Winter Oddities

Last week I went out for a walk one morning before we were about to get our second snow storm in less than a week here in Toronto.  That's a whole lot of nothing to people in other regions but here in T.O. that can mean chaos.  Anyway, I took advantage of the cold dry morning before the weather turned bad.

I hit a lake park just to look around.  I was hoping for a random snowy owl sighting but that didn't happen.  Also the water was frozen over in the marina and pond areas so duck sightings were further out than I liked (I enjoy seeing and hearing the long-tailed ducks at this time of year).

It was a lot of cardinals and chickadees through my walk and not much else.  I like both those species but being down by the lake, I was really hoping for something different.

The birding Gods must have heard my silent wishing because suddenly this appeared in a tree right in front of me, maybe 12 ft from the ground.

A juvenile black-crowned night heron!

Then about 100 ft over I found a second night heron.

Black-crowned night herons just weren't on my birding radar for a walk in mid-February.  I left the park pleasantly surprised, heading for home as that thing called work was going to start for me in a couple hours.

I think about the last couple months and my winter outings.  This hasn't been my first outing with some "winter oddities".

On New Year's Day, Angie and I were out for a morning and chanced upon a grey catbird.  We were floored to see this bird.  Another just not on the radar.

A couple weeks later I was out for a walk near home and saw 3 common grackles.  I knew one was in this woodlot as I had seen it in December but now there were more.

As I waited for a moment to take a decent photo through the bush, 2 red-winged blackbirds flew overhead.  

Grackles and red-winged blackbirds aren't as surprising to see here as the other species above but I am still not used to seeing them in mid-winter.

There's a male eastern towhee overwintering near us and I have tried for it a couple times but haven't been successful.  Two winters prior I saw a female in the same park.  I remember hearing it long before I found it and was pretty stoked at my find.

Another park not too far from us there's an eastern meadowlark overwintering.  I tried for this bird twice and was not successful.  I abandoned going again because of what I have heard about how some photographers are conducting themselves.  Big long lenses yet still encroaching on the bird's space.  The numbers of people gathering to see this bird deters me.  Pandemic or not, I will pass.  I know not everyone going to see the bird and/or get photos is "trouble" but I'm more recluse than usual.  I'm fatigued through this second wave of covid and do everything I can to take my mind away for a while, that means having a stress free outing in the wild world.

Here's one more winter oddity right here at home.  A white-throated sparrow.  We see WTSP throughout the winter in most of the parks we visit but to have one with us all winter in our backyard is not a normal thing.  I see him almost daily and if I cannot spot him, I can usually hear him singing every morning.  He's my happy bird.  If you have followed my blogs over the years, you might have realized that I have a fondness for the white-throated sparrow.

So what about you, my "reader friend", are you going out?  Are you finding little winter surprises?

Update before I start posting this blog link throughout social media, I finally spotted that eastern towhee overwintering in a park just down the road from us.  Hooray!

Rob's Latest Adventure

As most of you know, I randomly see owls after dark on my way home from work through the winter months.  It is mostly snowy owls.

Some can be hard to spot because of poor lighting (or no lighting).  Then there's the distance of how far off the road they are but I have gotten a lot better at finding them over the years.  

Maybe it is just that I am so used to my drive home from work, that while I don't think I remember everything, I do notice when suddenly something new is in the same old?  

There was that one winter when a great horned owl popped up.

Two winters later, there was that long-eared owl.

This winter, the owl sightings have been less.  There seems to be fewer snowys in the area.  Another factor is there is a banding and relocating program at Pearson Airport.  Last I heard, 8 snowys had been trapped and relocated from the airport this winter.  Why do they do this?  For safety reasons.  Big birds getting sucked into the turbines of an airplane can be very bad for all involved, humans and of course the bird.  I don't think this is the first winter that they have been doing this, but it is the first winter where I am more aware of it because someone I know is a part of the program.

Anyway, I still see one or two owls along the 401 a couple nights a week.  The birds normally like to sit on light posts in the middle lanes.  They have a great view to the fields on either side of the highway.  For me though, all I can do is spot them and keep driving.  There is no safe place to pull over and have a better view and take photos.  There are no side roads nearby where I am seeing these owls.

About a week and a half ago I noticed a very dark bird on a lamp post further along the highway.  In my quick observation of it, it didn't appear to be a snowy.  It was really dark and all I could see was the back of the bird.  I'm keeping with the flow of traffic so my view is only seconds, passing it doing about 120 km/hr.  I saw the bird three times over five nights, always on the same post.  I thought maybe a great horned but the head didn't seem right to me, it was too round.  I thought maybe a barred owl.  Dark body, round head, yes that could be it.  There seems to be a lot more barred owls around.  I couldn't say 100% but I was leaning towards this species.  All I knew was that I would continue to keep an eye out for the owl in the coming nights.

