Grass Lake and West Shore of Hamilton Harbour

The very first day of June was a Sunday and I went to Grass Lake for a quiet afternoon. I started out walking on the south side of the 570 AM antenna field where five huge metal spires send the radio signal at the KW Cambridge area.  I met one of the technicians there one evening last summer and chatted with him for hours into the darkness. It was a very interesting chat as he explained lots of the technical information about the antennas and system. The first two (southern) towers actually cancel out background signals, the middle one sends out the radio signal, and then the last two (northern) towers repeat and boost the signal.

Being early afternoon, there wasn't a lot of bird activity, but a Tree Swallow perched for a picture for me not far from its nest box in the radio field.

male Tree Swallow

There were a few pairs of Bobolinks flying around, but not as many as I've seen in the past. I hope that's only because they were all attending nests or young.  But I finally saw as well as got a half decent photo of a female. I'd only ever seen the males before. I still love hearing the completely unique call of these birds. It is such a un-birdlike sound. I've noticed recently though, that Red-winged Blackbirds share slightly in that very different sound characteristic. Has anyone else noticed or heard it too?

female Bobolink

Along the same fence line, you are always sure to see some of the Savannah Sparrow pairs.  They, of all the birds in this area will allow you to get closest.  Moving slowly but surely, they often let me get quite close. It's interesting how different birds characteristically allow approximately the same distance until they are no longer comfortable with your approach.

Savannah Sparrow

Walking towards Grass Lake, a House wren was signing heartily in a small patch of mostly dead Pine Trees.

House Wren

As I walked along the dirt road which sweeps around the water's edge of the shallow, grassy lake, a pair of Sandhill Cranes quietly glided in. I was too slow on the draw and missed getting any pictures.  They landed quite far back in where the deeper, open water is and proceeded to make their presence known to the rest of the lake with their loud calls and comical head movements.

distant Sandhill Cranes

I got startled as I walked along the road edge when suddenly, something large enough to move a significant amount of the long grass at the top of the bank moved quickly towards the water's edge.  The creature turned out to be a large snapping turtle and made a mad slide down the bank, crashing into small trees and branches as it headed for the cover of the water. I went back to the spot and noticed a circular track it had made in the grass with an untouched area of grass left in the middle about a foot and half in diameter. Being early June, it's possible it was looking for a nest site, though it didn't seem like a prime location given a hard packed gravel shoulder with grass roots reinforcing it all.  Then again, those stocky legs and sharp claws would likely suit that task well.

I had heard that there was a Brown Thrasher nesting on the north west end of the lake, but saw no sign of the nest nor the bird. I headed home and decided to leave the opposite directly I usually do, and though not intentionally, past the supposed Thrasher location.  Just as I passed, a big Brown Thrasher flew right in front of me and swept up and landed in a dead tree.  Quickly stopping and trying to get my window down and camera up and ready was too long for the bird to get wary and it flew. I got out and after some searching finally found it way up in a big tree.  I climbed a bank for a better view and still got some nice pictures of life bird #204.

Brown Thrasher

Later that week, I headed out early in the morning before work to the east shore of Hamilton Harbour close 1to the Canadian Centre for Inland Waters on the west side of the QEW.  There had been reports of American Pelicans regularly visiting the man made islands for a number of days and I thought I'd see if I could get some pictures in the early morning sun. Turns out I waited too long and they were not reported again.  But I got to see the large colony of Caspian Terns nesting there mixed among the Ring-billed Gulls doing the same.  You can just make out the fuzzy, well camouflaged young of both species in the pictures.  I'm not sure what the Tern in the middle was doing. It had caught a nice little fish, but was just standing in the same spot for quite a while.  I'm surprised it was not attacked by the other birds around it and either forced to down it quickly, fly away to protect his catch, or drop it and flee. But none of those things happened and I'm not sure what it was waiting for.

nesting Caspian Terns and Ring-billed Gulls

Sharing the same island, but perched on the trees that are barely surviving the acidic anointing they are receiving are the Double-crested Cormorants also attending to young.

nesting Double-crested Cormorant

I was standing on a narrow beach that was just beside a flight path where, over and over again, Cormorants were swooping down from just crossing the QEW bridge for a short, low approach over the water to the island. Many were still bringing nesting material and after many pictures I finally got a half decent one.

Double-crested Cormorant with nesting material

Until next time...
Keep enjoying HIS handiwork!

