Christmas Critters

Here are a few photos taken in the days leading up to and following Christmas Day.

 Finding a beaver in Lake Chipican on Christmas Eve Day was completely unexpected!

A Coopers Hawk kept a close watch over the meadow in search of his next meal.

Earlier in the week, the Lake Huron shoreline was blanketed in ice.

Evidence of shoreline erosion.

On a sunnier day, milkweed pods were bursting with seeds.

A pair of Carolina Wrens hopped around and then hid in the underbrush.

Startled by my presence at the western end of Canatara Beach, this small flock of Mallards headed in-land.

Northern Hawk-Owl

All the "stars were in line" to get a Life Bird today! The weather was great for traveling and the bird was seen yesterday so we left home at 7:00 a.m.  It wasn't hard to find the Hawk-Owl thanks to all of the birders in the area.  During the short time we were there, we found people to be respectful of the bird.

We watched it fly to a few different perches. 

 Some believe it resembles a Coopers Hawk with its long tail. 

They are known to perch atop solitary trees in the daylight hours. 

                                   

 It gets its name because it behaves like a hawk but looks like an owl. 

 A few more photos of this beautiful bird. 

The Redheads are back!

I was astounded by the number of Redheads in Lake Huron this afternoon.  We saw small numbers earlier in the fall in Lake Chipican, but the birds disappeared once the little lake froze.  When the US Coastguard emerged from the St. Clair River, they all took flight.  It was an incredible spectacle!  The following 4 pictures provide a glimpse into the sheer numbers.

Christmas Bird Count Weekend

We participated in 2 Christmas Bird Counts this weekend. Yesterday's rainy weather made for a low total bird count at The Pinery.  We spent an interesting morning bush-wacking through parts of the park where we normally don't have access.  Two Ruffed Grouse were the highlight for me but no opportunity for pictures.

Today we helped with the Bluewater Audobon Christmas Bird Count.  The Centre of the 24 km diameter circle was in Michigan but a part of the circle extended into Ontario.  Five groups of birders covered the area between Sarnia and Corunna.

It was a feeding frenzy at Talfourd Creek where it meets the St. Clair River.  We estimated there were 2,450 gulls in the area.

The birds dove completely under water and sometimes emerged with a fish.

Many collisions and arguments occurred.

While touring inland, we encountered a beautiful kestrel enjoying a mouse snack.

I can't resist taking pictures of Chickadees.  They are just so cute!

Male Downy Woodpecker viewed from the roadside.

A goldfinch in fading plumage was busy foraging for food.

Earlier in the week hoar frost was visible on fallen oak leaves.

Things With Wings

We started our birding day at the Lake Huron Shoreline yesterday.  Lots of ice sculptures from the wave action were visible while gulls flew past.

A Northern Harrier made a "fly by" while birding along Stewart Road north of Wallaceburg.

8 Sandhill Cranes were spotted south of Port Lambton.  We saw an additional 70 Cranes on a nearby side road that were too far back for photos.

A Red-tailed Hawk soared above Stewart Line.

"U.S. Air Force" was clearly visible on this "Thing With Wings" which entered Canadian Air Space 4 times. It did a turnaround near Kimball Side Road on each pass.

While driving along the St. Clair River we found a decorated Christmas Tree

 with 8 Bufflehead swimming past!

Winter Things

Despite the cooler temperatures, when the sun is shining I can't resist bundling up and heading outside. Finding birds at this time of year has proven (this week) to be difficult. Instead, I photographed some interesting seeds and dried flower stalks.

An intricate pattern is visible inside many seed heads. 

Some plants are still holding onto their fluffy seeds.

 Milkweed has definitely been letting seeds fly on these windy days.

We found signs of insects including this egg case for the Praying Mantid. Approximately 100 tiny Mantids will emerge in early June, identical in appearance to the parents.

A beautiful Cecropia Moth Cocoon was exposed to the sun at Henderson C.A.  

I will keep an eye on the location in hopes of finding another pair of mating moths next spring as we saw last June (below).

Lots of Goldenrod Ball Galls housing fly larva can be found. The larva are a good food source for hungry woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees in the winter when other food is scarce.

Foxy Finds in Ontario

Since it has not been a productive week with the camera, I decided to look through my archives and select animals that don't have wings!  We have come across some great photo opportunities with foxes up in Algonquin Park as well as in Lambton County.

In 2014, while vacationing near the Trent-Severn Waterway, we found a Mom and kit fox walking along the side of the road.  They ran up the hill when our car approached but we had some great views before they disappeared!

Two more views of the young fox.

While driving on our way to walk the Mizzy Trail in Algonquin Park, we found this cutie near the road edge.  All of our fox shots have been taken from our vehicle.

Deryl spied this fox while driving along Lakeshore Road near Camlachie in 2018.

He stopped for a bite to eat...

Then licked his lips following the satisfying meal!

Prior to publishing this blog post, I would have said that I don't encounter foxes very often, but the pictures have proven me wrong.  We are often luckier than we remember!