July 2016

July 31st 2016

Locations: Speed River, Hespeler
Weather: Mild, but a tad overcast

I headed to Hespeler Mill Pond in a quest for more of the migrating waders, but what was there was pretty distant. While in the area  I headed to Blackbridge Road a mile or so upstream and was fortunate to be able to capture a few shots of a nemisis for me this year - the Belted Kingfisher. On my way back I returned to Hespeler Mill Pond, and this time a Green Heron sat on a close branch & posed for me.

July 30th 2016

Locations: Home & West Perth Wetlands, Mitchell
Weather: Damp start, but warmed up to a pleasant 25C later

This is the time of year that the Peeps start to migrate, so what better place than Mitchell Sewage Lagoon, or West Perth Wetlands as it is now called, to grab a few images. I had hoped for a "rarity" but I was still content with the more common Lesser & Great Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, Spotted Sandpipers and a few Kildeer. When I got home I had a Red-breasted Nuthatch show up at the feeder

July 24th 2016

Location: Grass Lake, Cambridge
Weather: Hot as usual

Grass Lake is one of the best places in the KW area to see and photograph a number of interesting birds, with the Sandhill Crane being the best known. A few others of note are the Grasshopper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Bobolinks and Virginia Rail. The Bobolinks seem to have high-tailed it for warmer climes, but the gorgeous Grasshopper Sparrow is still in residence and showing well right now.

July 15th - 19th 2016

Locations: Various locations in Pusclinch & Flamborough
Weather: Every day sunny & hot

15th July
It seems that Northern Waterthrush are everywhere - I don't remember a year like this .. or maybe it's just me in the right place/right time??
I keep hoping everytime one shows that it will be a Lousiana Waterthrush, but so far no luck. Main distinction between the two is the Lousiana has a white throat ...



17th July
Generally I went different spots in the same general area from previous day, and it seems my luck with Northern Waterthrush continues. Most of these shots were taken in the Fletcher Creek Ecological Preserve area, which is off Gore Road in Puslinch




19th July
Surprise, surprise .. more Waterthrush (Northern) I did however get a bit more variety today with an Eastern KIngbird and a very cooperative Northern Flicker. I'm experimenting with a blind that I just purchased and it does help getting reasonable closeup shots. On the negative side it's a bitch to get folded up and into it's case ;)

July 10th & 11th 2016

Location: Halton Region Tracts & Beverley Swamp
Weather: Very warm and generally sunny
All images are clickable to go full size, and hovering over will display species or description

 July 10th - explored a few of the tracts in Halton Region. These were taken at Frank Tract. I had seen a Northern Waterthrush a day before (I was exploring and no camera with me), but he was a no-show today. Other than that there was very littly activity, which, I suppose, very typical for this time of year


July 11th  - Decided on a spot that I hadn't been to in a while - Beverley Swamp. The Waterthrush suprised me, by popping out of the shrubbery on the opposite side of the pond as I was scanning the area with bins. I quickly went back to the car & returned with camera, in time to grab a few shots. The other shots were on the short trail at Westover Road

July 7th 2016

Location: Britton Tract & others
Weather: Another hot & sunny day

Black & White Warbler

I had a notion today, that I should continue trying new spots and after an early start, and on the road by 5:45am, I pulled into the parking lot at Britton Tract. This location is part of the same complex of tracts as is Currie & Robertson, on 6th Line Nassagaweya. I was immediately struck by the fact this could be a great birding location for forest type warblers and birds in general, but as I slowly ambled the trail over the next few hours I discovered that it's not always as productive as one hopes it would be. However after an hour so I did see a family of Black & White Warblers - I assume mum, dad and three youngsters, hopping around the branches of a tree close to the trail. Over the next couple of minutes I was able to fire off a few shots ... things are looking up. Unfortunately that was the only sign of life I saw - If my hearing was what it was 20 years ago, then maybe I would have heard a million birds out there, but oh well! After some short visits to Rattlesnake Point and Kelso Conservation areas, which were also pretty "dry", I headed home.
Earlier this week the Trumpet Vines in my back yard have started to flower, making it a natural attractant for the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. I set up a camera on a tripod in expectation of some great shots, but it would seem that they still preferred the hummingbird feeder I have set out. However a couple of times a hummingbird would browse and feed at the flowers so I did get a couple of shots before packing up for the day.  

