It's That Time of the Year Again...

The holidays are just around the corner, and that means family, food and, of course, birds. In a few weeks, thousands of birders and nature enthusiasts will be taking part in one of the oldest birding traditions in the world....the Christmas Bird Count (or CBC for short). The event was founded in 1900, and the idea was that instead of shooting the birds for sport on December 25th like many people did, they would observe and count them instead. 117 years later we are still doing it. Imagine...117 years. In that time frame the RMS Titanic sunk, WWI and WWII raged in Europe, Point Pelee opened it's gates, the Great Depression destroyed countries all over the world in the thirties, Canada has had 17 different Prime Ministers, and our friends down south have had 20 presidents. For over a century people have carried on the tradition, and it is up to us and future generations to continue.

Anyway, there are dozens of counts around southern Ontario. Here's a few from my area:

Bright Blue: London (my home count)  Date: December 17, 2016
Gray: Stratford  Date: TBA
White: West Elgin   Date: TBA
Maroon: Strathroy  Date: Possibly not running this season
Teal: St. Thomas  Date: TBA
Purple: Kettle Point  Date: December 17, 2016
Pink: Skunk's Misery (Newbury)  Date: TBA, however last year it was in early January.
Blue: Wallaceburg  Date: December 27 or 28, 2016
Lime Green: St. Clair NWA  Date: TBA
Red: Blenheim incl. Rondeau  Date: December 18, 2016

Essex County and area also hosts a few counts:

Yellow: Point Pelee  Date: TBA

Gold: Cedar Creek  Date: December 17, 2016

Black: Holiday Beach  Date: December 27, 2016

Green: North Shore  Date: TBA

Dark Blue: Lake Erie Islands  Date: TBA

You may have noticed quite a few dates are 'To Be Announced'. Since it is only early November, many coordinators may not have uploaded the dates to the site I used. You can click here to see when the 'TBA' counts are or to find a Canadian CBC circle in your area.

Another bird count around Christmas is the Christmas Bird Count for Kids (CBC4Kids). This event was founded in 2007, so it isn't quite as old as the regular CBC. There are three CBC4Kids in SW Ontario:

Bright Blue: London  Date: December 3, 2016

Red: Elgin  Date: TBA

Grey: Port Rowan  Date: December 3, 2016

I'll be volunteering as a group leader this year at the 3rd annual London CBC4Kids count (more info can be found here ), and if you are interested in leading a group as well, you can inquire with the count organizer. Find a CBC4Kids near you by clicking here.

By joining a CBC, you are helping researchers know where birds are and if they are increasing or declining in that area. While most counters will take to the road to find birds, you can help by just counting birds at your feeder and reporting your finds to your local coordinator. I hope to see you out there!

London is the 'Cardinal Capital of Canada'

Happy Canada Day!

It's July first, and that means that we Canadians will be celebrating our country's 149th birthday! What better way to celebrate than with a few photographs!

There are not that many birds in North America that have both red and white on them. There are a few, but I have not had the chance to photograph them. So I'll just include birds that have either red or white somewhere on their body!

Once again, Happy Canada Day, and enjoy the rest of Summer!

Downy Woodpecker

Snowy Owl

Northern Cardinal

White Mallard

Redhead

Ring-billed Gull

Eastern Towhee

White Egret

Red-winged Blackbird

Black-and-white Warbler

Caspian Tern

More Bugs, More Plants, and Birds Too

After having such a success going down to my local park the previous day, I decided to go again. I found a few new plants and insects, and I managed to get a few pictures of a couple things that I saw on Saturday, but failed to get a photo. Another reason I wanted to go back was to re-find the Eastern Amberwing that I had seen earlier while riding my bike.

The first thing that really caught my eye was a male Northern Cardinal. I don't have that many pictures of this common SW Ontario bird, so I was happy with the shots I got!

The Mallard ducklings never seem done hatching! I came across these young birds with their mother.

The male Mallards are molting right now. They will look like their female counterparts for a few weeks, but soon will regain their familiar plumage.

The world of Dragonflies and Damselflies is still new to me, so correct me if I've made any identification mistakes. I believe this one is a Familiar Bluet.

There is a Muskrat that frequents the pond. I've stumbled across him/her on numerous occasions.

Yet another Familiar Bluet?

I saw this wasp yesterday. It is called a Mud Dauber as it is usually found around, you guessed it, mud!

I find that American Robins always seem so photogenic.

I finally saw my first Hairstreak! I must say, they are smaller than I thought. After consulting my guide, I can confidently call this one an Acadian Hairstreak!

A plant that I had missed the day was the invasive Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). Although they are quite pretty, they spread rapidly and cause havoc on the native ecosystem.

Red-winged Blackbirds and Green Frogs were everwhere.

The local Barn Swallows were making their rounds.

An exciting find was Butter-and-eggs (Linaria vulgaris). This was the only spot they were found around the pond.

Sweet Clover (Melilotus officinalis) could be seen along the trail.

There was an abundance of English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata).

Common Plantain (Plantago major) was not far off.

It is amazing that only a few minutes away, such as rich ecosystem exists.

Variable-crown Vetch

Barn Swallow Photobomb! (Top Center)

Fast forward a few days (4 to be exact) I finally got out to photograph a few plant specimens that I had seen after my initial trip, but had no camera to take pictures.

Bitter Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) was a nice colour purple. The flowers are quite tiny as well!

Estimated Flower Length: 12mm (0.4724409in)

I found some Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare) a couple days prior, and knew the general area of which to find them, but I was unable to locate the plants in all the greenery when I went out. I was about to give up when-OUCH! I had found my plant.

Wild Carrot (Daucus carota), also known as Queen Anne's Lace, was just beginning to flower.

Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) was covered in berries. The red ROD branches are a common sight in Christmas and holiday wreaths.

That is it for now! More Summer birding and nature posts will be coming soon!