Yellow-rumped Warbler Sat: Sedgwick Forest, Oakville
Weather: Part Cloud/Sun +11C (not a misprint) 10:30am
Sun: Bayfront Park, Hamilton
Weather: Dull +2C (9:00am)
This will be my last entry for 2014 ... it's been a good year!
Sedgwick on Saturday was a tad slow with the warblers being a bit elusive, although I did see most of them at some point. I think the issue may have been that the warm turn in the weather created a flood of insect activity (there were clouds of them), so they were foraging in a wider range, or they purely not hungry. I did spot a new bird for me since I have been going to Sedgwick for the last 6 weeks - A Brown Creeper showed up for a couple of minutes. Other sightings, other than Warblers, were a Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, Juncos, Song & White-throated Sparrows.
Sunday - For a change of scenery I headed down to Bayfront Park in Hamilton. Reports over the last few days indicated a couple of warbler species, so hey, it was worth a try. Other than a few Mallards, Canada Geese, Buffleheads and a bunch of American Coots .. that was all I spotted.
Weather: Part Cloud/Sun +11C (not a misprint) 10:30am
Sun: Bayfront Park, Hamilton
Weather: Dull +2C (9:00am)
This will be my last entry for 2014 ... it's been a good year!
Sedgwick on Saturday was a tad slow with the warblers being a bit elusive, although I did see most of them at some point. I think the issue may have been that the warm turn in the weather created a flood of insect activity (there were clouds of them), so they were foraging in a wider range, or they purely not hungry. I did spot a new bird for me since I have been going to Sedgwick for the last 6 weeks - A Brown Creeper showed up for a couple of minutes. Other sightings, other than Warblers, were a Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, Juncos, Song & White-throated Sparrows.
Sunday - For a change of scenery I headed down to Bayfront Park in Hamilton. Reports over the last few days indicated a couple of warbler species, so hey, it was worth a try. Other than a few Mallards, Canada Geese, Buffleheads and a bunch of American Coots .. that was all I spotted.
20th & 21st December 2014
Wilson's Warbler Sedgwick Forest Oakville
Saturday:Bright Sunshine - -5C (8:00am)
Sunday:Intermittant Sunshine - -1C (8:00am)
Weather was very promising this weekend, so as I strive for that A+ image, I, along with my good friend Steve, headed yet again to Sedgwick, both Saturday & Sunday morning. Warblers were still around, but getting that shot that has been eluding me for the last 4 weeks, is getting closer, but I'm still not happy, although the Wilson's Warbler shot opposite, I'm quite happy with. On Saturday morning, after leaving Sedgwick we headed over to a location about 8km away, that has been getting sightings, of all things, a Painted Bunting. We arrived to find about 20 or so birders stacked up on the pavement outside one house, but no PB (although apparently it been showing a short time before). We gave it 1/2 hour then headed to LaSalle to check out the reported sighting of an Eastern Screech Owl ... who was at "home" and asleep, but we managed to get a couple of shots. Sightings Saturday & Sunday: Tennessee, Yellow-rumped, Wilson's, Nashville & yellow-crowned Warblers; Ruby & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Song & White-throated Sparrows, Cardinals, Downy Woodpecker , White-breasted Nuthatch, Juncos, American Goldfinches & House Finches, Blue Jays, Winter Wrens, European Starlings, Great Blue Heron.
Saturday:Bright Sunshine - -5C (8:00am)
Sunday:Intermittant Sunshine - -1C (8:00am)
Weather was very promising this weekend, so as I strive for that A+ image, I, along with my good friend Steve, headed yet again to Sedgwick, both Saturday & Sunday morning. Warblers were still around, but getting that shot that has been eluding me for the last 4 weeks, is getting closer, but I'm still not happy, although the Wilson's Warbler shot opposite, I'm quite happy with. On Saturday morning, after leaving Sedgwick we headed over to a location about 8km away, that has been getting sightings, of all things, a Painted Bunting. We arrived to find about 20 or so birders stacked up on the pavement outside one house, but no PB (although apparently it been showing a short time before). We gave it 1/2 hour then headed to LaSalle to check out the reported sighting of an Eastern Screech Owl ... who was at "home" and asleep, but we managed to get a couple of shots. Sightings Saturday & Sunday: Tennessee, Yellow-rumped, Wilson's, Nashville & yellow-crowned Warblers; Ruby & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Song & White-throated Sparrows, Cardinals, Downy Woodpecker , White-breasted Nuthatch, Juncos, American Goldfinches & House Finches, Blue Jays, Winter Wrens, European Starlings, Great Blue Heron.
