Paul Pratt's Blog

Holiday Beach Migration Observatory

2011-10-08T14:52:00.000-04:00

Hawk banding demonstration at Holiday Beach

Each fall the Hawk Migration Festival is held over two weekends at Holiday Beach C.A. This year there were 5,476 Broad-winged Hawks recorded from the hawk viewing tower on the first day of the festival.

immature Broad-winged Hawk circling over hawk watching tower

banded Gray-cheeked Thrush ready for release

The feathers of the head can be parted by blowing through a straw. The bander is looking to see if the skull is completely ossified. This male Golden-crowned Kinglet was photographed on October 6.

male Orange-crowned Warbler (spring plumage). Early October is the best time to look for Orange-crowned Warblers. This species is scarce in the spring but relatively easy to find in the fall. Look for them in thickets, goldenrod meadows and shrubby edges.

Alberta Big Day

2011-10-03T22:23:00.003-04:00

I am trying to catch up and post a few things. Last May I went out to Alberta with Tom Hince. Our goal was to do a Big Day of birding and hopefully set a new record for Canada. We had done three previous big days in Alberta and last year we were only one species from tying the Canadian record of 214 species.

After a week of scouting and some great help from local birders we were ready to do our big day on June 1. We had a great start near Cold Lake and the nighttime hours passed quickly. In addition to owls there are lots of birds to look for in the hours before dawn. Our very first stop produced Lincoln's Sparrow, Nelson's Sparrow, LeConte's Sparrow, Wilson's Snipe, Mallard, Yellow Rail, Clay-colored Sparrow, Great Horned Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl and Sora. Warblers such as Common Yellowthroat, Ovenbird and Connecticut regularly sing at night and we continued to pick up birds through the first hours of the day. By 4:00 am we had 50 species on our list and this grew to over 80 by sunrise. We had already driven over 240 km by this point. I won't go through the entire day but here are a few photos taken during the trip.

A display of Northern Lights near Cold Lake

Wilson's Snipe

calling Virginia Rail

Cold Lake sunrise at 5 am

Mourning Warbler

Lincoln's Sparrow

At 6:00 am it was -1C and the list was up to 105 species.

scanning Cold Lake

The northern part of the province was very dry this spring withbillowing dust from every passing vehicle.

The south was very wet and many backroads were not passable unless you had a vehicle with good ground clearance.

Not something you want to encounter on a Big Day!

Loggerhead Shrike

Brewer's Sparrow

We reached 200 species at 4:57 pm with the foothills and mountains still to come.

Sofa Mountain. The wetland in the foreground is a good location for Fox Sparrow.

Another of the few photos taken during the big day was this Black Bear at Lower Waterton Lake.

Number 218 for the Big Day was a Golden Eagle on its nest in Waterton Lakes National Park. Here I am at the end of the Cameron Lake Road about 10:30 pm., at the end of 1,280 km of travel for the day. Visit Tom Hince's blog for other photos from the trip.

Migrant traps

2011-05-15T23:57:00.000-04:00

I usually head to Point Pelee National Park if I want to see lots of spring migrants but there are other places in the Windsor region that can be very productive for birding. One relatively unknown location is the Big O Conservation Area on the outskirts of Comber.

Woodlots are few and far between in this part of the county which is devoted to growing corn, soybeans and winter wheat. Woodland birds have very few choices on where to rest and search for food during migration and this small patch of swampy woodland can be full of migrant birds in May. This "migrant trap" was alive with birds last weekend yet I was the only birder present. Here are a few of the birds present that day.

Blue-headed Vireo

Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

2011-05-06T22:51:00.000-04:00

This Rose-breasted Grosbeak was waiting his turn at the feeder this evening. He looks cute but I saw one being banded yesterday and they are not meek and quiet like Blue Jays. They bite hard and bite often!

American Goldfinch

2011-05-02T00:11:00.000-04:00

About 15 American Goldfinches were visiting the niger and oil seed feeders at home today. As a child I called them "wild canaries". They were one of the first birds I can recall identifying using a little pocket bird guide called The Blue Book of Birds of America.

A Purple Day

2011-04-30T21:35:00.000-04:00

A friend in British Columbia mentioned a profusion of blooming Purple Dead Nettle in early April. Here in southern Ontario spring is not so far advance and it wasn't until today that I noticed my first Purple Dead Nettle while driving into the Tremblay Beach Conservation Area. One end of an old soybean field was covered in millions of tiny flowers.

The other day I managed to get a photo of a female Purple Finch at my feeder. Today when I got home there were several Purple Finches at the feeder including this nice male.

Sparrow Field at Point Pelee

2011-04-28T00:19:00.001-04:00

Trail to Sparrow Field in Point Pelee on April 27, 2011. Lots of spring migrants present today in the tip area but very few birders due to the rainy weather. The newly cleared portion of the Sparrow Field should be excellent for birding this spring.

Entrance into Sparrow Field looking east. Now there is a new loop trail around the clearing with access from the main road and east beach. Palm Warbler, Purple Finch, Field and Chipping Sparrow were present today. Here is an image of a female Purple Finch I took at home this evening.

Parking lot birding at Point Pelee

2011-04-03T15:14:00.002-04:00

Trail to the Sparrow Field in Point Pelee National Park, 6 March 2011. The good news this spring is that the park will be brush cutting the overgrown "sparrow field" and managing it as a clearing.

Point Pelee Parking lot in March

The snow has melted and soon Point Pelee will be attracting large numbers of birds and birders. Here are a few unusual species that I spotted in the parking lot last May.

Poop

2011-03-14T00:45:00.001-04:00

Australia introduced several species of dung beetles from South Africa in an effort to deal with a big poop problem, cattle dung. Australia's infamous bush fly population exploded with the introduction of cattle. There was no native Australian mammal that produced such large droppings and therefore no native beetles to feed on these large "meadow muffins". The introduced beetles eventually reduced the bush fly population by 90 percent! (I don't think I could have birded Australia when the bush fly population was at its peak. Even at 10 percent they occasionally drove me crazy)

The large number of African Elephants in Kruger National Park leave a substantial amount of poop laying about (+1,200 tons per day). We noticed the piles of dung on the roads well before we saw our first elephant.

