Birds, Water and Icy Things!

Blue Jay with a special treat! It is surprising to hear how much noise they make when food is provided. If they were quiet, they likely wouldn't have to share.

Dark-eyed Juncos are also taking advantage of the backyard food source during this very cold winter.

Peregrine Falcon's have been nesting on the Michigan side of the Bluewater Bridge since 2005. Most years, young birds are successfully raised. As we were walking towards the bridge on Friday morning, the falcon flew through the structure and came in for a landing. It was my first view of this species in 2026.

Common Mergansers taking flight. What a difference a week makes! Last week the St. Clair River was full of ice. Today, most of the ice was gone. We will likely see more congestion as ice is expected to continue floating down from Northern Lake Huron.

There are a few places to pull over when driving down the St. Clair Parkway. When the car door slammed, all ducks took flight. One Redhead had the (fill-in-the-blank) scared out of him. (top middle). We were more careful with the doors at subsequent stops.

We saw over 3,500 individual birds - 15 species at this one stop along the St. Clair River.

Black-capped Chickadee eating berries.

Looking over Lake Huron from Canatara Beach.

Ice crystals in Lake Chipican.

Hoar Frost at Camp Saredaca.

My brother shoveled a skating maze on the north shore of Lake Superior. One morning, a beautiful sunrise added colour to the scene!

 River Cruising from Shore! 

We visited the Grand, Thames, and St. Clair Rivers last weekend.

Luckily these Trumpeter Swans were "trumpeting loudly" as they approached us from behind, or I may have missed the opportunity to photograph them. We were walking beside the Grand River near Cambridge at the time. It is nice to see this species expanding its territory, following a remarkable recovery from near extinction!

The trail was elevated above the Grand River when we looked down on 6 male Common Goldeneye and one female.

Many holes in this dead tree have likely housed generations of woodpeckers. Every year woodpeckers carve out new cavities and their old nests are used by other cavity nesters who don’t have the ability to excavate holes.

A recently broken branch may have exposed the winter sleeping spot for the insect that the Downy Woodpecker is about to devour. The insect likely thought it had a secure hiding spot for the winter months.

We had heard that a female Harlequin was visiting the Thames River in London. She was preening close to the river’s edge, giving us some good views!

Video: Harlequin female preening

The hillside was covered in duck tracks as the birds decided to walk, not fly, down the hill. Many wing tip prints are also visible in the snow as they tried to maintain their balance!

A Great Blue Heron taking a break: As long as open water is available for hunting, Great Blue Herons occasionally spend the winter in southern Ontario.

Back in Sarnia, many people were ice fishing on Family Day weekend when fishing licenses were not required.

A sign of spring! Pussy Willows beginning to emerge from the buds!

Mother Nature at work! It was a treat to find a stack of Snowy Hearts in lower Lake Huron on Valentine’s Day! They were visible from the lighthouse.

 County Tour

On a recent county drive, a road kill was found that had attracted a Bald Eagle. Although fish is a main diet staple for the species, they are scavengers and will eat most any available food. In this case, raccoon was on the menu!

While visiting Henderson Conservation Area, I had my first good look at 2 Pine Siskins this calendar year. I have heard them flying over but looks have been brief. They were busily eating White Cedar Cone seeds.

2 Song Sparrows feasted on seeds from plants in a marshy area.

Cattails provide shelter and food for lots of critters.

I had heard that a Belted Kingfisher was staying at Henderson C.A. this winter. (Very unusual, especially in this cold winter.) While standing at an open water patch, the Kingfisher flew in, circled and then left when he saw us standing near his fishing hole.

Snowy log, potentially providing shelter for small rodents.

Back to the River!

The St. Clair River hosts the largest concentrations of birds locally. A female Common Merganser was found “surfing” in the waves.

Double-crested Cormorant surrounded by steam in Talfourd Creek.

Iceland Gull flying overhead.

Iridescent colours on the head of this male Bufflehead are visible in the bright sunshine.

A Bufflehead dive is reflected in the calm water of the St. Clair River.

Common Merganser male in flight over St. Clair River ice.

A Canvasback Duck is dwarfed by a pair of Trumpeter Swans which are North America’s largest native waterfowl.

Behind the Trumpeter Swan is a row of 4 Ring-necked Ducks. I always think these ducks were misnamed because the ring around their bill is much more noticeable than the ring around the neck.

On Valentines Day, Mother Nature created a stack of 3 Hearts in lower Lake Huron. 

 Ducks and River Ice! 

On a recent visit to the north end of the St. Clair River, a wall of ice could be seen extending from Lake Huron to within a few metres of the Bluewater Bridges. Several ducks were congregating in the open water. I slowly walked to the railing and this female Common Goldeneye popped up right in front of me. 

A female or immature Long-tail Duck was also photographed through the railing under the bridges.

4 Adult Male Long-tails and the ripples of a 5th one that dove as the shutter on the camera was pressed. All of the ducks then drifted away from the Canadian side of the river.

Edge of ice being pushed down from Lake Huron under the bridges.

The blue ice is a site to behold! Thick, compressed ice with no bubbles help to provide the conditions necessary to make the ice glow blue.

Common Goldeneye, 2 males and a female in an open patch of water. The shifting ice causes open areas to disappear quickly and the birds must be on the alert so they don't become trapped.

The species name of the Canvasback, Vallisneria, comes from Vallisneria americana, or wild celery. The winter buds and stems of wild celery are the duck's preferred food during the nonbreeding period.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canvasback/overview

There's always one Mallard in the crowd! The standard duck's quack is the sound of a female Mallard. Males don't quack; they make a quieter, rasping sound.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mallard/overview

A male Hooded Merganser has been hanging out with the Mallards for a few weeks!

Redhead Ducks are strictly North American ducks, found nowhere else on earth!

https://www.ducks.ca/species/redhead/

Inland birds including this Red-bellied Woodpecker continue to be active but can be difficult to locate if they aren't vocal. Lucky for me, Red-bellied Woodpeckers are often vocal!

Protein rich food is difficult to find in the winter. This woodpecker "hit the jackpot" when he found a (possible) European Paper Wasp, tucked into a bark crevice. Perhaps it was an overwintering Queen!

A packet of suet attracted a number of songbirds to a branch for a few days. Chickadees, Nuthatches and Cardinals were regular visitors to the fatty food source.