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
 

September 29th, 2013

29/9/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Last entry for the month of September, and looking back over the month it's been a little disappointing, but enjoyable none the less. Saturday, after a little research I noticed that there was a birding festival at Ruthven Park down in the Haldimand area near Cayuga. This was a small festival that incorporated a bird banding program, so if they are banding ... then there must be birds to photograph... logic is good so far.. right?). Well, it wasn't a waste of a trip, but there wasn't much banding happening, or photography, for that matter.. but I did get a couple of shots and spotted a few migrants (I have a pile of images of out of focus birds, and a lot of leaves). Kinglets, in the early part of the morning were around, but mainly Golden Crowned, but boy, were they hard to photograph !! Other species spotted were Brown Thrasher, Grey Catbird, Song Sparrow, Blue Jay, Golden Crowned Kinglet, Gold Finches, Robins, Red Winged Blackbirds, Turkey Vultures, Downy Woodpeckers, Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers, and a few others I'm probably forgetting about. As part of the festival there was a Raptor show. It was pretty interesting, and the presenter brought out a few good birds, Harris Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Snowy Owl, Great Horned Owl and a Bald Eagle (spectacular). On the way back it I detoured around by Townsend to check out the sewage Lagoons, which based on web research is open on weekends, wrong! Oh well ... moving on!

In the initial stages of a Winter trip, possibly to Panama, Cuba or maybe back to Costa Rica ... more to follow, as they say!


September 15th 2013

PictureCape May Warbler
Late summer and the opportunities are dwindling, and I really wanted to get shots of the late warbler migrants that are passing through the area. I checked the OFO website for sightings in my area and picked on the Arboretum at UofG again (someone had posted some great species a day or two before). Saturday morning the light couldn't have been better, but after 2 hours of trekking around the Arboretum I saw nothing more interesting than a few Waxwings, Robins and Chickadees ... On the way back I checked out Hespeler Mill Pond again which wasn't too bad ... a few GBH's, a dozen or so Egrets and several small waders. Sunday, I drove around by Mountsberg Reservoir and managed to spot this guy .. a female Cape May Warbler (my first this year). Also spotted was a Merlin, Robins, Waxwings, Kingfishers, Mourning Doves, Rock Pigeon, and a few others that were too quick for me to identify

September 7th 2013

Forecast was less than perfect, and with limited time I decided on the Arboretum at UofG. I also detoured past Hespeler Mill Pond to check things out there. HMP still has significant numbers of Great White Egrets and a few Herons, but I didn't spot any waders, so it looks like they might have continued on their hibernation journey. I did however, spot a couple of Bonaparte Gulls sitting on the mud flats...  At the Arboretum the rain was starting so I left photography gear in my truck. A 15min walk around by the Gardens produced the usual Goldfinches & Waxwings and a few others including Grackles, Robins, Chickadees, but no migratory Warblers (the main reason for my visit). Highlight was, as I was watching a group of Waxwings in a tree ~100' away, a Common Nighthawk swooped in driving the Waxwings ahead of it, over the trees behind me, then a few moments later it flew back over my head, and of course the camera was still in my vehicle :( . Tomorrow I'm debating Point Pelee area .... maybe!

1st September 2013

PictureCedar Waxwing
Sunday morning, Carlos & I headed out and visited a few local spots where we might have some photo opportunities. Carlos is a very talented photographer, but hasn't done much Nature related Photography, so I  wanted to pack in a few decent spots in a short space of time. Grass Lake was our 1st location and predictably there was a pair of Sandhill Cranes. Next, over to Hespeler Mill Pond, where we managed to grab some decent images of Cedar Waxwings, Common Mergansers, Great Egrets, Great Blue Heron, Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper etc. Finally over to Riverside Park. The highlight of the weekend was, for me, a first ...  a Wilsons Warbler (seen below)

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 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
    ​

    Archives

    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)