In addition to the insects that specialize in this coprophilous habit there are also birds and mammals that poke around the droppings looking for tasty treats. Here are a few we found while birding the park.

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills were frequently seen at elephant dung.

This female Vervet Monkey found a quick snack under a lump of elephant dung.

Yum!

Winter birding in Essex County

2011-02-08T00:47:00.001-05:00

I visit Point Pelee throughout the year. There may not be as many birds present during the winter but Pelee is always good for a surprise or two and few birders visit the park at this time of year. This past Saturday we saw over 160 American Robins at the tip and on the prior trip we had 14 Bald Eagles along the East Beach.

View from the tip, January 8, 2011

The tip on February 5, 2011

A "Drift of Buntings"

On Sunday I helped banders from the Holiday Beach Migration Observatory band Snow Buntings and Horned Larks in Harrow. This is part of a project by Oliver Love who is conducting research looking to understand the cause of a 60 percent decline in the Snow Bunting population over the past 40 years.

This is a male Snow Bunting. Females have much more black in the wing. The brownish tips of the feathers will wear off by the spring and the bill will turn black.

female Snow Bunting

The genus name of Snow Bunting is Plectrophenax. The Greek word "plektron" means a claw-like tool used to play a string instrument and it is similar to the Snow Bunting's long hind claw. Buntings banded during the winter in Southern Ontario have been relocated as breeding birds in Western Greenland.

Horned Lark

Images from Australia

2011-01-24T23:25:00.002-05:00

It is winter here in Ontario but mid summer in Australia. I am planning to return there later this year and I have been going through a few of my photos from past trips. Here are a few of my favourites.

Willie Wagtails were often seen hunting insects flushed by livestock.

Apostlebirds are found in noisy parties of a dozen or so.

This noisy Sulphur-crested Cockatoo tried stealing our french fries in Royal National Park. Australia has an amazing variety of parrots.

One of my more memorable moments in birding the interior part of northern Queensland was coming across a large flock of Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos as they slowly drifted through the open forest.

This Southern Cassowary stuck its head through a window in order to steal fruit off the kitchen counter!

A Tawny Frogmouth in concealment posture. There is a small chick in the nest.
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The bird life is spectacular but the plants, and other wildlife received a lot of attention.

The King Spider Orchid releases a scent that attracts male thynnid wasps. The wasps pollinate the flower when they try to mate with the flower's conspicuous lip.

A Jewel Spider (sometimes called Christmas Spider)

Cane Toads were introduced to Australia with disastrous results. They are now very common and spreading in the north-east.

Australia likes to boast about all their venomous critters but this Carpet Python, although an impressive size, was otherwise harmless.

Driving into the beautiful Capertee Valley we spotted a lump on a post.

When I tried to touch this lump the Bearded Dragon flared its spiny hood and looked ready to bite! I didn't disturb the lizard any further.

This Shingleback Skink also gaped when approached but added to the defence posture by sticking out its blue tongue. This display is just for show as they rarely bite.

Koalas, kangaroos, wombats, gliders, possums, bandicoots and other marsupials are another distinctive feature of Australia. This Agile Wallaby was photographed in Mt. Carbine, Queensland.

Christmas Bird Counts

2010-12-22T00:19:00.000-05:00

For-The-Birds Woodlot

I spent Saturday searching for birds in the vicinity of Harrow and visited sites such as the For-The-Birds Woodlot pictured above. I have been participating in this Cedar Creek Christmas Bird Count for 24 of its 25 year history. I like this count. It started as an American Crow count due to the large number of crows that would descend on the town of Essex each winter. At its peak ten years ago we recorded over 117,000 birds, making it the crow capital of Canada. This year the roost failed to develop and apparently the birds have moved to the city of Chatham. The next morning as I drove to Rondeau Provincial Park for another bird count I encountered thousands and thousands of crows along Highway 401 between the Tilbury and Chatham interchanges.

Two Savannah Sparrows were a nice find on the count. They were feeding on the edge of a road where the snow had been scraped away from the shoulder exposing dirt, grass and a few weeds.

A late hummingbird

2010-11-24T00:05:00.001-05:00

Usually, when I see a new bird for my Ontario list I'm thrilled and happy to tell everyone about the encounter but this time that didn't happen. You see I didn't get a chance to share this sighting with my friends and only a very few people got to see the bird. Normally when someone finds a very rare bird the sighting is posted on ONTBIRDS (or similar listserv) which gives many people a chance to look for the bird. In this case the bird departed before the identity was established.

I'm always interested in any local records of hummingbirds after mid October when most Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have left the region. While there are records of Ruby-throats as late as November 26 in Michigan there is a higher probability that a late hummingbird might be a different species. For example a hummingbird that appeared at a feeder in Kingsville on 18 November 2007 turned out to be an adult female Rufous Hummingbird. It remained at the feeder to December 1.

Rufous Hummingbird, Kingsville, ON, November 22, 2007

On October 30, 2010 I learned of a hummingbird coming to Tom & Peggy Hurst's feeder in Cottam, ON. After watching it for a while I decided it would be a good idea to come back the next day and get some more photos as there was talk of an Anna's Hummingbird that had just shown up in the UP of Michigan and this bird was not a typical plumaged Ruby-throat. We hoped it might be an Anna's Hummingbird but I hadn't seen an Anna's for several years and wanted to examine my photos and check some references before getting too excited. Unfortunately the bird never returned to the feeder. The few pictures that I digiscoped with a point-and-shoot camera were eventually sent away to hummingbird banders for an expert opinion. Both Sheri Williamson in Arizona and Bob Sargent in Alabama confirmed that this was an Anna's Hummingbird.

