February 25th 2021
| LOCATION: Grand Bend - Melbourne | WEATHER: Sun and cloud, but a tad chilly |
 Short-eared Owl | It had been a while since I did a bit of a marathon kind of shoot, but with restrictions relating to travel somewhat lifted, I decided to get an early start and head over to the Lake Huron area and make a day of it. Up and out the door at 5:40am, I initially headed to the small town of Melbourne to see if any Owls were still working the fields for mice & voles. Unfortunately even though I was there very close to first light, there was almost nothing still around, so the first phase of my outing was a bit of a flop, I suppose Next stop was the Pinery just south of Grand Bend, and about 45 minutes from Melbourne. I didn't, however, just drive straight there - I took all the back roads and basically zig-zagged my way there, hoping for some birds in the fields or trees along the way. One thing for sure, there sure was a lot of Horned Larks, and so I couldn't resist stopping a couple of times to grab a few snaps. More interestingly there was a couple of significant sized flocks of Snow Buntings - I scanned through the groups of birds hoping for a Lapland Longspur, a species that often tags on to the Snow Bunting flocks, but with no luck. |
On the raptor side of things I did see several Northern Harriers, Red-tailed hawks and a few Rough-legged Hawks. For the most part all of them were a tad skittish, so not too many shots, but one Rough-legged Hawk did sit patiently for me as a grabbed some frames, but unfortunately he was sitting on some hydro wires, but sometimes you have to take what is given.
Once at the Pinery I was delighted to see Tufted Timouses (or is Titmice ??) were still pretty active. There was around 8 or 9 of them scrounging around for anything they could get from people who were walking around etc. Mixed in with them was lots of Chickadees, White-breasted & Red-breasted Nuthatches and a few Downies.
Around 1:00pm I started to head back to the Glencoe and Melbourne areas, hoping that something worth photographing was moving around. Like on the way to Grand Bend, I generally kept to the back roads, but didn't see to much. First stop on this leg was Glencoe, but there wasn't any Owls, but a few Hawks were perching and flying around so shots were possible.
Last stop of the day was the area south of Melbourne that has been quite well known for many years as a spot where Short-eared Owls can be found late in the day. I was delighted to find two individuals that posed nice. End of a good day.
Once at the Pinery I was delighted to see Tufted Timouses (or is Titmice ??) were still pretty active. There was around 8 or 9 of them scrounging around for anything they could get from people who were walking around etc. Mixed in with them was lots of Chickadees, White-breasted & Red-breasted Nuthatches and a few Downies.
Around 1:00pm I started to head back to the Glencoe and Melbourne areas, hoping that something worth photographing was moving around. Like on the way to Grand Bend, I generally kept to the back roads, but didn't see to much. First stop on this leg was Glencoe, but there wasn't any Owls, but a few Hawks were perching and flying around so shots were possible.
Last stop of the day was the area south of Melbourne that has been quite well known for many years as a spot where Short-eared Owls can be found late in the day. I was delighted to find two individuals that posed nice. End of a good day.
February 22nd 2021
| LOCATION: North Dumfries Township | WEATHER: Snow & sleet, then eased off, but mild |
Just after lunch I decided that, even though it was not looking too good weather wise, to head out into the sleety light snow and take a run around North Dumfries township. I usually take the same route when in this neighborhood, and over the years have had mixed success. Along West Dumfries Road I came across several small groups of Horned Larks, that were foraging along the roadside where the snow plough had cut beneath the snow on the road edge and exposed some muddy grass etc, which was attracting the Horned Larks and a few Snow Buntings as well.
February 21st 2021
| LOCATION: Pinery Prov Park | WEATHER: Bitter cold (-20C) but sunny |
With lockdown relaxed somewhat I could officially head out without fear of doing the wrong thing. It was sure nice to walk into a coffee shop and see tables with people at them .. maybe we are on the downward part of this journey .. lets hope so anyways.
This morning we headed over to visit the Pinery Provincial Park, which is located close to the coastal town of Grand Bend. The target here was to see if we could find and photograph a Tufted Titmouse or two - these guys are pretty hard to find in most parts of Ontario, but here at the Pinery, it was like "shooting fish in a barrel' so to speak, as we had around 7 or 8 of them hanging around near one of the picnic areas - needless to say we managed a few decent shots. Mixed in with the TT's were lots of Chickadees as well as quite a few Downy Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatches, Cardinals and at least one Red-bellied Woodpecker. I'm glad we weren't using film .. I'd be broke ;)
On the way home we decided that we should check out Grass Lake - there had been a few Snow Buntings hanging out there for a couple of weeks, but sadly, nothing today. However, just at the edge of the Grass Lake area, we spotted a Screech Owl in a tree hole by the side of the road - a tree hole, which I had often looked at, but never seen one there - a great end to the day.
