A Grand River Trail Walk

I'm a bit behind, and spring has in fact finally come.  But back only about three weeks ago, it was the first Sunday with some warmer weather and I was itching to get out for a spring outing.  I headed straight west of St. George and at the end of Blue Lake Road, there is a hydro corridor which needs only a short three minute walk to bring you to the Cambridge-Paris Rail Trail.

Along this path, I spotted the energetic movement of a lone Blue-gray Gnatcatcher** Ruby-crowned Kinglet weaving through the buds and catching small bugs. They are hard to capture in picture since they rarely pause to stay still.

** UPDATE
Thanks to Caleb for correcting me... We had a back and forth ID argument :), but he won pointing out the tail on the Blue-gray extends much further past the primary wing feathers).

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

I walked the path in both directions and didn't see a lot of birds.  I met an older gentlemen along the way who said he walks this stretch every day and he had the same conclusion for the day.  That didn't encourage me much.  I headed up the steps to the top of an abutment from a long abandoned railway bridge and scanned the river and surrounding horizon.  Out of the corner of my eye, swift movement caught my attention and I turned around just in time to see a Sharp-shinned Hawk land about 30 or so meters away in a large Oak tree. It had some half eaten prey in its grasp which I hoped it would calmly eat there - often hawks will permit you closer when they're distracted by their meal.

Sharp-shinned Hawk with prey.

However, he quickly noticed me and I slowly lifted my camera hoping it would not be spooked.  Despite my careful efforts, I was able to get only a few shots before it took off again across to the opposite and upstream side of the river for a more private dining location I assume.

Sharp-shinned Hawk leaving.

Sharp-shinned Hawk departing.

Before turning to head back down to the trail, my ear caught the scolding call of a Kingfisher and I took a distant shot of it across the river.

Belted Kingfisher

I didn't see much else that afternoon, and spent about half of my time chatting with the same older gentleman mentioned earlier. It's interesting the people you meet while out and about. There are so many people who have the impulse to say hi because I'm walking around with the larger than normal lens.  Some times I have to admit, I'd rather keep walking and exploring, but it is enjoyable to meet people from so many different walks of life and to hear their stories. Many people have their own exciting bird finds they've made either recently or in the past and its nice to share the memory and show interest in their finds.

Walking back to the car, I was followed by a friendly Chipping Sparrow which had recently arrived from the south replacing the very similar looking American Tree Sparrow which made a very big showing this winter in Southern Ontario.  The most of the latter bird have headed north to mate and raise young. The quickest way to tell the difference between the two birds is to note that the Chipping Sparrow has a completely black bill where the American Tree Sparrow's bottom portion is yellow.

Chipping Sparrow

Well, spring is definitely here, and as I write this post, a good old thunderstorm is passing through. The next few days are forecasted to be filled with rain, so I doubt I'll be out birding.  But I have some fun stuff to show from a recent trip to the State of Washington, so stay posted for another post.

Till then...
Keep enjoying HIS handiwork!

Down by the River

On Sunday, the two oldest were invited to friend's houses between church services and Justin settled for the consolation of going for a walk with Dad to try and see the Bald Eagles on the Grand River in Brantford. I hadn't been there since March either not having time, other locations pulling me, or the weather not cooperating. I didn't see the Eagles this time.  Apparently one has prematurely fallen out of the nest - wonder how it has fared.

Bank Swallow

But we did enjoy walking along the river's edge, Justin looking for frogs and me enjoying watching the swallows swiftly darting just above the water with deft maneouvres to catch insects in the air.  Amid the Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows were some Northern Rough-winged Swallows (life bird #87).  They are mostly light brown, with a light, pale underbelly.  Their name comes from a rough barb-like feathers on the leading edge of their wings.  It's not known what they are for, but thought possibly to assist them in producing sounds during mating - the males roughness is more pronounced.  They live in small colonies in river banks.


UPDATE: Thanks to Caleb S for pointing out that my identification of the swallows is likely wrong and probably Bank Swallows, not the Northern Rough-winged Swallows as I thought.  The two birds are quite similar, and pictures I had seen weren't terribly clear.  But by looking around a little more and at other photos I had but didn't post I think he's right. So my tags and picture labels and list have been updated (life list on Tuesday as it's at work). Consolation is that it is still a lifer.