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July 5th 2016

​Location: Hilton Falls, Halton Region
Weather: Warm & Sunny ... 19C at 7:00am (perfect)

American Redstart

I have found myself returning, repeatadly, to the same spots lately, so it would seem it was time to do some exploring and hopefully find some new, and again, hopefully, productive spots. I have passes for both Halton & Hamilton Conservation areas and today a couple of Conservation  areas on the Halton list was my intent. First stop off was at Hilton Falls. Hilton Falls is part of an extensive area of contiguous forest, and therefore provides habitat for a variety of interior forest breeding birds. I walked for a bit until I found a spot that was "birdy" ... lots of birds flying across the trail, etc. I spent the next couple of hours parked along this short stretch of path and was rewarded with several sightings, and a few pics. Redstarts were the most prolific here, as was a very bold Chestnut-sided Warbler, but the icing on the cake was a Mourning Warbler that perched for a short time on a nearby branch.
Next on my list was the Robert Edmonson Conservation area. I had been here a couple of other times in the last few weeks, with little or no sightings, but the thought was ... maybe spend some time and see what happens. Unfortunately the morning was progressing and the temperature was rising, and as we all know .. birding tends to drop off in that situation. Nonetheless I was delighted to find an Ovenbird and a couple of Red-eyed Vireos

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July 3rd 2016

​Location: Currie & Robertson Tract, near Milton
Weather: Very pleasant temperatures .. mild start then 25C later

Porcupine

Met up with a fellow bird photographer, Jamie and headed to Currie Tract, then later on Robertson. Arrived at Currie around 6:30am and headed to what's likely the best spot in the trail (intersection of main trail and the hydro towers. Met up with another birder photographer friend Phil (nice surprise) and staked out that area for a while - it was a tad less productive than it had been in the past so Jamie & I headed along the Tower trail in search of primarily the Mourning Warbler that I had seen briefly yesterday. Unfortunately we struck out, but did receive visits from an Eastern Towhee and a Scarlet Tanager .. nice consolation. After another brief stop on the return leg, at the same spot we had stopped earlier, and to see and photograph a few more birds. Finally as we headed back to the car we heard, saw and photographed a Pine Warbler. So as a Currie summary, we saw (and some cases photographed) Red-eyed Vireos, Pine Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Towhee, Scarlet Tanager, American Redstart, Blue-winged Warbler, Cedar Waxwings and a few of the usual.
At around 9:45 we arrived at Robertson Tract to an empty parking lot, so manged to park off the roadway (nice), and headed down the short section of trail to the swampy area next to the "lake". Our goal here was maybe to see the Yellow-throated Vireo, that had been calling, but not seen, yesterday. Unfortunately he neither called or poked his head out of the dense shrubbery. WE did however see a couple of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, a Yellow Warbler and another two Scarlet Tanagers. On the mammal side of things we spotted a young Racoon and a very bold Porcupine that was determined that it was going to walk past us on the trail (he ended up kicking in to the foliage at the last minute)
Finally before going home, we stopped at a spot that in past years had produced for me a nesting Chestnut-sided Warbler, an lo and behold ... he's back. We managed a few shots before heading back to KW ... super day!

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July 2nd 2016

Location: Currie & Robertson Tract, near Milton
Weather: Cool start (13C) rising to a pleasant (22C)

Common Yellowthroat

Met up with a couple of birder friends from the Toronto area, to bird in two of Halton regions best birding locations - Currie Tract and Robertson Tract. We met at the entrance to Currie Tract just before 8:00am and almost immediately we heard, and a short time later, saw a Pine Warbler. The Pine buzzed by us a couple of times really close, so things were looking good. Further along near the intersection of the main trail and the Hydro tower lines, we spotted an American Redsart and a Common Yellowthroat. After some time of inactivity (lots of birds calling from the dense undergrowth), we headed along the sub trail along the Hydro corridor, generally aiming for the spot the Golden-winged had been see a couple of weeks ago. At approximately the first tower we spotted a Mourning Warbler and a Chestnut-sided Warbler, although they kept way back from our location it was a pleasant surprise to see them. (The Mourning was a Life Bird, for one of our group) . At this point I doubled back to the car and before returning I dropped off my heavy camera equipment and spent the rest of the day with bins only (it was that kind of day). I caught up with my companions close to the fourth tower, and lots of fingers were crossed as we waited (& hoped) for the Golden-winged to pop out in bin range. We did hear our target for a short time but he kept himself hidden, so this was a check mark, not on our card for today. Other birds spotted along this trail were Indigo Bunting and Eastern Kingbird. 
After a coffee at the Casino across the street, we left (money intact) to head to Robertson Tract. The "prey" here was primarily the Blackburnian Warbler which I had seen briefly on two occasions recently, but like the Golden-winged we came away empty handed so to speak. We did however see more Common Yellowthroats and heard a Yellow-throated Vireo. Not too bad of a day  ....

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