This morning we headed over to visit the Pinery Provincial Park, which is located close to the coastal town of Grand Bend. The target here was to see if we could find and photograph a Tufted Titmouse or two - these guys are pretty hard to find in most parts of Ontario, but here at the Pinery, it was like "shooting fish in a barrel' so to speak, as we had around 7 or 8 of them hanging around near one of the picnic areas - needless to say we managed a few decent shots. Mixed in with the TT's were lots of Chickadees as well as quite a few Downy Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatches, Cardinals and at least one Red-bellied Woodpecker. I'm glad we weren't using film .. I'd be broke ;)
On the way home we decided that we should check out Grass Lake - there had been a few Snow Buntings hanging out there for a couple of weeks, but sadly, nothing today. However, just at the edge of the Grass Lake area, we spotted a Screech Owl in a tree hole by the side of the road - a tree hole, which I had often looked at, but never seen one there - a great end to the day.
As always ... click on any image to show full size. Also by hovering your cursor over any image will provide a title
February 17th 2021
| LOCATION: SW Ontario | WEATHER: Weak sun, turned cloudy |
| It had been quite a few days since the weather was right, and my boredom of being stuck at home, to reach the level where I just had to get out. Bird Photography, for those of you that are are as keen as I am, is like a drug, and that addiction just has to be satisfied.. Anyways, I drove down to an area that was an hour or so's drive from home, to an area that has being seeing a few Short-eared Owls and a few miscellaneous Hawks, Red-tailed, Rough-legged, Northern Harriers etc, so the draw of such a prize was overwhelming, somewhat :) Later in the day is usually best for Shorties, so I arrived around 3:00pm, and was immediately delighted to see a few up in the trees along one of the gravel roads. I could also see a few Hawks in the same general area, but initially there wasn't much movement from any of the birds (Owls or Hawks), but as time progressed to around 4:00pm movement started and I was able to get a few shots. As I was waiting for the action to start I was surprised to see a Meadowlark foraging about, and was even more amazed when I found out later that it was actually a Western Meadowlark. I managed to get a couple of shots from this bird, who was quite unperturbed by my presence, Meadowlark. Good day :) |  Rough-legged Hawk (Roughie) |
February 13th 2021
| LOCATION: Grass Lake | WEATHER: Dull with flurries |
 Snow Bunting | I can't believe its almost 10 days since my last post. This "stay-at-home" policy we are under here in Ontario is getting a little stressful (that's one word for it anyways). Today, I thought to myself .. I've had enough and I headed the short distance to a spot I've always liked, and didn't really expect to see anything ... Grass Lake. As soon as I arrived a small flock of Snow Buntings flew past me and landed on top of a silo at the farm next to the road. Within a short time a few of the birds dropped down to within shooting distance, and I was able to get quite a few shots. The Gods were with me :) so the decision to check out the area was somewhat, a good one. Some further exploration in the same general area was a little disappointing, but I did see a few Horned Larks, but unfortunately they were not very cooperative, and so no shots. |
February 3rd 2021
Today, I am very pleased to mention, is the 8th Anniversary of this Blog. I find it hard to believe that after 8 years writing a little summary and adding a few images, I still really enjoy doing it. The Blog has always been, simply, a personal diary of the day's bird sightings and experiences., with a few of the better images of the day thrown in. February 3rd 2013 seems just like yesterday :).
Link to that first entry below
https://grenfell.weebly.com/grenfells-birding-blog/archives/02-2013
Link to that first entry below
https://grenfell.weebly.com/grenfells-birding-blog/archives/02-2013
February 1st 2021
| LOCATION: South side of Cambridge | WEATHER: Mixed cloud with occasional sunny spots |
A short drive from around a couple of the gravel roads on the south side of Cambridge, was a little quiet, but I did come across a small flock of Horned Larks ~10 or 12 birds, so shooting from inside my vehicle was pretty decent ... until a pickup truck came barreling down, and that was the end of that :(
Horned Larks are one of a few species that either migrate only a short distance south, or hang around all winter. Around this spot for the last several weeks there has only been two birds, but today I had many more, so it's my assumption that some of these birds are gradually moving north ie migrating.
Horned Larks are one of a few species that either migrate only a short distance south, or hang around all winter. Around this spot for the last several weeks there has only been two birds, but today I had many more, so it's my assumption that some of these birds are gradually moving north ie migrating.