Backside of a barred owl I saw, just for reference.

This past Wednesday morning I decided to try and find this mystery owl.  There is a green space right along the Etobicoke Creek which is almost directly south to the lamp post where this owl has been sitting at night.  Maybe it is spending it's days there in the woods?  I have been to this area before and it always seemed like a great spot for an owl.  I went to these woods, looking for owls, and here's what I saw.

I saw two red-tailed hawks.

There also was the usual woodland bird species scattered about.  Cardinals, chickadees, juncos, white-throated sparrows and white-breasted nuthatches.

I passed a familiar landmark in my search.  I know I blogged about my visit to this area before and discovering this old beast.  Initially I thought it was a Chevy Vega but after a few discussions with others, we all now lean towards a Ford Maverick.

I next checked out the northern stretch of these woods, which is right along the highway.  I had never gone this far up before.  To my surprise I found the remains of two more cars in the valley.  I couldn't even begin to guess what they were.  It's just frames, motors and little else with a vandalized door leaning on a nearby tree.  I just threw together a quick collage here instead of lambasting my blog with rusty hunks of metal.

As I walked around the car remains, mice flushed from various spots nearby.  I saw four in total.  All ran into the "car corpses" to hide from me.  Could I get a photo of just one?  No, they were way too fast.

Exploring more of the woods, I saw three more small rodents scurrying about.  There was coyote tracks too.  After thought, I should have taken pictures of the tracks.

What a great habitat for a variety of birds and animals!  And why not also for an owl?  Unfortunately I could not find one.

Jumping ahead to the end of my day, swiping out from work, getting into the Mazda and heading home.  I trek across the 401 and didn't see any owls.  I decide to take a trip through a stretch of the airport.  I'm heading west along a service road, back towards my work.  Nothing.  I give up as I am nearing Dixie Road.  I do a u-turn and decide to call it a night.  It was worth a shot to look since I am not really going out of my way.

I am passing the last of the lamp posts before nearing the main road.  Then there was the owl, on a post out in the airfield.  Dark bird with a round head.  Being on a side road, there is no traffic.  I can safely pull over, get out of the car and have a view from the fence.  Even better is that I have my camera with me.

I'm having difficulty getting night photos with this "newer" camera.  I mastered my old Canon T1i but the 7D I really need to work on.

The owl is quite a ways out in the field, and with no light, that makes getting a record shot even more of a challenge.

Being able to stand outside and view it for many minutes, I can see that this is probably a snowy and not the possibility of being a barred.  I watch for a few more minutes, hoping the owl will do something, even move it's head and look at me.  Finally it does for a moment.  I tweak my manual settings and get this shot.

The contrast of the white face to that dark body.  It is really something out there in the dark.

Mystery solved!

Do you applaud my determination or do you think I need a new hobby?

After posting about this mystery owl on social media, a "bird bud" of mine who I lightly mentioned above that is involved in the banding and relocating project at Pearson told me about a young female snowy with heavy barring that has been hanging around the airport.  We believe this is the same owl.

My friend Charlotte has had her own adventures with the bird that I will share here...

She or whoever bands with her banded the snowy on January 3rd.  

The owl was then relocated 70 km north to another banding site.  On January 16th they re-trapped the owl again at Pearson.  

It was now relocated 140 km west of Pearson, being released at another one of their other banding locations.  Guess what...  she's now back at the airport.  What a stubborn bird!  

We all wish her to stay safe and away from the airplanes.  One was killed about a month ago on the runway.

I hope to spot her one morning, in some day light, and get another picture of her.  She's a bit of a character now in my books and has my focus.  I will be sure to let you all know if I do see her again.

Wishing you all a great (and safe) family day long weekend!

SuperbOwl Sunday

Hey, it's Super Bowl Sunday.  Woo hoo!  Honestly I really couldn't give a f**k.  HA!  But for many of us bird nerds, we make a "play" on the Super Bowl Sunday, twisting it to Superb Owl Sunday.  Owls really are a superb bird, aren't they?  

So how about a few superb owl sightings of mine, most are fairly recent.

I really wanted to see a barred owl this season and when a friend tipped me about one not too far from our home, I wasted no time in going up to see it.

It was nice to finally see one again after a couple years.  It was a bonus that there was no one else viewing the owl.  

Then just weeks later, another friend tipped me to a barred much closer to our home.  Angie and I sought it out late one afternoon and were successful in finding the bird.  Another moment of just us and the bird.  Magical!

I chanced upon another eastern screech owl near our home.  All the little songbirds told me where he was sleeping.  I tell people it pays to listen as much as look when out for a walk in the woods.  Proof is right here...

We were blessed with three northern saw-whet owls in the tail end of 2020.  Hoping to see another before they return to the northern regions.