Bank Swallow

Justin suddenly got enthusiastic about finding things on his own and spotted two of these butterflies.  He was quite proud of himself when I commended him on his good eye!

Cabbage White Butterly

Delaware Skipper Butterfly

The bright-eyed little guy.

Red Admiral Butterfly

Bald Eagles in Paris

Holly was sleeping and the kids were either napping or playing nicely downstairs, trying to get over a bad cold that most of them have.  So I made a quiet exit and headed out to Glen Morris and Paris to the Grand River.  I had seen a posting that there were four juvenile Bald Eagles frequenting a field west of Grand River and thought I'd see if an ice Sunday drive with my camera would turn into any nice sightings.

The field and roads in the vicinity of the purported location yielded nothing, and along the drive I wasn't even seeing the Red-tailed hawks which I expected would be out on a somewhat sunny afternoon.  However, as I drove towards Paris on the west side of the river, I saw a set of the classic red-tailed hawk silhouettes circling lazily in the sky over the opposite side.  They were maintaining their location, so I hoped maybe they'd still be there once I'd crossed the river in Paris and doubled back.

juvenile Bald Eagle on the Grand River (heavily cropped shot!)

Well, I got something  better...  just as I passed under the high rail bridge on Willow Street (see this map) a huge form flew over head and banked back towards the river.  A juvenile Bald Eagle landed in a snag across the river.  I quickly parked, jumped out and got off only one picture before it flew away, heading south and raising all the Canadian Geese into the air from their grazing in the golf course across the way.

Back in the car, I followed in pursuit and parked in the rail trail parking lot just a little further down, where I couldn't see any sign of the bird after pushing my way through the bush to the top of the steep bank of the river.  I did pause there to speak with an older gentleman who walks the trail every day.  He mentioned he had heard there were two adults and two juveniles, and that there was talk of the adults nesting in the area.  I'm hoping someone on Guelph/Cambridge/KW Birding has heard more of this and can fill me in.  Here's hoping they stay in the area.  Bald Eagles have made quite a come back in the Great Lakes area, and around this area having been seen for a number of years now along the Grand River, and in Hamilton Harbour.  They have nested in Brantford in the past and are being watched in Coote's Paradise on RBG side this year, hopeful that they will raise some young there.  The last link from RBG gives some brief history on Bald Eagles in the area.

Well, I headed down to the old railway bridge lookout (near the end of Blue Lake Road) off the Rail Trail.  I waited there for a while, seeing if there was anything of interest.  The older gentleman had said he's sat their before and watched the eagles soar right past at eye level.  While waiting I saw a lone, injured Canada Goose float by.  It appeared to have a broken wing.  I can't imagine it will survive long like that.  (The picture is heavily cropped as it was on the far side of the river.)

Canada Goose with broken wing

My patience finally paid off, as soon on the horizon, flying north towards me were two large sets of wings.  They were having fun, jockeying in the air.  Hard to capture in pictures.  Again, they were far off, but it was still exciting to see the large shapes that your eye immediately knows are larger than the typical hawk proportions.

Two juvenile Bald Eagles having fun.

They landed in a large tree down river where they called to each other for a while.  It was strange, sort of almost a whistling sound.  

juvenile Bald Eagles

Then, after about 5 minutes, they took off and, to my dismay, headed south instead of north towards me, swiftly flying towards Paris and climbing up the bluff and somewhere into town.

I have to admit I never expected to see any Eagles when I left, but was quite pleased to be able to see them  after all.  I'll have to try and get some more information about where they are regularly being seen and make some more trips in the future.  If they're hanging around here, the lookout is only a 10 minute drive from my place.  Finally, a bird I pursued found! :)

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (Plus 2)

Two Saturdays ago, four of us guys from church went on an trip usually more associated with younger boys, more the likes of the title of this post.  Friends Joe and Nate had built a raft last summer, and I and another friend, Rob, got to join them for the last trip of the summer down the Grand River on an overnight jaunt.  This raft does not resemble anything of what Tom or Huck would have traveled on.  Nate has a business where he gets sheets of styrofoam in bulk, and after glueing together large slabs, they sheathed it in plywood and 2x4's, and then built a counter and upper platform.  It's unsinkable, and to un-experienced rafters not too bad to maneuvre.

It was a great evening, the best spot being seated in a chair up on the "upper deck", peacefully floating down the river. 

Nate's got the best seat on the raft.