Well this is going to be interesting.

Sorry if I am making your head explode. Who could have thought that I would be able to put out 3 blogs in such a short time?

Welcome to July. My work contract ended at the end of June and I am re-retired, which has actually freed up a bit of time.

Considering that the birds are; A) not in the area right now, B) trying to not move around too much in this summer heat, C) hiding in the trees and keeping quiet, or D) any other reason, we haven’t been seeing too many things.

Sure we could try to figure out moths and butterflies, but that particular “bug” hasn’t really hit us yet.

So as it is, if something gets put out on our birding group that we want to see, we’ll go, but in the meantime it’s pretty slim pickings.

One bird that did show up on our radar and was being seen just around the corner from us, was a Neotropic Cormorant. We went out to try to find it and hope that I got a picture of it. The problem is trying to identify special markings on a black bird, from a good distance away. Binoculars couldn’t figure it out, but a heavy crop on a long lens does show what we hope is the differentiator. In the photo you can barely see a white line on its cheek, and the yellow patch under the eye stops there. In the Double Crested Cormorant which is the most common seen around here, they don’t have the white line that goes up the same way, and the yellow on the face goes further back.

There is a small airport on one of the US islands just west of here and we often get different planes flying by. We were lucky to hear this one as it flew overhead and straight towards the moon. Then one day I was sitting by the river and saw the Goodyear Blimp making its way downriver and watched as it went below the treeline for a landing.

In the middle of the month My Lady and I went to Point Pelee, and as soon as we started walking on the trail I heard a distinctive call of a Cuckoo. Unfortunately it stopped before My Lady could recognize it. As we continued on the trail I heard it again, but again it stopped before she heard it. She thought I was hearing things and complained that I can hear a bird but I can’t always hear her. Sorry, I must be a typical male. As we finished the trail and was about to get back in the car, I saw a bird fly into a nearby tree. Of course I had to check it, and wouldn’t you know, it was a Yellow Billed Cuckoo. Fortunately My Lady was eventually able to see it and we watched it as it hunted for butterflies before moving deeper into the shadows. It poked out for the briefest of moments into the sunshine so I was able to get a picture. Let it be known that My Lady apologized for doubting me.

Yellow Billed Cuckoo on the DeLaurier Trail at Point Pelee

We finally made it over to Pelee Island for a day. We got down to the most Southern point of populated Canada (Middle Island is the furthest island, but is not populated). Wandered down to Fish Point and got as close to the tip as we dared without disturbing the wildlife there. Fish Point tip is similar to Point Pelee tip and is constantly changing with the waves and the sand. As it turned out there were a couple other small sand points beyond, but we couldn’t get there. The furthest one was well populated with Gulls, Cormorants and a very large number of Pelicans.

There are times when the Detroit River is very busy with freighters, and we happened to be at the Navy Yard one evening when 3 freighters made their way up, one after another. Then a few days later I watched as a Tall Ship worked its way up river.

Wildlife is often very close by our little town. We have a local Beaver spending time just on the south edge of town, and has been seen as far up as the Navy Yard. We got to see a little Mink swim in the river and run onto the rocks right in front of us. Deer and Coyote have been hanging around just a few fields away from our house, while Rabbits, Raccoons and Possum often give up their life on the main road just beyond our little subdivision.

As we are entering the Dog Days of Summer, we expect the birding to be a bit slow until September so we will continue to find things to go out and see, and if possible, to photograph.

One thing that I have been trying out lately is photographing the Sun. I figure it doesn’t move as quickly as birds, and you can see it almost every day.

ALERT ALERT ALERT – Do NOT just take a camera, point it at the sun and look through the viewfinder. You can cause blindness. There are special filters that you can put on your lens that will block a ton of the light and radiation that will not only burn out portions of your camera sensor, but can also burn out portions of your optical sensor (aka your eyes).

The sun is currently coming into a high sunspot period over the next couple of years, and I am trying to learn how to get the best photos before the next big eclipse in 2024. Maybe I can eventually even learn how to get some of the coronal ejections on camera.

Other than that we’ll keep our fingers crossed for anything new through August.

Thanks for hanging on through all these starts and stops. With any luck I can be a bit more consistent.

Keep cool, stay safe and we will talk again soon.

Till next time.

June was a little different this year

Sometime life has plans that suddenly change things up. I ended up spending a few days in the hospital due to a reaction to the fumes from the stain we were using on our deck. All is good, but they wanted to keep me under observation for a little bit. Now I am not allowed to do anything that involves painting or staining. Some would consider that a good thing, but I hate to think that My Lady will end up having to do all that in the future.

So as it goes, we ended up missing out on a few days of birding and we pretty well spent our time at the Amherstburg Navy Yard, or Holiday Beach, with a couple of trips to Hillman Marsh and Point Pelee.

We actually started off by going to Hillman Marsh when we heard of a rare Ruff stirring up the birders in the area. Of course it turned out that it wanted to stay well out of good viewing range and made it difficult to get proper photos. Without knowing where to look, we would have missed it and thought that it was another sandpiper. Sadly it wasn’t a breeding male which would have been gorgeous, but a less flamboyant female. Thanks to our friends we were able to at least see it. This is another bird that comes from Europe and somehow made it to our little piece of heaven.

