March 29th 2017
Location: Cambridge & Grass Lake area
Weather: Spring-like & sunny
| | Toured a few places around Cambridge, including Hespeler Mill Pond, Blackbridge, Muskrat Pond and ended up at Grass Lake. All locations had a few things happening, and it sure is nice to see that the birding spring is finally starting to show. Grass Lake has new arrivals .. a few Sandhill Cranes, Tree Swallows and Bluebirds. West Dumfries Road has the Eastern Phoebe's nest building ... same place as the last couple of years. |
March 27th 2017
Location: Milton - Hamilton/Burlington
Weather: Foggy start but by early pm it was hazy sun and spring like
On my third try to find the Harris's Sparrow that has been lingering in Milton, I managed to see him. It was foggy and we were shooting through the car window about 40feet away but it was a nice addition to my 2017 list. Next on our day tour list was Side Road 10 in Salfleet where a Loggerhead Shrike was being seen. We didn't see it (in fact we didn't look to hard) but we did see a couple of Eastern Meadowlarks, Northern Harriers and a good duck selection in the wet fields of Ridge Road. On the way back we dropped in on La Salle Marina - glad we did as we saw and photographed a Winter Wren who popped up for a few seconds. A few ducks around including Gadwall and the inevitable Wood Duck drake. Last stop on the way home was at Christie Lake Conservation Area where we spotted a Bluebird pair and a few FOY Tree Swallows.
March 23rd 2017
Location: Milton - Burlington
Weather: Sunny, but a tad chilly
First thing, we headed out to Milton to see if we could spot the Harris's Sparrow that has been lingering on the edge of a sub-division for about a week. On arrival there we spotted a Coopers Hawk on the ground with his/her victim, exactly where the Harris was supposed to be found. Needless to say there wasn't a small bird for a couple of blocks. Nevertheless it was a great chance to photograph predator & prey at close range.
From here we headed to La Salle in Burlington, hoping that there might be some good birds in the Marina area (you never know), but unfortunately nothing too exciting, other than the, almost resident now, male Wood Duck.
Last stop was Valley Inn, where we checked to see if the Screech Owls were visible, and yes we saw both Red Morph and Gray Morph ... not a terrible day !!
From here we headed to La Salle in Burlington, hoping that there might be some good birds in the Marina area (you never know), but unfortunately nothing too exciting, other than the, almost resident now, male Wood Duck.
Last stop was Valley Inn, where we checked to see if the Screech Owls were visible, and yes we saw both Red Morph and Gray Morph ... not a terrible day !!
March 18th 2017
Location: Algonquin Park, On
Weather:Cold but sunny and almost spring-like
| Up at 2:45am and out the door by 3:45am. First pickup my buddy Steve, then on the highway for the 4 hour drive to Algonquin Park. Other than a small detour (an accident on Highway 60 had the road blocked) we arrived on schedule to a beautiful morning. Checked out the usual places for some of Algonquins special winter guests (Pine Martens, Red & White-winged Crossbills, Gray Jays and Boreal Chickadees) all with minimal success, but we did come across a North American River Otter that gave us some great photo ops. Other sightings were the Pine Marten, Gray Jay, Pine Siskens & Evening Grosbeaks. Good day !!!! | |
March 16th 2017
Location: Niagara Falls, ON
Weather: Bright & Sunny, but pretty cold (-7)
| | I hadn't been to Niagara Falls for at least a couple of years, and with a few decent birds being sighted there I thought it was time I made the trip. I was most interested in seeing the over-wintering Pine Warbler that was being seen on Dufferin Island as well as the Tufted Titmouses (or is it Titmice ??). I arrived before 8:00 am and drove around the parkland looking for a likely spot and pulled into a |
parking bay where I could see a few House Sparrows (have to start somewhere). Almost immediately I spotted the Pine Warbler, and a few minutes later out popped a Tufted Titmouse .. it was turning out to be a good day :)
March 8th, 10th & 11th 2017
Locations: Burlington (Canvasback, Wood Duck), Dundas (Ross's) & Kitchener (Junco)
Weather: Seasonally cool, but reasonably bright
| On the 8th I spent some time on 10th Road, La Salle & Grindstone Creek, but came up with not much other than the male Wood Duck at La Salle. 10th I headed initially to Dundas to see if the Ross's Goose was still around and lucky for me it was. I don't get to many life birds these days but this guy was (woohoo). Stopped in at La Salle again and came across a few Canvas backs as well as the usual "duck" mix of Scoters, Goldeneyes, Scaup, Mallards etc. and today (11th) I headed to Riverside Park in Cambridge in search of the elusive (for me) Pileated Woodpecker, which I needed for my 2017 list ... and there he was .. a good week | |
March 6th 2017
Location: Burlington, Ontario
Weather: Sunny, but very chilly
| | I like to get out most days, but at this time of year I struggle to come up with a spot that would be interesting and hopefully "birdy". I thought about Long Point, and a few other well known hot spots , but ended up heading, yet again, to Burlington. La Salle Marina was always on my stop list whenever I'm in Burlington, and I'm glad I did. After a short jaunt down the main trail I headed back to the car, and chatted briefly with another birder/photographer who pointed out a male Hooded Merganser 50ft from my vehicle, and boy did he cooperate ... a nice change !! |
March 4th 2017
Location: Durham Region
Weather: Sunny & bright, but very chilly (-8C)
 Barred Owl | An early morning visit to Durham Region paid off with a great sighting, in a dense forested area, of a Barred Owl, and he was a big one. I had seen a few in the past but this guy was a biggie. The light was very poor under the forest canopy in the early morning, so the ISO used for this shot was higher than I prefer (3200), but you take what you can get. My targets today were Barred & Saw-whet Owls and Northern Shrike, so pretty happy with my day getting two out of three, albeit the only images I managed all day were of the Barred Owl. I was accompanied by a great birding friend, Sonja who definitely made the day more enjoyable. |
March 2nd 2017
Location: Hamilton area
Weather: Very cold north wind, but sunny with a little cloud
With all the recent elevated temperatures it sometimes feels like spring is already here, but not so today. The wind was blowing out of the north giving us a frigidly cold day. Brrrrr! Headed out reasonably early to check out 5th, 8th & 10th Road in Salfleet where there had been some decent birds spotted over the last few days. I arrived at 7:30 am initially looking for the elusive Short-eared Owl, that is sometimes spotted along 10th Road, but not today. I did however see a Northern Mocking Bird that cooperated for my camera. Other highlight was a Northern Harrier that made an appearance albeit for a very short time. Fifty Point was my next very brief stop on my way to La Salle Marina ... I've been determined to get images of the Winter Wren that hangs around with a pair of Carolina Wrens. I have seen the little guy a couple of times in the past couple of weeks, but I wasn't fast enough on the trigger to get a shot, but today he cooperated ... :)