Anna's Hummingbird, Cottam, ON, October 30, 2010

This is the first record of Anna's Hummingbird for the province of Ontario. This species also appeared in Grand Maris, Michigan (2), Saylorville, Iowa and Val-d"Espoir, Quebec this fall. The differences between female/immature plumaged Anna's and Ruby-throated are subtle. The bird above shows dingy dusky flanks with some green spotting, a straight bill and thick neck. The loral pattern is also different from Ruby-throat with a pale eyebrow, blackish spot in front of the eye and indistinct pale grayish wash behind the eye. Visible in the photo below is a distinct patch of dark spotting on the throat which is a normal pattern for female Anna's.

In the Great Lakes region it is a good idea to keep hummingbird feeders up and supplied with sugar water until the snow flies! Species such as Rufous and Anna's Hummingbirds are quite tolerant of cold weather and capable of surviving freezing temperatures. If you are lucky enough to have a hummingbird appear at your feeder please report it immediately to your local birding hotline. My number is 519-966-5852.

Gray Jay

2010-10-15T00:02:00.001-04:00

I first heard about an irruption of Gray Jays back in September and since that time I heard of reports from Lake Superior east to the Ottawa region. On October 9 we came across the Gray Jay pictured below along a back road seven km NE of Burk's Falls, ON. The bird was a first-year individual based on the ratty pointy-shaped tail feathers.

The fall colours have changed since the post of two weeks ago. A brief cold spell with frost put an end to much of the colour derived from the brightly coloured maples and now the yellows of aspens and tamaracks are dominant.

Tamarack (American Larch) stand, October 9, 2010

Fall Colours

2010-09-29T00:23:00.000-04:00

Fall colours were dazzling this past weekend north of Huntsville, Ontario. It has been a long time since I explored this region during the peak of fall colour. This Red Maple was photographed along the river above the village of Burk's Falls.

Highway 11, Burk's Falls, Ontario

Southern Sky

2010-09-18T16:27:00.000-04:00

Now that I am home again it is time to sort all the photos that were taken in South Africa and post a few of my favourite images. One thing that I did not do on the trip was spend enough time at night observing the splendours of the southern hemisphere sky. Some of the finest celestial objects cannot be seen from Canada and they are well worth the effort to stay up at night, even after a long day of birding.

Here is an image taken on the lawn of the Kruisa Moya Nature Lodge showing the Milky Way with the Southern Cross low near the horizon. The dark CoalSack Nebula (or head of the Emu in Australia) lies along the upper left side of the Southern Cross. (image taken with a Canon 5D MarkII and 20 mm lens)

Off to the left of this view lies one of the most spectacular globular clusters, the size of a full moon, known as 47 Tucanae (containing millions of stars) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (a close dwarf galaxy). Below is an image taken with a 100mm lens.

47 Tuc and SMC

Cape Dwarf Chameleon

2010-08-24T16:21:00.000-04:00

Ever since I arrived in South Africa I have kept an eye out for a chameleon. I wanted to see the turret-like eyes, grasping toes, and cryptic colors of a wild individual. After scanning countless bushes for three weeks my quest for a chameleon was finally fulfilled this afternoon. I spotted this beautiful male chameleon basking in a small tree on the grounds of the Afton Grove Retreat where we are staying just outside of Cape Town. The owner had told me his grandson had seen a chameleon in the garden which served as an incentive to check the gardens several times during our stay here. I was glad I persevered.

Sent from my iPad

Cape Dwarf Chameleon

2010-08-24T15:53:00.002-04:00

A few birds

2010-08-23T16:40:00.000-04:00

Kruger National Park isn't just for big game. I was overwhelmed with all the new birds we found. Of course it was a big help to be birding with Tom Hince as he has birded South Africa on several prior occasions and knows the birds very well. I posted a few bird photos below.

Lilac-breasted Roller is a common and conspicuous bird in the park. Its colours are simply amazing. Even starlings here are gorgeous. We saw four species with iridescent plumage and two species of oxpeckers. The finfoot is much harder to find and we were fortunate to find this lone bird while birding from a bridge.

I hoped to see hornbills on the trip and we were lucky to see all six species in a single day. The Yellow-billed is the most common hornbill in the park. It seems to have a fondness for picking through elephant poop. Mousebirds were another new bird family for me. They are fairly conspicuous as they travel around in small flocks.

Lilac-breasted Roller

2010-08-23T16:11:00.000-04:00

African Finfoot

2010-08-23T16:09:00.000-04:00

Cape Glossy Starling

2010-08-23T16:08:00.000-04:00

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

2010-08-23T16:07:00.000-04:00

Burchell's Coucal

2010-08-23T16:06:00.000-04:00

Red-faced Mousebird

2010-08-23T16:05:00.000-04:00

Lions

2010-08-20T16:06:00.000-04:00

The group of three young male Lions was photographed during a night game drive at the north end of Kruger while we were staying at Punda Maria Camp. Kurger has a good population of Lions with an estimated population of 2,000 individuals. The ranger lead night drives are the only way you are permitted to go out at night. In addition to the Big Five we also saw several types of antelope, Springhares, Black-back Jackal, Large-spotted Genet, Greater Bushbaby and other wildlife on these drives.

Lions

2010-08-20T15:52:00.000-04:00

Leopard

2010-08-20T15:50:00.000-04:00

The hardest of the Big Five to see is the Leopard but we saw our first Leopard on our second day in Kruger. It came down to the edge of the Letaba River at midday, drank, played a bit in the water, and then proceeded to wade across the river. It was a great sight in the spotting scope for almost 20 minutes. That evening we also saw a leopard near it's kill, an Impala that had been carried high into a large tree. On our way out of the park we saw our third leopard siting in the shade of a small bush next to the road. It was causing quite a traffic jam.

Leopard

2010-08-20T15:38:00.000-04:00

Leopard

2010-08-20T15:36:00.000-04:00

White Rhinos

2010-08-20T15:31:00.000-04:00

We had good luck and saw 14 White Rhinos and hundreds of Cape Buffalo. This little rhino was quite interested in our vehicle and ran towards us a couple of times. Both the baby and mom lost traction on the pavement when they tried to run. Quite a sight to see a rhino slipping and sliding on asphalt!

