Kitchener Waterloo & Area Birding: Blog commentary on my, (Bill McDonald) birding and wildlife sightings & observations
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SEPTEMBER 2018

31/8/2018

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September 28th 2018

Location: Tilt's Bush, Kitchener
Weather: seasonally cooler, but sunny, and quite pleasant
Picture
Purple Finch
After a long day yesterday (I was up at 04:00 to get to Burlington for 05:45 - to shoot the sunrise at Burlington's Brant Street Pier) I found it a bit difficult to get up at a decent birding time this morning. As it was a bit later than I like I headed to one of my favorite local spots - Tilt's Bush. This spot can be mediocre and it can also be quite birdy Today was a bit nearer the mediocre than the birdy, but still pretty very interesting. Highlights were a brief visit by 3 or 4 Hermit Thrushes, which generally never ventured into the open but one sat on a branch above me for several seconds, so at least I manged one decent shot. Other highlights were watching a small flock of mainly White-throated Sparrows, but as is often likely at this time of year I had a Lincoln's Sparrow as well. 
This year we seem to having quite a lot of early Purple Finches. Over the last week or so I've seen several small flocks of these little beauties. All of the birds except one have been either females or juveniles. 
​All images are clickable to go full size, and hovering over will display species or description

September 24th 2018

Location: Riverside Park, Cambridge
Weather: Dull and heavy cloud
It's been a while since I checked out Riverside and although the birds weren't jaw-dropping it was still pretty interesting visit. Highlights were the sighting of a Merlin when I first arrived (thanks to Theresa for pointing it out), and then a drop by, on a couple of occasions, of a Blue-headed Vireo.  Other sightings were Northern Parula, Common Grackle, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Merlin, House Finch, Purple Finch, Red-winged Blackbirds, Red-eyed Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, Red- breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch and a few high flying Hawks.
Picture
House Finch (male)

September 23rd 2018

Location: Tilt's Bush, Kitchener
Weather: Cool start to the morning, but sunny
Tilt's Bush is a little known boardwalk in Kitchener, that projects for quite a ways into a swampy area. It's very close to where I live, so when I have not too much time I often chose this location for my almost daily, birding ramble. This morning I set myself up at the end of the boardwalk and almost immediately I noticed quite good activity in and around me. I watched a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers drift past me a couple of times, but they didn't sin in the open, so no shot. I watched a drama where a Blue Jay was trying to stay out of the way of a Sharp-shinned Hawk that looked pretty anxious to have a Blue Jay breakfast. Two or three times the Hawk would fly past me screeching - I'm not sure if this was a warning gesture or a sound he made to as he was startled by my presence. A few other Woodpeckers were around - I could hear as many as 3 or 4 at any one time banging away at a tree somewhere close. Downy, Flicker, Red-bellied mainly. The only songbird activity was a brief visit by two Nashville Warblers.

September 22nd 2018

Location: Dundas
Weather: Hazy sun, but significantly cooler than last week
Although it was a bit blowy here, Northern Ontario got hit with a significant storm last night. Made me think that could be a decent movement of birds overnight, and with that in mind I headed to one of my favorite migration spots in Dundas. Sadly, other than quite a few Thrushes there was little or no songbird activity. I did see an American Redstart briefly, and a Red-eyed Vireo hung around for a few minutes, but other than that the Warbler and Vireo migration seemed to be in recession, at least for the time being anyways. I suspect that the storm, rather than bring in new birds had sent the local birds on their way.. However the birds I saw and photographed this morning were decent, so I was pretty happy considering.
Picture
Hermit Thrush

September 18th 2018

Location: Currie Tract
Weather: Sun and cloud, and continuing warm
I hadn't been out with a camera for a few days because of some appointments on my calendar, but this morning I had a couple of hours to kill before a meeting in Toronto. I had been promising myself that I should see if Currie Tracts had any warblers migrating through. It was very close to this date last year that I came across and photographed a Golden-winged Warbler (the one in my title above), at this very location, so my anticipation level was quite high, as I hiked in. Unfortunately after an hour or more there was very little action, but I did manged to capture these two (below)

September 13th 2018

Location: Desjardines Canal, Dundas
Weather: Hazy sun, but mostly cloud
I decided this morning to take a break from songbirds, and follow up on some information that I had received yesterday. An acquaintance, that I hadn't seen for a long time, mentioned that there were a few Black-crowned Night Herons hanging out at this location. Sure enough, when we got there I could see two adults and a juvenile perched along the end of the canal. We gradually moved towards these birds, but the juvenile took off almost immediately but the adults stayed put and one especially allowed us to get within 20 feet. The other bird, which was a bit further away but still was in photo distance, also allowed us a few shots. My co-shooter this morning, at one point, stumbled at one point and the near bird took off, so we headed back to the car .. happy with the images. Strangely, the bird that had flown off came back withing a couple of minutes and resumed it's previous perch ... I suppose the fishing must have been good there.

