A week or two ago I came across an Ovenbird on one of the trails in the large forested area of Alps Woods (Dryden Tract), so along with a couple of friends (who were keen to get images of this interesting Warbler), we headed to the spot, several hundred yards into the tract, that had gave such great pictures on my previous visit. After a fairly short time the Ovenbirds came into view and so were able to capture a few images, as they forraged and sat up on fallen branches to sing their territorial songs. 
After a while we headed to Grass Lake. My friends, from the Toronto region, had never been to Grass Lake before so before I left them to it (I had to be home by 10'ish - still car sharing with my wife) I guided them to a spot that might produce a few goodies, and hopefully our secondary target today - the Grasshopper Sparrow. As I headed out we still hadn't seen one, but we had spotted a few Savannah Sparrows, the Sandhill Cranes and a fleeting glimpse of a  Bobolink.

​Location: Ancaster
Weather: Sunny & likely to get hot later in the day

Along with a few friends I went back to Hilptop Trail in an effort to get better images of the Hooded. Some of my companions had found a spot on the trail that the Hooded frequented, so my chances were much improved (I hoped). It started off a bit slow with only fleeting glimpses of today's target bird, but we were entertained, during the wait time, by a pair of American Redstarts that had a nest at a fairly low height and feeding babies, very close to our staked out location. A Carolina Wren also made a couple of appearances, so would have to assume a nest was in the same general area. After an hour or two we started to head out (wanted to check out another location a few miles away), but halfway back to the car we found out that the Hooded was making appearances at this spot. Over the next hour the Hooded came into camera range several times so was able to get the shots I had came for (cool!!). After a brief stop at another location that turned out  to be a wash out so we headed, as arrranged, to meet up with another birding couple we know to Darlington who were doing the Plover Watch - a couple of pairs of Piping Plovers had nested on the beach and one pair had theirs hatched. We arrived, but when we seen how far we had to walk along the beach we decided to abondon cameras and Lenses and carry only binoculars. As birder first and photographer second it was more important to get the sighting of this life bird for me. We arrived at the location to see (3) of the little fluff balls trotting along the beach foragging amounst the sand & pebbles. Their parents were also very active long the beach, making it quite an amazing visual experience. Awesome!!

My target today was a Hooded Warbler, that had been seen on Hilltop Trail, near Ancaster. I arrived around 7:00 am and slowly walked the densly wooded trail, stopping at various locations (usually openings which might, had it been later in the day, captured some sun) waited and played short bursts of the call. My hearing has no high frequency capacity any more so I have to rely on sight, so the short call tends to prompt my target bird to show itself. After about 400m I did get a glimpse at a distance of two of these gems chasing each other between some trees. Unfortunately they did not linger, so I didn't manage a shot, but excited at the sighting anyways. Further down the trail, in a sunny section next to a marsh, I spotted (no pic) a female & a male Redstart, then a short time later a pair of Great-crested Flycatchers. On my way back to my car I stopped again at the Hooded location from earlier, and this time spotted my target Hooded Warbler for a short time and this time managed a couple of quick shots, but because of the dense shadows and the very ISO I needed (ISO8000) the images are quite grainy and lacked impact. Still ... happy, happy!
It had been a while and since I was in the neighbourhood (so to speak), so took the opportunity to visit Headwaters Trail, which was near Copetown, and part of the same Dundas Valley network. This time last year I had spotted a Blue-winged Warbler at a spot a short distance from the parking area, but this time the area seemed to the territory of a Mourning Warbler who kept a close eye on me and so I was able to get a few decent shot of this very pretty bird.

After my extremely long day yesterday I didn't get up too early or plan to head anywhere too far. Besides, my wife is between vehicles, so we are sharing making it important that I'm not gone too long. Hopefully by the end of the week we have resolved this problem (I hope). Anways, headed to Alps Road - my "mission" was to find the Hooded Warbler that has taken up temporary residence in this densely forested area. On almost every visit to this tract I meet a lady, who has good birding knowledge, and who gives me info on where she has been hearing the Hooded, as well as other birds in the area. I homed in on the location (which was different from a couple of weeks ago) but yet again I came away with a "no show" result. However I did find a pair of Ovenbirds that were close to the location I had previously seen one in past forays into Alps Woods, so a fantasic consolation. I also spotted a Great-crested Flycatcher and a few Indigo Buntings.