Buffalo and other large mammals in Kruger often had attendant oxpeckers that were always busy searching for tasty ticks. The buffalo pictured below didn't mind the two Yellow-billed Oxpeckers poking around in its ear but did object when the birds moved to its nose.

baby White Rhinoceros, Kruger

2010-08-19T17:22:00.000-04:00

Cape Buffalo

2010-08-19T17:15:00.000-04:00

Two young elephants

2010-08-19T17:08:00.000-04:00

African Elephant

2010-08-19T17:07:00.001-04:00

Kruger National Park, South Africa

2010-08-19T17:05:00.001-04:00

I'm in the middle of my first birding trip to South Africa and it has been an incredible experience. We started with a visit to Kruger National Park where we stayed in four different camps. Kruger is nearly two million hectares in extent and 350 km from north to south. It is home to over 650 species of birds and mammals so there was no shortage of wildlife.

I'll start with a few images of the "Big Five" that we encountered in Kruger. This will take more than one post due to my current connection.

Elephants were seen in good numbers (over 100), both during the day and on night drives. One old bull with just a single tusk actually charged our car we we tried to sneak by it!

Pink Katydid

2010-07-20T19:01:00.002-04:00

This is an Oblong-winged Katydid (Amblycorpha oblongifolia) that was brought in to the nature centre last week. Normally katydids are green and bright pink individuals are very rare. This individual is a female as can be determined by the large, scythe-shaped ovipositor.

Katydids are singing insects. Bird song is starting to decrease by mid summer but insect song is just getting underway. Lately I have started hearing the loud rough "Katy Katy-did" song of the Northern True Katydid. Although a common evening sound these large green insects are seldom seen due to their tree-top haunts.

Milkweed Butterflies

2010-07-04T22:39:00.000-04:00

The Windsor Butterfly Count was held on July 3, 2010. We had a clear sunny day and over twenty observers went out looking for butterflies. Butterfly Milkweed flowers are favoured by many butterflies and the one shown above especially so, attracting an impressive assemblage of Edward's Hairstreaks and American Copper butterflies.

Rocky Mountain Goat

2010-07-02T21:09:00.002-04:00

This goat was one of 15 animals at a mineral lick in the north end of Banff National Park. These were the only goats we saw on the trip this spring and a nice surprise.

Sent by iPad

Peregrine Falcon at the Ambassador Bridge

2010-07-02T20:38:00.002-04:00

The Peregrine Falcons that nested under the Ambassador Bridge this year fledged three young. I stopped by the bridge on June 9 and took this picture of one of the adults as it was leaving the nest ledge. Here is the four year-old female named Voltaire (This post is a test of posting by e-mail. I'm practising for being able to post from an iPad while I'm away from home).

Ruffed Grouse

2010-07-01T00:51:00.000-04:00

I don't get to see grouse very often as the Windsor area has little forest cover and the nearest grouse habitat that I regularly visit is a couple of hours away in northern Lambton County. We were north of Sault Ste. Marie this past the weekend and had to stop several times while driving along back roads to let Ruffed Grouse strut slowly across the roadway. Here are images of two birds we encountered.

Fishflies

2010-06-21T23:04:00.001-04:00

The annual emergence of mayflies from Lake Erie is a dramatic event. Although they do not eat as adults and only live for a few hours no one can ignore the huge number of Mayflies when they emerge from the lake in mid June (perhaps they should be called Juneflies?).

Immense numbers were recorded back in the 1950's but the huge flights disappeared by the early 1970's. The reappearance of these insects has been taken as a sign of the improved health of the lake.

Here are a few images from Marie's home on June 19. There were millions of these little critters on her house and on every leaf of every tree and shrub in her yard.

Roadside birding

2010-06-17T00:18:00.003-04:00

May 25 - On our first day in Alberta we drove from Calgary down to Waterton Lakes National Park. Roadside birding was great and here are a few images from the day.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Merlin with prey

Ferruginous Hawk

a pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes at Cameron Lake (lake is 99% frozen)

a very tame female Spruce Grouse feeding along Cameron Lake Road

displaying male Dusky Grouse along Cameron Lake Road just above village of Waterton Lake.

Alberta scenes

2010-06-10T23:55:00.001-04:00

Dipper and Harlequin Duck were seen here in the village at Waterton Lakes National Park.

Moon rise over the Rockies in Waterton Lakes National Park

After the sun set this "sun pillar" was a breathtaking sight over Kehiwin Lake in northeastern Alberta.

Just after midnight near Cold Lake on June 2. At this time of year and at this latitude the night sky never becomes very dark. The bright "star" is Venus.

Here is Tom Hince at 4:59 am. on June 2 searching for birds at Cold Lake.

May 25 - June 5 in Alberta

2010-06-10T00:32:00.003-04:00

Although this trip was primarily for birding I found that, once again, Alberta was a great place to see mammals as well as birds. Here are some images from this trip and a few from last year's (see also photos from June 2009).

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Columbian Ground-Squirrel - common at Waterton Lakes National Park

Golden-mantled Ground-Squirrel at Waterton Lakes

Red Squirrel (from 2009 trip)

Here are mages of the three species of rabbit found in Alberta.

Nuttall's Cottontail (above image from prior trip to Saskatchewn),

Snowshoe Hare, Waterton Lakes National Park (15 seen along upper Cameron Lakes Road)

White-tailed Jackrabbit (image from 2009 trip)

Bighorn Sheep at Waterton Lakes National Park being groomed by a magpie.

Rocky Mountain Goat (kit), Banff National Park

Elk, Jasper National Park

Black Bear, Banff National Park (6 seen on June 4 drive to Jasper)

Grizzly Bear at Bow Lake in Banff National Park (my first for Canada)!

An Update

2010-05-09T22:41:00.000-04:00

I am always impressed with how quickly the tallgrass prairie greens up after a spring burn. Here is the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve 25 days after the fire. It is now more lush than nearby sites that didn't burn!

The squirrel family has finally vacated my "owl box" (see post from March 9). The old box was taken down and the new box is ready to be installed.

Here are the baby squirrels back on April 18.

