23rd February 2019
Location: Burlington, ON
Weather: cloudy with some some hazy sun
| Weather forecast was very promising, when I got up this morning - cloudy with some hazy sun, my favorite kind of light for photography. The effect hopefully results in some low ISO with the sun, but soft shadows. Harsh sun usually ends up with images that are too contrasty and with deep shadows - not good. I headed to Burlington which after the recent cold spell which will (I hope) have lots of lake ice and thus keeping the birds in tighter pockets of the open water. Luckily the diminished open water was in a lot of cases close to shore, so lots of waterbirds were taking advantage, and of course gave me some decent shot opportunities. At La Salle, the bulk of the waterbirds were Mallard, Black Duck, Scaup and Trumpeter Swans, but there were also a few others including Bufflehead, White-winged Scoter, Redhead, Goldeneyes and Hooded Merganser. The Hoodies however were quite a ways out, so not really a photo option for me. Before heading back I dropped into Woodland Cemetery to check on the Screech Owl that is often seen in a hole in a tree there. It was a lucky day - the Owl was sitting in the open hole basking in the sun. |  Eastern Screech Owl (Red Morph) |
19th - 20th February 2019
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.
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.
13th February 2019
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 :)
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 :)
11th February 2019
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
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
8th February 2019
Location: Riverside Park, Cambridge
Weather: Icy cold, windy and with an occasional flash of sunshine
 Northern Cardinal (M) | Early this afternoon the dull and cloudy day changed slightly brighter to something a little more promising. So at 1:30 in the afternoon, it's a bit too late to go too far, and after yesterdays encounter with the Swamp Sparrow at Riverside Park I thought why not take a long lens and just maybe get a few more decent shots of this great bird. The paths and roadways at Riverside, unfortunately, are still treacherously icy so after picking my along towards the boardwalk, and walking along most of it's length, I found that the Swamp wasn't active today. But, I did find around 8 or 9 Cardinals (mainly males) foraging along the boardwalk. I always bring a small bag of seed along here - helps to get the birds out into the open, so with a bit of organic coaxing, I was able to get of few shots of these beauties. I came away, after only 45 mins, quite happy with the captures I managed. I used the 500mm prime with a Canon 5D4 body, handheld so I was pretty careful on the icy surface - a fall might have made it an expensive "adventure" |
7th February 2019
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
All shots taken with the 5D Mark iv with the 100-400 Mk2
5th February 2019
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
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