Along with a fellow birder/photographer, and a very early start from here in Kitchener (03:15), we headed to one of my favorite birding locations in SW Ontario ... Carden Alvar. By 06:00 we were slowly cruising Wylie Road looking for some of the classic summer residents - Bobolinks, Bluebirds, Wilson's Snipe, Upland Sandpipers, Sedge Wrens, Loggerhead Shrike, Brown Thrasher, House Wrens and a host of others. Almost immediately a pair of Eastern Meadowlarks were spotted in a field close to the road and being quite cooperative by sitting up on dead sticks almost invitingly asking us to take their picture ... which we did (several times). It seemed like a good omen for the rest of the day, but things didn't quite turn out as planned, regrettably, as it turned out, as birds were pretty hard to find reasonably close for a decent chance to get reasonable images. Lots of Eastern Bluebirds around, including a few cute juveniles. Other common sightings this day were Brown Tharshers and House Wrens. I don't have many visits to Carden and not see and photograph Wilson's Snipe, but today was one - A couple were spotted sitting on fence posts, but we never got close enough for a shot. A pair of Loggerhead Shrikes was spotted but they were a long distance off, unlike in previous years where they were a lot closer to the road.  A few American Bitterns did a fly past but yet again too distant for a chance of a photograph. After leaving Wylie Road and before heading home we did a drive down Shrike Road and came across a field with several Upland Sandpipers and a bit further on another field with Bobolinks, Savannah & Grasshopper Sparrows. 

After a very long tiring day yesterday (Fathers Day) with family I slept a little late, so ended up not going out. A couple of hummingbirds have been frequesnting the feeders I recently put out and although not as much fun as shooting them on the, yet to flower, Trumpet Vines in my yard it was still tremedous fun. Ialso have out on the deck a small tub of Grape Jelly to attract the Baltimore Orioles which seems to be most frequented by two or three Red Squirrels that can empty a tub in "nothing flat". Funnily enough these little squirrels played havoc with the half oranges I had up as well. Other visiors to the yard, mainly on the Mulberrey tree, were Robins (lots), Waxwings and a couple of Chipping Sparrows

Earlier in the week I was fortunate to have located and photographed a Golden-winged Warbler at Currie Tract. The images I captured on that day were "just OK" so I was keen to get closer and hopefully get better shots. Arriving at Currie 6:15, or so, we headed up the trail to where he had been last week, but after an hour and half it was a case of "no-show" (maybe next time). On the way back we met some photography friends and hung out with them for an hour or so, and during that time a few birds showed. The one that gave us the most fun, and a few decent shots, was a male Scarlet Tanager that popped in out for quite some time. 
Next port was Robertson Tract - I'm determined to get a photograph of the Blackburnian Warbler that is often seen there, but like the Golden-winged it never showed. 

I wish I could have risen a little earlier, but hey! I'm as lazy as the next guy. I did however get to Robertson Tract around 7:00am - the goal being to see and photograph the Blackburnian Warbler that had been spotted several times by my friend Richard, at this spot. I'm not sure what Richard has that I don't because yet again ... no luck - I even tried calling to no avail. I did however see a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, an American Redstart and a Yellow Warbler, albeit briefly. On the way back to the car I stumbled across a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers that cooperated enough for me to be able to get a few shots.
I then headed to Silvercreek Conservation - last year around this time I saw and photographed a Black-throated Green Warbler at a certain location, but unfortunately after an hour of waiting and the occasional call from my mp3 player it didn't surface. By this time sun was high and the temp around 27C so time to call it a day around 10:00am ... a short day indeed.

Again I tried to locate and hopefully photograph the Canada Warbler on Valens Road, and again no luck. Oh well maybe soon. I headed down to some Crown Land that I had had some luck in previous years with Black-billed Cuckoos and again I was "skunked" I did however find & photograph a Pine Warbler (nice) at this location. From here I went up to another Crown Land location on Safari Road and was able to see and photograph a Blue-winged Warbler, House Wren & an Eastern Towhee (both male & female were around but only the male came close enough for a photograph. I did see a Black-billed Cuckoo just as I climbed out of my car (as he flew overhead) 

It was a short day - I started out at Beverley Swamp at 7:30am but after a phone call I had to zip back to Kitchener to take care of something, so was back in the house for 10:00am. There had been a report on one of the forums a day or two ago that a Canada Warbler was seen on Valens Road near Beverley, so I did a short recky along that section of road, but no Warbler, in fact not much anything. However at my favorite spot at the Swamp I was able to see and photograph a couple of Warblers as well as a Cedar Waxwing - I was pleased with the images under the circumstances (short day), but surprised I didn't see some of the regulars - Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Red-eyed Vireo. Almost firgot - I could hear a calling American Bittern from somewhere deep in the swamp.

