Hey friend!

Angie had to go to work today for a few hours so I took the time alone to go for a walk.  Well, actually a couple walks.  

First stop was to Marie Curtis Park.  I didn't stay long as the amount of people and off leash dogs annoyed me rather quickly.  There is an off leash area and it was void of people and dogs.  The are wasn't closed either as I saw some people leaving it when I arrived.  Why do people chose to pass it by and take their dogs out, off leash, in public areas?  

I left MCP and decided to visit one of my nest box trails.  I hadn't been to this one in a couple weeks and was curious if there were more birds around compared to my last visit.  Yes, a few more tree swallows as well as both barn and rough-winged swallows too.  One great blue heron was in the creek.  Then I crossed paths with this fellow...

An eastern coyote that Angie and I randomly cross paths with, and have been for months now, when we walk this area.  I'd like to think he recognizes me and that I am no threat.  I can pretend, right?  He doesn't flee in terror but definitely keeps his distance.  What a healthy looking coyote!

I refer to all resident mammals I recognize in green spaces I frequent as my "friends".  They think otherwise but that's okay.  It's nice to see the same creatures with each visit and knowing they are doing well, happily living out their lives.

Do you have any regulars where you walk?

Oh, There's Migration...

 We just had a yellow-bellied sapsucker in our backyard today.  What a beauty!

While we have been in the spring season for a month now, I really haven't seen much in the way of migration.  A couple weeks ago there were a lot of kinglets of both species and some brown creepers, killdeer flying over the house, a few tree swallows showing up along my nest box locations but not much else.

Seeing this sapsucker gave me a little jolt that I needed.  Angie and I went to a nearby park and saw another sapsucker, not as brilliant with the red, but still nice to see.  Seeing these birds has given me a little jolt that I need, to put my "bird radar" on again for the weeks ahead.

Are you seeing anything around your 'hood?

Stay At Home Birding

 It's a snowy morning in late April so I figured now is the time to key out a long overdue blog.  Honestly, I didn't think that spring 2021 would have me blogging about this still being a "thing to do" instead of what we did, yet here we are in another stay at home order.  Thanks to the pandemic!

So May 2020 had Angie and I on a week of vacation like we normally do.  Past years we'd go away for a couple days somewhere out of town where it's a mix of birding and just enjoying some time out of the city and relaxing.  The stay at home order kiboshed the going away plan last year and it's a repeat for 2021. 

Last year we did stay at home and we birded from home.  No it wasn't just backyard birding but a few green spaces around us within walking distance.  Some mornings we pondered driving down to the lake parks where we would probably see more species but always stuck to the plan of being home.  It wasn't out of fear of anything but more of a challenge to ourselves, seeing how many birds we could see right in our own neighbourhood.  When we were back to work, both of us were pleasantly surprised at how many species we tallied.

Enjoy the photos below with some little bits if my memory kicks in...

This unique looking male House Finch initially confused us when he first showed up in our backyard that week.  Who knew there was such thing as a yellow variant?  He was a great start to our week off.

A male rose-breasted grosbeak.  Most springs though not every year we get a few of this species.  May 2020 was a record though, having 3 males and 2 females spending a couple days with us.

 Then along came some warblers...

Black-throated green warbler.  One of my favourites.

May 2020 had the cape may warbler being our stand out warbler.  We had 2 or 3 daily all week both in our backyard and on our local walks.

Black-throated blue warbler.

Nashville warbler.  They've become a fairly regular, almost expected, May backyard sighting the last few years.

My other favourite, a Blackburnian Warbler.

Other warblers we saw included ovenbirds and black and white warblers.

Then, like usual, there was the baltimore orioles.  We had a dozen or so for a few days and as per norm a couple pairs remained to nest in the area.

Our 79th backyard bird species appeared, a swainson's thrush.

A couple wood ducks up in the trees was another treat on one of our morning walks.  The birds spend the summer down the road from us but we've never seen them so close to home, and in a tree.

A blue-headed vireo posed nicely just for a moment on another walk.  I recall we saw this species a few mornings that week.

A male eastern bluebird showed up in the park near home, and right around where I have some nest boxes.  He gave me hope that I would get a nesting pair.  Unfortunately that didn't happen despite the bird being seen on/off all summer.

Two scarlet tanagers spent a few days in our neighbourhood.  I assume it was the same birds because they were in the same cluster of trees every day.  We would joke after numerous sightings, "oh, it's just a tanager!" even though they really are a stunning bird to see anytime, or again and again.  A friend and I lovingly joked about them now being a junk bird for the week.

