Jun 29th & 30th 2025
| LOCATION:D1: North Dumfries D2: Puslinch | WEATHER: Normal both days |
Over the last couple of days the birding seemed to be a little better, and the bugging wasn't too bad either. Weather was generally pretty hot and not that comfortable out in the heat, but getting to a few shady places was what was needed.
Jun 28th 2025
| LOCATION: Puslinch | WEATHER: Slightly cooler sun & cloud |
With the temperature a little cooler following a significant thunderstorm through the night, I headed to a favorite location around Puslinch Lake. Birding was a bit more active than it had been with several species being picked up by Merlin .. some I was able to photograph and some not. The Butterflies, which had been another target today, were in short supply, although I did see a couple of Crescent butterflies.
Tip of the Day: The Merlin app’s Sound ID feature listens for birds and shows species identification suggestions for the sounds it detects. It often picks up sounds that people don’t notice, such as distant birdsong or calls obscured by ambient noise. So this app is a must for any birder .. even the ones with good hearing (unlike me)
Jun 27th 2025
| LOCATION: North Dumfries | WEATHER: Sun & cloud, not quite as warm as its been |
Another day close to home - the nice thing about insect photography finding the insects is usually a bit later in the day, so crack of dawn rises are not needed as what I am used to with my normal bird photography, and of course distance travel is also not required.
Jun 26th 2025
| LOCATION: Around Kitchener | WEATHER: Way cooler with some rain |
Weather was a bit poor and with less time at my hands than normal I just popped out for an hour or so and found a few insects to photograph.
Jun 23rd - 25th 2025
| LOCATION: Day1&2 - N. Dumfries: Day3: Puslinch | WEATHER: Continuing HOT |
I have been trying for some bird images, but they don't seem to want to cooperate in this really hot weather (close to 40C), but the insects/butterflies seem to tolerate it better. However there was a couple of birds posed on Day 3 ... so all good :)
Jun 21st & 22nd 2025
| LOCATION: North Dumfries both days | WEATHER: Really hot, both days |
With birding a bit in decline I switched the long lens for the macro and did a bit of butterfly shooting. Butterflies are almost as compulsive to me as is Songbirds (almost). Not far from home is some good areas to find a few species. The highlight for me was the Hackberry Emperor .. This was a "lifer" for me so I was delighted,
Jun 20th 2025
| LOCATION: Carden Alvar | WEATHER: Cool, mainly cloudy |
 Grasshopper Sparrow | First jaunt up to this little gem of an area a bit east of Orillia - Over the years we have made several trips with varying degrees of success. I wont say this trip was amazing, but it was certainly very good. The hope was to see and photograph a few of the local goodies, including the Upland Sandpiper, the Golden-winged Warbler, the Sedge Wren and the Wilsons Snipe, but 2 out of 4 wasn't too bad !! As you can see we managed the Golden-winged and the Wilsons Snipe, so I suppose we left the other two for another trip !! |
Jun 17th & 18th 2025
| LOCATION: North Dumfries both days | WEATHER: Sunny, hazy & hot |
As always it is just so nice to get out and explore the back roads, listening to the sounds that nature has to offer. The variety out there is often quite surprising - I look forward to every "adventure"
Jun 16th 2025
| LOCATIONS: Puslinch & North Dumfries | WEATHER: Mainly sunny and hot |
Spent the morning working our way along a couple of the gravel roads. with some success - traffic for some strange reason was pretty hectic, so it cut down on the effectiveness of our searches, but still managed a couple of decent sightings. The insects I found in the late afternoon
Jun 15th 2025
| LOCATION: North Dumfries | WEATHER: Sunny & a bit cooler |
Out by 6:00am and back by 10:00am for a short forage along my favorite gravel road, close to home .. and with some success. I have been catching glimpses of the Thrasher for a couple of weeks close to the spot where I found the nest around this time last year, but until this morning I have been unable to get a photo, so pretty pumped up this morning :)
Tip of the Day: Be prepared - have your camera ready to go with aperture, speed and ISO preset to the days conditions. When you find a likely spot, have your eyes on a perch that would give good results, and be pre-focused on that spot .. and be ready !!
Jun 12th & 13th 2025
| LOCATION: South River | WEATHER: Mix sun and cloud but a tad cool |
 Ruby-crowned Kinglet | I have been planning a trip up north for a week or so, and a spot I have had decent success with over the years has been the general area around South River. South River is almost 4 hours from my home in Kitchener, so in order to get the best part of day 1, I had to be on the road for 3:00am. My primary targets were songbirds and in particular Warblers, and I am pleased to say there were lots of Warblers around, as you can see from the images below. There were a couple of songbirds, although hearing them almost everywhere, I was unable to get in the frame - Ovenbird, Red-eyed Vireo and Winter Wren. Even the American Redstart was evasive. |
Tip of the Day: Wherever you go, look for warblers where one habitat meets another, such as a forest edge; in flowering trees like crabapples; and near water sources like forest streams. Most importantly—get out and be ready at dawn. Birds are most active first thing in the morning, either singing lustily to proclaim a territory or busily feeding, not having eaten all night. When warblers are focused on foraging, they may take less notice of you.
As always ... click on any image to show full size. Also by hovering your cursor over any image will provide a title
Jun 8th 2025
| LOCATION: Puslinch area again | WEATHER: Hazy sun |
Working on it
Jun 6th 2025
| LOCATION: Puslinch area | WEATHER: Sunny but hazy (Sask wildfires) |
 Black & White Warbler | Tim and I took a run around a few of our favorite roads in Puslinch Township with some degree of success. At one point we hit Safari Road, but the Prothonotary Warbler seems to either keeping low or has moved on as we didn't see or hear the bird. I wouldn't be surprised if it took off because of all the constant attention I am sure it got from the photo community. |
Jun 5th 2025
| LOCATION: North Dumfries | WEATHER: Sun/cloud |
Didn't venture too far looking for birds - stuck to my local gravel road but did spot a couple of common birds. Later in the day did a bug hunt and was quite pleased with the couple of subjects I found.
Jun 4th 2025
| LOCATION: North Dumfries | WEATHER: Hazy sun and Hot!! |
Not too many birds around but did find an increase in the number of butterflies showing up ... so good!!
Jun 3rd 2025
| LOCATION: Guelph Line and area again | WEATHER: Cloudy start, but brighter later |
 Rose-breasted Grosbeak | It has been ages since I did some birding with my good friend Helen, and as usual her exceptional listening and identification skills hit the mark. Unfortunately her one discovery was beyond my skills in getting that bird in the frame ... a Winter Wren. A bit disappointing, but I am glad to say that she was able to get a couple of great shots ,,, great work Helen!! |
Jun 2nd 2025
| LOCATION: Guelph Line and close area | WEATHER: Sunny, but cool start |
Met up with a couple of really good birding friends at Guelph Line and checked out a few spots up and down the side roads, primarily looking for more unusual species, and to some extent we did OK with some decent sightings of a couple of Mourning Warblers. We had hoped to see the local celebrity Hooded Warbler, but he didn't show ... oh well - until next time!!
Jun 1st 2025
| LOCATION: North Dumfries & Brant | WEATHER: Mainly sunny, but still a tad cool |
Took a bit of a different drive around my local area this morning, hoping to find a new spot, but alas ... nothing too interesting bird wise or habitat. In the afternoon I did a little macro work.
