August 31st 2018
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. |
August 28th 2018
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
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. |
August 24th 2018
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August 23rd 2018
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August 20th 2018
August 19th 2018
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August 18th - 20th 2018
August 16th & 17th 2018
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August 14th & 15th 2018
August 13th 2018
August 11th 2018
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August 10th 2018
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
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
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) |
August 2nd 2018
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 .... |