Headed out to Currie Tract again .. I really wanted to see & photograph the Golden-winged Warbler that has been sighted numerous times over the last few week. I was joined by my friend Steve, and later by another friend Richard, and together we hiked along the Hydro corridor to the spot where the "target" had been reported. After about 15-20 minutes he was spotted in a tree about 60-70 ft away - a little far for decent photographs, but we did manage several shots between us, making yet another life bird this month (it's been a good month for lifers). Over the next hour he returned a few times, but never ventured close, so we had to make do with the distant shots, as we had so far. (no complaints from me though).
Prior to heading out towards the Golden-winged we spent a fair amount of time at the intersection of the main trail and the Hydro right of way, and was able to spot a few decent birds in that first hour - Blue-winged Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart and a surprising Mourning Warbler that came and went very quickly, but we managed a few shots anyways. 
Late morning we headed over to a nearby location - Robertson Tract, which I hadn't been to for a few years. Richard had spotted a Blackburnian Warbler there a few days ago, so we were hopinh it was still around, which it was but he only exposed himself  for a very short time, so I personally wasn't quick enough to fire the shutter. I might head back there in a few days and try again 

I have been cooped up for the last 7 days trying to get through a small project I had taken on. I'm retired but I do occasional consulting work of which this one kept my busy all week. We headed out early to investigate multiple and fairly recent sightings of a Golden-winged Warbler that had been seen on Currie Tract in Halton region. About 3 years ago this tract was one of my favoured places to visit, but after Hydro did some ground clearance along the Tower corridor the birding opportunities kinda ground to a halt, so I hadn't been back since then. Three years has made a significant difference with the shrubs, small trees and other vegetation almost back to where it had been. At 6:00 am I'm on the trail with the sun not over the trees yet and the temperature in the early morning shade a little nippy, and it would seem that the birds didn't like it much either, as there was very little movement and so not too many sightings. However by 7:30 the sun showed and warming up the shadows and a general flourish of bird activity took place. We were entertained for over the next couple of hours with American Redstarts, Scarlet Tanager, Blue-winged Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Great-crested Flycatchers and a brief sighting of a Pine warbler. As luck would have it we met up with another couple of Birder/photographers who gave us directions to the location of the recently sighted Golden-winged, but after getting to the said location, there was no sign or sounds of our target bird. Oh well that's birding!! 
Late morning and we headed to a special spot for me - Reservoir side of Mountsberg. Instead of lugging camera equipment we travelled light with only the binos, and had a leisurely amble along the short trail there. Highlight here was a Eastern Kingbird on the nest with the male hovering nearby.
A pretty good day and a nice change from work.  

I'm a member of a small Facebook birding group that has regular outings around SW Ontario. Today was my turn to "lead" a bunch of our members around some of my favoured locations on the south end of Cambridge. I picked up Helen and hour earlier than the planned meet time so we could check out a couple of locations. We did a couple of quick stops at some spots I knew, but not much happening, but our 3rd stop was a tad better. Immediately after getting out of the car we spotted a Brown Thrasher high in a tree singing his brains out, and then spotted (way in the distance) what looked like a ? Cuckoo. A Baltimore Oriole and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak were added before we headed over to our group meet up.
Around 15 or so of us then headed over to Grass Lake and were able to spot Savannah Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Song Sparrow, KIldeer, Bobolink, Sandhill Crane & Bluebird - most of these birds were photographed by the majority of the group. Next stop was Bannister Lake and we added a Sharp-shinned Hawk to our list. A bathroom break had us now in Ayr, so breaking the outing planned sequence we headed over to the Bald Eagle nest along the Nith River. As well as gertting some decent shots of both adult and baby Bald Eagles, we also saw Bank Swallows, Baltimore Orioles, Eastern Phoebe & Red-bellied Woodpecker. The Red-bellies had a nest high in a tree on the opposite of the river, so were to'ing and fro'ing giving us some great photo ops. After a quick lunch break we headed to Alps Road Woods to see if we find the Hooded Warbler, Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager & Indigo Buntings. After a lot of treking through hilly terrain we headed back to the parking lot with very few sightings, altough we did hear Grosbeaks, Ovenbird, Hooded Warbler.and see a pair of Great-crested Flycatchers (not many images though, from anybody). Unfortunately it had been a while since I had been in the further reaches of this quite large woodlot, so embarrassingly I got everybody lost for a while .. sorry guys :( . The outing was a lot of fun for me, and I hope for the rest of the group as well.

