the day. I should mention that this was one Owl in a colony of approx 15 or so. Through the day these owls have been roosting in a small grove of conifers in the front yard of a house, and one point on day one of our visit, they took off all at once and together .... it was jaw-dropping. Around 5:45 on both days they became very active and took flight from their hidden daytime roosting spots and started to hunt in the pastures and fields close to where we were, but by this point the light was such that flight shots were really effective.
Other birds of note on the island were dozens of Northern Harriers, a few American Kestrels, several Red-tailed Hawks, a few Rough-legged Hawks, a few bald Eagles, a single Northern Shrike and Snowy Owl, and of course the abovementioned Short-eared Owls. There was per previous reports several other species eg Long-eared Owls, Saw-whet Owls and Barred Owls, but unfortunately we couldn't locate them.

Location: Burlington, Hamilton & Stoney Creek

Weather: Sun and cloud, and getting milder. Today -2C

The weather looked really good for a sunrise photoshoot, so along with a friend we headed to a spot that I hadn't been to in about a year or so. ie Fifty Point in Stoney Creek, and what a difference as to the last time I was there. This spot is normally a shingle beach, but with the recent high winds and freezing weather had transformed it into an ice monster. From where the beach and lake usually meet there is a 10 feet plus high wall of ice that projects into the lake approx 80 feet or so. However it had it's own excellent, and unique character, so we made the best of it.
From here, and after a coffee, we headed up to the topside of the "Mountain" to check out 10th Road East that has quite often some interesting birds. Today there were several Horned Larks, a Northern Harrier, and not much else. None of whom gave us decent shooting opportunities... oh well!
As we headed generally back towards home turf, and since this location has been giving good sitings over the last few weeks, we headed to La Salle Marina in Burlington to check it out. Unfortunately the Bay was still for the most part frozen solid, other than a small "pond" of open water close to shore. It was full of mainly Trumpeter and Mute Swans, Mallard ducks, two Goldeneye Ducks (M) and a solitary male Pintail, and so over the next hour a few shots (actually a hundred or so) were taken, so the day turned out pretty decent, and of course the company was great. 

Location: Burlington, ON

Weather: cloudy with some some hazy sun

Location: Amherst Island

Weather: Day1- Sunny, but cold: Day2- Cloudy and generally dull

After several weeks of yucky weather with little or no opportunities at taking any road trips, a short respite in the weather had us making last minute plans for a short two day jaunt to Amherst Island, near Kingston. Up at 2:30 and on the 401 heading east by 3:15am, with a small detour into Brampton to pick up my co-birder, we were sitting at the ferry dock just in time for the 7:30am ferry to the island. Our primary target was, and as was the last trip also, the elusive Short-eared Owl.
For the next 2 days we trailed along most of the island roads, looking for, as well s the owls, anything interesting that presented itself. Surprisingly, the large quantities of Snowy Owls that were present on our last trip a couple of months ago, were very much conspicuous by their absence. It wasn't until late on the first day that we spotted two distant specimens. 
The island seems to almost overrun by voles and possibly field mice, which accounts for the large quantity of raptors that are over-wintering on the island. We saw dozens of  these predators, including Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers, Kestrels and Northern Shrike, that, other than the Bald Eagles, were constantly diving down to grab yet another hapless rodent. 
A big surprise, and a bird I hadn't seen in Ontario in several years, was a male Ring-necked Pheasant that was foraging along one the gravel roads on the west side of the island. He cooperated for several minutes and allowed us a good quantity of snapshots.
As I mentioned earlier our primary target was the Short-eared Owl. We had heard stories from a couple of other bird photographers that were shooting on the island, that there were many of these owls at a spot along Front Road, and that a point in the late afternoon, they were likely to start coming out into the open. Unfortunately, after waiting patiently in the freezing cold for a significant time, we only saw two individuals - one that only showed for a few seconds, and another that sat motionless on a hay bale until we had to leave to catch a late ferry. We grabbed a couple of distant record shots, but frustrated that this beauty eluded us yet again. Oh well .... I guess we can hope to get a good shot, maybe next time.

