April Recap

Well, I started working full time at the beginning of April and it shows. I've only been able to get out a handful of times throughout the month but have managed to pick up most of the expected migrants at some point.

The Rice Lake Barrow's Goldeneye found on March 29th by Scott Gibson was a nice surprise. I missed it on the 30th but when I pulled up on the 31st, Jean Iron already had it scoped. It left shortly after as seemed to often be the case, with it relocating further down the lake only to return later on. A River Otter made an appearance as well. They were fairly regular around Thunder Bay but I haven't seen one this far south before. A couple of Rusty Blackbirds were calling from the treetops just East of the Barrow's spot which was a bonus.

On March 31st a Short-eared Owl was found by Matthew Tobey at an industrial area in Peterborough. A couple of days later I drove down to check it out and was pleasantly surprised to have the owl fly past my car with lots of daylight left. It slowly cruised over the field before abruptly dropping on some hapless small rodent I'm sure, and then not reappearing before I had to leave.

April 6th had Abby and I find a male Ruddy Duck at the Lakefield Sewage Lagoons, the first that I've seen in the county. Colin Jones had seen it a couple of hours prior but we weren't aware. I took a couple of record shots that ended up being bad even by my standards and as such, I'm omitting them.

I finally saw a Fox Sparrow for the year. I was starting to worry about missing this species. On April 19 I heard one singing on River Road near David Fife Line before work. Yesterday, I was in the same area and as luck would have it a Fox Sparrow flew across the road in front of me.

Fox Sparrow -- River Road

On April 21st I made a run through some of my favourite areas. The 3rd Line of Douro, which I used to live on, has Sandhill Cranes that stay all summer. I found one foraging in a field and another flew over while calling. When I moved there from Toronto about 12 years ago I remember being mystified as to what that sound was until I finally saw them.

Sandhill Crane -- Third Line of Douro

There is also a large wetland along the 3rd Line that I used to drive through every day to get to work. Occasionally I would see Virginia Rails on the side of the road, usually disappearing back into the cattails in a hurry. I've found that when I stay in my car they tend to be alot less wary. Yesterday I sat for about 15min at a prime piece of real estate and was lucky enough to have one wander along the edge of the cattails before stopping to preen itself. This is only the second one that I've actually seen in the last three years.

Virginia Rail preening -- Sawer Creek wetland, Third Line of Douro

Virginia Rail

The Broad-winged Hawks have also flooded the area over the last few days. It is almost impossible to not see them if you're in the right places. I found a couple on River Road as well as some around Stoney Lake.

Broad-winged Hawk -- River Road

I also finally found some Eastern Bluebirds in the county. They had been reported by Don Sutherland near Young's Point a while ago and on my second trip out, I found a pair.

Eastern Bluebirds -- North School Road, Young's Point

Northern Rough-winged Swallows have arrived over the last week with as many as 6 at the Industrial area of Peterborough off of Fisher Drive. This year I've been trying to get pictures, or digital images or whatever you want to call them, of as many species as I can. With that said, I usually don't spend alot of time at it. The flight shots weren't working with the Rough-wingeds so I crouched near a piece metal that they regularly perched on and waited until one landed. I'm quite happy with the result.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow -- Cute or what?

 Blue-headed Vireos are back and can't be missed if you stop regularly along Northey's Bay Road north of Stoney Lake. Pine Warblers are also singing everywhere up there, mostly from the mature White Pine stands. There are a few Yellow-rumped Warblers around as well.

Blue-headed Vireo -- Northey's Bay Road

I was also down at Presqu'ile for a few hours last Sunday. Nothing too exciting, but a flock of mostly Yellow-rumpeds with Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a Palm Warbler was a nice sign of things to come. A couple of Dunlin were at Owen Point.

Palm Warbler -- Presqu'ile

In other news I saw something that I haven't seen before yesterday.

Treehog

Anyone remember the dancing frog from Bugs Bunny?

Just needs a hat.

Salamanders and Such

The migrants are still steadily arriving here in the Peterborough area. The meltwater ponds were re-filled after all of the thunderstorms last week, keeping some good spots full of birds awhile longer. A pond that formed at Mather's Corners has had good numbers of Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, American Black Ducks, Mallards and Canada Geese. There have also been some American Wigeon present at times as well as the odd Gadwall and Northern Shoveler, both of which I haven't had the luck or persistance to see. A Snow Goose was reported there and actually stayed around for a few days, not a common sight in the county.

Yes, that really is a Snow Goose

I had a Wilson's Snipe fly over the Peterborough Airport doing a winnowing display the other day and there were at least three American Woodcocks near Trent University a couple of nights ago. Two were doing the "peent-ing" thing while one circled overhead doing the twittering display.

