June 2017

June 28th 2017

Location: Dundas Valley Conservation Area

Weather: Cooler than seasonally typical

Each and every day I go out I am amazed in sometimes a small way and sometimes a bit more than that, of the antics and behavior of our feathered neighbours. Today, I watched a pair of Gray Catbirds "getting it on". The male was actively courting, what seemed the less than interested female, (I suppose in human terms that's not that unusual). I loved his antics at trying to get the female interested.
Further along the trail we must have inadvertently encroached on the nesting territory of a Song Sparrow as he buzzed us constantly, and did the broken wing type routine to lure us away from his/her nesting area. Fascinating stuff !! 

June 27th 2017

Location: Brantford then Dundas

Weather: Sun and cloud, but really cool (around 20C)

I was forwarded a birding report a few days ago that mentioned a trail just outside Brantford, at the end of Oak Park Road, that was quite "birdy".  I met up with a fellow birder/photographer, at 6:15am, to check it out.  Almost immediately I watched an Indigo Bunting pair "making out", and shortly after the male came in to check us out, allowing us a few shots. Further along the trail we spotted an Orchard Oriole male and female foraging in the trees and scrub alongside the trail, but unfortunately they were a  bit cautious, so we didn't get to see one of these beauties up reasonably close. 
From here we headed back to a favorite spot in Dundas Valley Conservation Area, where yet again we were following tips on interesting birds .. this time it was a Brewster's Warbler, which after a significant wait we spotted briefly, but did manage to fire my shutter off a couple of times. While we were waiting for the Brewster we noticed a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in the trees just above us. Turns out it was a pair of these cool birds in the process of nesting. We watched them for the next hour as the male returned every 15 mins or so with some leaf material which the female then took and added to the nest lining ... Incredible experience.

June 22nd 2017

Location: Around Erin, Ontario

Weather: Mix of sun and cloud, turning to light rain

Blackburnian Warbler (m)

First thing in the morning we headed back up to the spot, where a few days ago, we had a very showy Dickcissel, so with optimism, we arrived at 6:00am looking for that "killer" shot. Unfortunately things didn't work out, as our target stayed well away and we left that location with pretty much zero images.
​The night before I had done a little research on what else might be found in that general area and came across a forum post that indicated that a Black-throated Blue Warbler was being seen in Silvercreek Conservation Area. After searching for some time we didn't find this new target but we did find a very cooperative Blackburnian Warbler. We must have stumbled on the nesting location as this male Blackburnian circled around as several times, giving us good views and a few shots as well.  While we were at one spot we were visited briefly by a school party (the Photography club apparently) that were interested in what we were doing. Their teacher asked us to talk a little about our equipment etc ... which we did, so who knows maybe some budding wildlife photographers in the making.

June 21st 2017

Location: Ancaster to Dundas

Weather: Cooler than normal, but sunny

Today is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, and of course the longest day, and the first day of summer. Not sure why I mentioned that, other than to make note for future reference. I met up with a fellow bird photographer in Dundas Valley Forest near Ancaster with a definite bird target in mind: namely the hard to find Golden-winged Warbler. Rumour had it that one was hanging out at the south west corner of  Dundas Valley Conservation Area, but after a couple hours of searching it was not to be found. However a couple of other decent birds were, namely a Carolina Wren and yet another Mourning Warbler. 
Another local report mentioned the presence of a Brewster's Warbler up along Thornapple Loop in Dundas. For the next couple of hours we headed around The east end of the Loop and along part of the Cartwright trail in search of this very interesting bird. Unfortunately our luck hadn't changed so came up short on this "goodie" as well.  We did, however,  spot a Black-billed and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, but no luck in getting them into our viewfinder.

June 20th 2017

Location: On a side road near Erin, Ontario

Weather: Dull with sunny patches, and rain 

The forums, over the last few days, have been full of Dicksissel reports, and being a bird that has eluded me for ever. Many of the reports were south of London, but one was north of Guelph near Erin. With an optimistic frame of mind we converged on the location mentioned in that report, and within minutes of arriving we were looking at close views of this lifer bird for me. Same spot had a few Bobolinks and some Savannah Sparrows - another great and productive day .. 

