Father's Day Outing

On Father's Day, the boys were either away or had friends over between church services so I took the opportunity to see if the Fox kit would be out again since my last visit.  'Twas not to be, so I headed north on Weirs Road.  As I was driving by, I noticed a bright flash of blue and got my eyes on my first Indigo Bunting (life bird #128).  I got a shot through the trees along the side of the road where the bird was singing away on a dead sapling.

Indigo Bunting

I tried to get closer, but it was too wary of me.  After I flushed it, it seemed to prefer a perch near the top of a dead tree on the roadside.  It immediately started singing as soon as it landed, probably clearly proclaiming its territory edge.  Later in my walk and a return that evening, I found more Indigo Buntings, so I'm guessing that the territory reinforcement was likely true.

Indigo Bunting - it returned to this exact spot
over and over to sing it heart out.

I had initially waded through the golden rod and wild raspberry tangles to see if patience would reward me with a return of the bird to its previous, closer perch, but I only annoyed a Song Sparrow who must have had a nest somewhere in the weeds near by - it sat their the entire time with an insect in its mouth waiting for me to leave.

Song Sparrow with insect.

That evening, I took my three boys for a walk, returning to a Rail Trail which I had quickly checked out in the afternoon.  We headed first to the fox den I mentioned in my last post, but I struck out again that day as I had hoped to share the sight of the Fox kit with the boys.

While there, I heard a big raucous of Crows from down the tracks in a tree row on the edge of a farmer's field. Seeming agitated, I told the boys that often this will mean that either a hawk or owl is roosted in a tree where the crows don't approve.  Sure enough, as we tried to approach quietly, we flushed a Red-tailed Hawk out and watched as the Crows followed to encourage the change of location.  At one point the Crows relented, but then some blackbirds (too far away to tell what) took up the offense and continued as the hawk climbed higher.  The smaller birds stuck with it for quite a way into the sky.

American Crows chasing Red-Tailed Hawk

Blackbirds chasing Red-Tailed Hawk

 
We headed west down the old Grand Trunk Railway trail just east of the Harrisburg station which although now is just a small town, used to be a junction between a northern route to Cambridge and the nearest east-west towns of Lynden (then on to Copetown and Hamilton) and Paris. (see map here) We forgot to bring bug spray, so we had to keep moving to out pace the mosquitoes which hadn't been out during the middle of the day.

Grand Trunk Railway rail trail.

We did see a Baltimore Oriole with a fledgling quietly foraging overhead, an Eastern Wood-Pewee, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, and something very large which flushed out of the trees to thick to see through (agh!) and stopped at a little pond which some locals report has some fish in it.  Didn't see much here except some basking turtles and a few Tree Swallows.

On the way back, we again saw some Indigo Buntings and this time I sparingly used my phone to play a call and the male definitely came closer to determine who was that close in his territory.

male Indigo Bunting

After my quick, close encounter it headed straight for the nearest treetop to make sure any real or imaginary competitors knew he was there.

Indigo Bunting in its usual treetop location

Just as we were heading home, with the light starting to fade and the mosquitoes getting more hungry, we spotted a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.  So tiny, it looked like just a bump on the dead tree it was perching on.  It was very hard to get all three of the boys to find it, but they finally all did.

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

As I type this, I realize a pair of hummingbirds had zipped past me while I was standing in the weeds earlier in the afternoon when I was trying to wait out a closer picture of the Indigo Bunting.  One even landed only a few meters away on a bush, but didn't pause long enough for what would have been a close picture.  I console myself with the fact that being so small, I'm sure it would have been very hard to find and focus on, even if I had had the chance.

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird - you can just see the Ruby flash.

This little tiny bird is such a testament to being designed.  It's a little miracle which has so many amazing features: incredibly fast wing-beat for an agile flight, a long, tiny tongue which actually has tiny nectar traps (see info and video here), deep sleep to preserve energy.  This little bird migrates over the Gulf of Mexico in one flight, but yet is so tiny. All these features had to be present together in order for it to function and survive.  It was the first time seeing these little birds out in the "wild."