We headed back again to Skunks Misery after reading on the forums that others had seen and photographed a Cerulean Warbler. Now this bird has been on my wish list for several years, so we were hopeful as we drove the, almost 2 hours to Sasafras Road at SM. We started off at the location, where the other day had been pretty successful, and almost immediately the Mourning Warbler & the Blue-winged hybrid came into reasonably close range (although still skulking in the shrubbery) allowing some decent photographs. Others, that showed up in the next few hours, were Great-crested Flycatcher & an Eastern Towhee. A Hooded Warbler showed up briefly, but he was up and gone before I could train the camera on him. We decided to relocate to an adjacent Concession gravel road to try our luck there (a clue in one of the forums suggested that's where we might find Celurean). After some treking through some dense & pretty muddy trails in the forest, off said gravel road we still hadn't spotted our quarry, although at least one was being heard high in the canopy. Returning to the gravel road we met up with a fellow birder (Denise), who confirmed the presence of the Celurean, and pretty soon afterwards Denise guided us to a spot that had a Celurean at a lower elevation and subsequently gave us great photo opportunities. This was one Life bird that was very satisfying ... good day indeed!

Steve came up with a great idea as to where to go today, on what is likely going to be our last trip of the month - Skunks Misery, a half hour or so past London. I had, or had Steve, never been there before but it has been programmed into my GPS birding spots for several years, so .... We arrived a bit before 8:00 and pulled on to the grass verge at a likely looking spot and almost immediately we saw a couple of Chestnut-sided Warblers in a tree next to the car (a great start to any day). In the next few hours we saw several Chestnut-sided, Indigo Buntings, Blue-winged Warblers and Great-crested Flycatchers. We met up with a couple of fellow birders who pointed out a Mourning Warbler high in a tree along the trail - one of the birds we had hoped to see, and it was a beauty male bird singing off an on. Same birders also mentioned they had seen and photographed what looked like a Blue-winged x Golden-winged hybrid, which had a lot of the traits of a Brewsters. I didn't photograph this bird, but I did get a 2-3 second glimpse of him - thrilled :)

Thought I would do the same route as yesterday ie Grass Lake & Alps Road, and as expected there were similar results .. but still no sign of the Hooded pair at Alps. However, I did spot an Ovenbird in the very close general vicinity. Initially when I approached the area I had spotted a small brownish bird scoot past at low level, but after waiting a bit to see if it would show (it didn't), I moved on to the Hooded spot. After giving up on the no-show Hooded, I went back to where the small brown bird had been seen earlier and as I approached a small sparrow like bird popped up on a log, then turned around to face me approx 10 or 12ft away - I was delighted to see that it was an Ovenbird, and after frantically trying to focus in on the bird it took off and landed in a nearby tree, obviously agitated, and started singing - a nice surprise. Before returning to the car I checked out a nearby spot where I had seen Indigos in the past and wasn't disappointed today there either. Some other shots from Grass Lake included. A Good day

Now that spring has finally sprung, as they say, it seems to have brought the migrants and summer birds. Hard to believe 2 weeks ago we were still having snow flurries, but believe me I'm not complaining - I much prefer the heat. Steve & I headed out for what was to be a short birding day up and around the Beverly Swamp area. Lots of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks around. We also spotted a Red-eyed Vireo and an American Redstart all of which in previous years had frequented the same spots. Next stop was down a couple of concessions to a spot where in other years I had seen Blue-winged Warblers. Today it was not to be, but an Eastern Towhee showed up and gave both of us some great views for about 5 minutes - I love it when they do that. It was a good birding day, as they often are at this time of year. 

 It's been over a week since we got back from Ohio ... and with good birding happening all around me I have been a tad negligent in getting the blog back on schedule. Anyways, as per the previous trip to Ohio the week before it was a tremndous trip - a ton of birds including a couple of life birds as well. On this trip, along with another two good birding friends, we birded for a total of five long days (usually 12 hour days) primarily at Magee Marsh, but we also ventured to Maumee Bat State Park and Oak Openings Preserve. Tue the 17th was probably the best day at Magee with many warblers, often at extremely close range, giving us some marvellous photo opportunities.  Highlights for me on this trip was the better views I had of a Canada Warbler (in fact we saw 3 individuals during the course of that one day), The Virginia Rail at Maumee (thanks to Helen for hearing it) and the several Red-headed Woodpeckers and sightings of a special bird for me - Summer Tanagers, at Oak Openings. On top of seeing some great birds during the course of the 5 days, the excellent company from my travel companions was probably the biggest highlight (thanks guys).
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Like the previous week I have created a Gallery Page, which can be accessed from here.