Female Ruff just left of center. Not much to look at but not something you see every day, or even year.

I was wandering around Holiday Beach early June and found the Blue Grey Gnatcatchers nest was populated with hungry little mouths, and surprisingly nearby was a Yellow Warbler nest also showing little ones requiring feeding.

While I was enjoying this I happened to look over and saw 6 Pelicans flying toward the marsh nearby. They were beautiful to watch as they took up formation and circled the trout pond, perhaps looking for food. I kept telling them it was alright to land there, but they circled off and wandered further over the marsh.

One evening we were enjoying a picnic dinner at the Navy Yard looking out over the Detroit River, and I observed what I originally thought was a flock of Swans a little up river. I usually have my binoculars so I checked out the flock and was very happy to see that it was actually another flock of Pelicans! I only had my smaller lens with me so I started firing off photos and got a few shots. We let a few people know what we were looking at and surprised them with the information. Many people had not seen them here before.

Pelicans flying over the Detroit River near Amherstburg Navy Yard

Through the month we wandered out when we could and finally found a Meadowlark singing in the trees, Dickcissels calling out their territory, and out on the marsh at Point Pelee we watched the Black Terns looking after their babies.

Then it was time to take our Son and Daughter In Law out to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for our holidays. The trip was fun and we were able to do some of the stuff that we had wanted, but the weather didn’t always work with us.

A couple of hard day’s drive and we arrived in Moncton, with a short stop at the Hartland Wooden Bridge along the way. Moncton served as a base to visit areas around, such as seeing the Tidal Bore, head to Magnetic Hill, and scooting down to Hopewell Rocks.

Unfortunately, the Tidal Bore was just that, but interesting to understand what is going on. Just think of it this way, a river is flowing into the ocean, but as the tide is coming in the ocean water wants to take over the river so a steady wave of ocean water begins flowing into the river and creates a small wave as it moves further upstream.

Tidal Bore from the Viewing Stand. The Bore is the wave at the top, flowing towards us.

Now add to the excitement of the Bore, we visited the Magnetic Hill. Our son remembers it from when we visited as a child and the water beside the road was going uphill. This time, the trees and bushes have filled in the gully and for some reason the whole illusion gets lost. Pull ahead to the White Post, put the car in neutral and let the car run uphill. Although it works physically, the visuals are not what they used to be. But at least they have a Zoo, Amusement Park and Winery built up around an optical illusion.

From Moncton our next stop was Halifax, where we checked out Peggy’s Cove and down to Lunenburg for a trip out into the ocean.

You should be able to click on the photos for the full view

Sadly the whales that we were hoping to see had not arrived in the area yet, so we had to settle for Seals, Black Backed Gulls, Razorbills, Kittiwake and the best bird of the trip… The PUFFINS! The weather was grey, the waves were unpleasant, the lighting sucked, but I was able to squeeze out a few photos of these lovely little birds with big bills.

One afternoon when we were walking along the Halifax shoreline, we saw a cruise ship docked at the wharf. I noticed the colours and felt that it could have been a Holland America ship so I mentioned to the others that it would be funny if it was the same ship that My Lady and I took in Alaska where we renewed our vows for our 20^th wedding anniversary. The ship we were on was the Zaandam. Imagine the feeling we had when I got home and was able to crop in and sharpen the photo and found out…

This actually is the Zaandam, the same ship we were on.

We ended up leaving the Maritimes a day early when we heard that we would be smacked with a major storm and a ton of rain during our intended drive back. As we were getting into Quebec the sky certainly had a very sinister look to it.

That pretty well wraps up June. Don’t worry, the July Blog is probably going to be about this short and will be out very very soon.

As always, thanks for following along and if you know of anyone interested in anything you read here, send them a link, you never know where it might lead them.

Till next time.

Is That A Peacock???

Well May came and is now Long Gone.

As I said last time the birds were on their way in and the trees filled with life. I ended up taking a large number of photos, and it has taken months to go through and find the ones that we have here.

We started the month with a rarity visiting us at Holiday Beach. A Harris’s Sparrow was hanging out with a flock of White Throated Sparrows. It took us a good number of tries before we finally got to see it. We were with a few of our birding friends and we were all looking into the bushes, when suddenly I saw something hop up onto a log a short distance into the brush. A quick look through the binoculars confirmed it was the Harris’s and I called for everyone to get a look at it. It stayed in the area but made it difficult for us to get good photos, but at least I got a couple.

Another special rarity, a Marsh Sandpiper, didn’t get into our area but was a couple hour’s drive north in the town of Thedford Ontario, hanging out in a sewage lagoon. Not only was the bird that far away, but when we arrived we found that it was staying way out on the other side of the lagoon, and we were restricted from getting too close for fear of spooking it and having it fly off.

Very Rare Marsh Sandpiper on the left of the photo

So, why would we drive a couple hours north to see a bird? Normally we wouldn’t, but strangely this Marsh Sandpiper somehow made it from its normal range of Northern Africa through Europe and Asia, all the way to the middle of Southwestern Ontario… without being recorded by anyone else, until James Holdsworth noticed something different about the bird in the sewage lagoon. We learned about how special this was and took the time to go see it. When we finally arrived, we met a gentleman who flew in from BC that morning and was just leaving to fly back home that afternoon. That’s how important this bird was to birders in North America.