Location: Riverside Park, Cambridge

Weather: Cold, snowing and a good chilly breeze

One think I've learned as I get older and somewhat more experienced in this wonderful world of Bird Photography, is that it's not always the good days that produce the best images. Today I looked out of window to the blowing and actively falling snow and thought that this might be a perfect day to get some "birds in winter" type shots. I grabbed (most of) my stuff and headed to one of the best locations locally so see lots of birds ie Riverside Park boardwalk, in Cambridge.
Before I continue I mentioned that I grabbed "most of my stuff" a bit earlier - what I forgot to bring was spare batteries, and after taking two shots I went dead, and of course the action was good. Thankfully I only live 15-20 mins away so was able to drive home and pick up some batteries, then head back to the park. Note to self - take spares in future ...dummy.
After returning I spent the next 2 -3 hours watching and shooting several species incl ... Swamp Sparrows (3), White-throated Sparrows (3or4), Cardinals (~8), House Finches (2) Chickadees (millions), Dark-eyed Juncos (~10), Blue Jays (2), Mourning Doves (3). Nothing too exciting but they were amazing to shoot in the falling snow and on the snow covered branches. Good day :)

Location: Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo

Weather: Dull with snow flurries

Looking at the weather forecast for the week made me think ... boy, I gotta get out today else I'm stuck in for the rest of the week (the forecast is "crappy" most of the week). A walk around an area I hadn't been to in a while in Waterloo was pretty uneventful - there was  a couple of Northern Cardinals and the odd Chickadee, but for the most part not too much showing. I did however find a cute Saw-whet Owl in a grove of evergreens. He was tucked in pretty good and I snapped a quick shot of him before backing out and leaving him to his morning nap.
On the OFO reports for yesterday I noticed that there had been an unusual find in Preston (Cambridge) ie a Tufted Titmouse long the Linear Trail. I rarely walk this trail, but today it was a must-do item. Unfortunately after a couple of hours I still hadn't seen this unlikely visitor, I spoke to two other birders along the trail, and they were in the same situation - no sighting. Only birds of interest were a few House Finches and a lone Brown Creeper, which I was unable to photograph.
Next stop was Riverside Park boardwalk. This location is always worth a look as there are often decent quantities of garden birds - which are better than nothing when that's all there is .... I should say that lots of walkers (mostly non-birders) leave seed and nuts at different spots along the trail. The best sighting for me was a Coopers Hawk that sat on a low tree close to where the small birds were being fed, and kinda just hung out - I got the impression he was like a diner checking out todays menu.
​​​​All images are clickable to go full size, and hovering over will display species or description

Location: Riverside Park, Cambridge

Weather: Icy cold, windy and with an occasional flash of sunshine

Location: Riverside park, Cambridge

Weather: Cloudy and damp - after a night of freezing rain

One thing about the footpaths and trails after a night of freezing rain is that there are not too many people around, so it was a nice change to get the boardwalk at Riverside to myself. Lots of the usual "garden" birds around - Black-capped Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, American Tree Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Downy Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatches and a few more slightly unusual birds ie. White-throated Sparrow and a Swamp Sparrow.
All shots taken with the 5D Mark iv with the 100-400 Mk2

Location: Downsview, Toronto + Halls Road, Ajax

Weather: Mainly cloudy, damp and chilly with a biting wind

After some aggressive weather around here for the last week or so I was glad on some milder weather for the last couple of days, allowing me to check out a few spots in and around the big city of Toronto. First stop was Downsview Park where we a had hoped to see and possibly photograph some Owls and other birds of prey. Almost immediately we saw, but did not photograph, a couple of Red-tailed Hawks. and after checking out several Cedar type copses, we also found a deeply hidden Long-eared Owl. Unfortunately, it was in a location that made it impossible to photograph, so again we did not get a shot, or even point a camera in the general direction of this beautiful bird (maybe another day). 
From here we headed to Halls Road at the east end of Ajax - hoping to see and photograph one or two of the reported birds along this stretch of road. Over the last week or so there has been reported Northern Harriers, Northern Shrike & of course the long resident barred Owl(s). We spotted and photographed one of what seemed to be a total of two Northern Harriers, but unfortunately they did not venture close enough for a reasonably detailed image. A Barred Owl was spotted along the side of the road near the Lake, but only stayed long enough for an ID, before heading back into the inaccessible forested area, so no photograph. Our last target was for the Northern Shrike, which I'm glad to say, gave us a few photo  opportunities. The bird was pretty skittish but by using the car as a blind we were able to drift quite close to it and were thus able to get a few decent shots

Location: In and around Cambridge

Weather: Pretty cold (-15C), but sunny

To be updated later .................

Location: La Salle Marina Burlington

Weather: A mix of sun and cloud (mostly cloud), and somewhat chilly when the wind got up

One of the best places to photograph Ducks, and other water fowl, is anywhere along the shores of Ontario's Great Lakes. Today our targets were Canvasbacks, Ruddy and any other less than common ducks. We headed to La Salle in Burlington where there is usually a large collection of miscellaneous ducks hanging around the marina area throughout the winter. We arrived fairly early at around 8:15 and almost immediately we were looking a a couple of Canvasbacks that were foraging fairly close to shore. Unfortunately the light was in our face so getting detail in our shots was challenging to say the least, but you take what you can get sometimes. In around the marina there was hundreds of Mallards, dozens of Trumpter Swans, dozens of Goldeneyes, White-winged Scoters, Lesser & Greater Scaup, and a few Ruddy Ducks, which failed to come close, so we lucked out on images of these beauties (Ruddy Ducks). There was however lots of Long-tailed Ducks, which normally not found at this location (across the Bay at the Lift Bridge you can expect to see hundreds of theme there though). On the small bird side we saw a couple of Carolina Wrens, but no sign today of the Winter Wren.

