September 28th & 29th 2023
| LOCATION: North Dumfries | WEATHER: Sun and cloud, but fairly cool |
| For these two mornings I went back to same spot as I had on the previous two mornings. This is a pot I just discovered on one of the gravel roads between Ayr and Paris. It has been reasonably productive, so I will likely keep checking it out in the coming weeks. Highlight on Day 2 was the Lincolns Sparrow - I never realized what it was until I had up on my computer screen, so I was pretty "chuffed"with this FOY sighting. |  Lincoln's Sparrow |
September 24th & 26th 2023
| LOCATION: North Dumfries | WEATHER: Cooler .. typ Fall mornings |
 Golden-crowned Kinglet | Last few mornings have been a little cooler, but with quite a bit of wind. Not sure the wind direction and if it had any effect on migration, but there certainly seemed an improvement in the amount of birds around.... so all is on the plus side :) One species that seemed to be on the move was the Kinglets - both Ruby and Golden-crowned. Plenty showing but BOY are the tricky to shoot in the Fall - they were constantly chasing each other and generally never sat still but for split seconds, so the shots I managed I was lucky to say the least!! |
September 21st 2023
| LOCATION: North Dumfries and Kitchener | WEATHER: Much warmer this morning |
Working on it !!
September 20th 2023
| LOCATION: North Dumfries again | WEATHER: Very cool ( +4C ) at 8am, but warmed up |
 Gray Catbird | Headed around a few of my most favorite spots in the North Dumfries area ... with minimal success at most locations, except for a spot, which is new to my list, where there was significant activity. Highlights were the Blue-headed Vireo and the Rusty Blackbird. There was actually two Rusties showed up in the tree I was focussing my attentions on. I first noticed a lot of migrating American Robins in an adjacent tree, and then the landed and gave me a couple of shots ... although they were not anything special ... but I'll take it anyways. Later in the day I did a bit of bug hunting and saw quite a few decent specimens .. one or two I collected for a studio bug shoot a bit later. Tip of the Day: Don’t chase the birds. Find a good location and let the birds come to you. A hunted bird is not going to yield an outstanding photograph. If you find a group of birds, try to predict their movement and get ahead of them and let them come to you. |
September 19th 2023
| LOCATION: North Dumfries | WEATHER: Definitely cooler, but warmed up |
Birding was a little flat at my usual spots in North Dumfries - I tried 3 or 4 different spots but it was poor and almost no birds showing - other than the Ruby-crowned Kinglet (and there were several) .
September 18th 2023
| LOCATION: North Dumfries | WEATHER: Cool start, then warmed up |
It was a slow start for the first 45 mins this morning as I checked out a couple of spots that quite often produce fall migrants, but not this morning, As I left my second spot I noticed anther likely habitat about a kilometer from that spot. Almost immediately I was seeing songbirds - first there was a flock of Black-throated Green (about 10 birds), then a few Parulas showed up, then it was the turn of the Blackpolls ... an exciting 45 mins ... then nothing !!
September 17th 2023
| LOCATION: near Aylmer | WEATHER: Seasonally cooler, but sun/cloud |
I have been seeing a few posts and some reports of a Roseate Spoonbill being in the area. After a couple of false starts (outdated information) I managed to get to the latest spot that it is being seen - Springwater Conservation Area near Aylmer. Luck was on my side as just as I got to the spot it was hanging out, it landed on a stick about 50 feet from the shore and stayed there for a half hour or so. This bird is way of course as it usually found only in the southern states (eg Florida), so it was a very rare sighting for Ontario.
September 12th & 15th 2023
| LOCATION: In and around North Dumfries | WEATHER: A bit cooler, but still mostly sunny |
Things have been a little quieter over the last couple of days with almost no Warbler activity. Thankfully still some macro available, so it has been something to photograph ..
Tip of the Day: Warblers don't sing much during Fall migration. But they do call, some species quite often. And Fall is definitely the best season to concentrate on these short vocalizations.
Learning calls can be daunting, but worth the effort.
Learning calls can be daunting, but worth the effort.
September 10th & 11th 2023
| LOCATION: North Dumfries - near Blair | WEATHER: cooler but nice |
There can be no question that fall migration is a lot slower than it has been in previous years, One thought was that maybe the widespread forest fires that occurred up north during the summer has had a negative effect on nesting birds, such that fall migrating birds are somewhat down - I hope I am wrong.
Tip of the Day: Many birds—warblers included—will migrate at night under the cover of darkness. They face less risks of getting caught by predators, but after a long night of flying, they’re hungry and need to refuel on a breakfast of bugs. Your best opportunity to see them in good numbers is early morning, after sunrise, when the sun has begun to warm the trees and all the bugs hiding there.
September 8th & 9th 2023
| LOCATION: North Dumfries again | WEATHER: Sun and cloud |
 Swainson's Thrush | Back to the same area again over these two days ... Highlight was was the Swainsons Thrush at the exact same spot as the day before ...this time he posed nice, On day 2 I spent more time looking for butterflies and dragonflies and any other interesting insect that I could find |
September 7th 2023
| LOCATION: North Dumfries - FWR etc | WEATHER: Decent birding weather |
Checked out a few spots in and around North Dumfries - first decent sightings this fall of Swainsons Thrushes - in fact I had 4 ...
September 5th & 6th 2023
| LOCATION: Birds were N. Dumfries. Bugs close to home | WEATHER: Somewhat cooler than expected |
First thing on the morning of day 1, I headed to FWR Dickson Wilderness Area, which, now that fall migration is underway, has been a hit & miss for the migrants, Unfortunately my Day 1 was on the miss side, but I did see a Cape May. The rest of the morning I did a bug hunt, which turned out to be a little more successful with a couple of interesting species to photograph
Tip of the Day: Find the flock - During the fall, even more than during spring, migrant warblers tend to be concentrated in flocks. The flocks may be only loosely organized, and they may contain only a few individuals, but they are out there and worth finding.
September 2nd & 3rd 2023
| LOCATION: Kitchener & North Dumfries | WEATHER: Typical late summer |
Spent the last couple of days doing some looking for Praying Mantis's . I was lucky to find a spo, which was close to home, that had several of them fluttering about... which is the easiest way to find them. I work my way through long grass on a wasteground type of area - they take flight then I can home in on them.