June 17th & 18th 2017

Location: West side of Algonquin Park

Weather: Dull on the 17th but wet (sometimes torrential) on the 18th

Spent a couple of pretty awesome days along the west edge of Algonquin Park, which was a very nice & very productive change to my usual locations along Highway 60. Birding generally along some of the gravel roads in the area we were delighted to find several warbler species including Blackburnian, Nashville, Black & White, Canada and Northern Parula .. all of which many images taken. A few other warblers were seen, but not photographed incl Black-throated Blue, Magnolia and Black-throated Green. I've been photographing in Algonquin for several years but never managed a shot of a Moose (everybody else see lots, but for some reason I always seem to miss out) This trip I found a you bull which wa fairly close to the road and so I broke my run of Moose bad luck.

June 16th 2017

Location: Carden Alvar

Weather: Hot, hot and did I say hot 

Day one of a planned three day trip to the "near north" had me spend the day at tise birding hotspot near Kirkfield, Ontario. The day was cloudless and really hot. I wish I could say the birding was also hot, but unfortunately it wasn't. I did however see (briefly) my target bird for this location - the Golden-winged Warbler. Unfortunately the views I had were short and very high in the canopy, so no images.  A couple of other birds did give me some great views - the Grasshopper Sparrow and the Wilson's Snipe, so really I had nothing to complain about. Late in the day I headed further north towards Sunridge on the west edge of Algonquin Park.

June 15th 2017

Location: Beverley Swamp and surrounding area

Weather: A tad dull (perfect photography weather)

Over the last 10 years my high end hearing has deteriorated such that I can longer hear bird calls. It certainly makes finding birds a lot tougher, especially at this time of year.  However, when you are teamed up with another birder (with good hearing and good recognition skills) the problem is generally solved, so thanks to all who I have accompanied over the last few years ;).
 A short tour along some of the back roads around Beverley Swamp in West Flamborough "netted" us a few good birds. including the generally hard to find Canada Warbler... a good day  

June 13th 2017

Location; Dundas Valley Conservation Area & Thornapple Loop, Dundas

Weather: Mix of hazy sun and some clouds

Other than the Cuckoo all the other shots were from Dundas Valley Conservation Area near Ancaster. The Cuckoo was spotted along with a Towhee pair and a very vivid Blue-winged Warbler, (neither of whom were anxious to have their images "preserved for eternity" ) at Thornapple Loop near Dundas, which is part of the RBG properties. 

June 12th 2017

Location: West Flamborough

Weather: REALLY hot

I usually have a target when I head out, which has been almost most days a perk of being retired) and today it was the fantastic Canada Warbler. Although not particularly uncommon it is very elusive and generally hard to find. I headed to a spot that I a friend had shared with me (Thanks Bob) and pretty much right away a stunning male showed up for a split second. For the next hour I waited the little guy out and eventually he hopped onto a branch for about 3 or 4 seconds which allowed me a shot or two. I headed from here to the location I found a few days ago, but although I did get a glimpse of the Canada it wouldn't allow me  a pic. Oh well ... another day at the office!!

June 11th 2017

Location: Up around Mulmur

Weather : Continuing hot

After the discovery the day before and letting a couple of friends know the location, we all converged this morning at yesterday's location with hopes of grabbing some decent shots of our celebrity bird. It went reasonably well except for several Blue-winged Warblers that seem to appear from nowhere and steal the show (so-to-speak). Unfortunately the (now we know) Brewster's was staying well hidden and so we only managed minimally decent shots. On the way back my birding partner & I stopped off in some of the forested areas close by and managed a few shots of a Northern Waterthrush and a Pine Warbler. Not a terrible day !!!

