Tag: Sandhill Crane

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.

June was a bit Cuckoo

July 13, 2020

What an interesting month June was.

Point Pelee and Hillman Marsh opened up, with Pelee being open weekends only for a bit, and although we haven’t been yet, we have heard that a good number of American Pelicans have been spotted down near the tip. We have seen a few flying by our little piece of heaven, but haven’t been able to get any photos of them.

A bit of good news with our tower Ospreys. They are still around and it looks like they may have babies, but they are staying low in the nest right now. So the ones that we saw flying around last month weren’t ours. The only way we can figure that they might have babies is that we have seen the parents on the nest, or bringing more nesting materials up to it.

We went to Holiday Beach one evening and as we wandered the road we heard a strange sound. At first I thought it might have been a Heron, but after a couple moments it made a Tok-Tok-Tok type of sound and we realized it was a Yellow Billed Cuckoo. Sure enough after a few minutes of searching, it showed itself to us and we got a couple of reasonable photos. We have gone back a few times and have heard it in the area, but it seems to be a bit camera shy now.

Yellow Billed Cuckoo

Although the Orioles are still in the area, they have stopped stealing from our Hummingbird feeder. Unfortunately our Hummies have been only making infrequent stops right now, and we rarely see them.

The Fish Flies came in for about a week, and they are pretty well gone now, and the Fireflies have started their nightly fireworks displays. We expect them to be gone soon as well.

Speaking of Fireworks, we heard a couple of houses shooting some off in our area, but due to COVID-19 the town cancelled all of the real Canada Day celebrations, and instead had virtual stuff online.

So what’s a birder to do when the majority of birds have moved along?

It seems bugs and Butterflies are a reasonable distraction. Unfortunately, the really good ones are so damn hard to photograph because like the birds, they just don’t stay still very long.

So, how’s the heat treating you? We had a string of Heat Alerts here with the temperatures feeling up in the 40’s due to the humidity. Let’s just say it was STINKING HOT some days.

Went out a couple of nights ago to watch the moon rise over Big Creek. The mosquitoes were trying to have me for dinner but they didn’t like the stuff I sprayed on my body. They still whispered into my ears but I tried to ignore them.

One morning we were out for a short drive (best time to see wildlife is around sunrise and sunset), and my Lady spotted what we thought were deer in the field, but when we had a closer look, it was a pair of Sandhill Cranes dancing around. They would normally be gone north by now, so it was nice to see them here.

Other than that, there’s not a ton more to talk about, so all we can say is, stay safe, stay healthy, wear a mask, and we’ll all get through this.

Till next time.