MARCH 2019

31st March 2019

Location: Drumbo

Weather: Sunny, for the most part

The plan today was to see if we could find interesting subjects - both landscape and birds - there had been an overnight snowfall that coated all the trees etc - it was beautiful. A buzz around Grass Lake near Glenmorris was not too successful with a total of 4 Sandhill Cranes out on the frozen pond, but too far any significant images, so we barely slowed down. We had a n idea that Drumbo Flats, near Drumbo might result in an interesting landscape near Hohners Creek, but the banks here were overrun, so the fields and plains were essentially a large lake,... so much for that idea. On the plus side we found a pair of Eastern Bluebirds that were along the side of the road. My shooting partner I have to thank for the sighting - the blue of the bird really stood out as we drove along. Anyways we stopped and managed several shots of the pair - these shots alone were worth getting cold and wet for ... Good day was had.

Eastern Bluebird (M)

29th March 2019

Location: Colonel Sam Smith Park, Toronto

Weather: Mix of sun and cloud, but warmer than it's been

Reports were that there was a good selection of water birds at Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Etobicoke, with an exceptional number of Red-necked Grebes. I love the courtship rituals of these beautiful birds, so a drive to the city, although not my favorite journey, was planned. Now before checking out the birds we planned to get there really early with a view to catching a sunrise from the point. Unfortunately it didn't work out very well - a) I forgot my tripod mounting plate and b) the sunrise didn't materialize anyways. .... "best laid plans of mice & men". However on my walk, in the almost dark, to the point I watched a Saw-whet Owl fly into it's daytime roosting spot - not something I have ever seen I don't think, so that alone made the early rise and the drive to the city worth while.
For the next few hours Steve, my good friend and ofttimes shooting partner, and I watched and photographed several Red-necked Grebes, Horned Grebes, Long-tailed Ducks, Goldeneye Ducks, Buffleheads and Red-breasted Mergansers. We were fortunate on a couple of occasions as the birds came up with a small fish, so always a bonus to witness, and of course we also witnessed the Red-necked Grebes performing one of their mating rituals, albeit from a distance further than I would have liked for photography, but they don't always cooperate unfortunately ... maybe next time.
One last thing to mention - I saw my first of year Tree Swallow, so I think I can safely say that spring is here and summer not too fat off. 

28th March 2019

Location: Home in Kitchener

Weather: Cloudy, with some rain and the occasional sunny break

Not much to say .... These were taken earlier today through my patio doors looking towards the feeder station at the back of my deck. Sometimes it doesn't pay to drive hundreds of kilometers to locations that at the end of the day produce almost nothing. Birding around this time can be a little flat, so save the fuel and shoot at home. Todays' tip !!

26th March 2019

Location: Burlington

Weather: Clear & Sunny, but cool in the morning (-4C)

It was fun to meet up with a couple of fellow bird photographers and tour around a couple of spots in Burlington today. It was a tad cool, but today (unlike the last time I was in Burlington) I dressed for the cooler weather, and so it turned to be a very pleasant and comfortable day. We didn't see any really outstanding birds, but we did find an Eastern Screech Owl sitting out in the open facing the morning sun, just as the sun came over the horizon. The bonus was that during this time the owl had its eyes open, so that was a bit of a plus for us. 
Down at the Marina most of the water fowl have moved off from their previous close proximity of the dock, so although we could see lots of birds, they were someways off shore, which of course meant that not too many photographs were taken at this location. Saying that the wind was making the water a bit choppy near land anyways, so not the best environment for Duck Photography. 
Down at Valley Inn it was also a bit quiet - we could see some Hooded Mergansers and also a few Buffleheads, but they stayed a little too far offshore for any decent images. The only shots we managed at this location were some shots of a lone Song Sparrow, and a few Red-winged Blackbirds that were showing off their breeding colours.

23rd March 2019

​For the last few years it's been a, very unlikely to achieve goal, of mine to see and photograph all of North America's Warbler species. There are 57 (if you don't count the sub-species - Lawrence's, Brewster's, Audubon’s & Myrtle's etc). So far I'm at 41 seen, and 39 photographed. This year I'm very keen to get that photograph total to 40. The other 17 might be a different story. We all need something to reach for, so wish me luck LOL :)

22nd March 2019

Location: Grass Lake

Weather: Dull & Cloudy

Grass Lake is a popular spring & summer birding location between Cambridge and Paris, Ontario. With no real plans today and that Grass Lake is only 15 minutes from my house, I decided to check it out - I knew it was way too early for the popular summer residents  - Savannah Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows and the Bobolinks, but I thought maybe the Sandhill Cranes and just maybe the Meadowlarks were back in their traditional breeding areas. No Meadowlarks unfortunately, but one pair of Sandhills were back, so I managed to grab a few shots before they moved off. There has been for several years now, a breeding pair Eastern Bluebirds and it was also nice to see them back in their old spot. Other sightings were of a few Horned Larks and a Kestrel that was hanging around - hopefully not trying to pick off a Bluebird.

