Great Blue Heron Headed up to Elmvale for Aarons (my grandson) birthday and so, selfishly headed over to Tiny Marsh with Lawrence (my son-in-law) for an hour to check things out. The massive flocks of Red-Wing Blackbirds were pretty spectacular to say the least ... Several hundreds of them were swooping & circling around. Other sightings were minimal but a Northern Harrier and Belted Kingfishers were about. I did disturb, what I think was, a Sora, but it was too quick for me and long gone before I could get a fix on it. I should say that the Great Blue Heron opposite was taken at Hespeler Mill Pond before we left to go north. The Mill pond also hosts a good quantity og Great Egrets of which I counted 12.
August 24th 2013
Lesser Yellowlegs coming in to land August is never a great time for bird activity and this morning was typical in that respect. I scanned the OFO ebird website in an effort to narrow it down, but other than Wheatley (a Brown Pelican is hanging around) I couldn't make up my mind. Anyways, I figured (wrongly) that around Lake Erie area in general, might be hold a few gems, possible some early migrants, but it was not to be (for me anyways). Backus Woods and the Bird Studies HQ were a total waste of time but unsurprisingly the Wetlands held a few waders on the mud, but even that was limited to 30 or 40 Lesser Yellowlegs. Nevertheless it was a super morning (weatherwise) and fun was had.
August 17th 2013
Common Yellowthroat Weather Forecast for the weekend was awesome so a road trip seemed to be a good idea. I hadn't managed a trip to Calden Alvar in the Kawartha region of Ontario this year as yet. This area is spectacular in the late spring, but I wondered what it would be like later in the year. Started of at 7:30 am and for the first 2 hours it was amazing with birds everywhere, but mostly keeping a safe distance and just outside the reach of the 500. After the 2 hours with the sun higher in the sky and the heat rising it suddenly went flat. For the next 3 hours I pretty much never hit the shutter button! Sightings included Barn Swallows, Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Brown Thrashers. Eastern Towhee, Red-Eyed Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, Bobolink, House Wren, Swamp Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Kingbirds, Scores of Eastern Meadowlarks, Chickadees, House Finches,Goldfinches, Blue Jays, Cedar Waxwings, Mourning Doves, Robins and probably a few more that I forget. Some of the regulars were no longer around including Loggerhead Shrike (1st trip to Calden where I never saw at least one), Bluebirds and Warblers in general.
August 10th 2013
Bald Eagle (Juvenile) Took my 1st real trip for over a month, taking in a few locations between Saturday & Sunday. Started off at Backus Woods near Port Rowan, then over to the Port Rowan Wetlands and then to the Bird Studies Headquarters property (my first visit). At Backus there was a few birds, but nothing too unusual - Cardinals, Eastern Towhee, Song Sparrows, Common Yellowthroats, etc. On Sunday headed over to my favorite local spots starting off at Mountberg Reservoir, then Beverley Marsh and finally Grass Lake.
July 30th 2013
Indigo Bunting Greetings ... July has been a slow month for me. Visitors from the UK kept me at home most of the time (which I wouldn't have changed for the world). Anyways I did sneak out one morning for an hour or two, and popped over to Dryden Tract & Grass Lake. I was looking for Indogo's and and Rose Breasted Gosbeaks. RBG were not around but I did find this Indigo at Dryden Tract, that posed for me for a few minutes. (Still my favorite summer bird). Continued over to Grass Lake where there were a pair of Sandhill Cranes (but no Colts around ??). There was a pair of Bluebirds feeding young at one of the nesting boxes. Not bad for two hours in mid summer .....
June 30th 2013
Common Yellowthroat It's been a couple of weeks since I had the time to do a little birding, so with the long weekend here, I trucked down to Backus Woods, near Long Point on Lake Erie. My goals were Indigo Buntings, Common Yellowthroats, Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks and with a bit of luck Hooded Warblers. The weather was a tad dull, but pretty warm and without the Mosquitoes it would have been a good walking day. Sightings were not prolific, but I did catch a glimpse of a Rose-Breasted (bad pic below). Indigos were around ... seen a few zip past me, but not too many stopped to pose for me - other than the one I documented in the gallery below. A Scarlet Tanager flew across my path, but he was another "not today buddy". Lots of wild flowers were in full bloom, so with the birding inaction I did snap a few. Anyways .. until my next outing!