June 10th 2017

Location: Mulmur

Weather: Hot & Sunny

Not really a birding day, but on my way to a family function near Wasaga Beach I made a slight detour to a spot near Mulmur (north of Caledon a ways). Target was a Golden-winged warbler that had been sighted and reported a day or two ago. Within a minute or two of arriving at the spot I had our prey hopping around a thicket on the side of the road. It wasn't till the next day that it became apparent that it wasn't a Golden-winged but a hybrid Brewster's Warbler (which was really good as that was a life bird for me). Thanks goes to my patient spouse who didn't complain as I spent the next 20 mins trying to get a shot of this goodie" before continuing north to our function.

June 8th & 9th 2017

Location: Bruce Peninsula

Weather: Sunny and pretty warm

It had been a while since I birded Bruce Peninsula and with nothing much happening around KW I took off for a couple of days. Starting off around Southampton (initially hoping for a Kirtlands Warbler - one had been spotted  week or so ago)  Unfortunately I was SOL on that score but did see a few decent birds. Not that surprising based on the last week or two sightings, I found at least 3 Mourning Warblers. Highlights were a few Black & White Warblers, and several Black-throated Green Warblers, as well as the usual Redstarts, Red-eyed Vireos, Yellow Warblers etc. Not a great couple of days, but I have had worse. 

June 7th 2017

Location: West Flamborough

Weather: Seasonally spring like with blue skys

Starting off, a lttle later than normal, in West Flamborough at Beverley Swamp, I found what I think was a Louisiana Waterthrush, but the camera was in the car and by the time I got back to the spot it was gone. I tried calling it using a pre-recorded bird call for a few minutes to see if it would pop back out, but no luck.  A Northern did show up though  and had me wondering if I imagined the original sighting. Same area I found a singing Canada Warbler and managed a single shot before he also disappeared.

June 6th 2017

Location: Dundas Valley Conservation Area

Weather: Dull with the occasional misty rain showers.

Tried out a few spots in Dundas Valley ... a really good birding spot with several excellent trails. First stop gave us a few views of Scarlet Tangers, Hooded Warbler, Song Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Chestnut-sided Warber and a few others. Rain had us heading back to our vehicles for a time but we took the opportunity for breakfast then headed to the other side of DVCA and followed an excellent trail where we saw and photographed a couple of Mourning Warblers. This must be the "Year of the Mourning Warbler" as it seems that almost every time I go out I seem to come across one, but I'm not complaining - these little guys are spectacular.

June 5th 2017

Location: Finney Tract and Badenoch Tract in Halton Region

Weather: Damp and cloudy

Headed out to Finney Tract to see if the cooperating male Mourning Warbler from the other day was still around. Unfortunately he wasn't anywhere to be found, but a female showed up but skulked deep in the thickets. A walk down one of the trails was reasonably successful with a few birds albeit at some distance and not really photographic-able . Sightings included The Red-eyed Vireo shown below, A pair of Northern Waterthrush, a lone Ruffed Grouse, an Indigo Bunting and the Mourning mentioned above.  Next stop was back to Badenoch Tract where the Chestnut-sided Warbler pair continued to give us a bit of a show. 

June 2nd & 3rd 2017

Locations: (2nd) Skunks Misery, Middlesex County and (3rd) Halton Tracts

Weather: Sunny & warm

The trip to Skunks Misery was all about finding and photographing the rare (in Ontario, anyways) Cerulean Warbler. Unfortunately, although I managed to spot one late in the day, I was unable to get an image. Lots of other birds around including the Mourning Warbler that has a personality problem (he sings a perfect Common Yellowthroat ???) . The highlight of the day was a small group of three Great-crested Flycatchers, that gave us some great views. For those images it was worth the two hour drive from Kitchener.
Saturday, the plan had been to spend the day in the garden, but before I get started I headed out to Halton for a quick check of a couple of the excellent Tracts in that area. Boy, I'm glad I did. At Badenoch Tract the same Chestnut-sided Warbler that I saw a few days before was hanging out and gave me excellent shots. From here I went to Finney Tract where the plan had been to walk a ways down the trail, where this time last year I found a breeding pair of Black & White Warblers. I never the left the parking lot as a male Mourning Warbler was hopping around the perimeter  of the lot and gave awesome views. Things took a little longer than planned, but the gardening did get done, eventually.