We had to pay close attention to the sparrows we came across.  Finding one savannah sparrow was a treat after seeing many house, song, white-throated and white-crowned sparrows.

But the biggest surprise for Angie and I was seeing bobolinks near the house.  The birds spent about 3 days here.  Normally we would have to drive quite a distance out of the city, like to the Carden Alvar, to see these birds. 

The birds were feeding on dandelion seeds as well small insects.  We know too many people who want a perfect lawn, free of dandelions, but not us...  the birds love the dandelions and we love seeing the birds.  It's a win win.

It was a surprisingly great week of vacation despite the stay at home order.  It is amazing what is around us if we really open our eyes and ears to nature.  Angie's words about the week...  "If we learned one thing from this stay at home vacation, it is how important every bit of green space is to migratory birds."

Awwwwwwww Moment

 Just a quick "awwwwwww" moment here...

A squirrel has made a nest in one of my owl boxes at the back of the yard.  I peeked inside and here are a couple of the kids.

AWWWWWWWWWWWW!

We haven't had a squirrel nest here in 3 years now so this will be fun.  I hope Angie and I are home to witness them come out of the box as we were the last time.  It's an endearing moment.  One of those kids is still around, who is named Frodo.

Squirrels often make me think of my grandmother.  She always looked after her backyard squirrel friends especially during the winter months.  Nuts and peanut butter sandwich squares for all.  I remember sitting at the kitchen table eating my cream of wheat in the early morning hours, feeling that cold draft from the kitchen door as she opened it to give the little guys a handout.  A couple would even step into the kitchen to grab their share.

I know not everyone is a fan of squirrels.  They can drive me bonkers in the summer, often digging up my newly planted plants but we share the backyard with them.  We defeat them at times with the digging, other times they defeat us and we try again.  It can be a challenge.  But I cannot imagine our yard being without them.

We are in for some real trying times again due to this pandemic and the rise in the cases, now with the variants.  We stay home or very close to it with our occasional nature walks.  As I have said before, now more so than ever before, we are very grateful for our backyard and the creatures we share it with.

Stay safe friends.

Mammals - That is All

Not much to blab about so here are a few mammal sightings of late.  

We've encountered this coyote a few times.  He's an elusive one, keeping his distance, which really is for the better considering how many people are against these animals.

A little bit of peek-a-boo the other weekend.  We assume it's the same one, or it's mate, as it is in the same general area.

A recent dusk walk had us chance upon 5 deer across the river.  We don't see deer nearly as often anymore.  Weird.

This morning we saw 2 muskrats.  I cannot remember the last time I saw one.  Funny little creatures.

And here at home, my trail camera recently picked up an opossum coming through the backyard.  It's the first one that I am aware of in about 6 months.  Unfortunately I haven't had it on the cam since.

I love all our backyard creatures but the opossum tugs on my heartstrings a little more than others.  I think back to the many nights and months of seeing one or more, sharing my apple core with one especially.  So many photo opportunities too!  Some say they're ugly as sin.  I think they're cute as F***!

I look forward to warmer nights ahead and sitting out back after dark, seeing who may come through.  It won't be long until it's baby season too!

These two were a riot.

The cam has been picking up at least 3 raccoons this winter.  We lost so many in the fall due to canine distemper, I am glad a few remain.

This guy lost his tail a few weeks back.  I saw him with a wounded tail earlier in the winter.  Now it's gone.

This pair come around some nights as well.

Three skunks are also showing up on the cam.  All very different looking individuals.  

Here is one of them.  All nice and clean, looking like a common skunk.

The same night, less than 30 minutes later this rough looking one showed up. 

This guy, who is lacking the white stripes, shows up on the cam most often.

Sadly we lost a lot of skunks to distemper as well in the fall; so seeing these three makes me happy to know not all were lost.  I know too many people still leery of skunks but mindsets are changing of some around me thanks to Angie and I's posts about living with them each summer.

And probably the most special mammal of them all out there is Ripper.  He is still around after 4 years.  I don't see him daily, heck sometimes not even weekly, but suddenly he is there again.  I know a neighbour a couple doors over spoils them all rotten with peanut offerings.  A steady supply seemingly daily.  I suspect that explains his absenteeism but he always knows where to come for a good feed no matter what.  Here he is from this past weekend.

Ripper is an awesome little dude and I cherish our visits.  Much like my time with Pierre the pigeon, I have no regrets to all the photos and selfies.

Ripper and I hope to have a surprise soon for those of you who live in our area.  Say what now?  You'll see, well maybe, if it does pan out.

What kind of mammals are you all seeing out there in your travels?

 

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!