Surprisingly, My Lady and I didn’t get to Point Pelee for the Festival of Birds this year. We were concerned that with the borders open, and people itching to visit after not coming for the past couple of years, the place would be a bit crazy. So we spent most of our time at our local Holiday Beach Conservation Area, and still enjoyed seeing a good number of birds.

Among them various warblers such as the Yellow Rump, Black and White, Nashville, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded, Black Throated Green, a beautiful Blackburnian, Cape May, Bay Breasted, brief glimpses of a Blue Wing and a solitary Canada Warbler. Of course we even have our beloved Prothonotary Warbler.

Beyond the warblers, we found a Blue Headed Vireo and an uncommon White Eyed Vireo. We were entertained by bathing male and female Redstarts and a male Baltimore Oriole. We found a couple of Blue Grey Gnatcatcher nests. Indigo Buntings were appearing in rich blues, Kingbirds, Kinglets and Flycatchers were feasting on the bugs, Hummingbirds were showing off their Ruby Throats, Snakes were gathering in the warming sunlight, and Osprey were hunting over the marsh. Robins had set up their nesting areas and were already gathering food for the young. We finally got to see a Blackpoll Warbler, something we have been trying to photograph since learning about it.

The baby Horned Owls were growing quickly and finally fledged into the trees.

I would like to make note here that the photos of the Wood Thrush and Blue Grey Gnatcatcher on the nest, as well as the Horned Owl babies were taken from a respectful distance using a long lens and doing aggressive cropping on these photos. If you are out in nature and happen upon a nesting bird, please give them distance so as not to get them overly stressed.

Herons and Egrets have returned to the marshes and wetlands, and Raccoons have claimed their space for sleeping in the trees.

At home we were feeding the Orioles, Hummingbirds and House Finches. We soon learned that oranges and Grape Jelly were enjoyed not only by the Baltimore Orioles, but the House Finches as well.

Very expensive Baltimore Oriole demanding fresh oranges and Grape Jelly

Early in March My Lady and I were driving down the road and she suddenly tells me to stop the car, there was a Big Green Bird in the field. I slowed down and when it was safe I turned around and went back. We found the bird and asked each other – “Is That A Peacock?” Sure enough it was, and since it was just outside a barn we figured it belonged there. Just hadn’t seen it there before.

Then a couple days later, we were on our way down a different road and saw a couple large birds in the middle of the road. I came to a stop and grabbed the camera as they moved into the bushes and we had to laugh at the sight of a few Guinea Fowl wandering around. They too are likely residents in the area, but we haven’t seen them since.

One rainy evening we were contacted by our friends who informed us of about 50 Whimbrel in a field very close to home. We hopped into the car and met them and enjoyed the ability to see this many of a bird that we had been trying for a while to see one of at Hillman Marsh. Not the best photos due to rain and how far they stayed away, but cool looking birds none the less.

So that was May, and it eventually turned into June. That blog should be released soon and you will likely wonder what the heck happened.

To be honest, I have a bunch of photos already selected for June and just need to put the story together.

Thanks for continuing to read and I hope we are keeping you entertained.

Till next time.

Time Flies (then again butterflies and fruit flies too).

Somehow winter has moved into spring and we are getting close to summer too. That doesn’t mean we didn’t see any birdies, it just means that I let time get away from me without keeping this bloggy thing updated.

So, even though this should be a long one…, well maybe it will be.

This year the winter was actually pretty cold and we had the lakes and rivers freeze over. When this happens the best place to see any life is at the Lakeview Marina in Windsor. This is where we usually hang out because there is a water treatment area just up the Little River Corridor, and the water stays warm as it enters the Detroit River. All the waterfowl congregate here because the food also gathers here.

The Glaucous and Icelandic Gulls were still here, the Black Backed Gull continued enjoying itself, along with the Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, the odd Hooded Merganser, and at one point I watched a couple of Mallard ducks chatting it up as if they were hanging around talking about all the people with cameras (Birds watching people perhaps?). The Eagles returned in larger numbers to Peche Island and kept harassing the ducks throughout the days. But noticeably missing was our little Wood Duck and his Lady Mallard.

In early February we observed a pair of Horned Owls occupying the Osprey nest on top of the cell tower that they squatted in for the past couple of years. Couldn’t get any photos because they always hunkered down low in the nest. Then about halfway through February we saw a Peregrine Falcon perched on one of the spires of the tower before eventually flying off. Sadly we never saw the Horned Owls there afterwards.

Peregrine Falcon Possibly Looking Over A Crime Scene

Slowly the days began to warm up, not by much but enough to melt the snow a bit.

There was an alert about a Short Eared Owl being active in the north east area of our county and we had an opportunity to wander over and patiently wait, until suddenly it appeared on top of a shrub alongside the road and fly almost directly at us. Got some great photos before the light quickly fell.

