Tufted Titmouse Date: Saturday January 31st 2015
Weather: Mainly Cloudy -14C (6:30am)
Location: Grand Bend
First time out in a couple of weeks - I missed my usual weekend outing last week due to an infection that I ended up with from minor surgery earlier that week, so felt good to be back to normal and out in the countryside enjoying nature. I've been contemplating a trip over to Grand Bend area after hearing that I might sight a Tufted Titmouse in the Pinery Provincial Park, near Grand Bend. I didn't have long to wait - 10mins after getting setup I spotted one, but he was a bit far away, but patience is the name of the game and after an hour or so I was able to photograph two more (might have been the same one twice. but who's counting). TT's are not pretty common south of the border, but up here in Ontario they can only be spotted in the more southerly regions. Common Redpolls were also in abundance - a flock of about 20 came & went throughout the morning. They were a bit of a treat - Redpolls being a winter visitor from the far north, and only come south when food sources are in short supply up north. I think it was two years ago since they were here in any great numbers. Other sightings White & Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-tailed Hawk, American Tree Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Blue Jays, Downy & Hairy Woodpeckers, Cardinals & Chickadees.
Weather: Mainly Cloudy -14C (6:30am)
Location: Grand Bend
First time out in a couple of weeks - I missed my usual weekend outing last week due to an infection that I ended up with from minor surgery earlier that week, so felt good to be back to normal and out in the countryside enjoying nature. I've been contemplating a trip over to Grand Bend area after hearing that I might sight a Tufted Titmouse in the Pinery Provincial Park, near Grand Bend. I didn't have long to wait - 10mins after getting setup I spotted one, but he was a bit far away, but patience is the name of the game and after an hour or so I was able to photograph two more (might have been the same one twice. but who's counting). TT's are not pretty common south of the border, but up here in Ontario they can only be spotted in the more southerly regions. Common Redpolls were also in abundance - a flock of about 20 came & went throughout the morning. They were a bit of a treat - Redpolls being a winter visitor from the far north, and only come south when food sources are in short supply up north. I think it was two years ago since they were here in any great numbers. Other sightings White & Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-tailed Hawk, American Tree Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Blue Jays, Downy & Hairy Woodpeckers, Cardinals & Chickadees.
January 17th & 18th 2015
Painted Bunting Date: Saturday January 17th 2015
Weather: Cloudy & Sunny -11C
Location: Brantford - Oakville
Along with a fellow birder/photographer (Jim Utton - Jim is an excellent photographer .. check out his flickr page), we went down to Indian Dam in Brantford - a place I had never been before, to see if we could find any of the resident Bald Eagles that are often found there. We found only the one, who unfortunately was perched in an impossible photographic location. We did however spot a couple of busy beavers who, even in the dead of winter, were collecting branches for their lodge. They kept way over the far side of the river so only poor shots were obtained, but great to see anyways! The river along this stretch is generally ice free, thanks to the dam upstream, so lots of ducks & mergansers. Other than the obligatory Canada Geese, there were a few dozen Common Goldeneye and some Buffleheads. I left Jim at Brantford and headed once again to Oakville to see if I can see the Painted Bunting, that is seen pretty much daily in a small residential area near Lake Ontario. Today was my day ... Even as I was getting out of my vehicle fellow birders are waving at me - the bird was on the ground below a feeder "lunching" on fallen seeds from a feeder above. Painted Buntings are extremely rare in Ontario at any time of the year but to have one in the winter is incredible. I managed a few shots before it flew off, but after a wait of about 90 minutes it arrived back, so was able to grab a few shots - the light was very poor so the quality of the images are equally poor, but I was extremely pleased anyways ... a good day!