12 days after burn

2010-04-27T14:47:00.000-04:00

The prairie starts greening up very quickly after a prescribed burn. The most common question I get after a burn in the prairie is "What are those big mounds scattered everywhere?" These are ant colonies that are built by several species of mound building ants. An ant colony can take six years to produce these large mounds and the colony can be active for 12 years or more.

Spring Burn at Ojibway

2010-04-16T09:13:00.000-04:00

A prescribed burn was carried out in the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve on April 15, 2010.

Dramatic flame height as fire burns through a dense patch of Phragmites.

Bird Cam (cont'd)

2010-04-03T15:25:00.000-04:00

After many hundreds of photos of squirrels the remote bird cam finally captured this image of a Groundhog in the backyard. There are a couple of burrows on the property but I hadn't seen any activity so far this spring. What a nice surprise!

Timberdoodle, Bogsucker, Night Partridge

2010-03-30T21:27:00.000-04:00

One personal sign of spring's arrival that I enjoy is the spectacular display of the American Woodcock coming from the prairie meadow behind my home. This year was a bit later than normal, more an indication of my indoor habits of late as opposed to the weather. Although we have had some mild weather in mid March it was just last night at dusk that I heard the familiar call.

March 23, 2007

A couple of year's ago I took my camera out and managed to get a few images of the woodcock as he performed in the meadow. The technique I used to get close was fairly simple. First, I'd do my best to figure out where the calls originated. When the bird flew up to do his aerial song, I would rush over to be near that spot, crouch, and wait for him to return. I found that woodcocks usually have a favourite spot on the ground that is fairly open and will return to that spot when they finish their flight display.

The Owl Box (continued)

2010-03-09T22:53:00.000-05:00

As posted back in January I have been waiting for a day when the screech-owl is away from the nest box so I can replace the old structure with the nice new box. Last week I noticed that the owl wasn't looking out the box at dusk so I planned to check the box on the weekend and hopefully install the new box. Sunday I climbed the ladder and took a quick photo to see if the owl was present.

At first I thought that the presence of an Eastern Gray Squirrel in the box was excellent news as I now I could take the box down, trim back some surrounding branches, install the new box, and wait for the owl to move back in to a fresh box. The squirrel could have only been present for a few days at most so I hoped the owl would move back in quickly.

However, much to my dismay, I heard the distinctive sound of a baby squirrel coming from inside the box. A quick peek in the box showed something tiny and hairless so the young are just a few days old at most. It will be about two months before the young are weaned and ready to leave the nest. Hopefully I'll get the new box up before next winter.

Wild Sumaco, Ecuador

2010-03-04T00:33:00.003-05:00

Many-spotted Hummingbird

Napo Sabrewing

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Wild Sumaco Lodge is in the foothills, at about 1400 ft in elevation. The most memorable bird seen here was a small understory species that represented a new family for me, Chestnut-crowned Gnateater. Wild Sumaco also had great hummingbird feeders. In addition to the two species pictured above we also had great looks at Gray-chinned Hermit, Violet-headed Hummingbird, Golden-tailed Sapphire (very common), Ecuadorian Piedtail, Black-throated Brilliant, Gould's Jewelfront and five other species!

This small Ornate Snail-eating Snake was found high in a tall shrub one night.

We almost caught a caecillian along one of the forest trails but it was so slippery that I couldn't hold on to it as it burrowed into the leaf litter. The +30 inch long individual pictured above had been hit by a vehicle. Legless and almost blind these weird amphibians spend most of their time underground.

This small snake was caught along the Piha Trail but I have not been able to identify it.

Parrot Clay Licks along the Napo River

2010-02-24T14:20:00.011-05:00

Yellow-crowned Parrots and a Mealy Parrot scraping clay off the bank of the Napo River.

...

The sight (and deafening sound) of hundreds of spectacular parrots feasting on dirt was certainly a highlight of the trip. We visited two large clay licks along the Napo River and a small muddy pool in the forest and saw nine species of parrots (Orange-winged Parrots were often seen in flight but few were near the licks). One lick was observed from the boat and the other two had large shelter/blinds so the birds would not be disturbed.

Mealy Parrots

Mealy and Blue-headed Parrots. Dusky-headed Parakeets were also present near the river lick but stayed in nearby trees.

Orange-cheeked Parrots, Cobalt-winged Parakeets and Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlets crowd into a muddy pool while Scarlet Macaws perch overhead at this interior forest lick.

San Isidro, Ecuador

2010-02-19T23:55:00.004-05:00

A huge variety of moths, katydids, flies, cicadas and other insects are attracted to outdoor lights at night, especially at places such as San Isidro which is many miles distant from other lights. "San Isidro" Owl and Rufous-banded Owl can be often be found near one of the lights waiting for large insects to appear (photos from some past trips are on my homepage).

In the morning there is a burst of activity around the lights as many birds arrive to feast on the insects that can be gleaned from the foliage around the poles. About twenty species of birds were seen before breakfast time. There is often a nice mix of migrants such as Canada Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler and Swainson's Thrush among the resident woodcreepers, flycatchers, caciques and trogons.

Canada Warbler

Cinnamon Flycatcher

Masked Trogon

Napo Wildlife Center continued

2010-02-13T20:18:00.009-05:00

Things that go Bump in the Night

This Tricolored Swamp Snake was crossing the trail pre-dawn (yes we did get up early some days). People often ask me about whether I see snakes while in the tropics. Snakes are seldom seen (despite some searching) and none of the three species we saw this trip were venomous.

Bats are numerous but seldom seen well enough to identify. These Proboscis Bats (also called Long-nosed Bats) like to roost on tree trunks directly over water. We saw a group of these bats by the lodge's dock where they were roosting on a pole used to anchor the water intake line.

Tawny-bellied and Tropical Screech-Owls were heard most nights from our cabins at the lodge. This Tawny-bellied was roosting in a tree near the canopy tower. We were also lucky to have our guides point out another tree cavity where two Night Monkeys were perched.

Night Monkeys

Great Tinamou (below) and Marbled Wood-Quail (above) are often heard but seldom seen birds of the jungle. Our guides worked very hard one evening to locate night roost of these birds.