Location: Cambridge & Blair

Weather: Variable sun and cloud, with snow flurries

Location: Whitby and Oshawa

Weather: Cloudy and not too cold (-2C)

After laying low for a few days, because of a heavy cold, I was anxious to get back out and see what birds were around, so along with a good birding friend, we headed back to Darlington Provincial Park where the Boreal Chickadee is still hanging out. On arrival we headed back to exact same location on the trail where we had seen it the week before, and amazingly it was exactly where we had left it <wink>. Over the next hour or two, and with the help of a few peanuts and Sunflower seeds, we had quite a few decent shots in the can, so to speak. Coming in with the Boreal were several other species including Black-capped Chickadees and  the odd White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches.  
Before heading back, we dropped by Halls Road in Whitby to see if one of the Barred Owls was out in the open. We got lucky, as we had a nice bird sitting in a decent spot and so we were able to bag a few more decent shots before heading back.... Pretty good day, considering.

Location: Darlington Provincial Park

Weather: Unseasonably mild (+6C) hazy sun and cloud

Location: Cambridge & Blair

Weather: Cloudy and dull, but very occasional sunny breaks

To be updated shortly .......

Location: Melbourne, Ontario

Weather: 3rd (sun & cloud) 4th: (bright and sunny)

I've been "chasing" and photographing birds for more than 10 years, and a not too uncommon bird keeps eluding me Namely the Short-eared Owl.. Along with a fellow birder/photographer, who has had the same nemesis bird on his target list for several years, we headed down to an area close to the small town of Melbourne, Ontario (near Strathroy). Knowing that this owl is mostly seen either at dusk or dawn, we set things up so that we would be there late afternoon, and again in the morning for the tail end of this owls nocturnal forays. 
We arrived mid afternoon and scouted around for a few hours in the hope that an owl might be around, but it wasn't to be. It wasn't until almost 5:15pm that we began to see birds soaring up and around. By this time the light was atrocious, but "snapped" of a few frames anyways. Strangely enough we met a fellow birder/photographer in the area that predicted that we would start to see the owls at 5:15 ... amazingly he was bang-on correct. (Thanks Garry)
After a night at a local hotel we headed back in the early morning with a hope that maybe ... maybe, we might capture an owl on a fencepost at the tail end of his nocturnal hunt. Again no luck, but we did see a few SEO's that flew around, but just as the light was improving (and it was still almost pitch black), the birds simply disappeared (I assume to their daytime roosting spot). Photo wise it was a disaster, but from a sighting point of view it was fantastic, and I can stroke off another "life" bird from my list.
I should mention that this same area had several Northern Harriers that cruised the fields around these same Concessions during the daylight hours, of course. 
​A couple of EXTREMELY poor images below, that are there only to record the sightings for my own records. I don't think I have ever posted as bad a photograph in all the years I've been doing this .... so please forgive me <embarrassed>
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Below is a montage of some of my favorites from 2018. I feel blessed that I was able to get out into nature and witness birds and other wildlife at close hand. Nature is so precious and seeing some of God's beautiful creatures in their natural habitat is something that is unbelievably awesome and satisfying.It is impossible to describe the joy and satisfaction from capturing their images in a photograph. 
I wish all of you who take the time to visit my little site here and read my often (I will be the first to admit it) rambling accounts, a fantastic 2019. I continue to be grateful for reasonably good health in my more senior years, that allows me the ability to spend the time tracking down and photographing nature ..... stay tuned, 2019 has a few gems just waiting to be photographed.

Location: Kitchener, Ontario

Weather: Cloudy, but mild(ish)

Location: Algonquin Provincial Park

Weather: Some sun some cloud, but bitterly cold to start the day at -23C

Location: Amherst Island

Weather: Day1 a bit of sun & cloud (around 2C), and Day2 started off sunny, but clouded over and was quite dull after 9:00am (0C)

Location: Halls Road, Whitby

Weather: Cloudy and dull

I had seen several reports of several Barred Owls being sighted and photographed at Halls Road in Whitby. Every year it seems we get an Owl overwintering in the wooded area of Lynde Shores at the end of this unlikely road. This year it appears that up to five of these beauties have made it their winter home. Today, along with a couple of friends we explored the area, and after a few hours of searching it looked like we weren't even going to find a single bird, but a frantic call at one point in the early afternoon from one of my fellow searchers, had us looking at a perched Barred Owl shortly thereafter. This bird posed beautifully for the next hour - almost oblivious to our presence - being more intent on the Chickadee activity and that of a VERY brave Red Squirrel that several times got real close to the bird. At one point the Owl swooped down and nailed a vole that had got too close. A good day.

