Great Blue Heron Labour day weekend - yahoo!
Birding is still a little flat, but the fall migration can't be too far away.
Saturday morning I headed out to a few local spots with minimal success. Hespeler Mill Pond, Riverside Park & UofG Arboretum. The only excitement was my initial ID of the Snipe (in the gallery below) in that, after looking at my field guide, I was 75% sure I had a Common Snipe, but after some professional ID I had to concede it was the much more common Wilson's Snipe ... but it had me excited for a short time - oh well!!
Birding is still a little flat, but the fall migration can't be too far away.
Saturday morning I headed out to a few local spots with minimal success. Hespeler Mill Pond, Riverside Park & UofG Arboretum. The only excitement was my initial ID of the Snipe (in the gallery below) in that, after looking at my field guide, I was 75% sure I had a Common Snipe, but after some professional ID I had to concede it was the much more common Wilson's Snipe ... but it had me excited for a short time - oh well!!
August 23rd - 24th 2014
Female Goldfinch Saturday morning was promised to be pretty good according to the weather channel. but ... they lied again. Turned out to be drizzly and dull, at least until I got home - go figure! Headed down to Windermere basin - hoping to see a few waterbirds, and possibly the Snowy Owl that has forgotten that he should be in the tundra during the summer, and is being seen regularly in and around Windermere Basin. Of course, I never saw it ... it was that kind of day.Only shots (low quality) I took were of the the Caspian Tern and the Double-crested Cormorant Sunday, on the other hand, turned out to be quite memorable - Weather, although foggy when I headed out at 6:00am turned in to a nice day (great light). On impulse I headed to the Long Point area, stopping first at the north side of Backus woods hoping to spot a Hooded Warbler. - unfortunately I did not have any luck, so on to Port Rowan Wetlands, and although there weren't too many ducks or shorebirds, there were several Marsh Wrens and Swamp Sparrows that fully cooperated - I had a blast!! Next stop was the Bird Studies HQ down the road a ways, and although generally it was pretty quiet, I had a Black-billed Cuckoo that popped his head up several times. This was one of the best late summer days I had many a year. Like a great shot in a golf game that keeps you coming back to play it's days like that that keeps me going out
August 16th 2014
Green Heron Cool morning for middle of August (12deg C), but with the promise of a warmer day I headed out to check out some of the spots around town. First stop, Hespeler Mill Pond, but it was pretty bare of the usual waders, egrets, etc that are, in most years at this time, around. Saw a few Mallards, a Kingfisher and a single Egret .. Next I headed over to Riverside Park .... I hadn't visited here for several months, but local reports were encouraging. Many of the usuals were there - RW Blackbirds, Cardinals, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Blue Jays, Kingfishers, Song & White throated Sparrows. There was an immature Green Heron that was reasonably close, feeding/hunting in the pond by the boardwalk, so I was able to snap a few decent shots. I spoke with a couple of fellow birders for a bit who were able to update me on recent sightings at Riverside (thanks again Theresa & Ron).
August 2nd - 9th 2014
Spent the week of August 2nd to August 9th in beautiful Cayo Coco, Cuba, with my wife Margaret (that should obviously be other way around .. Cayo Coco, with my beautiful wife Margaret), on a birding/family vacation. Stayed at the Memories Flamenco Resort Hotel and it was Hot, Hot, Hot!! I managed to get out (3) mornings with a local guide who was pretty good (Paulino Delgado), who came prepared with a good knowledge of what to find and where. Day1: we toured the southern sections of Cayo Coco and the start of Cayo Romano. Day2: the mainland - inland a bit (accompanied by another birder from Burlington, Keith Wilson .. thanks for the company Keith, and Day3: Cayo Guillermo. The other days, for a few hours in the morning or early evening I spent some time in and around the resort (which turned out to be reasonably productive). Managed to see many of the endemics, including Cuban Pewee, Cuban Tody, Cuban Trogan, Cuban Vireo, Zapata Sparrow, Cuban Oriole, Cuban Pygmy Owl, Cuban Blackbird, etc as well as a few other interesting birds .. Mangrove Cuckoo, Great Lizard Cuckoo, Yellow Billed Cuckoo, Black necked Stilt, Flamingos, Rosetta Spoonbill, etc etc etc. I had a big problem with lens fogging ... our hotel room was air conditioned (of course) and as soon as the equipment hit he outdoor humid heat ... lens and camera fogged up and didn't clear until the temperatures equalized - lost a lot of great opportunities!! ... and did I say it was Hot!
On our last day early in the evening I took a walk close to the hotel (along a offshoot from the main road) and caught sight of a large dark coloured lizard as it ducked into the trees ... I was approx 10' from it when disappeared, but it must have been around 3' long ... I've looked up references to large lizards and Iguanas but it has me beat?!
On our last day early in the evening I took a walk close to the hotel (along a offshoot from the main road) and caught sight of a large dark coloured lizard as it ducked into the trees ... I was approx 10' from it when disappeared, but it must have been around 3' long ... I've looked up references to large lizards and Iguanas but it has me beat?!