The amphibians are also in full swing. Spring Peepers have been calling for a while now along with the Chorus Frogs and Wood Frogs. Leopard Frogs are all over the roads in places with some Green Frogs mixed in. I haven't heard any Gray Treefrogs yet, but I'm sure the time is coming.

A couple of nights ago just when the seasonably cold weather hit, Abby and I spent the evening in prime salamander territory. The salamanders were on the move. We spent about an hour and a half slowly driving around during which time we found more than 30 Blue-spotted Salamanders and a single pool that had around 30 Spotted Salamanders in it.

Blue-spotted Salamander

Spotted Salamander

And finally, some Wild Turkeys.

Female turkey:  you're going to want to watch your back

Hawk and another Goose -- Peterborough March 16 2012

Mike Burrell reported a Greater White-fronted Goose south of Peterborough today.

Abby and I drove the area yesterday evening and came up with 48 Wild Turkeys, 13 Northern Pintail, 2 Green-winged Teal, a Wood Duck, a Turkey Vulture, Eastern Meadowlarks, Song Sparrows and a Great Blue Heron among other things, but nothing special hiding in all the Canada Geese. Anyway, I arrived a couple of hours after Mike's report and it was still there. It was a bit distant for the 300mm but as a record shot, I'm more than happy.

Greater White-fronted Goose -- Briar Hill Wetland, Peterborough

In other news, there was a male Long-tailed Duck on Little Lake (the first I've seen in Peterborough County although one overwintered in Hastings less than a kilometer into Northumberland) and the Horned Grebe is still hanging around.

On the morning of the 14th I checked the Lakefield Sewage Lagoons and finally saw a flock of Snow Buntings locally. Shortly after that, a Red-shouldered Hawk soared over while being harrassed by an American Crow.

Red-shouldered Hawk

I rarely see these guys so it was a really nice surprise.

Cackling Goose -- Peterborough, March 11 2012

After scanning through many thousands of Canada Geese over the last few months, I finally found something different!

I dropped by Little Lake at 1:30pm and was surprised to see a lone Horned Grebe off of "the point" in Little Lake Cemetery.

Horned Grebe

There were also 57 Hooded Mergansers, 78 Ring-necked Duck, 5 American Wigeon and a Redhead among other things.

American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck and friends

There were also a pair of Merlins flying over the cemetery calling incessantly. At least three Iceland Gulls were loafing with the usual crowd of Ring-billeds and Herrings.

Iceland Gull

Abby and I returned in the evening for a quick look through the remaining ducks. I scanned through a smallish flock of Canada Geese on the water and spotted one that was much smaller than the rest. After scrutinizing so many small Canada Geese, there was no mistaking an actual Cackling Goose.

Cackling Goose

In other Peterborough news, many migrants are back in full force. Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds are becoming more common every day. The city is getting close to bursting with American Robins. During one of the warmer days last week I saw more than 50 gathered on a small patch of exposed grass.

I found another flock of Bohemian Waxwings on March 4th, this one a bit more substantial.

Bohemian Waxwings

It can be funny how easy it is to find things when you stop looking for them.

In even more other news, I made it down to see the Cranberry Marsh "Oregon" Junco on February 28 2012. As I looked through a group of Dark-eyed Juncos I heard something behind me and turned to see the Oregon about six feet away on the path. If only it was always this easy!

The Cranberry Marsh "Oregon"

It was a pretty good day. I made a bunch of stops and went as far as the Scarborough Bluffs to follow up a tip on an Eastern Screech Owl. At Lynde Shores Conservation Area I saw a Song Sparrow, Winter Wren and Red-bellied Woodpecker (and a flock of six White-throated Sparrows the following day.) In the late evening at Thickson Woods I saw a Northern Mockingbird and a Northern Harrier and heard the resident Great-horned Owl.

Eastern Screech Owl

Algonquin Provincial Park -- March 9 2012

Abby and I drove up to Algonquin on March 9th. We endured whiteout conditions at times and a fun drive home, but managed to see a few specialties.

As we drove into the park from the east gate, we saw a Rock Pigeon just sitting on the shoulder of Highway 60. It didn't seem to be injured. It was probably the most unusual sighting of the day!

Our first stop at Opeongo Road produced a flock of Evening Grosbeaks and a few Red-breasted Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees and Pine Siskens. There was also a Pine Marten at the gate that we managed to get a couple of looks at before a group of photographers got too close and scared it away.

The Visitor's Center had a few birds around including more Evening Grosbeaks, a Hairy Woodpecker and some Blue Jays.

