Birds in my Backyard and Beyond: Canada Goose

Showing posts with label Canada Goose. Show all posts

Friday, March 8, 2013

It`s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.....well, almost.

Finally!! Nice sunny day, mild temps and a day off! I have been itching to get outside! I started a second part-time job this January and have had absolutely no time to get outside and see what is happening bird-wise in the area.

I slept in a little later than I had planned, but still managed to get out of the house by 10am. I decided to head to Lakeview Marina to see if there were any nice ducks hanging around. When I got there, I was surprised to see a few photographers with their cameras set up on tri-pods, pointed at Peche Island. There had to be at least 20 Bald Eagles, in various plumage! Some were on the ice, some flying, some perched in trees on the island. I was also quite happy to see a Trumpeter Swan (life bird)! All of these birds were too far off for my camera, so please forgive the grainy-ness of these pictures...

5 Bald Eagles (the ones on the ice) and a Trumpter (far right)

Adult Bald Eagle

As for ducks, the only duck I could make out were Common Mergansers and all attempts to photograph them turned out horrible! I did manage a couple shots of other birds that were plentiful...

The Gull managed to sneak in the shot at the last minute!

Gulls are fun to photograph :)

After the Marina, I went to Hillman Marsh where I heard my first Red-winged Blackbird of the season...spring really is coming :) There were lots of Canada Geese, Mallards and even a pair of Northern Pintails (life bird) in the water. As I approached the water from the trees, the Canada Geese sounded the alarm and this is what I got...

A mass exodus of all the waterfowl :(

Anything that did stick around was quite a ways out in the water and by now, the sun was in the wrong spot to get any decent pictures.

I then decided to head to Point Pelee. This is the first time I have been this winter, which is unusual...normally I have been 3-4 times since January. I didn`t see any birds of note but enjoying walking the trails, even if they were really muddy. All in all, a great day!

Here are the birds I remember seeing today, in no particular order:

1) Bald Eagles

2) Great Blue Heron

3) Common Merganser

4) Canada Geese

5) Ring-billed Gull

6) Trumpeter Swan

7) Mute Swan

8) Red-tailed Hawk

9) Northern Harrier

10) Red-winged Blackbird

11) Northern Cardinal

12) Black-capped Chickadee

13) Downy Woodpecker

14) Wild Turkey

15) Mallards

16) Northern Pintail

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Heather`s Paradise and Ojibway

I was invited to birdwatch in my friend Heather`s paradise of a backyard. They are fortunate to have a lot that backs onto a forested area and are blessed with many species of birds and other animals. We heard a lot of birds, but very few showed themselves to us (and we were talking, so we probably missed a bunch). Aside from the few pictures below we also saw a Yellow-rumped Warbler flitting about in the trees. Two life birds for me were a Tufted Titmouse and a Carolina Wren :)

Female Baltimore Oriole

Best we could tell, this is a Carolina Wren...by markings and song. Life bird!

Tufted Titmouse! Life bird!!

After leaving Heather`s, I decided to stop by Ojibway. I don`t have alot of luck there...Dwayne always has beautiful shots of a large variety of birds there... Anyway, I still enjoyed my time there and had to chuckle at the Red-bellied Woodpecker who insisted on drinking from the hummingbird feeder.

A turtle sunning itself. Ì don`t know the variety...need more field guides :)

A couple of Canada Goose chicks...so adorable :)

This one makes me laugh...it`s like the ones on the logs are trying to show the one in the water what to do :)

Two of about 6 White-throated Sparrows along the path. These two had a blast splashing around.

A butterfly who posed for me....need another field guide :)

Red-bellied Woodpecker a.k.a The Contortionist.

Hanging upside down to get at the hummingbird feeder....

Twisting to get his bill in the hole.

All in all, it was a wonderful day :)

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

A Walk in the Woods

On Easter Monday, my brother's sister-in-law suggested we go to a wooded area near the Brittania Water Purification Plant (still in Ottawa). She mentioned that the chickadees there eagerly feed from your hands....that was enough for me! I was so excited to go! It was beautiful! Lots of evidence of woodpeckers and beavers, but none were spotted. We did see lots of Canada Geese and Mallards and a tonnes of Chickadees who were very happy to take our sunflower seeds :) None of wildlife was shy....they all came right up to us as soon as they heard us! We fed everyone!