So we get quite a few Turkey Vultures coming in, as you may recall from our outbound observations from the last few years. This year there has been a Black Vulture staying in the area recently. My Lady saw one sitting in a tree a couple weeks ago, but I couldn’t see it since we were driving on the highway at the time. Then one day I was at the boardwalk in Pelee and looked up at a few vultures passing when I noticed one on the far side that looked different. Up go the binoculars and sure enough the tail was short and the wingtips are white. Excitedly I fired off a bunch of shots and got a couple for Identification. Not something to put on the wall, but glad to get a look at it anyway.

Black Vulture. Notice the Missing Feather On The Wing

One of the noisy little guys that entertains us at Holiday Beach almost never stays still long enough to get photos, and doesn’t like being near people. But one morning my Lady and I were at the park and had a visit from the Belted Kingfisher who laughed at us before taking off and getting his breakfast. He beat the poor little fish a couple times on the branch before quickly throwing it down his throat whole.

Going to tell you a little secret, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. We found out where the Horned Owls moved to after the Peregrine Falcon incident. They have taken over a ratty old nest at the top of a tree at Holiday Beach, and are raising a pair of little ones.

Oh Oh Oh , can’t let this one get away… we had to drop our car off for a service and were on our way to Hillman Marsh to check out the shorebirds when we got an alert that a Tufted Duck was spotted in Point Pelee. Initially we didn’t think much of it until a couple of other birders suddenly were extremely interested. The choice was made to go to check it out and when we got there it was difficult to find because it was in a group of other ducks that look so much like it. I finally got a photo of it and learned just how rare it is. Apparently it has only been recorded 3 times in the Pelee area. This bird is usually found in Eurasia, but can be found along the east and west coasts of Canada. This one has really drifted inland.

Along with the Tufted Duck we were happy to get some really nice views of a funny little bird called the Surf Scoter. This is also something that is harder to find close to shore, and is generally rare inland.

Surf Scoter Looks Like He’s Trying To Surf

Ok, so here comes May and we are kicking into Warbler season. Already the Yellows are coming in, Blue Gray Gnatcatchers, Black Throated Green, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warblers, the special little Prothonotary Warbler and so many that are being reported but we haven’t seen yet. Hopefully this year will be so much better than last year’s slow showing.

Wouldn’t it be nice if I can actually put out a few of these blogs over the next month or so. I can dream can’t I?

Once again, thanks for making it this far and I really hope you are enjoying everything as much as I am enjoying telling you about it.

Till next time.

Almost Mid February and I am Finally Getting January Finished.

So here we are in another year of this stupid PanDAMNic, with all it’s variants. Let’s hope we can finally get this thing outta here.

January started off pretty nicely with a couple of firsts. I was out on Jan 2^nd looking for Snow Buntings when an alert came through about a Yellow Headed Blackbird at Jack Miners, as well as Snow Geese and a Blue Morph Snow Goose. I raced over to Jack Miners and was shown where everything was by one of our friends. The Yellow Headed is easy to see in the photo, but you need to look carefully to see the Snow Geese and the Blue Morph Snow Goose.

One evening where we were driving home and the sunset was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Can you tell we were impressed? I have no idea what caused this beautiful sight, but we are very thankful to have seen it, and taken a photo of it.

Another evening as we were on our way home we took a different route and had a very pleasant surprise. We noticed what we had thought was another Harrier, but it flew differently. As it turned into the light we saw that it was a Short Eared Owl. I can’t tell you where it was because we have been asked not to report Owl sightings, but hopefully I don’t get in trouble reporting it here, long after it seems to have moved out of the area. We haven’t seen it since that time.

As My Lady and I wandered back into the Onion Fields near Point Pelee we saw one of the Snowy Owls land on a pole just down the road. It allowed me to take some photos, even as it cleaned itself. It looked like it was laughing at me as it said “get a good look now because we are out of here”. We haven’t seen any since then.

Starlings are still hanging around in large flocks. We happened upon one flock in a field and as we were sitting there they took off right at us as they flew over the car and into the field across the road. We needed to wash the car afterwards.

Sure enough winter actually decided to make itself known in January. We ended up getting a bit of snow, and then it got cold. We went for a walk through Ojibway Park and happily found an Eastern Towhee feeding with some Cardinals. Not many Towhee around so we were fortunate to see one.

With the colder weather the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie have started to freeze over. This is good for birders because we can hang out at the marina across from Peche Island and watch all the Waterfowl, Gulls and Eagles feeding in the small area of open water. As the few ships that go through stir up the fish, the frenzy begins with everyone enjoying the chance to snag a meal. Surprisingly the Blue Herons which normally like to remain lonely old men, have also had to hang out together like a bunch of mall groupies sitting in a food court drinking coffee.

Of course the snow brings Snow Buntings! We love our little baby Buntings. Can’t get enough of them and we go out looking quite often.

I can honestly say there has been a major influx of Northern Harriers this year. Almost every time we go out we see at least one flying low over the fields. Sometimes we get to see them close up and when we are really lucky they are enjoying a good meal.

Now I have to say that I know almost nothing about Gulls. Notice that I am not calling them Sea Gulls, learned that one soon after coming down here… No Sea here. But we have had a couple of rarities. An Iceland Gull and a Glaucous Gull. I didn’t rush to see them, but one day when I went to the marina I found out from other friends that they were both there, and they even gave us a show.