Evening Grosbeak at the Visitor's Center

We did the Spruce Bog Boardwalk next as the snow became increasingly heavy. A bunch of White-winged Crossbills flew over during the hike but none were cooperative enough to land in sight. We saw the Pine Marten on the suet feeder but it was gone before I got my camera out of its bag. A couple of Boreal Chickadees were calling around the suet feeder. We managed to briefly get a good look at one of them. There was also a single Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker and Brown Creeper. While on the boardwalk, a pair of Gray Jays silently glided down to examine us. They were surprisingly reserved for Gray Jays and would only take peanuts off of the ground.

Gray Jay

Gray Jays are great. They're usually so bold and on top of that they're really fluffy. What's not to love?

Gray Jay showing off fluffiness

We also saw a pair of Common Redpolls sitting in an Aspen above the parking lot before we left. These were the first that I've seen this year.

Bohemians! Finally... Feb 24 2012

After a couple of failed attempts and a couple of flocks of Cedar Waxwings, I finally found some Bohemians. After driving through a likely area north of Lakefield and coming up short, I went straight through town where I spotted a nicely fruit-laden crabapple directly across from the Foodland entrance. I pulled over and a quick scan with the binos through the blizzard produced three Bohemian Waxwings.



Bohemian Waxwing



Mmmmmm! Crabapples!

First attempt



Still needs more work



A bit more mashing...

...and it's gone

I love these guys. At Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, I would be late for my 8:30am Chemistry labs because there would be Bohemian Waxwings in the crabapples right outside the windows in the Chemistry hall -- sometimes right on the window sills. Hard to resist stopping to look at them from 6" away!

And for comparison's sake, here is a shot of some Cedar Waxwings on Feb 16 2012.

Cedar Waxwings

On Feb 16, I also saw my first Peterborough area Sharp-shinned Hawk of the year (thanks, eBird.) It was a large female hunting American Goldfinches and others at the bird feeder. I saw a small male back on Dec 08 2011 that actually sat still for a minute. I really like this photo.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Presqu'ile Provincial Park -- February 10 2012

Due to being really busy with other things, I haven't had much time for updating this blog or birding for that matter. I hope to post more frequently as the year progresses. I guess we'll see how that goes.

I did see an adult Northern Goshawk on consecutive days this week which was a nice surprise. The first time it flushed from the side of the road and was only in view long enough to call it a Goshawk. The following morning while brushing my teeth, the squirrels outside the bathroom window freaked out and ran for cover. Some movement caught my eye and I had enough time to grab the binos and have about a five second look at a perched adult Northern Goshawk about 100 feet away. This is only the second one that I've seen while living here. The other was an immature that was perched on top of the cage of my old Ringneck Dove. The dove was not impressed.

Northern Goshawk eyes exotic food

Anyway, what a relief to be able to head out to Presqu'ile, even if it was just for half a day. I saw an American Kestrel on the way down, as well as a couple of Red-tailed Hawks.

I went down Bayshore Drive first to check out some of the feeders, as well as the ducks in the bay. Everything that would be expected was there including large numbers of Mute Swan, Redhead, Greater Scaup and a few Canvasback, Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye. The Greater White-fronted Goose hasn't been seen for a few days and wasn't mixed in with any of the distant Canada Geese that I scanned through.



Redhead



The Northern Shrike that has been present for most of the winter at Calf Pasture can easily be seen from Bayshore Road. It was perched on a power line.

I stopped at 83 Bayshore to check out the multitude of feeders. There were House Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, American Goldfinches, Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, White-breasted Nuthatches and a Carolina Wren that has been around all winter.

Carolina Wren

There was a flock of sixteen American Robins making alot of noise at the back of the yard. Some were even doing some half-hearted singing.

American Robin

As I was watching a pair of Mourning Doves sitting in the feeder at 186 Bayshore, a Cooper's Hawk came out of nowhere and just missed them.

There was a Red Fox that I ran into a number of times throughout the day. It wasn't too concerned with people.

Red Fox

At the lighthouse the wind was brisk. The big swells made picking up birds with the scope difficult. Despite the distance, a quick scan with binoculars revealed the male Barrow's Goldeneye that has been present since December. It was with a number of Common Goldeneye but easily distinguished at distance by the greater amount of black on the back. I finally scoped it and had a good look as it disappeared and reappeared behind swells while continuing to dive frequently.

I saw a group of deer near the calf pasture that were more confused by my car than scared.

White-tailed Deer

Heading back toward the park entrance from the lighthouse, I spotted a Ruffed Grouse up in a tree. These guys aren't common in the park, this being the first one that I've seen.

Ruffed Grouse

On the way out I stopped at Owen Point long enough to see a Snowy Owl. With the wind and snow blowing straight in off of the lake, it was unpleasant. I'm sure that there are still more out there.

I'll end off with a Bufflehead and a Mute Swan.