This Ladder-tailed Nightjar was roosting along the shoreline of the Napo River.

Night-time was a good time to go out and search for insects, nocturnal wildlife or just listen to the haunting calls of the Common Potoo. An additional bonus was seeing the southern sky and astronomical features not visible from Canada such as the Large Magellanic Cloud (a bright dwarf galaxy).

Canopy tower

2010-02-12T17:59:00.005-05:00

The 36 m (120 ft) canopy tower was an impressive structure and a great place to spend the early morning hours. Birds ranged from the tiny Pygmy Antwren and Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher, to Spangled Cotinga, Bare-necked Fruitcrow, Masked Tanager, Ivory-billed Aracari, Channel-billed Toucan, Blue-and-Yellow Macaw and King Vulture.

We saw or heard monkeys every day (six species in total). Pictured above is a Golden-mantled Tamarin, Saguinus tripartitus, the animal used as a logo for the Napo Wildlife Center. We saw these beautiful monkeys by the lodge, along the trail to the canopy tower and from the top of the tower.

We were also lucky on another day and saw a Pygmy Marmoset, the smallest of the true primates.

Birding by boat

2010-02-11T21:54:00.007-05:00

The trip down the Napo River was quite comfortable in this large motor launch. We did stop a few times to look at birds along the way to the Napo Wildlife Center. One of the highlights was watching a group of Pied Plovers on a sand bar.

Pied Plover

Eventually we transferred to two canoes for the two hour paddle to the lodge. We paddled (OK, we lounged on padded seats and the guides paddled) this blackwater creek several times during our stay and each trip produced great sightings.

Northern Caiman Lizard basking over the creek.

This creek was perfect for kingfishers. We had great looks at Ringed, Amazon, Green-and-Rufous, Green and Pygmy Kingfishers from the canoes. I had my best view ever of the sparrow-sized American Pygmy Kingfisher shown above.

Ringed Kingfisher

This tiny adult Zigzag Heron cocked its tail back and forth much like a motmot. We also saw a recently fledged Zigzag Heron along the creek.

young Zigzag Heron

Back to Ecuador

2010-02-09T23:48:00.006-05:00

I'm just starting to look through my images taken in Ecuador over the past two weeks. The main stop on this trip was the Napo Wildlife Centre, located in Yasuni National Park about 50 km east of the town of Coca. Getting there involved a 3 hour trip by motor launch down the Nap River and a two hour paddle up a small blackwater creek to the lodge.

One of the most conspicuous birds along the creek and the small lake were the lodge is located is the Hoatzin. These birds uttered unbird-like grunts and hisses and flopped from branch to branch as the canoes passed by. The fermentation of leaves in their crops produces an unpleasant odour which permeates their flesh. Their local name translates as "stinky turkey" and they are seldom hunted. Hoatzins are not closely related to any other group of living birds.

Napo Wildlife Center

Bird cam

2010-01-17T18:01:00.003-05:00

I put up my bird cam this weekend and pointed it at one of my bird feeders. The cam has motion sensor and takes a series of images whenever movement is detected. Here is one of the first shots showing a male Northern Cardinal and a couple of House Sparrows. Now I'm wondering how best to use this new Christmas present. Perhaps I'll end up discovering who is eating the goldfish in my pond?

Backyard Owl

2010-01-14T00:36:00.006-05:00

I've had great luck with a nest box in the backyard that, over many years, has been used by Wood Duck, Eastern Screech-Owl, Great Crested Flycatcher, Northern Flicker, Starling and Eastern Gray Squirrel. The box is now in rough shape and I have a beautiful new box ready to put up in its place. I don't want to disturb the Screech-Owl that is the current occupant so I have been waiting for a day when the bird is away from the box to make the switch. To check to see if the owl is home I climb a step ladder, poke my compact camera through the hole, and take a quick photo. So far the owl refuses to abandon its roost so the new box sits unused on the back step.

A backyard bird feeder in Panama

2009-11-16T22:42:00.007-05:00

On the road to Gamboa

Plain-colored Tanager

Blue-gray Tanager

This backyard feeder in Gamboa attracted dozens of Orange-chinned Parakeets and Blue-gray Tanagers. We also saw Red-legged Honeycreeper, Green Honeycreeper, Palm Tanager, Plain-colored Tanager, Flame-rumped Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Tropical Mockingbird, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Blue-crowned Motmot (and several Agoutis).

more Panama

2009-11-11T17:59:00.006-05:00

People often ask if we see snakes while birding in the tropics. Here is an image of the only snake we found on this trip, a tiny centipede snake (Tantilla sp.) found at Cerro Azul by Karen Cedar. It wasn't much different in size from the only snake we saw in Ecuador last February. Centipede (blackhead) snakes are mostly nocturnal and feed mostly on invertebrates.

Here is a clip of Swainson's Hawks with a few Broad-winged Hawks starting to lift up over the hills on the morning we were up Cerro Azul. The observation deck was a great place to watch hawks and vultures streaming by at eye level.

Individual Broad-winged Hawks were seen on most of our walks.

The most abundant insect encountered in Panama was the leafcutter ant. The ants bring freshly cut plant material back to their underground chambers were they cultivate a particular fungus that provides the ants with food. An ant colony can contain up to several million ants!

Just to show everyone that it does rain in the rainforest. November is the wettest month of the year and yet we were rain free for the morning hours each day with only occasional rain in the afternoons.

Birding in Panama

2009-11-10T23:00:00.006-05:00

I spent October 27 to November 4 in Panama with a group organized by Tom Hince. Visit Tom's blog for other images from this trip. Here is the view of capital, Panama City, from Cerro Azul. If you look very closely you can see a flock of migrant raptors over the city. We saw tens of thousands of Turkey Vultures, Broad-winged Hawks and Swainson's Hawks migrating through the canal zone during our visit.

CLICK ANY IMAGE FOR A LARGER VIEW

Broad-billed Motmot photographed at the Rainforest Discovery Center on Pipeline Road.

Most sloths seen on the trip were curled up asleep but this Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth was having a mid-day snack of cecropia leaves.

