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.

Boy did we get lucky again …

Well, we tried to stay awake long enough to help kick last year out the door and down to the curb, but for some reason, we just couldn’t do it. Must be getting older. We are just thankful that it is gone.

New Year’s day found us walking around the Navy Yard park in beautiful downtown Amherstburg, and I took a few photos of the Christmas lights, just because I thought they looked nice. My lady suggested that I send a couple of photos into our town newspaper to see if they would get published. As it turned out, the photos didn’t make their way into the paper, but I had also written a Letter to the Editor based on one of the photos, and it Did get printed. YeeHaw, I’m a published writer now! I will include the letter at the end of this (yup, you’re going to have to read all the way through before you get there).

Birding has slowed right down this month, with just a few things worth noting.

We had another visit from a Grey Ghost (male Northern Harrier), and we found a Merlin sitting comfortably on top of a hydro pole.

The Eagles have returned to various locations around the county, and just a week ago we saw almost a dozen flying around the Windsor Marina at Peche Island.

Immature Bald Eagle. Almost has the full white head.

Holiday Beach marsh has begun to freeze over, but there are still some open areas for the various waterfowl to hang out in.

Sparrows are often visible clustered together in the bushes, and occasionally we can find one out on its own away from the maddening crowd.

Redpolls at Pelee showed up in much smaller numbers than before, and after Pelee closed for a week for the deer cull, we haven’t heard of any others around.

It looks like fishing is going on out in Lake Erie and the gulls are just too happy to see what they can get.

Coyotes are still showing up, often where people don’t want them. One morning we were out for a drive, and found one a little close to the road, but well enough out in the country.

Got close to a Screech Owl that didn’t seem to mind me taking its picture.

Hmmm, I feel like I’m missing something. Let’s see…, Oh yeah, getting lucky again (mind out of the gutter please).

Remember last month we had a female Snowy Owl come to visit us? Well, early in January we received an alert on our birding group about a Snowy Owl in a field, just outside of our county. We couldn’t make it there the same day, but the following day we hurried out to where it was seen, and sure enough, there it was way out in a corn field, like most of the ones we end up seeing. The road we were on had almost no traffic, so we hung around for a little while just in case it moved. After about 30 minutes it seemed startled by something and suddenly took flight. It landed on a road sign just a ways down the road from us, so I gently pulled forward and stopped to take a few more photos. It seemed like it had settled down, so I moved the car about another 50 feet or so and just watched it. We got a few more photos, but then another vehicle came down the other road and flushed it up again, and back further into the corn field.

I have edited out the names on the sign so that the focus is on the male Snowy Owl, not the location.

For us to be able to have seen both a female and a male Snowy within just a couple of weeks totally blows my mind.

Thanks for reading. Now for my little Letter to the Editor.

My wife and I wandered through the Navy Yard early New Year’s Day and admired the light displays.
One in particular caught us, as it simply said Believe.
Many of us struggled with so many difficulties through 2020, and we are beginning to find it hard to simply Believe.
Children Believe in The Tooth Fairy, Fairy Tales, The Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. Why? Because parents and society pronounce them to be true.
As we grow up, we believe that we will fall in love, marry, have children of our own, and live happily ever after. Why? Because for the most part, that is the way of life.
Throughout our lives, and for generations before us, we have Believed in God, no matter what name it goes by. Why? Because in times of stress, we need to turn to something that is greater than ourselves. Something or Someone who can guide us, or save us, or simply to hear our prayers.
As we head into 2021, we as a society are still struggling with the past, be it Covid-19, racial divide, homelessness, poverty, or any of the 7 deadly sins. But one thing that we can hold onto is the ability to Believe.
Believe in our health system, that they will defeat not only Covid, but whatever might come along afterwards.
Believe in our elected officials, that they will make the proper decisions that will guide us all towards a better life for everyone, not just the chosen few.
Believe in ourselves, that we can see the things we need to change in ourselves, and be willing to make those changes.
But above all, let’s Believe as a child Believes, and we will find the joy and wonder of living again.

Happy 2021 everyone.

OH MY GOD… IT’S A SNOWY!!!

