Kitchener Waterloo & Area Birding: Blog commentary on my, (Bill McDonald) birding and wildlife sightings & observations
  • Grenfell's Birding Blog
  • Locations /Hot Spots
  • Bird Library
  • HOW TO
 

JUNE 2023

31/5/2023

0 Comments

 

June 2nd 2023

LOCATION: Northern Bruce Peninsula
WEATHER: Sunny with a bit of cloud, and hot
A late start, but as the weather seemed to improve (clouds rolling in, making it less of a pure sun kind of day) - as it ended up the clouds were very thin and making little difference  .. oh well!! Arrived near noon and spent the next several hours patrolling the back roads looking initially for Golden-winged Warblers, but unlike previous years in the same area, there was no sign of a single bird anywhere. However, there was a few other subjects to photograph ...as per below.
0 Comments

MAY 2023

3/5/2023

0 Comments

 

May 29th & 31st 2023

LOCATION: Day1 - Cambridge, Day2 - Halton
WEATHER: More pure sun, and hot
Day 1 had a rare visitor to our area .. the Scissor -tailed Flycatcher showed up along Kossuth Road, at the Butterfly Conservancy for a few days, and gave lots of birders a bit of a treat. He kept his distance, but nevertheless was an exciting sighting for many of us. On Day 2 I headed up Guelph Line and found a songbird or two ... highlight was the Black & White Warbler, and the bonus was that it was a FOS (first of season) for me.
Tip of the Day: Wildlife photography is heavily reliant on animal behavioral patterns. Research is key to understanding where and when you should go to photograph certain subjects.

May 27th & 28th 2023

LOCATION: Glen Morris area
WEATHER: Endless blue skies
As the spring season progresses we start to see a drop in the number of decent bird sightings, but on the plus side, we also see a start of some decent insect opportunities.
Tip of the Day: Learn everything that you can about birds. Any type of photography can be improved by studying your subjects, and this is especially true of bird photography. Since birds don’t necessarily pose whenever a photographer points a lens in their direction, you need to understand their behavior so that you can be ready when opportunities present themselves. Know your subject. The more you know about the way birds behave, the better your images of birds will be.

May 25th 2023

LOCATION: North Dumfries
WEATHER: Cool start, but sunny, and warm later
A drive around some of my favorite spots in the North Dumfries are (although some may actually be in Brant County).
It was a decent day with some decent sightings .. as per below. One Merlin "sighting" eluded me totally and I was a tad disappointed - I was calling constantly but I never got a glimpse of the little fella ... a Blackpoll Warbler. Another visit could be on the cards.

May 24th 2023

LOCATION: Halton region near 401
WEATHER: mainly sunny, but quite chilly
.. later

May 23rd 2023

LOCATION: Halton area, near 401
WEATHER: Sun and cloud
 later ..

May 21st & 22nd 2023

LOCATION: Ontario local
WEATHER: Sun & cloud, but still a tad chilly
As you can see from the images below, its a bit of birds and then a bit of bugs. I generally try to find a few songbirds in the morning, then in the afternoon try to do a little macro work.  

May 19th & 20th 2023

LOCATION: Day1 - Kitchener, Day2 - Halton
WEATHER: Day2 - rain to start then dried up
Day 1 was a day I spent at and around home. I had limited time so I busied myself doing a little macro work. Bothe insect images were created using a multi image stack (approx 10 images each bug). I just love the ability to be get such awesome depth of field and detail using this technique. Both images created using my 65 MP-E lens and incorporating the WeMacro focusing rail.
Day2 I headed up again to the Halton forest area, which has been quite productive in the past. Like the other day I was hearing lots of species but finding it tough to get a bird in the virefinder.

May 16th & 17th 2023

LOCATION: Day1 North Dumfries Day2 Halton
WEATHER: Day1 mild but Day2 chilly
Migration over the last week had been a little slow, or at least it was in my general area, but  .. over the last two days I noticed a distinct improvement with lots of decent sightings (at last). Birds eg Red-eyed Vireo, Common Yellowthroat and many others are just everywhere now. It also seems that the bulk of the northern Warblers have passed through, but there are still a few still to show .. most obviously (for me) is the Mourning Warbler, but I expect to hear-see one or two in the next few days (I hope)
Day 2 was very cool - with an early morning temperature of only +1C .. this was for the most part not good for the bird sightings, as at that temperature the birds were quite subdued, and like many of us bird photographers we rely on the bird calls to see whats about . Personally because of my bad hearing I rely on Merlin.
Picture
Blue-winged Warbler