September 12th 2018

Location: Dundas
Weather: Misty start, then mostly cloud
Not as productive as yesterday but still the morning had it's moments of activity. Predominant in the area was Swainson's Thrushes, again. Warbler activity was way down, but still we managed to see and photograph a Magnolia, Redstart and Black-throated Green on the Warbler side of things and Red-eyed, Philadelphia and Warbling for the Vireos. 

September 11th 2018

Location: South Flamborough
Weather: Pleasant
First things first ... Today is September 11th and even that memorable day is several years in the past I don't think there will be too many people who aren't thinking back to that terrible event that rocked the civilized world. My thoughts go to the friends and family.
This trail in the southern part of Flamborough just continues to produce. Today I spent approx three hours here and was amazed at the numbers of birds hanging out here.Highlights were a flock of Swainson's Thrushes (more than 10 birds strong) that cruised by a few times. Another surprise was a group of Scarlet Tanagers (5) that passed across the trees above me - unfortunately I didn't get a usable shot but was delighted by the sighting anyways. All of them were in the yellow fall/winter plumage, so could have been males, females or juveniles.. Other birds were Northern Parula, Redstart, Magnolia, Red-eyed Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Black=-throated Green Warblers & Gray Catbirds. 
Picture
Gray Catbird

September 9th 2018

Location: Toronto Island
Weather: Dull, threatening rain, poor light
If I was to categorize my birding into either a Bird Photographer or a Bird Watcher it would be a difficult decision for me, and if someone said - you have to make a choice, either lose the camera or lose the binoculars - I think I would elect to keep the binoculars, so saying that I suppose I'm a Bird Watcher, first (I hope I never have to make that decision for real). Today along with a birdwatching friend we headed to Toronto Island to catch part of the songbird migration that passes over the Island. Initially I had planned to go without a camera, but Mutphy's Law would dictate that if I did that I would come across something really good, so compromising I took only a 100-400. However the light was so bad I barely used it. On the birding end of things it was pretty darned good, with dozens of Warblers, Flycatchers & Vireos being seen. I didn't record my sightings, but from memory - Warblers: Black & White, Northern Parula, Bay-breasted, Cape May, Tennessee, Redstarts, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green, Magnolia & Yellow. Vireos: Warbling, Red-eyed & Philadelphia. Flycatchers: Wood Pewee & Phoebe's plus one or two I didn't get a good look at. Of the images I did shoot they were all at massive ISO (12,800) so basically they all hit the delete pile. Good day, & spent with a good friend.

September 8th 2018

Location: South Flamborough
Weather: Cloudy and hazy sun & pleasantly warm
Well if numbers of species was anything to go by I had a good morning. It was as good a few hours as I have had in quite a long time, or at least since spring migration. Highlight without question was a brief visited Tennessee Warbler. A small wave of warblers drifted past my location, consisting mainly of female or juvenile American Redstarts, but amongst them was this Tennessee - made my day for sure. Two other lnice surprises were the Northern Parula and the Black-throated Blue, which appeared to a young male (plumage was less dynamic than what I had seen earlier in the years, but I could be wrong).

​All images are clickable to go full size, and hovering over will display species or description

September 7th 2018

Location: Hamilton
Weather: Another hot one
Started off at Valley Inn then over to Thornapple Loop

September 6th 2018

Location: Sedgewick Forest
Weather: Muggy
First fall photographic visit to this always interesting location. I was here a couple of days ago on a scouting mission, and I have to say it rarely disappoints ast the number of species sighted. In the hour I was there a few days ago I clocked up Cape May, Blackburnian, Wilson's, Bay-breasted, Chestnut-sided, Yellow-rumped, and likely one or two more.  Today it was still very birdy, but unlike a few days ago, the birds were generally around the tops of the trees, so not too many shots taken. Still, always nice to see these beauties. Today I saw a few Nothern Parulas, a Wilsn's, Cape May, Chestnut-sided, Redstarts in the Warbler category, and Hermit and Swainson's in the Thrushes.

