October 26th & 28th 2021
| LOCATION: Near Stratford (26th), North Dumfries (28th) | WEATHER: Dull and wet on the 26th, Sun & cloud (28th) |
Who woulda thought ...a Groove-billed Ani in SW Ontario. I was fortunate to have been invited to a location just outside Stratford on the 26th to get a few pics of this Ultra rarity that has found it's way to this area. The bird wasn't too shy but kept to the long grass, so a nice clean shot wasn't an option, but I'm not complaining !! It wasn't a lifer as I have seen and photographed this species in Costa Rico, but in Ontario ... WOW!!
Today (28th) I kept local to KW today as my car was in the shop, so I "borrowed" my wife's car for a few hours, and ended up in North Dumfries. Weather was cold but not too windy (although wind did pick up later). My targets were Winter Wren and Fox Sparrow, but both species evaded my viewfinder, or even a glimpse through the bins ... oh well. However I did find my first of season, Tree Sparrow, as well as a small flock of Rusty Blackbirds.
Today (28th) I kept local to KW today as my car was in the shop, so I "borrowed" my wife's car for a few hours, and ended up in North Dumfries. Weather was cold but not too windy (although wind did pick up later). My targets were Winter Wren and Fox Sparrow, but both species evaded my viewfinder, or even a glimpse through the bins ... oh well. However I did find my first of season, Tree Sparrow, as well as a small flock of Rusty Blackbirds.
October 22nd 2021
| LOCATION: In and around Waterloo Wellington Airport | WEATHER: Sun and Cloud, but cold!! |
I hate to admit it, but I slept in this morning, and didn't get in my vehicle until almost 9:00am, so I had to think of somewhere close. I decided to head up to the Breslau area, and cruise the back rounds around Waterloo Wellington Airport, where, in the recent past I had seen a few shorebirds. Unfortunately I saw absolutely zero, but I did re-find a small flock of American Pipits, that I had previously found a couple of weeks ago. So pretty happy that I saw one or two of them reasonably close (shooting from inside my vehicle)
On another road close by I saw movement in the hedgerow, which turned out to be a few Kinglets (both Ruby & Goldens), and while I was s\waiting on them resurfacing a couple of Hermit Thrushes popped up ... That was a distinct highlight to my morning, and one I hadn't expected.
On another road close by I saw movement in the hedgerow, which turned out to be a few Kinglets (both Ruby & Goldens), and while I was s\waiting on them resurfacing a couple of Hermit Thrushes popped up ... That was a distinct highlight to my morning, and one I hadn't expected.
Tip of the Day: Quite simply ... Get out as often as you can, and keep your eyes and ears open
October 17th & 19th 2021
| LOCATION: 17th North Dumfries + 19th Long Point area | WEATHER: 17th Sun/Cloud + 19th pure sun |
It's amazing how fast this month seems to be going - it seems like no time since I was posting pics from the first days of the month. I suppose old age has the same timetable, at least at my age that's how it feels too.
The last couple of days have been tough trying to find songbirds other than Kinglets of course, which are still plentiful, almost everywhere. I had hope to see a few Warblers, and maybe a Vireo or two during my visit to the Long Point area, and yes I did stumble across a Blue-headed Vireo, but he wouldn't come into the open, so although I did manage a crappy shot, I didn't get anything "worthy" of inclusion here, and as you have likely seen these aren't the greatest, so that gives you an idea how bad the actual shot was of the Vireo.
The last couple of days have been tough trying to find songbirds other than Kinglets of course, which are still plentiful, almost everywhere. I had hope to see a few Warblers, and maybe a Vireo or two during my visit to the Long Point area, and yes I did stumble across a Blue-headed Vireo, but he wouldn't come into the open, so although I did manage a crappy shot, I didn't get anything "worthy" of inclusion here, and as you have likely seen these aren't the greatest, so that gives you an idea how bad the actual shot was of the Vireo.
