2nd Visit to Desjardins Canal

After having been somewhat disappointed with my visit success the day before, I headed out to Desjardins Canal again for second lunch hour in a row.  This time, the wheels on the car hadn't even stopped and I had already seen two birds that had eluded me the day before.  A male and female American Wigeon (life bird #110) were up on the bank.  I quietly slid from the car and cautiously made my way over towards the water's edge and the two birds that were searching for food along with a large group of Mallards.

female and male American Wigeon

Hoping for closer shots, I flushed the Wigeons and they headed for the protection of the water.  I managed to catch one mediocre shot of the female flying, and then an obligatory water shot of the male.

female American Wigeon in flight

male American Wigeon

I headed west along the bank again, hoping that my "luck" would continue and I'd be able to turn up the Redhead.  Sure enough, a look through the binoculars brought the bright read head of the duck I was looking for into sight very quickly and I made my way over (life bird #111).  When I got there, the Wigeons had made their way over as well and I got a picture with the day's two life birds in one shot.

male Redhead and pair of American Wigeons

male Redhead

I headed for the opposite end of the canal section to see if there was anything else to see.  The Common Goldeneye was still there and wasn't quite so shy as the day before.

male Common Goldeneye and Canada Goose

male Common Goldeneye

As I headed further along, I flushed a Great Blue Heron from the long dead grasses against the bank of the road I was walking along.  Flight shots are so hard, and when you've just been in the mode of taking shots of stationary ducks, all the settings are wrong.  So I was quite please this one turned out nicely in focus despite single point focus and low shutter speed settings.

Great Blue Heron in flight

I had walked to the east again, but later noticed that the heron wasn't where it had landed earlier.  On a hunch, I returned more quietly to where it had been earlier, and sure enough, found it again.

Great Blue Heron hiding

When it finally saw me, it headed for the opposite side, not far from the roadway, at the bottom of a steep bank.  I thought I'd try an attempt to come up behind it and see what kind of shot I'd get.

Great Blue Heron behind Canada Geese

This was the result... I have to say, although it wasn't a new bird sighting, it was the most rewarding experience of the day.  I actually had to calm myself down once I had peeped over the ridge and saw it sitting there.  I think hunters have the same phenomenon - after a pursuit, getting all flustered and not being able to steady their weapon to aim and shoot. I guess it sound somewhat odd, but it was quite rewarding to sneak up that close.  We stared each other down for a long time.  I slowly raised my camera fearing it would spook.  I got off quite a few pictures, then got greedy for more bird and less hill in the picture, but that sent him far down the canal.

My favourite shot of the day!
Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron takeoff.

And now, a couple days later, we have a fresh layer of thick, white snow to return winter to our neighbourhood.  I am glad to see it and love all that goes with it.  Yes, I like shovelling, driving in the snow, and the colder temperatures.  Those who know me have heard me say often, "if we're going to have winter, then let's have it!".  What a beautiful place we live filled with many beautiful animals and birds, created to make us wonder at the source of the beauty and variety that we've been given to enjoy.  How is it that it's all here, and for that matter, why are we?

"The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1-3

A Visit to Desjardins Canal

I had two really great lunch trips to Desjardin Canal in Dundas this week.  Tipped off by Joanne Redwood in Hamilton Birders Group that there were American Wigeon and Redhead ducks there, I decided to try a trip there in my limited lunch hour.

Desjardins Canal freezes very late, often never.  I am quite sure that this phenomenon is connected to the Dundas waste-water treatment plant located just northwest of the end of the canal and I'm sure outlets here.  The sections of the canal still there today are remnants of what put Dundas on the map and made it prosperous, initially much more affluent than Hamilton for a time.  It extended from Hamilton Harbour's York Street high bridge all the way into Dundas through Coote's Paradise, completed in 1837.

But this is isn't a history blog :).  My first lunch trip on Wednesday didn't seem to be very successful at first.  There were a pair of Hooded Mergansers nicely swimming in tandem, a great shot for someone with a further reaching lens than mine for a nice shot though.  Lighting was a challenge, the sun shining brightly, for the most part, from across the canal.

Mallard and Hooded Merganser pairs.

I walked some of the canal shore, and sent hundreds of Canadian Geese skyward.  Notice all the birds in the distance of the first shot that are all gone in the second.  Because of the scrub in front of me, I couldn't really capture the size of the flock in the sky.  Needless to say, it was very noisy for the next 15 minutes while they all slowly circled and then finally landed in small groups again!

100's of Canada Geese sent aloft by me. 

Here are a few shots of geese as they did flyby's before landing again.

Canada Goose symmetry.

I did finally spot some other birds beside the many geese including a Double-crested Cormorant, 

There were some Common Goldeneyes there, and what I think was a first winter bird along with a more mature one.

first winter Common Goldeneye?

I did finally get to see one new bird though (life bird #109) though - a Pied-billed Grebe.  They are very cute little diving bird and in a large raft of geese and ducks, is easily missed even though they are easily distinguished by their small size and unique shape.  This was the best shot I could get, as it's quite shy and again, the lighting was not good.

Pied-billed Grebe

I bumped into Barry Cherriere (sp?) for the second time in half year and despite his search for me, could not turn up the Wigeons or Redhead for me.  He had just seen them 15 minutes before seeing me.  However, I was happy to have seen the Grebe and planned to return the next lunch to see if that would do the trick.

I'll fill you in on that visit in my next post (this one is getting too long!)