Enraptured by Raptors

Last week Ann and I did the mandatory annual Nanticoke and Fisherville trip looking for raptors, specifically Bald Eagles and Short-eared Owls and we were thrilled with the results for the day. 

Our first stop was at a private feeder in Cayuga where the kind homeowner graciously offered us closer access to his backyard birds. We enjoyed a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Tree Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, and a lone White-throated Sparrow:

I was also pleasantly surprised to see my second Carolina Wren for the week:

Our next stop was at Fisherville for Short-eared Owls, which we found after much patience and perseverance. Thanks go to Ann for breaking my losing streak for seeing Shorties at Fisherville, as my two prior visits there both yielded nothing! ...for a while there, I even thought I was a victim of  Les' Owl Plague!

These photos are all tightly cropped as the owls were out in the middle of a field, so I'd recommend double-clicking on them for better views, then hit the "back" button to return to the blog:

The owl, much to my surprise, was regurgitating a pellet in this next photo:

In flight their markings are just gorgeous:

A second Short-eared Owl makes a landing on the left-hand side of the wood pile:

They're so well camouflaged that had we not seen it fly in, we never would have noticed it there!

Other raptors for the day included Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks:

Around the Nanticoke power plant on Lake Erie, we saw at least three different adult Bald Eagles, this one is a subadult, based on the dark tips on the tail feathers:

We we thrilled when we watched six of them soaring overhead as they slowly drifted across the sky, Ann and I were almost screaming with joy to see so many of them. For me, it was an all-time high to see this many together in Ontario, admittedly I'm spoiled by my Bald Eagle adventures in Surrey, British Columbia! I was only able to get two of them in the same field of view here:

It takes four to five years for them to acquire their adult plumage, ie white heads, tail coverts, and tails, so all of these next photos are of young eagles:

We also saw a few Horned Larks in some fields, but they took a back seat to these spectacular Bald Eagles: 

Things began to wind down here, though, so on our way home we returned to Fisherville in the middle of a snowsquall what was to be the first of many on the drive home, arghhhhhh  to see the Short-eared Owls one last time:

They were much more active this time, and were oblivious to the snowy conditions. Can you spot one on the left-hand side, while another one comes in for a landing??

On a negative note, though, the white-out road conditions were pretty brutal for the first part of the drive home. Anyone who knows me well is already aware of my fear aversion to winter driving at the first sign of a snowflake, let alone what we drove through, but we managed to safely do so and live to tell the tale, phew! 

Certainly the number of raptors made the day totally worthwhile, though, it was a day we'll never forget.

West Lakeshore Waterfowl Wonders

Yesterday eight hardy members of the Pickering Naturalists ventured out to the west end of Lake Ontario for our annual outing, with John once again leading the troops. Admittedly, our species count was low coming in at a meagre thirty-two, but a great time was had by all regardless of the numbers!

Our first stop was at Bronte Harbour where we enjoyed good views of Canada Geese, both Common and Red-breasted Mergansers, Long-tailed Ducks, Mute Swans, and Greater Scaup, to name a few.

After resisting the challenge of my birding companions to order a serving of Cold Stone Creamery ice cream in the dead of winter at the nearest Timmie's (hah!), we forged ahead to Sioux Lookout in Burlington where we scored two of the three target Scoters for the day, both White-winged and Surf Scoters.

Further west along the lakeshore at Spencer Smith Park (formerly known as the Travelodge, which yet again is no longer a Travelodge this hotel has changed ownership more times than Elizabeth Taylor has changed husbands), we were pleased to add Ruddy Ducks, Gadwall, Trumpeter Swans, and American Coots to our day list, seen below among some Mallards, Mute Swans, and Canada Geese:

Then it was off to Windermere Basin for some more new species, including Lesser Scaup, a few Hooded Mergansers, dozens of Northern Shovelers, and a few Northern Pintails. I caved and actually made a concerted effort to look at a gull it was, after all, a tick, so I sucked it up , as Steve spied an Iceland Gull on the wing, adding to our gull list so far of Herring, Ring-billed, and  Great Black-backed. 

We re-energized ourselves at Hutch's restaurant on the beach, consuming copious amounts of unhealthy burgers, fries, and battered fish. Glenda's halo blinded us all as she ate a healthy meal, although she was corrupted in the end as she indulged in some of my baking, mwahahaha! Between sugar fixes, John saw a lone Black-capped Chickadee being blown past our window by the high winds, which was a new species for us.  

We made a hasty visit to Gray's Road in the Stoney Creek area where only three Long-tailed Ducks were seen out on the lake, so we retreated back to Burlington for our final stop at La Salle Park. As expected, this area that historically is fabulous at this time of year for waterfowl was frozen up solid, so we had to be satisfied with more Canada Geese and Trumpeter Swans. Any hopes of seeing a Bald Eagle were dashed, even when the geese and swans took to the air, which is usually a good indicator of an eagle on the wing. Instead, we were disappointed to see that a snowmobiler on the ice was responsible for flushing them:

The Canada Geese gradually returned, despite low visibility on the ice due to blowing snow:

It was time to pack it in at thirty-two species. Noticeably absent from our list were Peregrine Falcons and Double-crested Cormorants, usually visible from the lift bridge, but major construction prevented us from accessing this area. We also dipped on American Wigeons, usually present at La Salle Park, as well as Black Scoters, any finches whatsoever (!), and any sparrows, with the exception of House Sparrows. 

