Savannah Sparrow and Virginia Rail

Two weeks ago I headed out for a Sunday afternoon visit to Grass Lake.  The plan was to enjoy some close opportunities with the Osprey pair there and see if the Sandhill Cranes were still nesting in the same spot after hearing some crazy photographer hip-waded directly to the nest!

But when I arrived, the Osprey nest was a big pile of scattered branches and corn stalks on the road. Apparently a couple nights before, a big storm had blown it right off the supporting hydro wire wood braces.  I felt sorry for the bird pair, but they were "silly" not to have used a sturdy nesting box which had been put there this winter for them.  Realizing of course that they don't "think" like we do, you do wonder what made them think the much more precarious location they used was better. 

But, in the same location, I noticed a "little brown jobby" (an affectionate term for the many sparrows and other small birds that look alike from a distance) that appeared somewhat different.  It was not shy and allowed me to get quite close, and even continued with its interesting song.  I almost dismissed it as the very common Song Sparrow, but soon I noticed a yellow flash above the eyes.  It was a Savannah Sparrow and a life bird (#124).  It's a grassland sparrow and shares the habitat in that area with the Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, and other grassland sparrows that I have yet to see there.

Savannah Sparrow

In the same area, Horned Larks were traveling back and forth between a farmer's field and the protection of the grasses of the antenna field.  A stop on the road seemed part of their little routine too.  Not sure why as I can't imagine there was anything like salt from the winter to entice them.  There forays into the grasses would often start a squabble with a larger Bobolink that would attempt to guard its territory.

Horned Larks

I'm pretty sure this next picture is a juvenile Horned Lark.  I know Robin fledglings are out already, but I wasn't expecting to see young from other birds yet.  I guess at first I as just hoping it was another rare bird to get excited about, but I think my assumption on the juvenile Horned Lark is right.  I'll be glad to be proven wrong.

juvenile Horned Lark

This Bobolink kept coming back to one of two small saplings to sing away its claim to a certain area of the thick wild grasses.

male Bobolink

male Bobolink near nest?

This male seems to have a beak deformation of some sort.  Or, it lacks some personal hygiene.  I did a bit of research, but it seems that naturalists are completely sure what causes different beak abnormalities, aside from assumptions that there may be nutrition issues, or simply an abnormality from birth.  The defect seems to affect birds of all strips... here's a link to a collection of many different birds with the sad fate.  For many, it will mean a short and/or difficult life.

I headed out to Grass Lake for the reminder of my visit time, to see if anyone could give me an update on the Cranes and their nesting/eggs status.  Just as I arrived a few of the Cranes flew in along the north side of the lake.  No one really knew the status of the nest or if any eggs were being tended.  The last nest site I had seen was well hidden in last year's cat tails, so I'm not sure anyone will know if they are still using this location until, hopefully, some young colts are walking around.

Sandhill Crane landing

Another man with a few other photographers were working to call out some Virgina Rail they had heard.  I'm not adverse to using bird calls if it's done respectfully (of the birds and other birders/photographers) but, I'm afraid this guy was beyond anything I've seen before.  He had it on repeat and would simply flick on his little speaker and let it play for minutes on end at full blast.  We were at the top of the road embankment, and he along with some other photographers seemed of the opinion the birds would walk up the steep hill to them for a posed picture.... maybe I'm too unfamiliar with this bird, but I don't think so! 

Virginia Rail hiding

I decided to head down the embankment, partially to avoid the audio assault, but to see if some good old looking and quiet "hunting" would pay off.  It did!!  They are extremely hard to find and see, but I finally spotted one.  Now photographing them is completely another story!!  You can forget auto focus - trying to shoot into the thick grasses they like to hide in and expecting .  So the shots I got were hard fought, and topped of by the fact that they were of life bird #125!

Virginia Rail

 Till next time... Keep enjoying His handiwork!

Grass Lake Nesting Activity

A couple Sundays ago (starting to notice a pattern of posts being made weeks after the outing?) most of the kids were away at friends between church services so I headed to Grass Lake for a couple hours.

