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!

Strange Perch-fellows

In cleaning up some of my picture files, I noticed I had completely forgotten to post that I had seen a Sharp-shinned Hawk on a visit to Bayfront Park back in January.  Although not typical for January, that was another warm day which seems to have become somewhat typical of the weather this winter.  Of note, although we've had an unseasonably warm winter in much of North America, many other areas of the world have had a frigidly cold winter.  Typically I like my winters snowy and cold.  Makes keeping the house warm with the wood stove that much more rewarding after having cut and split it the spring before.

Sharp-shinned Hawk and Canada Goose

However, I believe I was out enjoying the warm weather, looking for some of the bird rareties which had been reported along the trail.  And I had my usual lack of success.  But I did get to see this Sharp-shinned Hawk which was moving between the railway cars in the rail yard which abuts the Bayfront Trail.  When I came upon it, it was odd to see it along side about 10 Canadian Geese up on the rail cars!  Although a Sharpy would not take on a large goose, I would assume this would not have been a comfortable arrangement in the eyes of the geese.  They didn't seem bothered in the slightest though.

The high chain-link fence along the trail that I was shooting through kept me from getting any closer, which I would have loved to do. Raptors are really my keenest interest, but they are so hard to get near to in their natural element. It's hard to tell Sharp-shinned hawks apart from Cooper's Hawks with their very similarly markings and shape. Some of the key distinguishing differences I try to remember are these:

Head: 

Sharpy's head looks small compared to the body;

Cooper's looks more like the proportion of a Red-tailed Hawk

Tail:

Sharpy's tail is more squared and the cooper's rounded. 

Cooper's have a thicker white tip where the Sharpy's is much finer.

Here is a great link which gives good tips to tell the difference:  http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/accipiterIDtable.htm


On my way home from work that night, I was treated with a beautiful sunset.  Many people also did the same thing as me and parked along York Street, just past the high bridge, and tried to capture with camera what you really can only truly enjoy in person.  What beauty has been given to us to enjoy.  Thinking of trying to capture something as grand as a sunset, gets you to ponder how amazing the eye is: it can quickly focus far and near, adjust to a huge range of light levels, registers a splendid range of colours, and captures a very large field of view of almost 180 degrees.  This last ability of the eye is why capturing a grand view like a sunset with a camera just doesn't seem to match our memories from being there in person.

Sunset over Cootes Paradise

And though we do not even think to doubt there was a team of designers who produced the cameras we use and enjoy, can it be comprehended that our eyes are any less the handiwork of an amazing Designer?