Lunch in Bayfront Park

I went to Bayfront Park for lunch, almost a month ago now, having not been there for a long time.  It's a quick drive from the office meaning I have more time to wander about in my one hour lunch break. It's a trade-off though because though there is more time, it's not always that active on the bird front.  Being late spring still, I thought I'd see what might be around though.

I headed along the marina side of the park and quite quickly caught sight of a Chestnut-sided Warbler busy collecting bugs.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Further along the path a Song Sparrow didn't notice me as it busily caught more bugs that thought they were hidden from harms way in the crevices of tree bark.

Song Sparrow

Up above, a silent but active little bird caught my attention.  It's the first clear shot I've gotten of a Warbling Vireo. It took me a while to ID this bird - what I had been expecting to see of the typical yellow flanks aren't really very evident.

Warbling Vireo

Off the trail, a little ways up is a low area which is not manicured lawn like most of the rest of the park. Here there are a number of bird houses that have been put up last year.  Most of them are now well used by a little group of Tree Swallows. A few have been commandeered by House Sparrows.  One male Tree Swallow let me approach quite close and I got this full frame picture.  Too bad it's still not terribly sharp.  I think between me zooming in too far (I try not to go past 400mm on my lens as it gets too soft) and some wind, the focus is a bit softer than it should be for such a nice close shot.

male Tree Swallow

In the same area, a pair of American Gold finches were bathing in a puddle of water.

male American Goldfinch bathing.

Walking back along the boat launch side I watched the Caspian Terns fishing in the waters below.  I kind of like how they are softly framed by the reeds in the foreground. Not often you get two terns together that close either.

Caspian Terns

Walking on a little further there was a pair of Yellow Warblers.  I managed to get a picture of both of them.

female Yellow Warbler

male Yellow Warbler
(note the barring on the breast)

While moving around the tree trying to get on the right side of the bright little yellow birds, I was scolded harshly by an American Robin.  Soon I found out why...

American Robin on nest.

As I headed back to the car, I caught the soft but high pitched notes of Cedar Waxwings and found a small group of them eating what I think are high-bush cranberries.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing

In the end, it was a nice relaxing stroll with quite a varied find of birds.  None new, but some nice close encounters.  The Waxwings were nice a close which was great, but the photo shoot was cut short by rain. I just made it back to the car as the deluge started.

Until next time...
Keep enjoying HIS handiwork!

Catching up from the Summer - Valley Inn Road

I'm home from church with JoyAnna who is wrapping up her chicken pox experience, and thought I'd try and catch up on post from this summer.  I've been making fewer and fewer lunch outings these days. Possibly laziness, but maybe also a bit of needing to find a couple new spots to visit.  Though this time I went back to a often visited location, Valley Inn Road, to see if there were any signs of the Northern Flicker fledglings.

When I headed to the nest hole I had found earlier in the spring, there was no sign of the birds.  However, through a gap in the trees there, I could see a Great Blue Heron which had landed down in the Grind Stone Creek ponds.

Great Blue Heron

After landing, it had plumped up its feathers and was displaying its breeding plumage, wispy feathers on its back, breast and back of its head.  The next shot shows how tightly it can compress its feathers to minimize its profile while hunting.

Great Blue Heron

More recently I saw a bird at this same location and with help, got a pretty firm ID as a Warbling Vireo.  I briefly saw a bird with similar characteristics again in roughly the location that day and got two pictures.  I'm pretty sure it's the Warbling Vireo again.  The black tip on the beak, hints of the markings by the eyes contributed to my tentative ID.  I'm hoping for a good view and some clear pictures some day.

poor views of a Warbling Vireo??

I headed a bit further along the trail from the Flicker nest and walked down to the Grindstone Creek bank.  As I approached I flushed what was probably one of the adults from the nest and it warily eyed me from a sapling across the water.

Northern Flicker

 
As I turned around and walked back along the trail, the familiar song of the Carolina Wren let me know a little bird would be perched on a prominent branch out in open somewhere, head thrown back and its little beak wide open singing the tune God gave it to boast.  It was.

Carolina Wren

The treat of the afternoon though was a little fledgling, alone on a branch of a dead tree, that was fluttering and periodically chirping away a call for attention in the way of food.  I didn't have to wait long for the parent to come, bringing a meal fit for a young Tree Swallow.  These two series are the result of a number of attempts to get on the right side of the action and the mid day sun.

Tree Swallow fledgling anticipating a meal.

Tree Swallow fledgling and parent.

 

Tree Swallow fledgling and parent.

 

Tree Swallow fledgling and parent.

