Fanshawe Findings

Today I went for a little outing at Fanshawe Conservation Area in London. I was most interested in the Evening Grosbeak that has been around, but that was not to be. This was my third attempt!

Nevertheless, still a few things lurking around the feeding area.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Northern Cardinal

A few of the more uncommon winter sparrows as well.

Fox Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

There were plenty of Dark-eyed Juncos. Many were even starting to sing a little bit!

A Brown-headed Cowbird stopped in. My first one in awhile.

On another note, a few days ago I was happy to find a couple flocks of Common Redpolls. Species #166 for my modest neighborhood!

Another Week, I Guess

It is a busy time of year for a student! Outings have been far and few between this week, but I got out for a short while a couple times. Yesterday I popped into Fanshawe Conservation Area briefly to see what was hanging out at the seed pile. Always seems to be something! Yesterday it was a White-crowned Sparrow, an uncommon bird in this parts during winter. I actually don't think I have seen a White-crowned during the winter months since 2016!

Of course there were the usual suspects, including decent numbers of White-throated Sparrows. They seem to be fairly numerous this winter.

Dark-eyed Junco

White-breasted Nuthatch

Black-capped Chickadee

White-throated Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

A couple plants...

Scots Pine

European Swallow-Wort

Sparrows Galore!

Yesterday I went to Fanshawe Conservation Area with my aunt. There were plently of birds feeding on seeds left by a trail head, including the overwintering Fox Sparrow I first found a few weeks back. Also present feeding on the seeds were Dark-eyed Juncos, American Tree Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, and a Downy Woodpecker.

White-throated Sparrow

Fox Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Black-capped Chickadee

Dark-eyed Junco

Downy Woodpecker

Dark-eyed Juncos

Seeds and Sparrows

This afternoon I went back to Fanshawe Conservation Area with my aunt. We didn't go back on any of the trails, so no interesting mammal sightings today, but we still saw some awesome stuff!

We started out feeding the Black-capped Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches. Yesterday we forgot to bring some seeds, but today we remembered! About 20 chickadees came in right away!

We wandered around a bit before heading back to the parking lot to get picked up by my grandfather. While waiting, I noticed a flurry of activity near a trailhead. I went over to check it out, and was pleased to see numerous tree sparrows, juncos and cardinals.

While photographing some of the Dark-eyed Juncos, I noticed a larger, sparrow-like bird. It was a Fox Sparrow, which is an uncommon winter visitor in Middlesex!

I also found a couple White-throated Sparrows, which are my first for the year.

It was a great finish to an otherwise quiet outing. Time for school again!

Patch Birding

Long time, no post! I have not had much to write about lately...

The past few weeks I have been hanging around my neighbourhood. It is surprisingly good for birds, despite the fact that 80% of it is developed. I didn't bring my camera with me (with the exception of today), so photos are lacking, but the story is there!

I have had a decent number of raptors, including Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Turkey Vulture, and Golden Eagle.

I am starting to see many more Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree Sparrows...winter is coming!

I been able to add a number of birds to my patch list as well, including Golden Eagle, Redhead, American Black Duck, Herring Gull, and Cackling Goose.

I have also come across the expected species for this time of year...Rusty Blackbird, kinglets, White-throated Sparrows, Pine Siskins, and a cooperative Orange-crowned Warbler.

I also submitted my 500th Ontario complete eBird checklist of the year.

Highlights from today include a Redhead which has been around for over a week, a Cackling Goose, White-throated Sparrows, and a trio of Rusty Blackbirds. It was quite quiet today!

Redhead

White-throated Sparrow

Rusty Blackbirds

Hopefully I will have something more interesting to write about before the weekend is over!

Hard-Pressed in Hamilton

Today I joined Owen and a couple other young birders for a few hours of birding along the Hamilton waterfront. The winds were not on our side, and we saw NO pelagic birds, however there were a few quality birds to be seen, but we had to work hard for them!

We started at Windermere Basin, where sparrows, especially White-throated, were plentiful.

Other sparrows included White-crowned, Song, Dark-eyed Junco, American Tree, and an Eastern Towhee.

We couldn't find the Hudsonian Godwit, but there were a few shorebirds to be found such as both the yellowlegs, a group of peeps, and three Black-bellied Plover.

Ducks were fairly easy to find, the most common being Green-winged Teal and Northern Shoveler. Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall, Mallard, Wood Duck, Ruddy Duck, and Northern Pintail were also present, although in smaller numbers.

We checked out Van Wagner's beach after, but the only thing of note here were Surf Scoters and a Peregrine Falcon! If the winds has been blowing the right way, I'm sure we would have seen something!

The canal was next, but other than a Merlin is was pretty quiet. The ever present Double-crested Cormorant was there as well.

The others had to go grab a jacket that was forgotten at Windermere, so my dad and I waited in the canal parking lot for them to come back so we could got to our next destination. After about 5 minutes I got a text that said "There is a Brant here!"

After my dad and I got to the spot, we were told that the Brant was hiding, so we began looking for a vantage point to spot it. After some struggle (which is a story for another time) we finally saw it. It was a lifer for me, and my 250th bird this year in Ontario. Jeremy is only beating me by 80-ish species :-)

Also present was a few pigeons. This is actually the first time I've bothered to photograph them! I guess you could call it a photographic lifer!

The same ducks as earlier were there, including this (blurry) Gadwall.

Just before we said our good-byes, this Leopard Frog was spotted by Owen. They are my favourite species of frog!

Although it was a very slow day, the "Great Brant Chase" (again, a story for another time...maybe in six months) made up for it. Who said birding can't be exciting?!?!