Eastern Screech Owl Family :)

About a week ago, I got a shouty, all-in-captials text messages from my best friend`s daughter, saying she had baby owls in her backyard.  Last night I was finally able to go over and see the family.  They have been coming to my friend`s suburban backyard daily at dusk.  It was amazing to see them!  There are a total of 5 owls....at least one parent, 3 babies (still downy :) ) and the fifth could be a parent or a baby...they move around so much it is hard to tell.  It is neat to hear them communicating with each other, bobbing and circling while perched and hopping around!  Here are a few of the pictures I captured last night...none using flash.

Adult

Adult

Juvenille...he`s so FLUFFY!!!

Juvenille

Three-in-one shot...just missed capturing a fourth in this shot.

Getting darker...

Owl butt :)  Last shot of the night..fitting isn`t it?

Black Tern Attack...and other shots :)

Monday was a gorgeous day!  My brother and his son were in town from Ottawa, so we headed out to Point Pelee to enjoy the wonderful weather we were blessed with.  We walked the Marsh Boardwalk and spotted a Common Yellow throat (still no picture of one) blowing with the wind on the reeds, and enjoyed watching several Black Terns flying about.  It looked like they were enjoying the wind!  At one point, we stopped to watch a Black Tern that was on a mat in the water not too far from the edge.   It flew around and came right at Ryan.  We thought it was going to land on him!  It came around again, and the third time it came around, I managed to get a picture.  Here he is...

We were amazed at how close he got!  We thought maybe he didn`t see Ryan...then, he came around again for the fourth time...

And again....

Each time it seems he got a little bit closer!  Best we can tell, Ryan was standing near a nest and he didn`t like his sunglasses, because he didn`t come anywhere near me :)  Once we moved a little further up the Boardwalk, the Tern left Ryan alone.  Is it weird that I was jealous??

After the marsh, we headed to the Tip.  It was nice to see that the Tip is considerably longer than the last time I saw it.  The east side of Tip was really rough, which I thought was strange.  I only ever see the west side rough.  Anyway, there were lots of gulls and Double Crested Cormorants at the tip and surrounding waters.  Here are a few pics that I really liked...

I really like this next picture of the Grackle....most of the time I think of them as a nuisance bird constantly eating the suet I put out for the Downy and scaring off my preferred birds from the feeder.  The lighting was perfect to show just how beautiful Grackles really are.

East side of the tip...very rough!

Ryan and Elliot at the tip...I love the sand under his shoe :)

While waiting for the shuttle, we checked out the Barn Swallows....so happy to get these shots....

Look at that face!

Mom (or dad) came by with some food ;)

Oh...while on the Marsh Boardwalk, I also got a really good picture of a Viceroy...

After our 4+ hours at Point Pelee, we went to a little diner in Kingsville for dinner, stopped to see one of Ryan's friends in Harrow, then headed to Navy Yard Park in Amherstburg for ice cream.  When we got home, Mike took Mackenzie and Elliot to the river to watch the fire works.  It was a great day!

Peregrine Falcon Fledglings :)

Mike and I have been volunteering with the Canadian Peregrine Foundation a few times a week to keep an eye on the nest at the Ambassador Bridge.  It is amazing how these 6 birds (and other like-minded people) have become such a big part of our life latety!  For those unfamiliar with "our" peregrines, the parents are Voltaire (mom), Freddy (dad) and their four youngsters, Twitter (f), General Brock (m), Viper (f) and Eddie (f).  Twitter and General Brock fledged last Wednesday and Thursday repsectively.  Today, Mike got up at 5am and couldn't get back to sleep so he decided to go to the nest to see what has happening, as Viper and Eddie (4 days younger than the rest) were doing.  Well, he got there early enough to see both Viper and Eddie fledge!  He brought my camera....enjoy the pictures he got while trying to get the birds to a safer area.    I wish I could have it for myself, but who gets up at 5am on Sunday??

These pictures are of Viper....

 

Up off the ground....a little safer!

Viper calling up to a parent.

Viper

These next pictures are of Eddie (pronounced "Eee Dee"...originally thought she was boy).  You will notice all the downy feather she still has :)  Makes her look a bit like a chicken, in my opinion :)

Eddie looking up at the next box.

Since both birds landed on the ground, Mike had to shoo them to a safer place.  Viper shooed easily and hopped up on a fence.  Eddie showed no fear and walked right beside Mike.  A woman actually stopped and took a picture of him out walking his Peregrine!  At one point, Eddie headed right for him instead of going around him.

Eddie heading right for Mike...he had to move out of her way.

By the way, none of these photos have been cropped at all...they were that close!

Victoria Day Weekend 2012

I had a great time this weekend visiting with family and friends, as well as sneaking in a little birding.  On Sunday, after church, we stopped by the Ambassador Bridge to see the Peregrine Falcons that have been nesting there for a number of years...it was my first time going to see them.  We were blessed with seeing both parents and glimpses of a couple of the youngsters.  They have four this year!

On Monday we went to Point Pelee with a truckload of kayaks...the kids and a friend headed out into the marsh as we walked Centennial Trail across the road.  I got fleeting glimpses of a few birds I didn`t recognize, but we did see a female Wood Duck (life bird) leave a tree cavity and saw a few Wild Turkey (life bird) in the woods.  There were a lot of Orioles, Yellow Warblers, Red-winged Blackbirds.  We then headed to the marsh to see if the kids were done...they weren`t, so we walked a bit of the boardwalk and spotted a Common Yellow-throat (life bird) in the reeds as well as some Black Terns (life bird) fishing. Afterwards, we headed to a friend`s house in Essex and were blessed with spotting a Chipping Sparrow (life bird) chipping away on the fence and tree.  Here are a few pictures from this weekend....enjoy!

Peregrine parent at nest box.

The other parent...flew here from side of bridge when the other went to the nest box.

Fleeting glimpses of a couple of young...completely out of sight until parent returned.

Barn Swallow...so beautiful!!

Black Tern

Robin on nest.

What I think of when I think of Red-winged Blackbirds...perched on a reed :)

Wild Turkey

Chipping Sparrow at dusk.

By the way...I have added a gadget on the side of the blog that shows my life list, if you are interested.  It is amazing how fast it is growing :)

Owl Mobbing and Other Birds

Today. Was. Awesome!!!!!!  I dropped the girls off at the pool in Blenheim and headed to Erieau.  I was debating between stopping at the Lagoons or the Erieau Marsh, but I am sooooooo glad I went to the Marsh!  I got to witness what looked like a Great Horned Owl (not 100% of the ID) get mobbed by lots of Red-winged Blackbirds and Killdeer!  I heard all kinds of racket, looked and saw an owl being chased by a large flock!  I instantly put my bins down and grabbed my camera to capture the action...not the sharpest pictures, but show the scene quite well.

Just after I first heard the racket and saw the owl.  He ducked down below the reeds for a bit.

When he took off...the racket continued and many more birds than pictured were chasing him...

If you look closely, you can see a Red-winged Blackbird right on his tail!



The owl, now perched, got dive-bombed constantly, until he took off.

Just before the owl mobbing, this poor duck (Mallard female...I think), was being chased too!  The bird has his legs out like he was grabbing at the duck!

More harrassment!

The trees were dripping with Cedar Waxwings!  This is a life bird for me...they are probably the most elegant looking bird I have laid eyes on.

Cedar Waxwing

Three on one branch...there were TONNES!

Here are a few other shots I got today that I liked...

Killdeer cruising over the marsh.

Eastern Kingbird

Great Blue Heron

What an exciting day!