Very early Wednesday morning (01:00) I started out for my 2nd annual visit to the "Warbler capital of the World"  or sometimes described as the "Best birding in America" - Magee Marsh in Ohio, just east of Toledo along the Erie coast. I arrived at 06:30 to a parking lot that was starting to fill up - by mid morning several hundreds of vehicles would be lined up in a series of lots. I initially headed to the boardwalk - the most popular spot for most visitors and by 8 or 9 the boardwalk would be choked with hundreds of avid birders viaing for views of the hundreds of warblers that would ultimately be seen throughout the day. My first day netted me a warbler count of 20 species and several other species as well. Best Warblers of the day for me were an Ovenbird, Prarie Warbler and a briefly glimpsed Canada Warbler. Next morning I'm back bright and early hoping to have my list expanded. Following an excited group of people later in the day, I was fortunate to get a very brief glimpse of a Kirtlands Warbler  .. my first life bird of the trip. I met friends who also mentioned that they had taken a side trip to Oak Openings and had seen a Lark Sparrow, as well as several Red-headed Woodpeckers. Around mid afternoon another birder had mentioned that a Curlew Sandpiper had been spotted at Oak Openings - an incredibly rare bird and I so heading the 40miles was a no-brainer. I found that this park was massive, and even after I rec'd directions from other birders I never did locate the spot, but I did spot a couple of Lark Sparrows ... another Life bird to my list. Along with a Common Nighthawk my life list adders was now at 3, and my warbler count up to 24. I missed out on a Kentucky Warbler and Yellow-billed Cuckoos (2) that it seemed everybody except me had seen. Friday was my last day, so with very tired and sore feet I trudged around hoping for good photo ops and new birds to add to my list. A Whip-poor-will was not easy to spot but fellow birders guided me to the sighting so I was able to add this final life bird, of the trip, to the list. A very cooperative Tennessee Warbler was my final warbler of the trip making my final count at 25 - and he gave me great photos, as he forraged 10' away in an apple tree covered in Blossom to boot!. Before heading back to Ontario later in the afternoon I took the car trail at Ottowa Refuge a 10mile+ drive only trail around ponds, lakes & swamps, and managed to add another few birds to my trip list, which totalled 92 after 3 days. I'm back next week so I'm hoping to better that count and maybe add some new Warblers. I live in hope !

Here is a link to a gallery of some the several hundred images I took.  I have also a species list for download if anybody wants to check it out.... see below

On a continuing quest for migratory birds Helen & I headed first to Edgelake Park in Stoney Creek where a few warblers had been reported a day or two ago. Unfortunately, other than Yellow Warblers we found not too much. A Baltimore Oriole scooted about high in the trees which denied us a photo op. From here we headed to Grindstone Creek and took the less popular trail accessed from Unsworth Avenue. Again a few Yellow Warblers were around, but we also found a Palm  and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Other sightings were Grey Catbird, Green Heron, Rough-winged Swallow and House Wren.
Last stop of the day was around Mounstberg Reservoir (one of my all time favorite local spots). Here we saw a few more Yellow-rumped and Yellow Warblers, House Wrens and an unusually early Warbling Vireo. Not a bad day ​

I headed down to the Pelee area to see if the warbler invasion was underway yet. Unfortunately cooler weather seems to be delaying the bulk of the songbird arrivals, but a few birds were around (not many though). Day1 (Thursday) I arrived at the point at approx 6:00am after the 3 hour drive from Kitchener (yes I was up real early ) and expected to see lots of birds, but other than a few Yellow Warblers and a few Kinglets there was not much going on. After several hours exploring several of the trails things had improved very slightly, with sightings of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Hooded Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler and a few others. Unfortunately I missed on the rarities that had been reported - Kentucky & Connecticut Warblers, Brewsters, Golden-winged & Laurences Warbler. Late in the afternoon I headed over to Hillman Marsh, but it appeared that all the unusual species that had been there a few days ago had moved on (Avocets, Black-neckes Stilts, Willets, Dowitchers, etc) All I could see at a significant distance away were a few Yellowlegs, Caspian & Common Terns and a single Golden Plover.
Day2 (Friday) after having stayed at a local motel for the night I was back on the trails again at 6:00am, with still sore feet and shoulders from day before (we suffer a lot sometimes for our passions). Same trails with similar results but did add a few birds to my list including Blue-winged Warbler, House Wren, Orchard Oriole and a brief sighting of the only life bird of my trip - a Lousiana Waterthrush. If it wasn't for Yellow Warblers I wouldn't have had much to photograph at all. Around noon I headed over to Rondeau hoping for an improvement in the bird photography opportunities, and it was slow here as well but did spot a Yellow-throated Vireo, as well as a few more Yellow Warblers and a cooperative Eastern Phoebe.