As we move along through the second half of winter, my owl sights will be on the great horned owl.  I'm hoping to find one out there somewhere other than the pair in High Park.  It's nothing against that pair, I just like to try and find one on my own, well away from the popular spots.  That doesn't mean I won't try to see the HP birds at some point as well.  Just sayin'

If you've been a long time reader of my blogs, you might remember Grace the great horned.  I named her that because the sightings were very random.  She spent certain times of the year in a park around the corner from us.  I would say she graced me with her presence from time to time for six years.  She definitely was a superb owl!  Wish me luck in my upcoming searches.

I will be blogging again very soon about a certain superb owl I have known for many years.  Stay tuned!

Thanks for popping in.  Enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday however you like.  Cheers!

Frosty Walk

Well it looks like winter has finally kicked around here in southern Ontario.  A bit of snow and some bone chilling temperatures.  It's the perfect time for a walk in nature and most likely be the only one with nature.  That has been a difficult thing to do as the pandemic continues.  It's great that more people are outside but it also sucks that more people are outside.  More people in the parks, the less wildlife to be found.

Anyway, I had a really nice morning walk with bright sun and that real feel of -18 Celsius was barely noticeable.

Here are just a few of the highlights from my 90 minute walk.

I chanced upon this long-eared owl.  He was as surprised to see me as I was to see him.  I quickly backed up once I realized I was in his presence.  These are very skittish owls and flush easily at the sight of humans.  I whispered an apology to the bird as I lightly back stepped away from the grove of trees.  Thankfully he did not flush; I always feel bad when they do.

Further along in my travels I was treated to the sight of about two dozen common redpolls feeding on what I believe are alder berries.  I've seen these birds randomly this winter in the various green spaces I go for walks.  We even had one in our backyard for an afternoon a couple weeks ago.  Such pretty little birds that we don't get every winter.

From there I found a small group of black-capped chickadees who were all willing to come in for a feed from my hand.  It was a steady flow of the birds and I was happy to just stand there and be their personal bird feeder.  Before I knew it, 30 minutes had gone by.  Time sure flies when you're having fun!  Angie and I normally partake in this every New Year's Day if we can find them.

I wished I had more time to stay out there but I had to get back to my regular routine... going to work.

My walk ended with seeing an old friend.

The second wave of this pandemic has been difficult for me, more so than the first.  I know I am not the only one.  Time out in nature with the wild ones takes me away from it all.  I hope we find our way out of this at some point this year, or at the very least heading and staying in the right direction.

How are you all doing? 

Peculiar Squirrel

We have a rather bald squirrel visiting the backyard lately. 

He's very young looking in the face.  Angie and I noticed him a couple weeks ago, before he was bald. We thought he looked rather fresh out of a nest.  He could be a twin to this squirrel we had the other summer. We thought he was orphaned as he was out on his own at a very young age.  We named him Chewie.

Now he's balding.  I suspect mites.  I see many of our other squirrels go through this in February of all months, even Ripper.  Not exactly the best time of year to be losing fur.

Now here is why I have titled this blog "Peculiar Squirrel"...  my trail camera is catching him out in the garden well into the night.  What's up with that?

Here he is on December 5th.

Again on December 6th.

Early into December 9th.

He's going to be Great Horned Owl chow if he's not careful.  I know there's a pair in the golf course just north of us.  I've heard them from the backyard.  So while it's not a great chance he will get taken out by one, the possibility is there.

Why is he out every night like this?  I wonder if he's just not found a suitable place to sleep at night?  Maybe he's not getting enough to eat during the day?  Not that there's a buffet of food after dark, and he's got to work around the local raccoons and skunks too.

This has to be one of my favourite cam captures in weeks.

He's made the backyard a little more interesting, that's for sure.  I'm starting to look out for him every morning and he does show up.

Hopefully he figures things out, like how a squirrel is supposed to act.  Or at the very least, hopefully he does okay living the way he is...  and grows some fur back soon!

Any of you have any thoughts on this?

No Harassment

The last few years I have made attempts to discover "new" natural areas to explore void of people, either for just me or with Angie on our weekend outings.  Why?  So we can really be just with nature and not surrounded by people.  Now don't get me wrong, we don't mind to be social with some outings like during spring migration, seeing faces we don't see the rest of the year, or chancing upon meeting someone we know through social media.  But the quiet outings are much needed, de-stressing, or as Angie calls it "our yoga".

I always keep my eyes out for new areas.  If I am able to, I will physically explore.  If not, a mental note is made and I will look at Google maps when I am home on the computer.

Two springs ago I found an area not far from my work.  Looking at it initially, it looked awfully dumpy, and it still does as garbage collects since it is close to two major highways.  Looking past the trash, observing the habitat, I thought it would be quite good for bird watching.  I've seen dozens upon dozens of White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows in the early spring.  Then the thrushes come through.  This fall has attracted American Woodcock and small flocks of Common Redpolls AND....  a couple owls, Long-eared Owls to be exact.