Location: Burlington area

Weather: Cloudy with the lightest peak of sun through the clouds.

Location: La Salle Marina, Burlington

Weather: Cloudy & dull all day

I'm beginning to wonder about the accuracy of our Ontario Weather Forecasting service. It seems every day the weather doesn't seem to  live up to the, what appears to be optimistic, forecasting. As I mentioned above the weather was 100% dull and cloudy all day in Burlington, but the forecast was sun (~3 hours) and cloud. Truth be told I prefer the cloud for photography any ways - the harsh sun, with it's too contrasty shadows, is a killer of what could be a good photograph. So why am I complaining - oh well ... Minor rant over.
Our target today was either a Winter Wren (1st choice) or a Carolina Wren. La Salle is excellent for both species at this time of year, but the usual spot was not fhat forthcoming for either species. We saw and photographed the Winter Wren (only just), but only got fleeting glimpses of the Carolina. Next time... right? I almost forgot we had a visit from a Brown Creeper, but it was too quick for my old reflexes, yet again.
On the way out we decided to check out the Bay for any water birds that might be hanging out. Quite a few around although predominately Mallards, there was a few other species there including ... White-winged Scoters, Greater Scaup, Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Red-necked Grebes, Redheads and a single (surprising) Pied-billed Grebe of which we managed some fairly close shots off. Good day after all 

Location: Algonquin Park

Weather: 4th Clear, sunny & cold (-12C), and on the 5th it was Cloudy, dull and a tad warmer (-4C)

After last weeks fairly successful trip to Algonquin we decided it was worth another visit this week, but decided we hadn't given ourselves enough time last time so planned an overnight stay so we would have 2 days.
On Day 1 and on day 2 we visited Mew Lake Campground, Spruce Bog, the Visitor Centre and Opeongo Road. Unfortunately some of the targets we had set ourselves  were not fulfilled. We had hoped for any Crossbills (White-winged & Red),  and the elusive Boreal Chickadee. We did however see and photograph another target bird - the Common Redpoll which we saw a few off at the Visitor Centre.
Of course, which seems to be the norm these days, several Pine Martens were seen - at Opeongo Road, the Visitor Centre and at Mew Lake.
Lots of Gray Jays, or should I say Canada Jays, were around, as were both Nuthatches, Chickadees as well as Downy Woodpeckers and Hairy Woodpeckers. We also found and photographed lots of Evening & Pine Grosbeaks.

​All images are clickable to go full size, and hovering over will display species or description

Location: Luther Marsh

Weather: Dry and fairly mild, but dull and cloudy

Over the last few days I've seen some reports and posts about a flock of Bohemian Waxwings that were being sighted along the north side of Luther Marsh. LM is about a 80 min drive from my place so even though it was the weekend (I don't like going to stakeout locations on the weekend - usually too many people for me) and the weather wasn't promising, I headed up anyways.
On the way up I took a staggered route so that I could hit some of the back roads looking for anything else that might be around. I came across two flocks of Snow Buntings, one of which was quite large ... easily 80 birds, but neither flock stuck around after I pulled up, so no pictures and no confirmation of maybe a Lapland Longspur in the mix either.
I also was able to watch a raptor as it flew in a parallel path to me as I was driving a gravel road, but as soon as I stopped it took off in the opposite direction through some trees, so I never managed a good ID. My first impression based on what looked like a white patch above the tail, was that it was a Harrier, but who knows. Could have been the Gyrfalcon that had been reported up in that general area ... I'll never know LOL
Anyways I eventually arrived at the location on 59 where the Bohemians had been reported and  they were right where they were supposed to be, and as luck would have it I was the first there. a good bunch of the birds were perched in a small group of trees not too far off the road, so I was able to shoot from the car window and get a couple of OK shots. After a short time other cars began to show up and the birds were pushed back as people got out of their cars, as I did as well. Every now and then a group of birds (sometimes a 100+) would do a flyover, which was exhilarating to see. BTW Bohemian Waxwing was a "Life Bird"  for me :) :) ... woohoo!!
Before I left I headed further east along 59 and saw a small group of Pine Grosbeaks foraging along the road edge, but flushed as soon as I stopped, so no pics there either.