Near the end of the month My Lady and I went for a walk in Holiday Beach. It was very cold that day, but the wind stayed comfortable enough not to keep us away. You know it’s cold when the snow makes that irritating sound like you are walking on Styrofoam. Yup, it was that cold. Snowrofoam?

The last day of the month brought us freezing fog in the morning. Before the sun rose the air was thick and the light was very diffused and grey. Once the sun was able to break through and the fog broke we were left with a beautiful coating of Hoar Frost on all of the trees. I had to run out and grab some photos before it all disappeared.

Well, that pretty well wraps up January. Hope everyone is staying warm.

Thanks for reading. Stay Safe

Till next time

A Story of Snowy Owls and Sandhill Cranes

December actually found us doing a heck of a lot less birding than we wanted to. Pretty much due to the standard stuff – working, weather, not many birds around, Christmas preparations and so on.

However, we had a few Snowy Owls hanging out near Point Pelee for the past few weeks, and we made the attempt to get over there when we could. Many times it was too late and the lighting wasn’t any good, so it was pretty hard to get any worthwhile photos. One afternoon we were fortunate to have decent lighting and the Snowy’s actually participated with us by putting on a show. We had one land on a sign just down the road from where we were sitting and I was able to get a few photos before it flew off into the fields.

Another day we had THREE in the same field, but they were so far out you could only identify them through a scope.

Once we had Two close enough together in a corn field, but not close enough to get both in the same photo.

Finally we had a chance to get one that flew up into a tree close to the road. I noticed that it wasn’t afraid of the cars that drove by so I was able to pull up and get a handful of shots from my windows and as I pulled away I saw it fly off in my rear view mirror.

We had a few Ross’ Goose (Geese?) sticking around at Jack Miners for a short time, and we were happy that the day we went to check it out they weren’t too far in the field and one even let me get a nice photo of it.

Back in October My Lady and I went to the Long Point area and found out that through December a large number of Sandhill Cranes visit the area, and we thought it would be a great idea to check them out. So around the middle of December we got up nice and early and took a few hour’s drive to see if any were around. We got there early enough to be able to see a few thousand Sandhills in the fields. We were in our glory as the sun eventually came out and provided enough light to be able to see some proper colouring on these beautiful birds.

It should be noted that with this many Sandhill Cranes, it was an amazing sight and the sound was incredible. These birds are approximately 3.5 feet high and when they call they almost sound like turkeys gobbling. They are constantly calling and you can hear them from a large distance away.

We were so excited to see them that we decided to go again over the Christmas and Boxing Day period. By the time we got out on Christmas night they were heading out to their roosting spot, but we saw a good number of them flying out.

Back again on Boxing Day morning we arrived as they were coming back to the fields. We were just parking when suddenly the sky over the field across the road was full of inbound Cranes. I jumped out of the car and just started photographing like a mad man. I almost wish I had the wider lens on to get them all in the frame together. We both were in awe at this amazing sight. They landed far out in the field and stayed out there most of the day.

Be sure to click the photo for a better view

Other than that, it’s been quiet and we are hopeful that 2022 will bring us more opportunities and more birds, and of course better lighting to get the best photos ever.

Happy New Year everyone, thanks for keeping up with us. Stay Safe

Till next time.

October – A Month On The Move and The Cold Winds of November

We knew that eventually the birds would be getting the heck out of town, and this month was the time for so many things to move through.

Mid-September is usually the big push for the Broadwing Hawks, but we still had a few stragglers passing through into the middle of October, but early October is the time the Sharp Shinned Hawks really get going, and we weren’t disappointed this year. Sharpies often follow the flocks of Blue Jays, and will try to pick up a meal along the way. As the Jays fly past the Holiday Beach tower, they are usually quiet, until suddenly a Sharpie makes an appearance and the Squawk goes up from the Jays as they dive for the trees.

Kestrels battle the winds as they struggle past, and the Merlins zip through on stronger wings.

A few of us were on the tower one day and watched as a Peregrine suddenly swooped in low over the trees, surprising the Jays that tried their best to hide. We watched the Peregrine go after a Jay and disappear behind a tree, then heard the Jay suddenly call and cut short, a splash, and observed the Peregrine fly off with the Jay in its talons. Thank you much, I’ll have my lunch to go.

One day we visited the tip at Point Pelee and enjoyed flocks of Blue Jays thinking about trying to cross Lake Erie, and deciding not to due to the winds blowing them back into the trees. It didn’t seem to bother some of the raptors who merrily headed out over the lake towards Pelee Island. Of course, some of the raptors stuck around looking for their own enjoyable little snack, much to the botherment of the Jays.

We noticed in September that many birds seemed to be really drab looking, and found out that they were molting (or moulting), the process of getting rid of the old feathers and getting new ones in. We were happy to find some nice looking Wood Ducks that had finished and were proudly showing off their new look to the world.

By the end of October many of the smaller birds have left us, and more of the larger Raptors are being counted on the Hawk Tower. We are getting more Bald Eagles making a layover and trying to get some fish before deciding to leave, the Red Tail Hawks are in abundance, and the Turkey Vultures have had an explosion this year. Apparently we have already broken a record in our area this year, and there are still more going through.