Last weekend we visited this area.  I've been letting Angie lead the walks this fall in hopes of doing some owl spotting.  It was a wonderful surprise when she spotted one in a tree along the path.  YES!  I knew it would be a good area to find one some fall/winter.

The moment was hilarious and video worthy but it was all unexpected and in the moment so no videoing was done.  Angie spotted the owl, quickly and gently announced it, then fast stepped it ahead a number of feet, doing this excited little jig.  She was shocked and thrilled with her find.

I observed it as I walked ahead to catch up to her.  We calmed ourselves.  Then backtracked for a better but also quite brief view.  I took 5 photos from the path.  Then we continued our walk.

We didn't see much else in our journey.  We had to pass the owl tree on our way out.  When we got close to the spot, I walked ahead, adjusted my camera settings, and took another 4 pictures from the path.  It was then that I noticed there was a second bird in the tree.  It was slightly higher and deeper within.  As I started down the path towards the car, I turned to Angie who was waiting well behind, I held my hand up, raising two fingers to let her know about the other.  She then continued down the path, stopping for one more quick look and then caught up with me.

Overall our viewing time may have hit a full 90 seconds between both encounters.  We saw the owls.  I took less then 10 photos.  That was it.  One of the images may make our 2021 calendar since it was a very memorable moment.  

Meanwhile out in Whitby, there was a major shit show of people sitting on an owl.  Word quickly spread on how people conducted themselves in front of a saw-whet owl.  Photos of the crowds on the tiny owl in the tree surfaced on social media.  It was one of the worst things I have ever seen as the number of people was double digits, there was some trying to take selfies with the owl.  It's been an ongoing issue for weeks now and just seems to be getting worse.  The mild November has brought more people out.  I have thought about adding one of those photos here but they are not mine to share.  Paint a visual and I assure you that you are probably close to what was happening.

Finding your own owl(s) is a very rewarding experience.  Conducting yourself as an ethical "birder", limiting your time, keeping your space and walking away without, like here, flushing a Long-eared Owl all makes for a wonderful memory.  More people should try it instead of just following the masses to the "celebrities".

If you feel like another read, here is a great one someone published today.  Whether you are new to whole bird watching thing, not totally understanding my rants on social media about people harassing owls, or perhaps need a reminder at the start of the winter season, check it out here.

Long Time No Owl

 Approximately eight years ago I saw an owl at this tree cavity.  

Someone had reported it to a birding forum and it caused a bit of a shit storm with photographers.  I remember seeing an army of camouflaged men for the most part combing the woods, looking for this tree cavity.  It was early on in my days of birding and using a camera.  It was shocking to see as many were not staying on the paths.  It reminded me of a movie, where there is a search for a child or perhaps a man hunt to see a large group of people walking in a line across the woods like this.  I kind of took offense to what they were doing as this was one of my favourite spots to look for birds since it was so close to home.  A couple days later they were all gone.  I don't think many found the cavity or the owl, at least not when I passed through (I would not make it obvious if I peeked at this particular tree, and would keep walking).  It was nice to have a quiet woodlot once again.

Over the years I eased off on visiting these woods just because of the rampant off leash dogs and steady flow of joggers and cyclists.  Avoiding dog shit all through the trails was another annoyance.  I would still venture into these woods a few times yearly, mostly in the winter, because there was always a good bird or two to spot, and less people.

This week I took a walk in, first time since I think the winter of 2018/19.  Long overdue!  It was kind of drizzly so I knew it wouldn't be as busy.  I passed that tree which I never forgot about and to my joy and surprise there was an owl roosting the morning away at another cavity.  I was happily shocked at my "find".

I smirked about the people who all walked right under this sleeping beauty and did not see it.

There was no point to hang around at the owl now.  I had a great look at it.  I took a few photos.  Now it was time to continue my walk to hopefully find something else I had in my mind to see.  I really wanted to see a Barred Owl; this is my wish bird for this season.  I did not find one on this walk.  Maybe next time?  Perhaps I should think about finding a Screech Owl and maybe it will turn into something else, like a Barred Owl?

I passed this bird on my way back to the parking area.  I went for an artsy shot.

Then one last look before I was gone.  He's turning into the bark now.

Owls are something to see in the wild.  It's unfortunate that sharing the location to the general public always turns into something negative and disturbing for the owl as well as the habitat.  A few of my friends and I always wonder what it is about owls and people here?  When we were in Las Vegas, and out with a bird guide there, we talked about this.  There's nothing like the owl craze here in other regions.

Wish me luck in my continued search for a Barred Owl.  I do know where one is, that seemingly everyone else knows too, but I will hold out hope to find one in not such a popular spot much like this forgotten about tree.