June 8th 2013
Bobolink Saturday morning with only an hour or two available so ran over to a Dryden Tract, just outside Cambridge, where I've some luck locating Indigo Buntings at this time of year. IB's prefer open glades in the forest, so headed in to a spot I know. Just as I got there I saw three in the space of about 15 seconds, but by the time I had the camera setup they disappeared "never to return". After an hour I gave up and headed over to the old standby location Grass lake, which was only a mile or two away.... there was about 7 or 8 Bobolinks, of which this being one. Other sightings were several Eastern Meadowlarks, which were a bit out of my reach, but I did get one reasonably (bad) shot. Eastern Kingbirds, Savannah Sparrows, Horned Larks were also around
June 2nd 2013
Canada Goose with Chicks Sunday, went up to the Elmvale/Wasaga Beach area to visit family, and took a short time out, with my son-in-law Lawrence, to visit Tiny Marsh. The weather was cool, dull & threatening rain, but the trails & boardwalks are impressive so although there was little wildlife "action" it was still a very pleasant hike around the south side of the marsh.
May 26th 2013
Arctic Tern This weekend I thought I would try somewhere different, so decided on Tommy Thompson Park in downtown Toronto. Weather was cool but sunny, I had high hopes and so after arriving at 7:30 am Sunday morning I undertook the long trek (must be 4 or 5km) to the tip. Disappointing opportunities overall, so I gave up after a couple of hours and headed back. I did watch the Arctic Terns for a short time (quite an an active colony near the Sailing Club).
May 20th 2013
Blackburnian Warbler 2nd Trip to Pelee this spring - Festival of Birds is wrapping up, so I wanted to check out the late migrants - Again it wasn't as good as I've seen it in the past but still I was able to rack up a couple of firsts. It was real hot (28 or 29C) and walking, where there was no breeze, was exhausting (for this old guy anyways). The crowds were out - mainly families making the most of the hot day on the long weekend to sit on the beach etc. I was fortunate to meet a few avid birders who pointed out a few good finds for me, so thanks to the couple from Hamilton, a family from Texas, and also another photographer gent (Herman) that I met on the West Beach Trail. Firsts ere Northern Parula, Carolina Wren, Blackburnian & Chestnut Sided Warbler. At the Tip report of Yellow-Billed Cukoos being around, but I never spotted one. I recorded a few other species not shown here - Philadelphia Vireo, White Eyed Vireo, Brown Headed Catbirds, Orioles (there were dozens of them) etc..... As they say "Enough Guff" - check out some of the images below.
May 19th 2013
Eastern Towhee Dropped in on a spot that is fast becoming my favorite local spring location - The reservoir side of Mountbeg Conservation Area. I have found that the "hotspot" is just downstream of the dam, which is accessed from the south side of the parking lot. Anyways, today I had a few goodies Eastern Towhee, American Redstart, Grey Catbird, Warbling Vireo, Baltimore Oriole, as well as the usual Robins, Redwings, Tree Swallows, Yellow Warblers etc. Although I realize that birds typically return to the same area each spring & summer I didn't realize that they tend to return to the same tree. Last year at the same time I was able to grab a few shots of pretty much the same birds as today - I'm seeing the Baltimore Oriole nesting in the same tree (looks like the same branch), The Warbling Vireo in the same tree, etc In fact I photographed the American Redstart in the same tree as last year .. I guess I know where I will be this time next year.
May 4th 2013
Red-Headed Woodpecker Hope you all like my modified format & style ..
Anyways, first trip to Point Pelee this year was not quite as fruitful as I was hoping, but I did come across some firsts for me. Most notably was the Red-Headed Woodpecker - right at the tip on the east side there were about 5 or 6 of these beauties alternating dropping down on to the shale at the waters edge, then back up into the trees. I say first, but I had seen a few of these in Northern Michigan a few years ago, but certainly a first in Ontario. The gallery below contains some of the shots I was able to capture during that day (I particularly like the Yellow Warbler shot). The day was cool when exposed to the wind, but the sky was clear, so not a bad photography day. The Festival of Birds is underway at the park and runs from May 3-20 so there were lots of long lenses, binoculars & Tilley hats along the trails.
I am planning another trip to the area in a week or two, so hoping for good luck.
Anyways, first trip to Point Pelee this year was not quite as fruitful as I was hoping, but I did come across some firsts for me. Most notably was the Red-Headed Woodpecker - right at the tip on the east side there were about 5 or 6 of these beauties alternating dropping down on to the shale at the waters edge, then back up into the trees. I say first, but I had seen a few of these in Northern Michigan a few years ago, but certainly a first in Ontario. The gallery below contains some of the shots I was able to capture during that day (I particularly like the Yellow Warbler shot). The day was cool when exposed to the wind, but the sky was clear, so not a bad photography day. The Festival of Birds is underway at the park and runs from May 3-20 so there were lots of long lenses, binoculars & Tilley hats along the trails.
I am planning another trip to the area in a week or two, so hoping for good luck.
May 7th 2013
 Bobolink |  Sandhill Crane | Grass Lake seemed to be a good idea today, so I thought I would pop over and see if the Bobolinks had returned- and yes they had, so thankfully this male cooperated and landed in a bush fairly close. Both of the sandhill pair that has nested close to the road were in a field opposite the lake, so I was able to get a decent shot or two |
Sandhill Cranes