May 14th & 15th 2023

LOCATION: North Dumfries
WEATHER: Sunny, but not as warm
The last couple of days I kept to my usual haunts in the North Dumfries general area. One spot I have been visiting is along Alps Road, where I am hearing lots of interesting songbirds calling incl Bay-breasted Warbler, Black & White Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Philadelphia Vireo, Magnolia Warbler, Scarlet Tanager and a couple of others. I have seen none of them other a distant look at the Scarlet Tanager. I keep going back, keep hearing them and seeing almost none of them LOL ... one of these days.
I dug out my macro gear and setup the WeMacro, and did a couple of test shoots and went through the stacking process ... always fun, and I now can confirm to myself that everything seems to be working OK.

May 12th & 13th 2023

LOCATION: North Dumfries area
WEATHER: Mainly sunny and quite hot
Picture
Veery
At last the birds are starting to show up in my local area,  but they are very slow to react, so getting them individually to react is tough. I tried initially going to spots I know where it is generally easy to find birds, and when that was not really working I started using pre-recorded bird calls, which ended up being a little better, but still wasn't foolproof. 

On both days I spotted lots of birds but only photographed a handful of them. Day 2 for example I watched a group of songbirds high up in the canopy which included Northern Parula, Tennessee Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Nashville Warbler and  a Cape May Warbler, but even after going through a series of calls I had to give up. 

Other good sightings were a male Scarlet Tanager that I watched for ages, but it was just too far away for a shot, but nice to see him back on territory.

May 10th & 11th 2023

LOCATION: Pushlinch Lake Day1 & N Dumfries Day2
WEATHER: Sunny and getting warmer
Day1 was a little flat with only minimal sightings, but as always ... really nice to get out in the spring weather. Bobolinks have showed up in various place so really nice to see.
Day2 was a tad disappointing. The reports were for a massive warbler migration surge through our area, but even though I checked out some usually hot spots, the sightings were minimal to say the least, and those that did show were for a few seconds at most.. However I am hopeful in the coming days for some decent action.

May 7th - 9th 2023

LOCATION: Various spots near home
WEATHER: Mix of sun, cloud and the odd shower
As you can see by a) the number of birds, and by b) the limited type of species, it is till a little early for the big flood of Warblers that we have come to expect in recent years. However I have high hopes for some great birds in the coming week or two.

May 4th, 5th & 6th 2023

LOCATION: Central Ohio
WEATHER: Sun & cloud and quite warm
Two full days in this area ended up being quite productive. I had hoped for some of the more "exotic" species. like Kentucky Warbler, Celurian Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler and maybe a Yellow-breasted Chat, but these species eluded my buddy and I. On the plus side we encountered and were able to photograph some great birds. 

We had planned to do some birding on the morning of our third day, but an issue at the end of day 2 meant that it was a case of just get home. 
​
The issue was that later in the day 2 I had a puncture on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, and when I went to change my tire, the tool for the security lug nuts was missing ???, so had to get a tow truck, then get tire fixed on the third morning. Not a great ending to a decent trip.
** As always ... click on any image to show full size. Also by hovering your cursor over any image will provide a title

May 2nd 2023

LOCATION: North Dumfries
WEATHER: Cloudy with light showers
Yet another drive around this area ... although generally quite quiet in most spots there was one spot I stopped by a local lake that was very productive, with all three warblers within a half hour or so. 
0 Comments
    Feel free to send me Comments  :)



    ​     Me >>>
    Picture
    COMMENTS WELCOME
    LINK to my WEBSITE
    LINK to my FLICKR page

    ​Blog Author

    Pretty much all my life I have had an interest in nature photography albeit in, off and on, phases of interest. Around 15 years ago, I found myself, again, getting that nature bug, and I am now, especially since I retired just over 7 years ago, very passionate about  wildlife & wildlife photography.

    ​Enough about me ...             I hope that you enjoy my ramblings and the occasional  decent  image.
                       Bill McDonald

    “In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.” 
    ― Robert Lynd
    ​

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013

    Fatbirder's Top 1000 Birding Websites

    If you like my blog then check out my other stuff on FLICKR and on my Webpage ....(hyperlinks are at top of this page)