January 2, 2020

Happy New Year everyone. Let’s hope we kicked 2020 out and slammed the door on that vile creature. Who needs to watch horror movies when we’ve been living through one for almost a year.

Well, we didn’t expect December to be quite like it was.

Of course we had lockdowns in the GTA, but also here in Essex County, and then the whole Province joined in with the fun. What a way to screw up the Christmas Holidays.

On the birding front, it was fairly quiet for the most part, but we still managed to get out and see a few things.

December started off with a beautiful snowfall, which brought in some Snow Buntings that came close enough to get some photos of. These little birds seem to follow the snow storms and pig out on the seeds in the fields. Always moving makes it difficult to photograph, and every few moments the whole flock flies into the air and land a few paces away. They are often found with Horned Larks and Lapland Longspur. We found the Lark but not the Longspur.

Shortly after that day we hung out with one of our birding friends and we were very fortunate to watch a number of Sandhill Cranes making their way along Lake Erie shores. These beautiful birds must have decided they don’t want to stick around for the snow. One flock that flew just north of our viewing area had almost 100 birds in it. We counted 35 in one flock and another 20 plus in a second flock as they passed overhead.

By the middle of the month we were hearing of some Common Redpolls that were hanging around at Point Pelee. If we hadn’t been made aware of what we were looking at, we might have misidentified them as another type of Finch or Sparrow, but these little ones are much prettier. The day we found them, they were enjoying themselves in the grasses on the west side of Point Pelee, with the winds blasting cold air straight across the lake, making it not only brutal for us humans to be standing in, but buffeting our cameras sideways as we tried to take photos.

Then we found out that everyone was trying to find the Common Redpoll’s elusive cousin, the Hoaries. After a few days of searching, we finally spotted a couple fly from the ground to a tree just as we arrived in the area. I quickly blasted a couple of blurred photos of them and they were gone over the trees. A few people have seen them afterwards, but they have evaded My Lady and I ever since.

As we went for a walk one day at Holiday Beach, I noticed a large bird fly into the trees across the way from where we were. Immediately the binos went up and we were very happy to see that it was a Great Horned Owl. Wonder if it was one of the little ones from our Osprey nest this spring.

Just before the end of the month My Lady and I were standing in line at Costco and I noticed a light coloured bird land on the lamp post ahead of us. Initially I thought it was a mature male Northern Harrier, so I wandered over to have a closer look. As I came around the proper side, I was Gobsmacked to see that it was the one bird that we had been searching 2 years for a close-up of. When I told My Lady, she rushed me off to get my camera out of the car, and I started firing off shots while moving all around the area for the best light and position.

A SNOWY OWL!!!

Not way out in a corn field allowing for tiny little dot photos that crop in terribly. This one came to visit US!

Just imagine seeing some crazy guy run out of line at Costco, who grabs a big long lens and camera out of his car and starts moving between parked cars, passing in front of people in line to get against the building, running back to his Lady, all the while smiling like a kid in a candy store (behind a mask, so no one could see that anyway) and taking photos.

I sent a blast out to our bird group and unfortunately just as we got to the front of the line, and one of our birding friends pulled in; it flies off and hasn’t been found since.

I got some great shots that I am very happy with, but we are going to keep on looking, hoping to get the classic perfect lighting while it sits on a fence post (or a stump), looking at me with wide open eyes (preferably a full white male, but the female is beautiful as well) photo. Am I asking too much? Might take a few more years, but we will keep on trying.

It was brought to my attention that on my last posting I misidentified a sparrow on a photo. Thank you Rick for pointing out that the White Throated Sparrow is actually a White Crowned Sparrow. It’s going to take a while for me to get these little ones right, even with the app.

Ok, how about my resolutions? Yup, More posts, More often.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA… …hahahahahaaaa… (wiping away tears from laughing so hard).Who am I trying to kid? Ok, maybe I should at least say that I’ll do my best.

Thanks for continuing to read this little bloggy thing. I will keep trying to improve the pictures, and change up the stories, especially if any really rare birds happen to show up in front of my lens.

Till next time, Stay Safe, Stay Heathy.