MAY 2020

May 30th 2020

Location: Bruce Penisula

Weather: Sun & Cloud ... great shooting weather

It's hard to believe that May is almost over ... May is my favorite birding month with migration happening all around us, and the variety of birds snowballing everywhere. On reflection, and even though we were denied our annual trip to Ohio, it ended up being a pretty good month for sightings and images. 
Today we headed back again to our spot in the Bruce peninsula to see if we could improve on our previous shots of the Golden-winged Warbler, and of course anything else that popped up. As for the "Golden" we ended up seeing a total of three individuals at three different locations (all within a Km) .. so pretty happy about that. Other sightings were a Black-billed Cuckoo at the exact same spot as a few days ago, so it would appear that there must be a nest in the immediate vicinity.  A Northern Flicker chanced by at one location and sat for ages in an apple tree and posed beautifully for at least 10 minutes ... outstanding opportunity. 
I'm often asked for locations of the birds we find, but giving out these spots is not something I like to do ... I have spent years and years locating spots that are undeveloped and not widely known about, so to give them away would likely mean that they would no longer be unknown ...  

Tip of the Day: Find a good spot - You might go for a drive through a wildlife area, walk on a trail, or sit in one spot and wait for the birds to come to you. One key is to find a place where two habitats meet, such as the edge of a forest and a meadow, or where muddy shorelines meet the water. Finding a spot where birds can find food and water can increase your chances of finding interesting species. Good luck !

May 29th 2020

Location: South side of Cambridge

Weather: Mix of sun and cloud .. very pleasant

It was nice to get out with an old friend .. a keen photographer but very much a non-birder, so I'm not sure the excitement of finding a few nice birds was shared by him as much as it did me. However we had a great chat and maybe today's outing sparked a bit of  new interest in photographing our feathered friends.

May 27th & 28th 2020

Location: Bruce Peninsula

Weather: Day1 - Sunny & HOT, Day2 much cooler

A trip up north isn't always a success, but our two day jaunt to an this area, cruising the gravel roads, looking and listening turned up a few nice birds, so unlike some other trips we have had in the past, this one was one that hit the spot so to speak. The target was primarily Golden-winged Warblers and by locating the appropriate habitat we eventually found one that gave us a few nice views. The habitat for this species is typically new forest growth, and other tangled, shrubby habitats such as regenerating clearcuts & wet thickets.
Other sightings were Chestnut-sided Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrashers, Eastern Towhee and a pair of Black--billed Cuckoos. Interestingly what caught my eye with the Cuckoos was a flurry of activity in peripheral vision, which turned out to be a pair mating on a branch fairly close to where I was standing. The male flew off pretty quickly afterwards (so no photograph), but the female stayed around for a few snaps.   

May 25th 2020

Location: Currie Tract

Weather: Hot start (20C at 06:00)

Now that all the Halton Tracts are open I have been anxious to try my luck and see what was lurking up along the Hydro corridor. (which is one of my favorite areas on this trail). As soon as I arrived there were birds dogging back and forward between the swampy area and the new growth below the towers. I was pumped until after getting my bins on most of the individuals to discover that there was none of my target birds in the mix. My targets (pretty hopeful targets) were Canada Warbler, Hooded Warbler & Golden-winged Warbler all of whom I had seen in this area over the years, but not today..  

Tip of the Day: Its been a while since I posted a tip, so my apologies for anyone that follows my ramblings. 
There are two of our human senses that make locating and photographing birds .. especially songbirds, a definite must. First is obviously sight, and to enhance that is a good pair of binoculars. The second sense is good hearing, and in a lot of ways the more important of the senses for locating our targets. Personally I have lost the high end of the frequency ranges, so I have to rely on someone else, and thankfully I have a couple of birding partners that have excellent hearing. Good hearing is only the first part - it is incredibly important to learn the bird songs that are sung by the birds. These songs can help you identify what is out there and the direction and distance that they can be found. So learn your bird calls !!  

May 23rd 2020

Location: Halton Tracts

Weather: Warm start to the day at 25C (6:00am)

Highlight of today was the FOY sighting of a Blue-winged Warbler (hence the multiple images) Prior to finding the Blue-winged and at another couple of tracts we saw and photographed Great-crested Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Redstarts, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Yellow-Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler and a Cape May Warbler. Other than being a tad warm and with a few black flies buzzin' around, it was a decent day.

May 19th 2020

Location: Brant County

Weather: Cool and dull, but picked up later

It must have been a good night for migrating songbirds as this morning in lots of places around the area there were significant numbers of Warbler & Thrushes. 

May 16th 2020

Location: Halton Region Tracts

Weather: Sunny and spring like

With some southern winds in the past couple of days the migration of songbirds has distinctly kicked itself into gear. Today we headed into an area that has always been kind to us in previous years, and today it provided for us some good sightings - Highlights were an Ovenbird that gave us good views, and a few others incl an American Redstart, Yellow Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler,  Chestnut-sided Warbler, a pair of Veery, Black &White Warbler, Northern Parula  and a couple of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds... good day, good friends ... great day

May 14th 2020

Location: Col Sam Smith then Puslinch area

Weather: Cloudy and still a tad cool

With the knowledge that a south wind was happening overnight, we planned a trip up to a migrant trap in Toronto along the Lakeshore at Colonel Samuel Smith Park, with the hope there might be a little fallout ... As we walked around the Park alongside a few dozen birders (they also had the same idea it seems) we spotted lots of movement in the upper branches of the mainly quite tall trees. Unfortunately getting decent and usable shots when the targets are up really high is not an easy thing, so we came away from the park mid morning with literally no shots - plenty of sightings ... I think I had around 12 Warbler species and 1 Vireo .
On the way home (a little disgruntled) I stopped of at a couple of spots around Mountsberg, and had some sightings that were OK ... Bobolinks, Field Sparrows, Black-throated Blue Warblers, Lots of Parulas and a surprising (a delightful surprise) of a Tennessee Warbler - unfortunately I didn't get a shot but made my day nonetheless
​