I was on the tower on Halloween afternoon, it was cold and overcast for most of the afternoon, with the sky just an ominous dark grey that is horrible for getting photographs in. Then at about 4:30, the sun broke through giving us a stunning contrast. Jokingly I said to the other counters on the tower that all we need now is a Golden Eagle to come by nice and slow so we could get our cameras out and take some photos. Not asking much.

We were all very surprised when about 2 minutes later I took my eyes off a couple of Swans, and suddenly saw an Eagle flying in. Immediately I checked through the binoculars and saw the patterning on the wings and called out “Golden Eagle!”. This was quickly confirmed and we whipped out our cameras and started clicking away. It came in just as I had asked for, and as it passed by the tower we were all totally stunned and elated and smiling from ear to ear. Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the Golden Eagle headed into the west, the sun vanished behind a cloud and we were left in shadow again. It gives me chills still as I write this.

This was a perfect way to end off the month.

So how many kids came to your place Trick or Treating? We had an excellent array of chocolates packaged up for at least 20, but for some reason it was very, very quiet. Total count? 4. What a letdown.

Sadly the weather turned in November and so did my time at the tower. It seemed like the time change brought out the winds and cloudy skies, and all the things that would keep my Lady and I busy.

Total number of days I spent on the tower? 6 if I was lucky.

This didn’t stop us from bird watching, it just kept us a bit closer to home.

We were babysitting our Grandpup the second week of November, and most days my Lady would take him out for his morning walks. On November 11, it was my pleasure to take him out, so at 10:00 we bundled up and just as we walked out the front door a Red Tailed Hawk flew over the house. That was pretty cool in itself, but then just 2 doors up the street something caught my attention, and when I looked up there was a Golden Eagle calmly circling over our little neighbourhood, about twice the height of the trees behind our houses. Both our Grandpup and I just stood there dumbfounded as we watched this beautiful creature give us a display before drifting off towards the river.

This was the month the Starlings were doing their thing and we were entitled to quite the shows. All around us we were able to see them gathering, and a few times they were hanging out in the trees right behind our house, creating a cacophony that just had to be heard to be believed.

Then we observed them as they created beautiful murmerations over the trees at Holiday Beach and I just had to keep taking photos as they weaved and painted their patterns in the sky.

Surprisingly knowing how much noise they make while sitting in the trees, they fly almost silently except for the sound of a million wings. This was noted one day when they flew directly over us as we stood amazed on the tower. One of the counters said afterward that he had never experienced anything like that. Sadly I only took photos, and no video.

So many Starlings, and only the sound of their wings

Although we heard of a Gannet in the area, we didn’t get a chance to see it, but we did go see the Ross’ Goose (geese) as there were 3 over at Jack Miner’s. Initially they stayed too far away to get any good views, but we eventually did get a chance to see them a little closer.

Then as we were leaving Jack Miner’s we spotted a male Ring Necked Pheasant at the side of the road that stayed there long enough for us to get some really good views, before running off into the corn field.

November ended on a high note for us. Sure we had snow, sure my last day on the tower was bloody cold and windy, sure the Hawk Count was coming to an end, but that didn’t stop the birds.

As my Lady and I were driving around the county we were able to find a good number of Horned Larks, Starlings and Sparrows. Then as we turned up one of the side roads a large flock of small birds on the road ahead of us. I quickly pulled over and grabbed my binos and were extremely happy to see our beloved Snow Buntings. It would have been easier to get some photos if they would stay still once in a while, but we were able to get a good number as they kept trying to figure out what they wanted.

Shortly after the Buntings gave us a show, we saw a raptor come up over the trees and of course we had to look as this looked a bit different than a Red Tail. Surprisingly it turned out to be a Rough Legged Hawk and I was able to get some wonderful photos. This was a first for my Lady, and only the third for me but the first I was able to photograph.

We were very happy as we made our way home and are looking forward to seeing wonderful things in the coming months.

Now for something completely different. Did you know that there’s an Oberon Class Submarine available to visit in Southern Ontario? My Lady and I spent a few days in the Long Point area and visited a number of locations, including Port Burwell where we had a wonderful tour of an actual decommissioned Canadian Submarine HMCS Ojibwa, by a Submariner who served aboard that vessel. A visit here is really worthwhile and is extremely important for anyone interested in Canada’s naval history.

Thanks again for following along with our adventures, hope we are keeping you entertained.

Till next time

Sorry I’m Late once again. I won’t let it happen again. At least until next time.

What a snoozefest.

Was July and August really that bad?

I was looking at how many times I actually took photos in July and it seems we only went out birding 5 times.

On July 4 I was fortunate enough to watch our local Osprey parents feed their 3 babies.

Then for whatever reason, life and the weather seemed to conspire against us most of the time.

My Lady and I decided to get out of town for a weekend since we were finally allowed to see other parts of Ontario without feeling too guilty. We shuffled off to Guelph as a base point, and visited Stratford, St. Jacobs Farmer’s Market, and spent a half a day wandering around the beautiful town of Elora. While in Elora we did a little Punting tour, then had a lovely dinner outdoors by the river.

I got lucky at the end of July…,

Thought I would leave that one to your own thoughts.

