Last entry for the month of September, and looking back over the month it's been a little disappointing, but enjoyable none the less. Saturday, after a little research I noticed that there was a birding festival at Ruthven Park down in the Haldimand area near Cayuga. This was a small festival that incorporated a bird banding program, so if they are banding ... then there must be birds to photograph... logic is good so far.. right?). Well, it wasn't a waste of a trip, but there wasn't much banding happening, or photography, for that matter.. but I did get a couple of shots and spotted a few migrants (I have a pile of images of out of focus birds, and a lot of leaves). Kinglets, in the early part of the morning were around, but mainly Golden Crowned, but boy, were they hard to photograph !! Other species spotted were Brown Thrasher, Grey Catbird, Song Sparrow, Blue Jay, Golden Crowned Kinglet, Gold Finches, Robins, Red Winged Blackbirds, Turkey Vultures, Downy Woodpeckers, Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers, and a few others I'm probably forgetting about. As part of the festival there was a Raptor show. It was pretty interesting, and the presenter brought out a few good birds, Harris Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Snowy Owl, Great Horned Owl and a Bald Eagle (spectacular). On the way back it I detoured around by Townsend to check out the sewage Lagoons, which based on web research is open on weekends, wrong! Oh well ... moving on!
In the initial stages of a Winter trip, possibly to Panama, Cuba or maybe back to Costa Rica ... more to follow, as they say!
In the initial stages of a Winter trip, possibly to Panama, Cuba or maybe back to Costa Rica ... more to follow, as they say!
September 15th 2013
Cape May Warbler Late summer and the opportunities are dwindling, and I really wanted to get shots of the late warbler migrants that are passing through the area. I checked the OFO website for sightings in my area and picked on the Arboretum at UofG again (someone had posted some great species a day or two before). Saturday morning the light couldn't have been better, but after 2 hours of trekking around the Arboretum I saw nothing more interesting than a few Waxwings, Robins and Chickadees ... On the way back I checked out Hespeler Mill Pond again which wasn't too bad ... a few GBH's, a dozen or so Egrets and several small waders. Sunday, I drove around by Mountsberg Reservoir and managed to spot this guy .. a female Cape May Warbler (my first this year). Also spotted was a Merlin, Robins, Waxwings, Kingfishers, Mourning Doves, Rock Pigeon, and a few others that were too quick for me to identify
September 7th 2013
Forecast was less than perfect, and with limited time I decided on the Arboretum at UofG. I also detoured past Hespeler Mill Pond to check things out there. HMP still has significant numbers of Great White Egrets and a few Herons, but I didn't spot any waders, so it looks like they might have continued on their hibernation journey. I did however, spot a couple of Bonaparte Gulls sitting on the mud flats... At the Arboretum the rain was starting so I left photography gear in my truck. A 15min walk around by the Gardens produced the usual Goldfinches & Waxwings and a few others including Grackles, Robins, Chickadees, but no migratory Warblers (the main reason for my visit). Highlight was, as I was watching a group of Waxwings in a tree ~100' away, a Common Nighthawk swooped in driving the Waxwings ahead of it, over the trees behind me, then a few moments later it flew back over my head, and of course the camera was still in my vehicle :( . Tomorrow I'm debating Point Pelee area .... maybe!
1st September 2013
Cedar Waxwing Sunday morning, Carlos & I headed out and visited a few local spots where we might have some photo opportunities. Carlos is a very talented photographer, but hasn't done much Nature related Photography, so I wanted to pack in a few decent spots in a short space of time. Grass Lake was our 1st location and predictably there was a pair of Sandhill Cranes. Next, over to Hespeler Mill Pond, where we managed to grab some decent images of Cedar Waxwings, Common Mergansers, Great Egrets, Great Blue Heron, Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper etc. Finally over to Riverside Park. The highlight of the weekend was, for me, a first ... a Wilsons Warbler (seen below)