18th & 19th March 2019

Location: La Salle & Valley Inn, Burlington both days

Weather: Sun & cloud. Monday quite cold, but spring like Tuesday

La Salle Marina in Burlington, over the last week or so, has been quite productive with several duck species showing up and hanging out - sometimes just a day or two and sometimes a couple of weeks. The Goldeneye males have been quite entertaining, as have the Long-tailed ducks, but the Goldeneyes took centre stage the last couple of days as they performed their mating ritual. I am not sure if the females were impressed, but I certainly was. <wink> 
A few others in the general area as well including a quite vocal Winter Wren that popped up and sang us a few songs. So it was pretty obvious that, even though there is still quite a bit of snow on the ground, and lots of ice on the waterways, the birds have a notion that spring is just around the corner. I can't say that I'm disappointed to see the beginning of the end for the 2018/2019 Winter.

16th March 2019

Location: La Salle, Burlington and a run around Stoney Creek

Weather: Freezing wind .... 

It was a chilly one, but the signs of spring keep showing up. Today, at La Salle (again) I spotted a few more migrating ducks, including the cute Ruddy Duck, and the ever beautiful American Widgeon, A few Long-tailed Ducks were hanging around the Marina Dock and the males were a tad frisky (another sign of an impending spring). Before heading home we took a run up the the Mountain section above Stoney Creek to see what was around the flooded fields (always at this time of year), and weren't too surprised to see a couple of flocks of Tundra Swans. Thanks to Jamie for driving today, and of course the great company that he provided. Cheers,.!! 

14th March 2019

Location: La Salle Burlington

Weather: Sun & Cloud and above freezing (+4C) woohoo!!

Over the last day or two the weather has taken that very welcome turn towards spring, and with that thought I headed down to La Salle Marina in Burlington - one of the better spots (in my humble opinion, although there are many all along the great lakes) at this time of year. The ice had receded somewhat and so with all this new open water the water birds made good use of it - feeding and courting.
The big number was of the Goldeneye - there must have been 60-70 birds in and around the dock area.
It was nice to see a couple of Surf Scoters and a single Horned Grebe, both of which were first of year for me.

6th & 7th March 2019

Location: Amherst Island

Weather: Sun & Cloud. Bitterly Cold

One of my nemesis subjects, and has been for several years, is the Short-eared Owl. Over the last couple of months I have made a few trips to Amherst Island, where several of these little beauties have been hanging out this winter, in an effort to fill this gap in my photo collection. Thankfully I can now say I have several half decent shots of a "Shortie" after a very cooperative individual gave us some great close proximity shots over a period of almost an hour or so, late in the day. I should mention that this was one Owl in a colony of approx 15 or so. Through the day these owls have been roosting in a small grove of conifers in the front yard of a house, and one point on day one of our visit, they took off all at once and together .... it was jaw-dropping. Around 5:45 on both days they became very active and took flight from their hidden daytime roosting spots and started to hunt in the pastures and fields close to where we were, but by this point the light was such that flight shots were really effective.
Other birds of note on the island were dozens of Northern Harriers, a few American Kestrels, several Red-tailed Hawks, a few Rough-legged Hawks, a few bald Eagles, a single Northern Shrike and Snowy Owl, and of course the abovementioned Short-eared Owls. There was per previous reports several other species eg Long-eared Owls, Saw-whet Owls and Barred Owls, but unfortunately we couldn't locate them.

A group of 10 Short-eared Owls

3rd March 2019

Location: Burlington, Hamilton & Stoney Creek

Weather: Sun and cloud, and getting milder. Today -2C

The weather looked really good for a sunrise photoshoot, so along with a friend we headed to a spot that I hadn't been to in about a year or so. ie Fifty Point in Stoney Creek, and what a difference as to the last time I was there. This spot is normally a shingle beach, but with the recent high winds and freezing weather had transformed it into an ice monster. From where the beach and lake usually meet there is a 10 feet plus high wall of ice that projects into the lake approx 80 feet or so. However it had it's own excellent, and unique character, so we made the best of it.
From here, and after a coffee, we headed up to the topside of the "Mountain" to check out 10th Road East that has quite often some interesting birds. Today there were several Horned Larks, a Northern Harrier, and not much else. None of whom gave us decent shooting opportunities... oh well!
As we headed generally back towards home turf, and since this location has been giving good sitings over the last few weeks, we headed to La Salle Marina in Burlington to check it out. Unfortunately the Bay was still for the most part frozen solid, other than a small "pond" of open water close to shore. It was full of mainly Trumpeter and Mute Swans, Mallard ducks, two Goldeneye Ducks (M) and a solitary male Pintail, and so over the next hour a few shots (actually a hundred or so) were taken, so the day turned out pretty decent, and of course the company was great.