Actually, I had wandered to the marsh down the road and sat, just watching for anything to come by. While I was watching a Blue Heron another one flew in and they began eyeing each other up, when suddenly, BAM a Big Bird fight (except these ones were blue, not yellow, and didn’t speak English). Click click click click click…

Very soon after the interloper had chased away the original owner of the spot, the victor took off to another location nearby. Have to ask if the fight was really worthwhile.

I was finally able to get another couple of photos of a Hummingbird coming to our feeder, but it appears that the males had pretty well left the area.

Along came the first of August and I was watching the Ospreys as the parents came and went with breakfast and then suddenly, One Of The Babies TOOK OFF! I saw it FLEDGE! And if that wasn’t enough, I had apparently missed an earlier one as I noticed one sitting on a fence at the back end of the baseball diamond where baby number 2 flew over to. Eventually number 3 decided to take a leap of faith, and so all of the babies were now out of the nest.

After that day, the family abandoned the nest on top of the light stand, and took up residence on the original cell tower for a couple of weeks. We will have to see next year if the light stand gets used or not.

We had an opportunity to babysit our grand-dog and truly had a blast with him. He is a Spanish Greyhound, and he loves to run. I don’t know who was more tired after we had him out for a “walk”, him or us.

August also saw the rise of the number of shorebirds being seen in the area. We were over at Holiday Beach and while watching the Green Heron we noticed a Sandpiper fly in nearby. After looking at the photos we believe it is a juvenile Spotted Sandpiper. We heard of a number of different ones within the county, so went out to see if there was anything else. Found a couple of Wilson’s Snipe in a field, along with some Sandpipers and Killdeer.

We were hoping for a good year for the Monarchs, but we hardly visited Pelee during the migration because we heard about so many Stable Flies this year. These guys are nasty and their bite is vicious. Here’s hoping for next year.

The warblers are heading south and we had some nice views of them. Not as vibrant, and not as talkative as they were on the inbound migration, but it’s really nice to see them again. A couple days have been busier than some days from this year’s inbound. Unfortunately they like to hang around in the leaves or undergrowth, making it almost impossible to get some nice photos. Sorry.

The Hummingbirds must have had all their babies, because we are constantly seeing them at our feeders. They don’t really like me taking their pictures from outside, the sound of the cameras seems to startle them so I have had to try to photograph them through double paned windows, and the lighting never seems right (of course).

The egret roost down the street is full every sunset and they usually head out just before sunrise. One morning I stopped by after sunrise and was surprised to find quite a few still there. I was able to count 42 at one point.

So then along came September and I suddenly realized that I hadn’t updated in a while. Of course it didn’t help the cause when My Lady and I decided to do an Eastern Ontario holiday right after Labour Day. Stories and pictures from that trip may have to wait a bit longer so I can catch up on all the other stuff going on.

Didn’t get out too much afterwards in September, but we did make it over to the Holiday Beach Hawk Festival, and we are getting up to the tower once in a while to help out with the Raptor count.

Live Owls on display during the Hawk Festival

Hopefully I will be able to get next month’s blog out on time, and actually have something worthwhile to talk about, but until next time, thanks for sticking with me.

Till then.

This may be one of the shortest Blogs I’ve done in a while.

July 03, 2021

June was super quiet on the birding side with just a few specials making an appearance early in the month.

Around the end of May we heard from friends that at least 1, maybe 2 White Winged Doves were being seen and heard in a very small area in Windsor, but we couldn’t get there until June 1. Almost as soon as we parked, we saw something pop up from the top of a house and fly towards the other street behind the houses. Off we went around the block, eyes scanning the rooftops, until suddenly we heard a guttural call and searched the trees without luck. Suddenly it flew overhead and landed in a tree nearby. Sure enough it was the White Wing Dove! It allowed me to take a few photos before flying away again.

As we rounded the corner to return to our car, we heard the call again and frantically searched until we found it resting in a tree over a house. The homeowners soon arrived and we struck up a conversation with them, and they were so happy that we were able to point it out to them. They had seen all the other birders in the area before us, but this was the closest that they had seen it themselves. As we talked the bird gave us a nice show back and forth across the road. This bird is not usually found in this area as it is more common to Texas and the Southern USA.

A couple of days later we heard about Dickcissel in a few fields around the area and after getting a tip about some being seen close to the road on the far side of the county, my Lady and I scooted on over and spent a good amount of time listening and watching not only the Dickcissel, but Bobolink and Meadowlark as they did their thing in the fields. Later on we found out that they were in a radio tower field just a little north of our home, and we spent a little time watching them there as well.

Other than that, the regulars are still here, including the Osprey family that decided not to move back into their nest on the tower after the Horned Owls moved out. The Ospreys finally finished the new nest on top of the light stand that they started in the ball park last year, and appear to have a couple of young ones there.

We know the Cuckoo was at Holiday Beach earlier, but we haven’t seen it in a while. Our White Headed Robin appeared to have a nest, but it too may have moved elsewhere.

The Fish Flies were a strange visit this year too. Started out with a small handful, but by the 3^rd week of June they were everywhere. You couldn’t enjoy going for a walk with so many of them flying out from the grass as you disturbed them. By the end of the month, they were almost all gone.