May 13th 2020

Location: Caledon

Weather: -3C at 7:30 am but warmed up to +12C Sunny

Cold, sunny and very bright ... not the easiest conditions to shoot small birds in, but I was still pleased to get the variety we ended up with. When the sun is bright like this ii is best handled by keeping the sun directly behind you, so that the shadows on the bird are minimized. East to say, I know, but not always the easiest to achieve, but when it works out the results are quite satisfactory and you don't have the harsh contrasts and shadows to deal with in post-processing. 
BTW ... thanks to Steve for finding this spot ... I will definitely keep it in mind for future outings.

May 11th 2020

Location: Kitchener to Grass Lake

Weather: Snowy start but warmed up slightly later

I woke up to a snow covered scene outside  ... May 11th is way too late in the year for snow, but there it was covering the lawn, and my vehicles out the front of my house.... Unreal!! 
Now that my moan is out of the way, and a bit later than I normally leave to go look for birds, I headed out to my first stop - Grass Lake. Target here was the reported Bobolinks that had arrived and sure enough there was at least 5 that I spotted along the section of gravel road in front of the towers. There was also a few Savannah Sparrows, but no sign of any Grasshopper Sparrows though.
I dropped by both Lakeside Park & Riverside Park, and both pretty much devoid of any migrants ... not so good
I ended back home and set up a camera out onto my deck area to finish the day. A White crowned Sparrow & a Chipping Sparrow were the highlights

May 10th 2020

Locations: Oakville to Burlington

Weather: Sun.cloud & a spot of rain .. still cold

Today's "mission" was to locate & photograph some Warblers. A start up in Oakville at Arkendo Park was successful somewhat in the location side of things with sightings of a Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Palm, Nashville and a surprising and very pleasant surprise of a Cape May Warbler. Unfortunately we were traveling light at this point (no cameras) so obviously no images. A couple of other stops between here and Burlington were not so successful either, but we did catch a few glimpses of some of the more common "Wobblies".
​Our final stop of the day was at Thornapple Loop in Burlington, but again, other than a brief glimpse of a Palm Warbler, there was no Warbler images to show for our efforts. We did however see these two little beauties ... a Carolina Wren and a very decorative Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

8th May 2020

Locations: Lakeside Park & Riverside Park

Weather: Cold (around 0C)

The forecast this morning was to be around and below freezing, with a likelihood of some snowy activity, so going too far from home wasn't in the plans. I decided to check out two of the better local parks where bird activity is more likely ie Lakeside Park in Kitchener, and Riverside Park in Cambridge. I wasn't expecting too much based on the fact that migration will have stalled due to the icy temperatures, so I was frankly quite amazed to find anything to photograph. Lakeside had  around 5 or 6 Yellow-rumped Warblers buzzing around the rivers edge, and at least one Warbling Vireo in the same locale. The "Rumps" weren't cooperating but the Vireo came close and posed a couple of times ... awesome, and a FOY for me too.
First thing I did when I arrived at Riverside was to check up on the two nests that I know about a) a Pileated and b) a Hairy Woodpecker. Unfortunately there seemed to be nothing happening, so I headed to the Boardwalk. It was quite birdy with lots of House Sparrows, Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbirds and on the better side of the coin ... a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a Pileated Woodpecker, a Swamp Sparrow and a Yellow Warbler.  Ended up being a decent morning.

5th, 6th & 7th May 2020

Locations:  Within 45 mins of Cambridge 

Weather:  Mix of sun & cloud, warm & cool

A few more from the last three days ... I'll try to add some of the stories behind the shots a bit later ... I hope

2nd, 3rd & 4th May 2020

Locations: Between Cambridge & Paris

Weather: Mainly sun & cloud

I've been a bit lax in keeping things up to date, so I've grouped a few days together, as I will with the next entry as well in an attempt to catch up ...
Warbler numbers are starting to perk up, so we can safely assume that migration is under way. As well as the "Wobblies" there are quite a few others finding their way into the viewfinder ... it's been along wait, but spring migration is under way :)

​1st May 2020

Location: Paris to Burlington 

Weather: Dull start but brightened up

Brown Thrasher

Well ... First things first - Happy May Day to all of you, and welcome to the start of what's often referred to as Migration Month. Normally at this time of year I've already spent several days in Southern Ohio a) to catch migration as it passes through that area and b) to photograph some of the great songbirds they take for granted down in that neck of the woods - Worm-eating, Prairie, Hooded, Celerean, Yellow-throated, Kentucky (all Warblers) as well as White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-breasted Chat and a few others that's not quite coming to mind. Hopefully after all this madness is over I can visit next year ... I hope.
 Today, I drove around a few spots .. probably more driving than I had planned but I was anxious to find a few new visitors, but unfortunately they were pretty thin on the ground at the spots I checked out. Saying that I did find a Brown Thrasher, Palm Warbler, Eastern Towhee and a surprising Cedar Waxwing flock along one of the minor roads. Before I went looking for songbirds, I dropped by the now quite famous Sandhill Crane nest, and it looks like the chicks have hatched, as I could see the mama "playing" with an egg sac, but of course she was sitting on the new arrival(s) ... great news, so lets hope they make it ...