Weather: Cloudy & Sunny -11C
Location: Brantford - Oakville
Along with a fellow birder/photographer (Jim Utton - Jim is an excellent photographer .. check out his flickr page), we went down to Indian Dam in Brantford - a place I had never been before, to see if we could find any of the resident Bald Eagles that are often found there. We found only the one, who unfortunately was perched in an impossible photographic location. We did however spot a couple of busy beavers who, even in the dead of winter, were collecting branches for their lodge. They kept way over the far side of the river so only poor shots were obtained, but great to see anyways! The river along this stretch is generally ice free, thanks to the dam upstream, so lots of ducks & mergansers. Other than the obligatory Canada Geese, there were a few dozen Common Goldeneye and some Buffleheads. I left Jim at Brantford and headed once again to Oakville to see if I can see the Painted Bunting, that is seen pretty much daily in a small residential area near Lake Ontario. Today was my day ... Even as I was getting out of my vehicle fellow birders are waving at me - the bird was on the ground below a feeder "lunching" on fallen seeds from a feeder above. Painted Buntings are extremely rare in Ontario at any time of the year but to have one in the winter is incredible. I managed a few shots before it flew off, but after a wait of about 90 minutes it arrived back, so was able to grab a few shots - the light was very poor so the quality of the images are equally poor, but I was extremely pleased anyways ... a good day!
January 10th & 11th 2015
Long-tailed Duck Pair 
Early morning at Mountsberg Date: Saturday January 3rd 2015
Weather: Dull (8:00am) -3C
Location: Oakville - Burlington
Hard to believe another year has came & went, but I have to say that 2014 was pretty good - see 2014 in Review
My good friend Carlos and I did a bit of a tour around some of the winter hot spots along Lake Ontario, between Oakville & Burlington. Carlos is an excellent and experienced photographer, but typically doesn't do much birding or wildlife type photography, so I wanted to go places that would produce, so started off checking out a good sunrise location on the way towards Lake Ontario - First stop Bronte Harbour, to check out the Snowy Owl that is overwintering around the Marina. The morning light was poor, but the owl was sitting on the ice not too far out, so we managed to get a few shots. From there, over to Sedgwick to photograph the Warblers etc - today we had all of the fabulous five - Wilson's, Yellow-rumped, Tennessee, Nashville and the Orange-crowned Warblers, as well as sightings of Ruby & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creeper, Downy Woodpecker. As usual all of the species came close, but were generally deep in the thickets. On to La-Salle Marina, then Woodside Cemetery to check out the Eastern Screech Owls, but we came up negative at both locations. Last stop was Hendrie Valley where the usual wintering birds were found - Cardinals, Downys, Ni\uthatches, Chickadees, White-throated & Tree Sparrows and a single Red bellied-Woodpecker. Snow came on about noon so at that point it was a wrap, but I think, a pretty good outing.
Weather: Dull (8:00am) -3C
Location: Oakville - Burlington
Hard to believe another year has came & went, but I have to say that 2014 was pretty good - see 2014 in Review
My good friend Carlos and I did a bit of a tour around some of the winter hot spots along Lake Ontario, between Oakville & Burlington. Carlos is an excellent and experienced photographer, but typically doesn't do much birding or wildlife type photography, so I wanted to go places that would produce, so started off checking out a good sunrise location on the way towards Lake Ontario - First stop Bronte Harbour, to check out the Snowy Owl that is overwintering around the Marina. The morning light was poor, but the owl was sitting on the ice not too far out, so we managed to get a few shots. From there, over to Sedgwick to photograph the Warblers etc - today we had all of the fabulous five - Wilson's, Yellow-rumped, Tennessee, Nashville and the Orange-crowned Warblers, as well as sightings of Ruby & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creeper, Downy Woodpecker. As usual all of the species came close, but were generally deep in the thickets. On to La-Salle Marina, then Woodside Cemetery to check out the Eastern Screech Owls, but we came up negative at both locations. Last stop was Hendrie Valley where the usual wintering birds were found - Cardinals, Downys, Ni\uthatches, Chickadees, White-throated & Tree Sparrows and a single Red bellied-Woodpecker. Snow came on about noon so at that point it was a wrap, but I think, a pretty good outing.