My first stop was an Osprey nest which a pair of raptors has built on top of a hydro pole right at the corner of Brant Waterloo Road and Shouldice Side Road, just south of Grass Lake.  The funny thing is, some generous souls had built a nest platform just a couple poles down the road.  The Osprey pair must not have approved, and built one on a narrow double plank wire support instead.  When I arrived, one was on the nest fussing around with the nesting material...

Osprey

...while the other one was keeping watch from a tree across the open field.

Osprey

Osprey

The Sandhill Cranes did not disappoint, and arrived shortly after I did.  It had been reported that their first nest attempt had been flooded out, but I soon found their new nest location in the middle of a thick clump of bulrushes within a mild view of the road.  Last year they had nested in a more secluded location, but not at all sheltered from view.  I was able to skirt down to the bottom of a bank and to the water's edge and when they raised their heads to look about, provided this view.

Sandhill Crane pair on nest. 
(note the second bird's head below)

Sandhill Crane

It's a mystery as to what gets the birds going, but with no notice or apparent cause, they will both stand up and begin their very loud, trumpeting raucous with great flourish.

Sandhill Cranes calling

It was also fun to meet Dave V there unexpectedly, and it was nice to share a unique spot down by the water compared to the view his friends had.  Did they see the results of the great location yet Dave?

Sandhill Cranes claiming their patch?

On the way out, another couple had found a Northern Water Snake which had made its way up the bank, a good ways from the water.  It posed for a long while which was helpful given I only had my large lens with me.  The sky was quickly darkening with heavy clouds which were soon to let loose some rain, so the lighting was hard to get a shot with enough depth of field to show much of the snake's markings.

Northern Water Snake

As I headed home, I did the usual, "one more stop" as I spotted a Horned Lark winging back and forth between the grassy field and the fence posts guarding the antenna field to the west.  I got off the first shots with a messy background and a single piece of grass in the way, and when I moved to change the background, I got one picture of the bird turning it's back in preparation to flee.  But the last shot nicely shows the "horns" it is named for.

Horned Lark

Horned Lark

I hope to return here soon to see both the Osprey and Sandhill Cranes sitting on nests full of eggs.

Keep enjoying HIS handiwork!

Birds With Horns!

There is something nice and clean and crisp about bird pictures on or in snow!  I brought the camera to work this morning for some reason, thinking maybe I'd see one of the small flocks of Snow Buntings and/or Horned Larks and Longspurs that I've spotted from time to time on my way to (almost never from) work over the last weeks.  I say "or" because I've only confirmed the Snow Buntings and not the other two till this morning.  The three birds often will mingle together in their small flocks, scavenging the snow for seeds in open fields, and along the sides of the roads picking up sand for grit.

male (l) and female (r) Horned Larks

At the new intersection corner of Hwy 5 and 8 south, I spotted a small group of about 10 birds flying short distance through the sparse weeds which had just had time to regrow after the construction of the traffic circle at Peter's Corners.  Up until recently, I had assumed every bird that size was a sparrow (or otherwise, affectionately referred to as "little brown jobbies".  A more careful look pays off.  They were all Horned Larks.

female Horned Lark

Horned Larks are larks (surprise) that live in much of North America, but breed in the Arctic tundra and southern plains and into Ontario with a strange "hole" in the middle (see the range map at Cornell's site.  I wonder what causes the "donut" effect.

I was only able to take pictures from the car window.  After doing a contortionist move to switch from the driver seat to the passenger without getting out of the car, I got these shots in the dull, overcast light of the morning.  They were busy eating seeds and singing away with their busy, chipper songs.

male (l) and female (r) Horned Lark

The last picture is nothing great, but shows the little feather tufts which give it the look of having small horns, thus the name.  You probably need to view the picture full size to really see them.  This was life bird number #112.

You can just see the tufts of feathers,
"horns" that are its name's sake.

Spring is coming soon, though I would certainly enjoy some more winter yet - seems we only really had one good snow fall, and temperatures which keep going up and down like a yo-yo!