JaNUARY 2019

January 20th 2019

Location: In and around Cambridge

Weather: Pretty cold (-15C), but sunny

To be updated later .................

January 18th 2019

Location: La Salle Marina Burlington

Weather: A mix of sun and cloud (mostly cloud), and somewhat chilly when the wind got up

One of the best places to photograph Ducks, and other water fowl, is anywhere along the shores of Ontario's Great Lakes. Today our targets were Canvasbacks, Ruddy and any other less than common ducks. We headed to La Salle in Burlington where there is usually a large collection of miscellaneous ducks hanging around the marina area throughout the winter. We arrived fairly early at around 8:15 and almost immediately we were looking a a couple of Canvasbacks that were foraging fairly close to shore. Unfortunately the light was in our face so getting detail in our shots was challenging to say the least, but you take what you can get sometimes. In around the marina there was hundreds of Mallards, dozens of Trumpter Swans, dozens of Goldeneyes, White-winged Scoters, Lesser & Greater Scaup, and a few Ruddy Ducks, which failed to come close, so we lucked out on images of these beauties (Ruddy Ducks). There was however lots of Long-tailed Ducks, which normally not found at this location (across the Bay at the Lift Bridge you can expect to see hundreds of theme there though). On the small bird side we saw a couple of Carolina Wrens, but no sign today of the Winter Wren.

January 16th 2019

Location: Cambridge & Blair

Weather: Variable sun and cloud, with snow flurries

On looking out my windows at home this morning, with snow falling and with very poor light it looked like it would be a day at home - not that this would be that bad, as I have a ton of images to catch up on. However by late morning it had brightened up and with the fresh snow it might make photography a bit more interesting. I initially headed out to Riverside Park in Cambridge with the target being to capture a shot or two of the resident male Red-bellied Woodpecker that hangs there, and maybe who knows what that might show up. Unfortunately not too much showed up other than the usual Red-belly, a few Downies, Nuthatches and a pile of Chickadees. 
Over the last several weeks and whenever I'm in the area I always take a run along a gravel road a bit west of the village of Blair in the hope of seeing a Northern Shrike. In previous winters I have often come across one of this species, but so far I've always come up blank .... until today. I had almost given up, when I spotted a bird that looked about the right size, but it took off before I could make a firm ID, but after hanging around for another half hour I spotted it again, and made a positive ID. Unfortunately it didn't come close enough, but for sure I will keep an eye on the area and hope for an image in the coming days/weeks (if it hangs around that is).

Downy Woodpecker (F)

January 15th 2019

Location: Whitby and Oshawa

Weather: Cloudy and not too cold (-2C)

After laying low for a few days, because of a heavy cold, I was anxious to get back out and see what birds were around, so along with a good birding friend, we headed back to Darlington Provincial Park where the Boreal Chickadee is still hanging out. On arrival we headed back to exact same location on the trail where we had seen it the week before, and amazingly it was exactly where we had left it <wink>. Over the next hour or two, and with the help of a few peanuts and Sunflower seeds, we had quite a few decent shots in the can, so to speak. Coming in with the Boreal were several other species including Black-capped Chickadees and  the odd White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches.  
Before heading back, we dropped by Halls Road in Whitby to see if one of the Barred Owls was out in the open. We got lucky, as we had a nice bird sitting in a decent spot and so we were able to bag a few more decent shots before heading back.... Pretty good day, considering.

January 8th 2019

Location: Darlington Provincial Park

Weather: Unseasonably mild (+6C) hazy sun and cloud

Boreal Chickadee

Yet another unusual avian visitor to our area over the last few weeks - a Boreal Chickadee. This bird is way further south than is normal in the winter, with a normal southern limit being Algonquin. So Darlington Provincial Park near Oshawa is a very unusual spot to find one. The bird has been seen almost daily for some time, so with the weather in a very cooperative state, I headed to the park to see if I could get some decent shots. In previous years (at least 3 years ago) I had seen this species, but I can't say I was too happy with any of the photographs I had managed at that or previous times
The Boreal was foraging along the trail, near the west gate of the Park, with several Black-capped Chickadees, and after a bit of a wait it popped out into the open to check out the peanuts and other goodies that some birders had left along the side of the trail. 

January 5th 2019

Location: Cambridge & Blair

Weather: Cloudy and dull, but very occasional sunny breaks

To be updated shortly .......

January 3rd & 4th 2019

Location: Melbourne, Ontario

Weather: 3rd (sun & cloud) 4th: (bright and sunny)

I've been "chasing" and photographing birds for more than 10 years, and a not too uncommon bird keeps eluding me Namely the Short-eared Owl.. Along with a fellow birder/photographer, who has had the same nemesis bird on his target list for several years, we headed down to an area close to the small town of Melbourne, Ontario (near Strathroy). Knowing that this owl is mostly seen either at dusk or dawn, we set things up so that we would be there late afternoon, and again in the morning for the tail end of this owls nocturnal forays. 
We arrived mid afternoon and scouted around for a few hours in the hope that an owl might be around, but it wasn't to be. It wasn't until almost 5:15pm that we began to see birds soaring up and around. By this time the light was atrocious, but "snapped" of a few frames anyways. Strangely enough we met a fellow birder/photographer in the area that predicted that we would start to see the owls at 5:15 ... amazingly he was bang-on correct. (Thanks Garry)
After a night at a local hotel we headed back in the early morning with a hope that maybe ... maybe, we might capture an owl on a fencepost at the tail end of his nocturnal hunt. Again no luck, but we did see a few SEO's that flew around, but just as the light was improving (and it was still almost pitch black), the birds simply disappeared (I assume to their daytime roosting spot). Photo wise it was a disaster, but from a sighting point of view it was fantastic, and I can stroke off another "life" bird from my list.
I should mention that this same area had several Northern Harriers that cruised the fields around these same Concessions during the daylight hours, of course. 
​A couple of EXTREMELY poor images below, that are there only to record the sightings for my own records. I don't think I have ever posted as bad a photograph in all the years I've been doing this .... so please forgive me <embarrassed>
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LOOKING BACK on 2018 ....

Below is a montage of some of my favorites from 2018. I feel blessed that I was able to get out into nature and witness birds and other wildlife at close hand. Nature is so precious and seeing some of God's beautiful creatures in their natural habitat is something that is unbelievably awesome and satisfying.It is impossible to describe the joy and satisfaction from capturing their images in a photograph. 
I wish all of you who take the time to visit my little site here and read my often (I will be the first to admit it) rambling accounts, a fantastic 2019. I continue to be grateful for reasonably good health in my more senior years, that allows me the ability to spend the time tracking down and photographing nature ..... stay tuned, 2019 has a few gems just waiting to be photographed.