While birding took precedence we also took advantage of any possibility to see other wildlife such as these Mantled Howler Monkeys. One place we stayed had Geoffrey's Tamarins that visited the bird feeders every day.

This lizard was seen from the top deck of the Canopy Tower. It is called a False Chameleon or Canopy Lizard, Polychrus gutturosus. This arboreal lizard was basking on the highest branches of a tall tree near the tower.

Panama seemed to be a great location to see trogons as we generally saw several every day . This is a White-tailed Trogon, one of the less frequently seen species on the trip.

On our last full day of the trip along Pipeline Road we came across a large group of Amy Ants and their attendant bird flock. Bicolored Antbirds (image above) were most numerous but we also saw Spotted Antbirds, Ocellated Antbirds, Black-throated Antthrushes, Gray-headed Tanagers, several woodcreepers and a White-whiskered Puffbird. A very impressive mix of birds.

Long-tailed Hermit at Rainforest Discovery Center

Jupiter

2009-10-23T22:54:00.003-04:00

Jupiter's Great Red Spot has eluded me in the past so I made a special effort to look for it on October 18. A day on Jupiter is slightly less than 10 Earth hours and the spot is in a good position for viewing for only 100 minutes. Sky and Telescope (skyandtelescope.com) publishes the times when the Great Red Spot will be visible. I was fortunate to have a clear sky during the transit and I was able to see the spot clearly in both telescopes at the observatory. I was also lucky to capture an image with the A111 telescope that showed the GRS in the lower left of the above image. The spot's colour has faded in recent decades but it was still impressive.

Rare birds

2009-10-02T00:17:00.002-04:00

Back on August 30th I was lucky and got to see and photograph the Black-throated Sparrow at Port Burwell. This was a new species for my Canada list and a bird I had hoped to see for a long time. On Monday a Black-tailed Gull was discovered at Port Burwell but I was not fortunate to see it. Such is the way of birding.

Dumbbell Nebula

2009-09-19T00:18:00.004-04:00

With nightfall arriving earlier at this time of year it is possible to spend some time observing the night sky and still get to bed at a reasonable time. As a bonus the weather is typically mild and the sky often clear.

This image of the Dumbbell Nebula was taken at the Hallam Observatory using my Canon 5D Mark II and the 14 inch telescope on September 12. I used an autoguider for the first time which enabled me to use 8 minute exposures for the nebula.

The Dumbbell is a "planetary nebula", a shell of gas and plasma formed by a dying star. It is high overhead at this time of year and can be seen with binoculars. It is near the tip of Sagitta, the arrow.

Manitoulin Island

2009-09-01T22:09:00.002-04:00

We have just returned from vacation which included a bit of camping on Manitoulin Island. I include a photo of Sandhill Cranes as these birds seemed to be present in hay fields throughout the island. It was hard not to be within sight or sound of cranes while traveling on the island.

On August 24 we camped in the dark sky site at Gordon's Park and had the good fortune to have the entire site to ourselves. As the sky darkened we heard Sandhill Cranes calling in the distance, followed by the appearance of several Common Nighthawks. A displaying American Woodcock was unexpected so late in the summer as well as a singing Whip-poor-will. Late into the night we heard Barred Owls and a variety chip notes from migrating song birds.

It was a beautiful dark sky once the moon set. The image below shows our tent against the northern portion of the Milky Way. If you look closely you can see the bright smudge of the Andromeda Galaxy and the "W" of Cassiopeia.

Looking south towards the centre of the Milky Way was just incredible. From my urban backyard in Windsor I can't even see a hint of the Milky Way due to the huge amount of light pollution from Windsor and Detroit. The bright object in the left edge of the image is Jupiter.

The above images were taken with a 20 mm lens on a Canon 5D MII (two minute exposures at ISO 1600 with the camera on an AstroTrac tracking mount).

Eastern Foxsnakes

2009-07-08T23:13:00.009-04:00

Ring-billed Gull over the Detroit River

I was out boating on the Detroit River with friends on June 18 and we were lucky to see some courtship behaviour of Eastern Foxsnakes. These two large adults were at the shoreline and apparently undisturbed by the passage of the boat. The male had a firm grip on the head of the female during our observation.

These snakes can take large prey items. Last year we watched a foxsnake consume an entire clutch of Mallard eggs. This is quite a mouthful as Mallard eggs average about 42 mm in diameter! These snakes likely also prey on Ring-billed Gull nests as their eggs are about the same diameter.

Eastern Foxsnake eating duck eggs, Ojibway Park, June 2008

Cypress Hills

2009-06-19T01:11:00.002-04:00

Conglomerate Cliffs in the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan

Tufted Milk Vetch. Astragalus spatulatus, was one of many small ground hugging wildflowers seen clinging to wind swept ridge tops.

I was surprised to see Pasque Flower, Anemone patens, still in bloom (but there was snow just a few feet away from these flowers). Other spring wildflowers such as Mountain Shooting Star were abundant in the Cypress Hills.

Mountain Bluebirds were commonly seen in the Cypress Hills.

Saskatchewan & Alberta

2009-06-11T22:25:00.018-04:00

A trip to Saskatchewan and Alberta May 25 to June 5 with Tom Hince was a nice break from the strike back in Windsor. Originally we planned to spend most of our time in Saskatchewan but the drought conditions this spring encouraged us to move west into Alberta for most of the trip.

Although this was a birding trip it was hard to ignore all the other wildlife such as Elk, White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer and Pronghorns. This very young Pronghorn was found on May 29 and the little Porcupine was waddling down the Luck Lake dyke at dusk on May 28.

This adult California Gull was easy to approach at the edge of a mall parking lot in Cold Lake Alberta.

American White Pelicans were common on most larger lakes and rivers. They are impressive with their 9-foot wing spans and huge bills. Both male and female birds have a distinctive protruding knob on the upper bill during the breeding season. This one was coming in for a landing at Pakowki Lake at dusk.

Our "Big Day" on June 2 ended with a beautiful sunset at Pakowki Lake, some 1100 km after our midnight start in northeastern Alberta at Cold Lake. The last birds of the day were Burrowing Owl, White-faced Ibis and Black-crowned Night-Heron which gave us 207 species for the day.

