John and Doug picked me up at 8 a.m. and we headed off for the Darlington Wetlands in Courtice, yet another new spot for me:
We made our way over to the marsh and were greeted by Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, as well as Black-capped Chickadees, Willow Flycatchers, Cedar Waxwings by the dozen (now officially my Trash Bird for the summer, but you already knew that), American Goldfinches, Song and Swamp Sparrows, Great Blue Herons, Mallards, Mute Swans, Pied-billed Grebes, Gray Catbirds, a Downy Woodpecker, a Belted Kingfisher, Barn Swallows, Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Common Moorhen, European Starlings, Red-winged Blackbirds, Northern Harrier, and a Green Heron, our BOTD (also my Nemesis bird for the season).
But was that enough for The Boys? Nooooooooo...
...here's John, silently weeping behind his binos, as once again I've lured him out of the comfort of his home for virtually nothing:
Doug, after complaining about no new birds for the month, clenches his fists and is poised to beat the bushes for anything:
So here goes with Darlington's treasure troves in order of appearance, beginning with my Trash Bird:
Eastern Tailed Blue Butterfly:
American Goldfinch destroying a Chicory plant (hah, Doug!):
Belted Kingfisher between dives:
Blue Dasher:
Common Moorhen:
Male Widow Skimmer. Our WOTD is pruinosity, that greyish bloom on his abdomen below- think of it as that odd appearance on chocolate baking squares that haven't been stored properly, although they're still fine to use (I'm a baker, what can I say??!!).
Our Green Heron, silhouetted here between the two dead trees. We accidentally flushed it as we walked around the marsh, but on our way back John spied it here, then it flew into a tree for a bit and eventually ended up amongst the cattails, living up to its reputation of being secretive and elusive, grrrrrrrrrrr:
A male Northern Harrier on the wing:
From Darlington, we checked out Rotary Park and it was dead (and John thought it was depressing before!!), so we continued over to Cranberry Marsh in Whitby:
It was equally quiet there, with the usual suspects of Black-capped Chickadees, Marsh Wrens, Northern Cardinals, Song Sparrows, Cedar Waxwings, and Blue Jays:
A male White-faced Meadowhawk:
We packed it in for the day, but this is what was tucked away in a spruce tree in our front yard. Hitchcock, anyone??
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