Thanks again to John for leading us around the area, and both John's for driving us around, too.  

Note to Carolyn: psssst! if Steve arrived home with no baking in hand, it means that they consumed the chocolate truffles and pineapple cake themselves on the way home!

Another Varied Road Trip

...with Heather, Doug, and John on Friday to a private home outside of Waterloo to see the reported Varied Thrush. Once we heard about the pecking order of the feeding birds (right after the Blue Jays), we knew when we could expect her to land and sure enough, that's what happened!

The female Varied Thrush has a wide gray breast-band...

...versus a black breast-band on the male. For comparison, here's last year's male Varied Thrush:

A nice rear view of her boldly patterned wings, as an American Tree Sparrow looks on:

She didn't linger for very long, though, so we tried waiting for a second appearance but ended up vacating our front row seat as other birders arrived. Many thanks to the Ewart's for sharing their special bird with us all!

After the mandatory Timmie's stop our second, actually!, we headed to the outskirts of Kitchener to another local birder's home that Heather had a connection with. Our gracious hosts were Titia and Neil, who welcomed us into their beautiful home where we watched their feeders and surrounding woods:

Their main customers were Black-capped Chickadees, House and American Goldfinches, and Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, but by far their largest were these Wild Turkeys:

When all else fails, take the path less trodden and go for the platform feeder!

An unexpected surprise was a Brown Creeper in the woods, and my best views ever of a Carolina Wren at one of the feeders:

Doug, Heather, Neil, and John huddle up before heading back out on the highways:

Thanks again to both Titia and Neil for their warm hospitality, as well as to Heather for suggesting we stop!

My 2011 Year List is now at eighty-two species, and my Winter List sits at ninety tick tock, February's flying by...  

For the Love of All Owls!!!

I was extremely touched today when I heard from some fellow owl-lovers that my blog post detailing last Sunday's visit with Chris to The Owl Foundation in Vineland inspired them to sponsor one of Kay's resident owls!  

In honour of this wonderful gesture, I share some of my past owl photos. These are just some of the owl species that have been helped by The Owl Foundation over the years:

Snowy Owl:

Eastern Screech-Owl:

Great Horned Owl:

Northern Hawk Owl:

Barred Owl:

Barn Owls:

Northern Saw-whet Owl:

Boreal Owl:

...and of course Big Bird, a female Great Gray Owl, with Kay:

http://www.theowlfoundation.ca/

Nancy and Pat's generosity to The Owl Foundation is an inspiration to us all, so on behalf of the owls, my sincere gratitude goes out to you both!



Living the Dream...



...two days in row, beginning with last Sunday, when Chris asked me to join her on a last-minute road trip to transport two injured owls from the Toronto Wildlife Centre to The Owl Foundation in Vineland. An Eastern Screech-Owl and a Northern Saw-whet Owl had both been found in York Region. One had been covered in sap but had since been cleaned up in Dawn dish detergent (yes, those ads are true!!), and the other had sustained a wing injury, but were both expected to make full recoveries after further cage rest at the Owl Foundation. 

Even before we got on highway 401, Chris and I were shocked to hear the Saw-whet begin tooting from his box in the back seat of the car, it was totally amazing and it continued off and on the whole way down to Niagara. Chris and I unsuccessfully tried to restrain ourselves from "ahhhhhhhhhhhh"'-g each time it started up again, it just broke our hearts!

Upon our arrival at the Owl Foundation, we handed off our two feathered passengers to Kara so she could check them into their "rooms" at the spa. Kay McKeever greeted us as well, inviting us into her home for a visit, as well as a cup of tea, such gracious hospitality!

Here's Chris outside of the facility:

TOF was founded by Kay and her husband back in the seventies, and is an owl rehab centre that focuses on helping wild owls that have been injured or orphaned. The ultimate goal is for them to be released back into the wild, but only if it's determined that the owls are able to survive on their own, which is not always the case, unfortunately.  However, this means that Kay has some very interesting companions in her home!

Chris asked Kay if it was possible for me to meet "Big Bird", and she quickly obliged, escorting Chris and I to the living room where this large stuffed owl was perched on the back of a chair. I suddenly realized it was alive and real when it slowly did that slow-mo head turn that owls are famous for!!! 

Big Bird is a beautiful female Great Gray Owl that was injured near Wawa back in 2005, suffering neurological damage, as well as the loss of vision in her left eye, but she has found great comfort at home with Kay over the years:

Much to Chris' and my delight, Kay then put Big Bird on a portable perch and we took turns holding and caressing her on our laps, can you imagine, we were thrilled!!!! 

Kay then invited us to take photos, but "only if we wanted to" as if - I tried to control my excitement as I flew to the car to get our cameras!!! 

Chris' photos of her with Big Bird have gone missing, or so she tells me, but she sent me these ones, thanks so much, Chris!

