January 2023

January 30th 2023

LOCATION: North Dumfries

WEATHER: Cloudy with flurries

The weather was a little iffy, but at least the snow looked like it was going to minimal, if at all. I had originally planned to head to Lake Ontario, but at the last minute, I though maybe looking for a Lapland Longspur would be more satisfying, so I headed out towards Ayr, and the back roads beyond. Yesterday I came across a couple of flocks of Snow Buntings, so I headed to the same spots and yes the SB's were still there, but unfortunately there was also a Northern Harrier keeping them on the move, so I never was not able to get these little white gems  close enough or still enough for a decent shot. Of what I could seed there wasn't any Laplands in the mixes anyways...  I will keep looking :)
On the way back home I detoured around to FWR Dickson and as always a ton of bird activity, so I didn't come home empty handed.

Tip of the Day: No matter where you're shooting your bird/wildlife shots you need to have a good look around the viewfinder to make sure there's nothing in the background that will distract the viewer. Throwing the background out of focus can look great, however, this can cause parts of your subject, particularly when working with small subjects such as birds, to also go out of focus. If this happens try using a slightly smaller aperture as getting the subject sharp is what's more important.

**  As always ... click on any image to show full size. Also by hovering your cursor over any image will provide a title

January 29th 2023

LOCATION: a) Kitchener b) North Dumfries

WEATHER: Cloudy and a light snow

Top Row:  were a a couple of shots I managed through my dining room door onto my deck setup.
Mid Row: I took a drive around North Dumfries looking for Snow Buntings, and was rewarded with spotting a couple of small flocks. No Lapland Longspurs in either flock sadly.
Bottom Row: On my way back, I dropped in at FWR Dickson, and was delighted to see 4 Rusty Blackbirds. None of them posed too well, but happy nonetheless.

Tip of the Day: Snow makes for a clean background Its not often we are blessed with great backgrounds when shooting wildlife – after all they won’t pose for us or do what we ask for them to do. But when the snow falls, and leaves that great blanket of white everywhere, getting separation between your subject and the background is easy and really makes the bird POP.

January 26th 2023

LOCATION: North Dumfries

WEATHER: Cloudy and a bit chilly

After yesterday, which was a nasty snow day, I took a run out, once more, trailing the back roads between Paris and Cambridge looking for anything interesting. I often find that after a fresh fall of snow quite a few bird species look for food along the freshly ploughed back roads., so can be easier to find than normal. Today was certainly like that, with several flocks of a few different species hanging out along the roadside.

Tip of the Day: Snow Buntings breed far to the north, on rocky tundra, but in winter, flocks move into the more southern reaches of Ontario and can be seen along roadsides as they forage in agricultural fields, generally in corn stubble. They tend to migrate in large flocks, and it is quite rare just to see a single Snow Bunting on its own, which makes looking for these birds a little easier. I like to drive along the back roads and look for a large flock out in the fields, than take it from there.

January 25th 2023

LOCATION: Kitchener

WEATHER: Snow, and more snow

Forecast was to be flurries in the morning then snow for the rest of the day. As it turned out, the snow started mid morning, so all in all it was a day to stay close to home.

**  As always ... click on any image to show full size. Also by hovering your cursor over any image will provide a title

January 24th 2023

LOCATION: North Dumfries

WEATHER: Dark and cloudy, first thing

Back along the back roads in North Dumfries looking for another chance at the Snow Buntings, but they seem to have exited the area ... oh well !! On the plus side there was a few Horned Larks hanging around along West Dumfries Road.

January 23rd 2023

LOCATION: North Dumfries

WEATHER: Early sun, then cloud

Initially I took a drive around lots of the back roads/gravel roads in the North Dumfries area, including some roads I rarely travel. I am glad I did as I came across, initially, some Horned Larks, then a bit further along a small flock of Snow Buntings. The bright sun was a a little fierce, but with a bit of post processing I was able to tone down the highlights .. a bit anyways.

January 20th 2022

LOCATION: Kitchener

WEATHER: Snowy afternoon

It wasn't a day to go too far with the forecast showing it to be a snowy afternoon, so I propped the camera on a tripod inside my dining room pointing in the direction of my setup that I had positioned above my deck rail. Set out some seed etc, just out of shot, and hoped for something other than the multitude of squirrels that I usually get.
It wasn't overly birdy, but a few birds came in for a snack. 

January 18th 2023

LOCATION: North of Elmira

WEATHER: Cloudy, but not too cold

I trundled dozens of back roads and side roads north of Elmira towards Listowel looking for a Snowy Owl, and after almost giving up, and after several hours I spotted a distant Snowy in a farmers field. IO was within 15 minutes of giving up, so I was very pleased that the amount of fuel I burned wasn't a complete waste.

January 14th 2023

LOCATION: North Dumfries & Kitchener

WEATHER: Sunny, and very cold

A sunny morning , which isn't my most favorite shooting environments, but after several days of cloud, it was nice to see... but it was chilly.
​I took a run down to the North Dumfries area to see what I could find. FWR Dickson was quite active, but no surprises. From there I headed home and kept an eye on my back yard feeders.

January 10th 11th & 13th 2023

LOCATION: Kitchener

WEATHER: Cannot remember :)

A couple of days at home shooting a few birds that hang around my back yard feeders. On the 13th we had a little snow, so that added some nice winter effects to the images. Unfortunately the feeder not only attract the seed eaters, but also the occasional raptor, like the Coopers Hawk I photographed on the 13th. He has been generally not too successful, but I do see some Junco feather blowing around, so he must have a meal one day.

January 7th & 8th 2023

LOCATION: North Dumfries

WEATHER: Cooler, but more than seasonal

I popped into FWR Dickson both days, hoping for something a little different. There was a Carolina Wren popping up occasionally, but other than that just the usual birds. Not that that is too bad as these normal birds are Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Chickadees, Juncos, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker and of course the aforementioned Carolina Wren.

January 5th & 6th 2023

LOCATION: Kitchener

WEATHER: Mixed, but mild

A few shots taken in and around our back yard feeders.

January 1st & 2nd 2023

LOCATION:  North of North Bay (private location)

WEATHER: Mild and cloudy 

My friend Steve, and myself headed back to a spot we have been to a few times over the years, which unfortunately I cannot share with you as I have been asked to keep it to myself. I can say that it was a fair ways north of Barrie, and took us several hours to get there.
We had hoped for a few of the northern finches, but unfortunately we missed out on the Crossbills, but on the plus side we were able to photograph lots of Pine Grosbeaks, and quite a few Common Redpolls. There were a few other species around (Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers and a few Blue Jays).
The species shown below were a delight to photograph as they came in close many, many times over the two days we were there.