So, I guess part of the reason we aren’t getting out as much is due to the fact that the company that I retired from called me up and asked if I might be interested in helping out for a little while. When I originally left I had suggested maybe working remotely, but that didn’t pan out. Times have changed and when they asked, I didn’t hesitate to get on board with them again. Thankfully they are comfortable with me taking time to do my birding as well, just in case something shows up. Strangely, not much has.

Thanks again for reading.

Till next time.

What happened to all the birds?

June 12, 2021

Wow, what an interesting migration this May.

It seemed to take quite a while for the Baltimore Oriole and Hummingbirds to return to our yard, but they were few and far between. By the end of May we didn’t see the male Hummingbird anymore, but the female must be looking after some babies as she is the only one that comes by. Hopefully the little ones will be showing up soon at our feeders.

The Orioles were only around for a couple of weeks, and they didn’t even want the oranges that we put out for them. They sucked up their nectar, then came to steal from the Hummy feeder, and soon they were gone too.

The Yellow Warblers and Tree Swallows really showed up in abundance this year, which made it difficult to tell if any of the “special” ones were around.

The Purple Martins set up in their homes all around the county and were often seen buzzing around the wetlands. These birds are like the swallows, but are a bit bigger. The males are a deep colour, almost a royal purple/blue in the sunlight.

I happened upon an Egret at Holiday Beach close to the edge of the water, in the shade with sunlight in behind. It was a male, preening his breeding plumage. I sat at the edge of the marsh and made myself comfortable. I didn’t have long to wait. Within 2 minutes he stretched himself out and the magic happened. After a few seconds, it was all finished. I chimped the camera and felt elated! This time I got decent photos of the feathers being spread in the sunlight.

The shorebirds started their annual march northwards, so it was time to visit Hillman Marsh. Although it was busy enough, there just seemed to be fewer species coming through, and those that visited didn’t stay around very long. We did get a chance to see the Black Throated Stilts, a Western Sandpiper, Golden Plovers, Black Bellied Plovers, Yellowlegs, Dunlins and a pair of Trumpeter Swans. One special visitor was a Leucistic Canada Goose.

Slowly, the warblers began to show up. A few came in early, but this year it seemed that the majority got the Stay at Home order from the Ontario Government, and decided not to migrate. It was either that or the weather. It’s no fun to fly when it’s just too cold and the winds like to blow from the North too often. The warblers need winds from the South to help push them across Lake Erie, but those winds were as scarce as the warblers themselves.

This is not to say that nobody arrived, but if we were looking for the big push, it just didn’t happen. And by the time it warmed up enough for anything to come through, the trees had already popped out their leaves and the groundcover was too deep to see anything.

I know, I sound like a whining child.

Alright, what were some of the highlights;
Warblers – Black Throated Blue, Black Throated Green, Yellow, Palm, we got to see a very rare Kirtland’s way up at the top of a tree (not the best place to get photos), Prothonotary (endangered), Common Yellowthroat, Hooded, Ovenbird, Black and White, Blackburnian, Chestnut Sided, Magnolia, Yellow-Rumped, Parula, Canada, and a few other ones. Have I lost you yet?
Others include – Orchard Orioles, Rose Breasted Grosbeak, various Thrush, a quick glimpse of a flying Woodcock, a Sedge Wren, Sora, a few Red Headed Woodpeckers, various Flycatchers, Terns, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, Titmouse, Blue Grey Gnatcatcher, a really cute bunch of baby Wood Ducks, a few kinds of Sparrows, Cedar Waxwing, maybe I am dragging this on too long. Skipping to the end of the month brought us a pair of Glossy Ibis, way out on the other side of a flooded field, but at least we can say that we saw them.

My Lady had been pushing me for some time to make a major purchase of something that would help us both see some of the birds that were too far away for our binoculars. I kept putting it off complaining that it would just be another thing that I would have to carry around to go along with the camera and binoculars (and tea, and snacks, and backpack with warmer clothes, and other various stuff). Little did I know she was biding her time for the right moment.

We were able to go out birding with a couple of our friends, and they had a nice scope that brought the distant birds in close enough to identify. When my Lady was able to see one of the rare birds so clearly, she really began pushing in earnest. “You should get one of these” she said, pointing to the scope. From there, they ganged up on me and it became the running line for the rest of the day, even popping up a few times in the following days. It wasn’t just my Lady and our friends pushing me, but also a few members of our birding group got into the act. They were efficient in knocking down my defenses, and after a couple of days I made a stop at the best place in the area to buy optics, and after some humming and hawing, I ended up spending more than a few bucks on some really good equipment. It wasn’t so much that the store saw a sucker, but it was the opportunity to compare products, and select the best product for what my Lady and I would do with it. Of course I am secretly happy about getting a scope and have used it many times over the past couple of weeks, I was just in that “I couldn’t justify it” stage for too long.

Yup I’m one step closer to moving up a stage in the old Birding 101 blog from June 2019. Heck, I’m even starting to learn some of their habits and calls.

Anyway, even though it looks like we saw a lot of different birds, this year’s migration really was very soft. We didn’t get the normal number of birds coming through, even trying multiple locations. Everyone said the same thing, almost becoming a mantra – Slow year eh?

Makes me worry about the future, especially if the warblers couldn’t make it to their breeding grounds this year.

Wow, you actually stayed with me to get to the end?

Thanks so much. See you next time.