What an amazing day, never in my life did I expect to get this close to a Great Gray, let alone hold one in my lap and tickle it through the feathers!!! Plus having a black cat wander around with Big Bird in the room was a tad surreal, too! 

Kay shares an extremely special bond with this owl and it was incredibly touching to see them both together in the same room. We thanked Kay for her wonderful hospitality and left after a couple of hours that I'll never forget, thanks again, Chris, for the phenomenal opportunity.

The Owl Foundation's website lives here...

  http://www.theowlfoundation.ca/

...and the Toronto Wildlife Centre's lives here:

http://torontowildlifecentre.com/

From there, Chris and I made a few   futile stops at birding hotspots around the west end of Lake Ontario, including Gray's Road in Stoney Creek Chris was thoroughly impressed with my navigational skills- NOT, the lift bridge at Hamilton for a pair of Peregrine Falcons under major construction, yielding yet another navigational nightmare, arghhhh , and an almost-stopover at LaSalle Park in Burlington frozen solid, why bother!

The best spot for birds was at Spencer Smith Park in Burlington, where we finally saw some! They included some Long-tailed Ducks, Canada Geese, Redheads...

...and a Greater Scaup that Chris and I originally thought had an injured leg, but it was just the sunlight playing tricks on us:

Trumpeter Swans were also present here, as well as further east along the lake at Sioux Lookout:

We returned home from there, while Chris joyfully shared some of her best rescue and release stories with me from her time-well-spent at the TWC. 

On Monday I lived another dream, in fact one so obscure that it had never even occurred to me: snowshoeing to see eagles Bald, Golden, I wasn't choosy...

I arrived at Dan and Susan's home in the Kawarthas where Cooder attempted to greet me with his usual enthusiasm but his mouth was frozen shut:

Dan and I planned our strategy for the day and began at Jack's feeders around the corner where it was fairly quiet compared to other times there. Jack's the kind fellow that ambitiously maintains over thirty feeders and brings them inside each night. I thought it time to include a photo of him with Dan:

Common Redpolls, American Goldfinches, Dark-eyed Juncos, American Tree Sparrows, and numerous Blue Jays eventually arrived, once a Northern Shrike left the area, as its presence tends to break up a party....

From there we headed off to the area where Dan and another local birder had recently seen eagles, but alas, the snowshoes were back at Dan's, so we watched from the road as dozens of Common Ravens noisily flew around off in the distance, and in the end we spotted one immature and three adult Bald Eagles, either flying or perched in trees until they were harassed off by the ravens.

We were thrilled but still eager for closer views. Dan had already obtained permission from the landowner to access his property, so we would have to return after lunch with snowshoes to gain closer views of  the treeline where all of the action was:

We made a few other stops to some local spots before returning back to Dan and Susan's for lunch, as did their Snow Buntings!

So my day of reckoning was now upon me, would I or would I not survive these??

Dan fitted me with the snowshoes and I was thrilled to discover that I wouldn't have to climb over a gate to access the field sorry to disappoint you, Ann! 

Dan thankfully broke the trail ahead of me there is a god as he dragged a sled with my scope on it I was way too big to fit on it, drat , so off we go!

Common Ravens continued their raucous behaviour as we continued on, seeing all sorts of critter tracks in the snow:

Dan scouted out the area ahead of me, while I stayed behind with my binos looking for eagles...

In the end we decided the better approach next time would be to stay close to the treeline for several hours, giving the eagles plenty of time to safely fly in or land close to us. As Dan said, the ravens continued to blow our cover as we schlepped ourselves across the snow. But it was certainly great exercise and helped keep us warm in the arctic temperatures.

Plus I admit to being in total awe of myself for managing to be actually mobile and upright....

...or not

OMG, not again. . .

...only to discover that my latest frenemy DAN, instead of helping me up, snapped away with my own camera, no less, arghhhhhhhhhhh:

I couldn't believe it

Well, actually, I could: how this happened was by me suggesting to Dan to get a pic of me with one foot lifted up out of the snow to show off the snowshoe, what an idiot I was/still am 

Plus the fact that I was on the top edge of a valley, just tempting fate to roll down it if I moved the wrong way, just perfect :-( 

Dan spoke to me in his teacher voice, reminding me to go back to Grade Five, I recall code word for: "SHADDUP AND LISTEN TO ME", and I made it out alive once again as he talked me through it. I asked him if Ann had put him up to taking incriminating pictures of me throughout the day, which he denied, but I'm still not convinced!

I did the Snowshoe Shuffle of Shame back to the car without further incident, but we enjoyed some of the wintry landscapes along the way:

Our last stop for the day was over in the Carden area, after making a quick stop in Fenelon Falls for possible Bald Eagles on the ice. The target bird at a feeder in Carden was a Brown Thrasher but it was too late in the day, so I bid farewell to Dan for yet another fine adventure in the Kawarthas. 

Thanks again, Dan, for a fabulous day and putting up with my shenanigans (it seems that even without Ann I can get myself into ridiculous situations), and I look forward to hearing that teacher voice again soon!!