31st March 2020
Location: In and around Cambridge | Weather: Dull and drizzly |
30th March 2020
Location: Grass Lake Area | Weather: Cloudy & cool'ish |
29th March 2020
Location: North & East of Elmira | Weather: Foggy-rainy start but cleared up to just cloud |
A friend was just asking me about a Heron Rookery up in Mennonite country (north of Elmira). of which I wasn't aware, so it's gotta be worth a check out. (even though it's a tad early for Herons). I found the spot that was detailed for me at 43.669809, -80.472892, but no sign of any Herons or any related old nesting, but there was a fairly large group of Common Mergansers in the pond there. Unfortunately they were keeping their distance, so photos of any consequence to show for the sighting.
A few other species in the area - Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrels (I had 4 altogether), Song Sparrows, Cardinals, Killdeer, Meadowlarks & of course Chickadees & Robins.
27th March 2020
Location: Colonel Sam Smith Park, Toronto | Weather: Dull start, but brightened up (12C) |
Highlight for me today, was a pair of Golden-crowned Kinglets that were foraging along the shrubbery next to the Lake. I have to say that they were tricky to get a shot as they constantly bounced from tree to tree, but with a little patience, and a fair amount of good fortune, I managed a couple of shots
26th March 2020
Location: Elora to Guelph | Weather: Sun, turning to cloud, but nicely warm |
I was home by late morning so I stocked the back yard feeders, set the camera/lens on a tripod and shot a few visitors through my patio doors.
24th March 2020
Location: Back roads around Flamborough | Weather: Dull start, then sun & cloud (mild) |
Throughout the morning, I stopped off at several roadside ponds and scanned the water looking for anything interesting and at a pond just outside of Cambridge on my way home I came across a pond with several Ring-necked Ducks and a couple of Hooded Mergansers.
23rd March 2020
Location: Close to Grass Lake | Weather: Snow, Sleet, then rain ... YUK |
Other species seen were American Robin, Killdeer, Starlings, Grackles, Buffleheads, Mallards, Canada Geese, Tree Sparrows, Horned Larks (lots)
17th - 22nd March 2020
Location: Between Cambridge & Paris | Weather: Sun and cloud, but still chilly |
Mid March always has a few birds starting to show up as migration starts to develop, and a welcome time it is. I think all of us get a little fed up shooting the same subjects over an extended time .. ie winter. Over the last few days I'm starting to see the birds in the gallery below (of course) and a few others including .. Brown-headed Cowbirds, Common Grackles, Song Sparrows and many others. On the flipside I'm also seeing way fewer of our over-wintering visitors - Tree Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos and several species of Ducks, so I suppose the balance is somewhat neutral.
14th March 2020
Location: Grass Lake to east of Cambridge | Weather: Cloudy and cool (0C) |
It was a non-birding and busy week for me, so it was only until today that I was able to get out, and it was most enjoyable, but with not too images to show for it. The skies were very busy with many flocks of the early migrants heading north'ish. Nothing too exciting - mainly Red-winged Blackbirds, Starlings, Crows and Grackles for the most part, but I did see a few Sandhill Cranes as well. I generally "worked" the area around Grass Lake for the best part of the morning and was delighted to see a couple of pairs of Bluebirds on territory and hanging around their chosen boxes. As I got closer to Cambridge I found a third pair and again they were nicely coloured and hanging out near a box. Mid March is very typical for Bluebirds to get on territory, but many will have over-wintered not too far away. The dozen or so that hung out in the cemetery just a bit north of Burlington for the coldest months seemed to have dispersed to their Spring homes but a couple that I saw there last week, look like they are going to take possession of one of the cemetery boxes. All the local ponds and lakes seem to have a few Red-winged Blackbirds hanging out in the trees around it. The males arrive first and fight out territories before the females arrive in a few more weeks. |
7th March 2020
Location: a) Irondale b) Algonquin | Weather: Blue Skies but chilly early |
We arrived at the Visitor Centre, which we decided was the most likely spot to find birds quickly (the day was getting on and it made sense to speed things up so-to-speak). Off the deck at the Visitor Centre there was several birds hanging around the feeders - Blue Jays, Evening Crossbeaks, Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins.
All in all not a bad day, but the harsh sun was tricky - it gave us plenty of light but the contrasty shadows and the very bright highlights were tough to handle.
5th March 2020
Location: Burlington | Weather: Spring like (almost) ...mild and sunny |
1st March 2020
Location: In and around Burlington | Weather: Cold start at -11C, but warmed up to a +1C |
Today, along with a good birding friend, we headed to Burlington, with a list of "targets" we hoped to see and photograph. Top of that list was Eastern Bluebirds, several of which have been hanging out at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery. As soon as we arrived we spotted 4 or 5 but they were very cautious and not longer after we arrived they drifted away fairly quickly. They were generally hanging out near the nesting boxes, so I was a little surprised that they didn't hang around, but I came to the conclusion that we are still to far away from their nesting season, and the related instincts they have to "protect" their area. Might be worth trying again in a couple of weeks.
Our next stop was at Valley Inn where if there was any open water then likely a few water birds might be around, and in particular Hooded Mergansers. Unfortunately the spot where I would have expected was frozen over .. albeit very thinly. However another bird that is usually found there was the Winter Wren, who did pop up for a short time and so we managed a few shots. Surprisingly a Song Sparrow was in the same area, and it proved to be a better subject as it danced around the same area.
Last spot for the day was Woodland Cemetery where we hoped to see the Red morph Screech Owl, and which we did. Normally this individual is quite nervous and often we find that, as soon as we arrive it drops down out of sight, but today it cooperated fully - we had a few displays of behavior which made our visit worthwhile. A few times the owl opened it's eyes and gave us a look, it did little hacking (thought we were about to see a pellet discharge .. but no) and it also did a bit of scratching, so lots of photo opportunities. A good day A good tip is to stay well back and allow the owl some space .