September 1st 2018

Location: In and around Thornapple
Weather: Misty start and low cloud, bu sun broke through mid morning
Picture
Red-eyed Vireo
I had arranged with a friend to pick me up at home at 6:00am, and as I was waiting in my driveway for him to show up (and he did, and on time too), I noticed a bird fly low past me - at first I thought it was an early rising Mourning Dove, but after a few more low passes I realized it was a Common Nighthawk. A new "yard" bird .... 
​
Today, the weather and the time of year seemed pretty good to head back to Thornapple. I have, over the last several days, had quite good luck here although the birds have been sluggish at times. Today it was much the same as the other days - long periods of inactivity then a few birds all at once for a short time them back to being quiet. Still ... the birds we did see and photograph were pretty good so the adrenalin was pumping at times. We had a few distant or very brief "visitors" including a female Towhee (which was a really nice surprise) and a Great-crested Flycatcher. A Gray Catbird and a House Wren hung around for a while, but of the four mentioned we manged to get a shot of, so maybe next time with them. Generally quite a good day, and great to meet up with my friend - we don't get out often enough.  
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AUGUST 2018

2/8/2018

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August 31st 2018

Location: 
Weather: Surprisingly cool at daybreak (~ 12C ) but warmed to around 28C later on
Last day of the month ... boy! the weeks and months just zoom along - They always told me when I was younger that time gets into higher gears as you get older, and I have to admit - it's so true. It will be almost three years retired in less than 2 months and I'm not sure where the time went.... it seem like yesterday   :)  
Today I spent the morning "birding" - I met up with a fellow birder and we "explored" the Hydro right-of-way on Currie Tract and although this has been a hot spot in previous years it was a tad disappointing this morning. A few birds showed, but not for long for the most part. We did, however, have a House Wren that showed up and gave us a few poses so that at least we didn't head out with nothing in the "can" . Of the birds we didn't photograph one was a nice one ... a Black-throated Blue Warbler - I would given up a days beer for a decent shot of this little beaut.
In the afternoon I went "buging" around parts of the RARE property in Blair and which can be pretty good for Butterflies, but today not so good, but still managed a few other Creepy Crawlies.
Picture
House Wren

August 28th 2018

Location: Thornapple
Weather: Hot with hazy, off and on sun.
Picture
Red-eyed Vireo
After last nights rain I suspected that things would have changed (hopefully for the better) at this location, but all said and done it really hadn't. The Red-eyed Vireo flock that had been hanging around was still there, and in fact I think it grew by a couple of birds. The female/juv Redstarts were also quite active albeit in sporadic activity where I was, but every now and then one or two would pop out of the undergrowth and give us the potential for photo. I did see a single full colour male, but he was just a fleeting encounter. Other than those two species I did spot a couple of new birds ... A nice surprise was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher that drifted past my chosen spot several times over the few hours that we were there. Another bird that showed up a few times was what looked like a Winter Wren, but it never came out for any length of time, so photos, and a positive ID were not an item, but still ... nice. Lastly, I had a Great-crested Flycatcher show up (distantly) for about 10 seconds or so, then poof! gone - I did manage a shot but it ended up in the delete pile 

August 25th & 26th 2018

Locations: Cambridge (25th) and Thornapple Loop in Dundas (26th)
Weather: Dry, clear and warm for the most part
Yesterday the 25th the missus, and I were heading up north mid morning to visit family, so I took a quick run out to Riverside Park in Cambridge. Over the last week or so warblers and other songbirds are starting to show up here as they migrate south, so was hoping to see one or two in the hour I had allowed myself before leaving. Quite a few songbirds around including Redstarts, Chestnut-sided, Magnolias, Red-eyed Vireo and Warbling Vireos, but it was an ultra bold Rose-breasted Grosbeak that stole the show - He landed less than 7 feet away and so I drifted towards him snapping away as I got closer to him. I think I was less than 3 feet before he hopped up on a branch away from me, but he certainly wasn't in alarm. and upset with my proximity. Amazing... 
Today (the 26th) I headed down to one of my favorite migration spots near Dundas ie Thornapple Loop which is part of the Royal Botanical Gardens network of trails. I arrived just as the light was workable (6:45am) and almost immediately I was seeing Redstarts - not sure if they were females or juvie males as they were all "female" colouring, but in the fall it's somewhat  difficult to tell, but they came into camera range every now and then. Other birds were Ovenbird, Wilson's Warbler, Black & White Warbler and a few Red-eyed Vireos. 
Picture
Ovenbird