13th December 2014
Sedgwick Forest Oakville
Cloudy overcast & damp - +1C (8:00am)
With not much around anywhere else ... back we go to Sedgwick - Arrived around 8:00 and for about 2 1/2 hours I was the only one there. The light was atrocious (ISO around 2500 even at f4.0), but most of the birds were there - I spotted the Wilsons (but he was elusive sticking to the heavy undergrowth - which was disappointing as this was my main focus (Wilson's one of my favorite warblers)). The Nashville, Tennessee & the Orange-crowned were also around and easy to photograph, but the poor light made it difficult to get the crisp shots that I was after. Other species were Golden-crowned Kinglets, Winter & Carolina Wrens (the Carolina was my first at this location, but he also stuck pretty tight to the dense thickets, so a photograph was nigh on impossible. What I was seeing was the warblers were keeping pretty close to a small flock of Dark-eyed Juncos... interesting, but not surprising! A fellow birder photographer (I had met him on a couple of previous occasions) arrived at around 10:30 and mentioned that a Snowy Owl was sitting on the lighthouse at Bronte Harbour, The Harbour was only a couple of miles from where I was, so on the way back home I detoured round, but the local fishermen had obviously disturbed the owl, as he was not there any more. (A fisherman was plying his craft below the lighthouse ... but the owl wont be too far away, so note self ... check it out another day!!
Cloudy overcast & damp - +1C (8:00am)
With not much around anywhere else ... back we go to Sedgwick - Arrived around 8:00 and for about 2 1/2 hours I was the only one there. The light was atrocious (ISO around 2500 even at f4.0), but most of the birds were there - I spotted the Wilsons (but he was elusive sticking to the heavy undergrowth - which was disappointing as this was my main focus (Wilson's one of my favorite warblers)). The Nashville, Tennessee & the Orange-crowned were also around and easy to photograph, but the poor light made it difficult to get the crisp shots that I was after. Other species were Golden-crowned Kinglets, Winter & Carolina Wrens (the Carolina was my first at this location, but he also stuck pretty tight to the dense thickets, so a photograph was nigh on impossible. What I was seeing was the warblers were keeping pretty close to a small flock of Dark-eyed Juncos... interesting, but not surprising! A fellow birder photographer (I had met him on a couple of previous occasions) arrived at around 10:30 and mentioned that a Snowy Owl was sitting on the lighthouse at Bronte Harbour, The Harbour was only a couple of miles from where I was, so on the way back home I detoured round, but the local fishermen had obviously disturbed the owl, as he was not there any more. (A fisherman was plying his craft below the lighthouse ... but the owl wont be too far away, so note self ... check it out another day!!
8th December 2014
7th December 2014
6th December 2014
Sedgwick Forest Oakville
Cloudy - +3C (9:00am)
Steve Lindsay & I headed down to Oakville to check out the reported warblers that have settled in at Sedgwick Forest next to Sewage Treatment Plant. We managed to spot many of the species - Northern Parula, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Winter Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler, Golden-crowned Kinglet, but missed out on the Carolina Wren, Wilson's Warbler, Tennessee Warbler & Nashville Warbler. Quite amazing when you consider that all of these birds, other than the Winter Wren, are usually in the sunny south by now, but it seems that the bugs generated from the Sewage Treatment facility keeps these guys here. It was busy with a dozen or fellow birders who had followed the "information trail" here as well.
Cloudy - +3C (9:00am)
Steve Lindsay & I headed down to Oakville to check out the reported warblers that have settled in at Sedgwick Forest next to Sewage Treatment Plant. We managed to spot many of the species - Northern Parula, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Winter Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler, Golden-crowned Kinglet, but missed out on the Carolina Wren, Wilson's Warbler, Tennessee Warbler & Nashville Warbler. Quite amazing when you consider that all of these birds, other than the Winter Wren, are usually in the sunny south by now, but it seems that the bugs generated from the Sewage Treatment facility keeps these guys here. It was busy with a dozen or fellow birders who had followed the "information trail" here as well.