Tip of the Day: Look for opportunities with even the most common of birds, It's not the rarity of the bird that makes a great shot - it's the rarity of the shot that makes a great image
October 13th 2021
| LOCATION: Drumbo to Woodstock | WEATHER: Cloudy, mild and almost no wind |
Owing to an out-of-town family wedding on the 10th of October, I haven't been too active shooting birds over the last week or so, but now that it's past I hope to get out a more often ... I hope anyways.
Today I headed down into an area I haven't really checked out in the past , but it wasn't too bad. There wasn't anything really exciting but there were a few pockets of the run of the mill birds that are still great to photograph . I started on the north side of the 401 near Drumbo and cruised a few of the gravel roads in and around that area, and ending up closer to Woodstock/ Sightings were patchy, but every now and then a would see a couple of birds, then hang out and wait for motion etc ...
Today I headed down into an area I haven't really checked out in the past , but it wasn't too bad. There wasn't anything really exciting but there were a few pockets of the run of the mill birds that are still great to photograph . I started on the north side of the 401 near Drumbo and cruised a few of the gravel roads in and around that area, and ending up closer to Woodstock/ Sightings were patchy, but every now and then a would see a couple of birds, then hang out and wait for motion etc ...
Tip of the Day: For each season try to teach yourself and be aware of habitats for small birds, and than as you drive around look for similar type of said habitat. eg For both types of Kinglet at this time of year, look for cedars and spruce as part of a deciduous wooded area. Also try to find a spot not too close to houses - although I often find Kinglets in the gardens of rural housing.
October 4th & 5th 2021
| LOCATION: Breslau ..again! | WEATHER: Cloudy both days |
The 4th was the best day so far with seeing and photographing Pipits - There was one particular flooded field that had a couple of dozen birds just hanging around and feeding in the wet puddles, which of course if you are going out looking take careful note of these type of locations and be aware that they can be really tricky to see, so you might have to use the bins
Tip of the Day: When Fall days turn colder you may see thousands of birds in mid migration concentrated in relatively small geographic areas, waiting for weather conditions to become more favorable before resuming their migration. ... a good time to go birding :)
October 2nd & 3rd 2021
| LOCATION: near Breaslau ..both days | WEATHER: generally sunny, some rain but getting cooler |
Saturday (2nd) I was at a bit of a loss as to where to head for my daily birding forage, but I had seen a report of Golden Plovers being seen near Breslau, so why not .. as good as anywhere. Except ... I couldn't find any.
Being in the area I headed along some of the back roads in the same general area and was delighted to find a small flock of American Pipits rooting around in a ploughed field that had some standing water near the road. I watched them from my vehicle for about an hour and was rewarded with several decent shots.
Next day (3rd) I headed back hoping for a similar batch of sightings but unfortunately they had apparently moved on. Name of the game, I suppose. As a consolation I found a small flock of Dark-eyed Juncos, which posed for a few shots. Kinda depressing ... these guys herald the cold weather, that isn't too far away ie winter ... YUK!
Being in the area I headed along some of the back roads in the same general area and was delighted to find a small flock of American Pipits rooting around in a ploughed field that had some standing water near the road. I watched them from my vehicle for about an hour and was rewarded with several decent shots.
Next day (3rd) I headed back hoping for a similar batch of sightings but unfortunately they had apparently moved on. Name of the game, I suppose. As a consolation I found a small flock of Dark-eyed Juncos, which posed for a few shots. Kinda depressing ... these guys herald the cold weather, that isn't too far away ie winter ... YUK!
Tip of the Day: During the peak of fall migration, birds are on the move every day, particularly as the North temperate zone days become increasingly short. But the volume of birds is greatly affected by local and regional scale weather patterns. It is perhaps unsurprising that birds are affected so greatly by weather—humans don’t necessarily like to be out when its raining either! But in addition to precipitation, wind direction plays a major role in creating favorable migration conditions