Sparrows are ever present along back roads through the prairies. While we may hope for a Grasshopper or Baird's Sparrow to be sitting by the roadside it is usually something more common such as this Vesper Sparrow.

I spent some time down near Wildhorse looking for Mountain Plovers. While none were found we did spot a badger den. I was lucky to have this badger pause long enough for a photo before it slid down its burrow.

Thinking about Saskatchewan

2009-05-19T23:52:00.021-04:00

I'm looking forward to my next birding trip where I'll be visiting Saskatchewan again with my friend Tom Hince. Here are a few images from a trip we took last year to the western portion of the province, from Turtle Lake south to the Cypress Hills and Grasslands National Park.

Sunrise near Turtle Lake

American Avocet

Family of Richardson's Ground Squirrels

a Nuttall's Cottontail relaxing in Grasslands National Park

vista from Jone's Peak

Pronghorns were commonly seen during the trip.

I've never seen a Pronghorn jump over a fence.

Alkali flat south of the Cypress Hills

Marbled Godwit

Northern Harrier with vole nest

Yellow-headed Blackbird

outhouse, south of Cypress Hills

Prairie Rattlesnake

Ojibway Park feeders

2009-05-15T19:15:00.001-04:00

male Red-bellied Woodpecker (if you look hard you can even see a hint of red on the belly!)

The nature centre where I work has been closed since the middle of April due to the current strike by city workers but the park and trails are still open. The feeders behind the nature centre are a favourite spot for birders and nature photographers. The regular winter feeder visitors such as Black-capped Chickadees, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, American Goldfinches and Tufted Titmice have been joined by Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Baltimore Orioles, White-crowned Sparrows and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. In addition to birds the feeders also attract Eastern Chipmunk, Woodchuck, Eastern Gray Squirrel (abundant) and the occasional White-tailed Deer.

Whirlpool Galaxy

2009-04-17T22:32:00.005-04:00

Last night was a clear night so I spent a few hours at the observatory. One of the more interesting images obtained through the C14 scope was of the Whirlpool Galaxy, M51. It is a conspicuous spiral galaxy about 23 million light years away. The smaller object below is NGC 5195, a smaller galaxy captured by M51. They are located near the handle of the Big Dipper which is high in the night sky at this time of year.

Hummingbird Video and Images

2009-03-23T22:59:00.003-04:00

I updated some of my hummingbird images and added a hummingbird video taken with the Canon 5D Mark II on the recent Ecuador trip. You can see them at my Hummingbirds of Ecuador page.

The Leo Triplett

2009-03-21T16:57:00.005-04:00

Last night I was out at the Hallam Observatory. The image below was captured with the 111 mm refractor telescope (equivalent to a 777 mm lens at f7). This group of three galaxies is called the M66 group or the Leo Triplett and consists of the Messier objects M65 (NGC 3623) and M66 (NGC 3627) as well as the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 3628.

All the stars we see at night (at least here in Canada) are part of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, although if you look carefully in the summer you can see the faint smudge which is the Andromeda Galaxy. The Leo Triplett is much more distant, the light from these galaxies took 35,000,000 years to reach my camera sensor!

Saturn

2009-03-16T01:11:00.005-04:00

This year Saturn reached its closest point to Earth on March 8. This image of Saturn was taken March 13 at the Hallam Observatory. The rings are nearly edge on this year!

This image is from a short movie (about 30 sec) of Saturn that I took with my Canon SLR through the 14 inch telescope. The image looked quite dark and fuzzy before it was processed. Once home I used a free program called Lynkeos that aligns and stacks the individual frames of the video into a still image.

Tundra Swan migration

2009-03-12T22:21:00.003-04:00

Mid March is the peak of Tundra Swan migration in southwestern Ontario. The sight (and sound) of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of these impressive birds descending into a flooded corn stubble field is truly memorable. Here are a few images taken on March 16, 2008 from the fields adjacent the St. Clair National Wildlife Area near Chatham.

Comet Lulin

2009-02-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

Last night Comet Lulin was at its closest approach to Earth (only 38,000,000 miles) so I drove out to the observatory near Comber and attached my camera to a AT111 refractor telescope. The greenish colour and long tail were easily captured with a one minute exposure.

Ecuador

2009-02-23T18:13:00.000-05:00

Here are a few images from my birding trip to northern Ecuador, February 6-19. I was a co-leader for a birding tour provided by Tom Hince. See Tom's blog for a day-by-day account of the trip.

White-capped Tanager along the road above the lodge at San Isidro.

Hummingbird feeders are everywhere in Ecuador and many species can be observed at close range. I had birds perch on my camera and watched hummers inspect any patch of red coloured clothing, even painted fingernails.

Buff-tailed Coronet video. This is a very common hummingbird on the west slope at places such as Bellavista and Tony Nunnery's.

Booted Racketails are another common hummingbird on the west slope of the Andes (and one of my favourite hummers). The Viridian Metaltail was photographed at Termas de Papallacta, high in the mountains. See my Homepage for more hummingbird images from Ecuador.

One night at Septimo Paraiso we were invited to go along with Mike Knoerr who was conducting an amphibian and reptile survey of the property. Here are a couple of the frogs and a forest anole found on the walk.

A night time visit to any of the lights around a lodge would reveal hundreds of spectacular moths, beetles and other insects. These insects in turn attracted a lot birds each morning!

2009-01-22T23:51:00.000-05:00

Despite the -19C temperatures Rowan and I drove out to Comber on January 20 where the Windsor Centre astronomy club has its Hallam Observatory. I took this photo of the Orion Nebula through the 14 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. Clear nights have been scarce this winter.

The club hosts an open house at the observatory each month. See the links section for the Windsor Centre's web site which lists upcoming meetings, events and open houses.

2009-01-16T00:54:00.000-05:00

A brilliant starry night in Algonquin Park, August 2008. This image of the Milky Way and Jupiter was taken on Carcajou Bay with a Canon 40D SLR and 20 mm lens mounted on an AstroTrac.