August 24th 2018

Location: Kitchener
Weather: I was inside, so doesn't matter ;)
A couple of spiders from my garage macro "studio" setup  ...  Spiders were located in and around the garden and returned back to their habitat after posing for me for 10 or 15 minutes LOL

​​​All images are clickable to go full size, and hovering over will display species or description

August 23rd 2018

Location: Thornapple Loop, Dundas
Weather: Sunny and hot 
I hadn't been here since early spring but this location can often have a few songbirds during migration. I spent several hours browsing a section of trail and was rewarded with a few decent sightings, including Redstarts, Chestnut-sided, Carolina Wren, and several Red-eyed Vireos. These I managed to photograph but missed out on another couple including a Brown Thrasher ....  good day, for being this early in fall migration.

​​​All images are clickable to go full size, and hovering over will display species or description

August 20th 2018

Location: In and around Cambridge
Weather:Hot again !!
Spun around a few spots looking for birds and or bugs. The Great-Crested Flycatcher and the Solitary Sandpiper I found at Riverside Park. not too far from Preston Town Centre- always amazes me that this park can produce some good birds.

August 19th 2018

Location: In and around Cambridge
Weather: Sunny, with a little cloud, but still hot
A few birds from around Cambridge.

​​All images are clickable to go full size, and hovering over will display species or description

August 18th - 20th  2018

Location: RARE property, Cambridge
Weather: Sunny and hot
A few Butterflies from the last couple of days

August 16th & 17th 2018

Location: Beverley Swamp
Weather: Sunny & Hot
One of the nice things about Birds and Butterflies, as I mentioned in my previous post, is that you can use the same lens - Today I headed out to an area that I have been visiting off and on for many years and can sometimes be quite productive for birds (sometimes not) and of course I had the 500 hooked up and ready for whatever action came my way. I knew Butterflies are quite abundant in this area so although I was hopeful for birds I realistically accepted that likely I was going to shoot butterflies. Just as I arrived at my planned spot along Safari Road I saw what I initially thought was a Goldfinch, but was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a Blue-winged Warbler. I was really pleased with this find and I suspect that this was a herald to the upcoming fall migration of Warblers, at least I hope so.

​All images are clickable to go full size, and hovering over will display species or description

August 14th & 15th 2018

Location: In and around Cambridge
Weather: Sunny and continuing HOT
Today was a Butterfly day ... I did some experimenting with different methods for photographing Butterflies and Moths - I have a Macro Lens (100mm L series) which for image quality is really good ....  if you can close enough, which isn't always that easy, and can quite frustrating.  Next I also tried using my 500mm F4 and if I combined it with an extension tube or two then I had the ability to get razor sharp images but from a distance that didn't spook the butterflies. I found that with adding 50mm of Extension that this allowed me to get as close as (approx) 7 feet, and almost fill the frame with eg a Swallowtail. The big disadvantage is that a) it's unwieldy and b) a tad heavy. Moving on I tried using a 100-400 also with a about 50mm of Extension and found this resulted in getting an image almost as good a quality as the 500 and or the 100mm, but certainly easier to handle, although the zoom feature wasn't very practical, so I found that locking the zoom at the full 400 being the best method. An interesting experiment .....

August 13th 2018

Location: Gravel Roads near Ayr
Weather: Sunny and hot 
Most days I head out with the thought of finding birds, but as most other birders are finding out they have been pretty thin on the ground this month. However that only makes the chase more interesting does it not. I headed out to a agricultural area near Ayr, ON where some of the back roads are bordered by various woodlots and swampy areas. These are not birded very frequently but nevertheless they can often have a few birds. Today along  the one stretch I found two individual Black-billed Cuckoos and a Great-crested Flycatcher plus a few odds and ends. Also along this same road (if my memory serves me correctly). I also had a few butterflies including a nice Millbert's Tortoiseshell ... A first for me and it certainly made the day worthwhile.