I was also trying out the RAW file format on my camera.  I'm glad I did for this series, as the JPG pictures were somewhat over exposed.  Recording in RAW means there is more data recorded without the compression and "finalization" done for the JPG file format.  However, it means there is more noise in the pictures as the camera also automatically does its own noise reduction before finalizing the JPG file.  Amazing what all goes on in the little machine that clicks away, processes and records reams of data in split seconds. But as I've mentioned before, it begs that we notice the meager comparison to the amazing gift of sight, comprehension, decision abilities we've been created with.  Scientists are only coming close to just replicating the type of processing power simple neuron networks have.  And our brains contain more than 100 billion.

Tree Swallow fledgling.

Tree Swallow fledgling being fed.

Tree Swallow fledgling being fed.

Tree Swallow fledgling being fed.

Tree Swallow fledgling being fed.

By the time I had to go, this little guy was still sitting there awaiting the next load of freshly caught bugs.

Tree Swallow fledgling.

It is now later in the evening and I'll finish this post and head to bed to ready myself for another week of work.

Till next time,

Keep enjoying HIS handiwork.

From Firewood to Birds

A few Saturdays ago I was cutting up a dead tree along a busy road, and a driver did a u-turn, stopped, and got out.  He approached asked if the place was mine?  Uh oh! No, but it was in the ditch so I figured it was fair game, was my reply, wondering if I was going to be challenged on my ability to claim it. Turns out he wanted me to cut up a tree where he lives, and I could have the majority of it for my favour to him in cutting it up.

I did both of us the favour and got a good trailer load of nice dry Elm.  They live on a large tree farm, with a 2 acre, fish stocked irrigation pond, and immediately I started noticing all the birds around.  I had to make a run back for lunch with my original load of wood, and with the gentleman's permission and encouragement, returned with my camera as well.  After the "work" (cutting firewood is the fun part!) of cutting the tree down, chasing a Yellow-rumped Warbler around some big willow trees.

male Yellow-rumped Warbler

male Yellow-rumped Warbler

male Yellow-rumped Warbler (here you can see the yellow rump)

male Yellow-rumped Warbler

Next I headed to the pond where a group of probably about a hundred mixed swallows were hunting.  On the way, a Chipping Sparrow stopped to preen allowed me to approach quite closely for a nice picture.

Chipping Sparrow

On to the Swallows... you'd think with that many flying about, I'd have captured at least one or two good flight pictures.  Harder than it seems - though I did start learning some tricks by the end.  Zoom out and let the bird come into view, rather than trying to zoom to extents and show them farther away.  My first intuition was that it would be easier for the latter, to follow and capture, but it wasn't in my experience.

female Tree Swallow

male Barn Swallow

I was trying so hard to capture the white tail feathers on the barn swallow.  When it fans its tail out, there is a band of white that shows, and almost looks translucent.  You can see it in the picture above, but it's more displayed (maybe not more visible here) in the picture below.

male Tree Swallow (l) male Barn Swallow (r)

three Swallow species: male Barn Swallow (background), Bank Swallow? (mid),

male Tree Swallow (foreground)

male Tree Swallow

male Barn Swallow

As I headed up past the farm house, the lady of the house pointed out a nesting bird in a hanging basket she had left when she noticed the eggs in it.  A House Finch pair has set up home there.  I'm a little perplexed though... the closeup shows what I'm guessing are little larvae of some sort, but the eggs would not have hatched yet, and so I'm not sure why the male would be there with a delivery of food.  Could it be that its infected somehow with a parasite? Anyone know anything about this at all?

House Finch on hanging basket nest.

(note the tiny larvae on the closeup on the left)

After thanking the kind homeowners, I spotted the Chipping Sparrow again.  It was searching for bugs in the grass lawn, and passed behind a large tree.  Anticipating it moving in the same direction, I took the opportunity to quickly sneak up close with the tree blocking my approach.  It came into view just as I thought and gave some nice full frame pictures and didn't seem to mind my presence.

Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

On my way out the lane way, I had to stop once more for a male Brown-headed Cowbirds that was posing on the tipsy fence of the neighbouring farmer, and then it joined it's mate in the corn stubbled field.

male Brown-headed Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird pair

I saw a few other birds that I have now forgotten with the passage of time.  I hope to get a chance to pop out there again some time as I'm sure there are more to discover.

Thanks very much Brant or the opportunity to wander around your place.  I'll be sure to "warn" you first if/when I come again, if not only to keep your "killer" Jack Russells off of me. :)

Keep enjoying HIS handiwork!