A fun Father's Day outing with the boys and they were all excited to share the sightings with Mom before heading off to bed, glad they got to stay up late!  Summer evenings!!

Keep enjoying His handiwork!

Crows and Frogs

The other day Justin and I were wandering on the next door church property and we spotted a Crow hopping on the ground not far from us. As we approached it didn't take off as it usually would, but hopped along for quite a ways and then finally flapped it's way up into a neighbour's lilac bush. Even there, it let us approach quite close. I ran back to the house and grabbed the camera expecting it to be gone by the time I returned. It had remained in the same spot and in the end, we wonder if it was possibly infected with West Nile virus. It had very little fear of us and was for the most part, unable to fly with no real evidence of injury.

American Crow

West Nile Disease is not transmittable by direct contact with a bird as it has to be transmitted through the blood which happens through mosquitoes. So there was no risk at getting this close. Being the Canada Day Long Weekend, a call to the local Health Unit only got a poison contact person, and a message left with Canada Wildlife Hotline was never returned. We saw the bird later in the day getting a lot of attention (seeming unfriendly, but hard to tell) by a few other crows, but never saw it again after that.

American Crow - with West Nile Virus?

The Crow is really an amazing bird, though many consider the seemingly drab, plain, black coloured bird a nuisance. They are very smart with more intelligence than parrots, and some consider them to be more intelligent than Apes. I posted a link of a video of a crow snowboarding, which is quite comical and creative. They are notorious collectors, and will employ very ingenious methods to obtain and get at food.

I've tried to get pictures of them in the past without being able to get close enough for a worthwhile photo. Ironic, as it's very typical of them to remain just barely off in the shoulder, having figured out your speeding car will predictably stay on the paved road. This is in comparison to other birds which, you may or may not have noticed, will usually flee to the nearby fence or hydro wire as you approach.

Did you know that a flock of crows is called a "murder"? Crows are omniverous, eating meat (including roadkill) as well as fruit and nuts and seeds.

A noble head.

The other day we found this Gray Treefrog in our backyard. They are amazing little creatures for a number of reasons. Their ability to cling to the surfaces of leaves and branches is quite amazing. They accomplish this with a combination of tools. The pads of their toes actually have many tiny, adjustable, hexagonal, column-like protrusions which can slip into miniature cracks and variations in the surface it is clinging too. They also secrete mucus from their toes which adds surface tension helping to keep them attached.

Gray Tree Frog

Many tree frogs are also able to change their colours to camouflage themselves for protection. The Grey Tree Frog can change its colour from its namesake gray to green. They also have a feature which is common in the insect and amphibian world - the use of warning colour. Many insects use bright colours to show to predators that they are poisonous or taste awful. And other mimic this though they may actually be tasty. The Gray Tree Frog has bright yellow patches in hidden portions its thighs. These spots are well hidden when tightly holding onto a leaf or branch, but when stretched out, they easily catch your attention.

Gray Tree Frog warning pose.

A couple times while taking pictures (I admit to putting him back on a nearby tree for another couple pictures), it hopped down onto our deck and struck this pose. The pose seemed very purposeful as it even adjusted its position and then stuck its rear end in the air, prominently displaying the splashes of bright yellow warning colour. 

Now here is a question - how would that frog know those spots were even there? Unless it had approached a set of mirrors, it can't even see its back end. If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you shouldn't be surprised to know that I believe the world and all we see was created, not evolved. To me, this is another interesting pointer that creatures were created with very purposeful designs, many features of which the creature itself doesn't even "know" but uses with built in instincts. Feel free to comment or email me if you think otherwise. :)

We're off the lodge with Holly's family for some vacation and who knows what I'll see up there. Hope to come back with some pictures to share!