August 11th 2018

Location: Beverley Swamp
Weather: Hot and Sunny
Although it's getting really late in the season for them, I'm determined to get a decent shot of a Hummingbird Moth and so I went back to Beverley Swamp, where I had spotted a little one there yesterday (10th). Unfortunately I couldn't find any, but I did find a good show of miscellaneous Butterflies, including one that has been on my wish list .. the tiny Silvery Blue, which every time I see one never seems to settle. This one dropped down a couple of times, but I didn't get the back pose (which shows the blue really well). Still I got some shots so I was happy. Another one that photographed and I don't believe I had seen before was the Great Spangled Fritillary. A good "Flutterby" day .....
All images are clickable to go full size, and hovering over will display species or description

August 10th 2018

Location: Hamilton and then Beverley Swamp on my way home
Weather: Cooler by the Lake, but inland hot again
Along with a friend I headed to Hamilton with hopes of finding and photographing the Long-tailed Jaeger. For me this was my second day having photographed it several times yesterday (9th) but my companion had yet to see it. Unfortunately it was not to be - there was a distinct change in the wind direction overnight so it would appear that our target had "flown the coop".
We couldn't even find  the shorebirds that I had seen the day before so our day overall wasn't looking so good. We stopped in at Valley Inn in the hope of maybe a Green Heron or Black-crowned Night Heron, but although we did see a distant pair of Greens we didn't get a shot. Our only birds were a couple of Ospreys and a few Caspian Terns, but even these guys failed to perform (take fish in a dive). Some days are like that.
On my way home I dropped in at Beverley Swamp - I had been here a couple of days ago and had seen a few decent Butterflies, so my plan was to spend a bit more time and try to get a Silvery Blue which had eluded me on my previous visit..... as it did today as well :( I did however photograph a Tiger Swallowtail and a Giant Swallowtail and the highlight of my day a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. Unfortunately ... my image of the Moth was pretty awful, as you can see below, but certainly pretty excited to see it 

August 9th 2018

Location: Hamilton, Ontario
Weather: Continuing hot (~29C)
Picture
Long-tailed Jaeger
I don't usually chase vagrant species of bird, but this morning I decided to check out the multiple sightings in Hamilton of a Long-tailed Jaeger. After a couple of stops at different parts of the beach I eventually found the bird in the parking lot of Wild Waterworks just off South Service Road. I couldn't believe how bold the bird was - Along with another couple of birders we were only 20 feet away and it was wandering closer and did not seem in the least bothered by our presence - In fact its close proximity had us moving back as it was wandering in to our too close focus range (kind of a nice change ... usually we have the opposite problem).  After a time it flew off (and I missed the flight shots.........  doh!) and headed to the beach area around Van Wagners and Hutch's. We headed down and re-found it a couple of times as it hung out with a few SH's (Ring-billed Gulls) along the waters edge. It was a good day as while we were on the beach we also found and photographed a Ruddy Turnstone and a small group of Sanderling. It was definitely worth the drive. BTW the Jaeger was a life bird for me .... not something I get too often these days.

August 4th - 6th 2018

Location: In and around KW
Weather: Hot & Sultry
Birds are still in short supply, but with a little effort some can still be found. Highlight of the last few days was the Yellow-crowned Night Heron - A juvenile, but still very notable. The Night Heron has been hanging along the Speed River and generally near the Beaverdale Road Bridge in Cambridge, as he/she was today (Monday). This was the third day I had been to this location, so it was definitely a case of third time lucky.  The other notable bird in the last few days was the Scarlet Tanager - We went to a spot where I knew they breed and over the period of an hour or so we found two bright plumaged males, albeit they were pretty distant. The other portions of the last few days I did some macro work ... very challenging, but I'm getting the hang of it (I think). Images below the bird gallery (below)
Picture
Yellow-crowned Night Heron (juv)
.... and some bugs from the last couple of days 

August 2nd 2018

Location: Kitchener, ON
Weather: Sun and cloud & warm (28C)
Picture
Gray Tree Frog
Another non-birding day - I checked out Huron Natural Area in Kitchener, for bugs and insects. Turns out that it's a great spot for Dragonflies & Damsel Flies - they seemed to be everywhere. I also came across a first for me ... a Gray Tree Frog - it was a juvenile and quite small (about an inch or so) and if I hadn't been looking for insects in this particular tree I would have missed it for sure. I was tucked in to a leaf and stayed perfectly still for the 10 mins that I watched and photographed it, even when I came really close with my macro lens. Image left ....
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    Pretty much all my life I have had an interest in nature photography albeit in, off and on, phases of interest. Around 13/14 years ago, I found myself, again, getting that nature bug, and I am now, especially since I retired just over 6 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
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