A Few Things Without Wings:

"Stay still so I can wash behind your ears!" 

A Mama Raccoon was busy bathing her kits Friday evening in a Canatara Tree.

 They were a very curious pair!

My favourite wildflower changes, depending upon what's blooming.

  Right now, Wild Columbine is at the top of the list!

Many pollinators are happy with the flowers and blossoms.

Well camouflaged toads needed to hop out of harms way on the trail.

Back to Things With Wings!

Entrance to The Pinery was free again this weekend and the gates were 
 open so we were able to drive around the whole park! Along the Riverside Trail, 
I found an exoskeleton of a Dragonfly Nymph on a twig.

Perhaps this Common Whitetail (female) emerged from that exoskeleton!

I haven't seen any action at the chickadee nest I watched being excavated last month. A different nest cavity has had a lot of activity. The parents have been flying in and out, taking food to the young inside. A few days ago, I watched the parents dive bomb a nearby chipmunk. Like squirrels, chipmunks will also eat bird eggs.

A text alert from a friend (to remain unnamed) on a sail boat caused us to rush to Canatara Beach on a Wild Pelican chase. Instead of finding Pelicans, we were greeted by 9 Mute Swans! LOL! In his defense, their boat was a long way off shore and he wanted us to know before any passing motor boats might scare the birds away!

 Monarchs are back!!

I saw my first Monarch of the year on May 25th! I haven't recorded past 

year "first arrivals" but it seems early to me, especially after the cold spring.

Having survived the winter in the chrysalis stage, this Spicebush Swallowtail 

has emerged as an adult and is busy searching for sources of nectar.

A male Orchard Oriole scolded me as I walked along a trail, warning his family of 

the danger. I've not seen a nest of this species but it is similar to the Baltimore Oriole.

A Baltimore Oriole nest is being built in our backyard! We have only seen the female do the construction, and a little research shows that the males do not do any weaving or building.  They just defend the territory. Knots are not deliberately made, but random poking creates tangles, resulting in secure knots! It can take a week to build the hanging, sock-like nest.

Other birds busy in the mating and nest building season are these Chipping Sparrows.

For the past several mornings, Deryl has been entertained by a nearby skunk 

at work. It hasn't really been swimming. His wet fur was caused by the dew.

I invented Social Distancing! Stay back 6 feet!

Magical May Morning

We were greeted with a rainbow over Lake Huron this morning. A faint rainbow was

 visible so we stayed and watched it grow into one that stretched across the entire sky! 

I managed to get both Bluebirds in the same picture frame! 

I think they were also in awe of the rainbow!

A few days ago, the male Bluebird surprised me by landing at the edge of the small pond.

The small pond provides nice shelter for many babies including these

 Wood Duck ducklings. The other 8 ducklings were ahead of Mom.

Although the warbler numbers are decreasing as they migrate further north, other birds are becoming more prominent including this Green Heron who landed on a branch right above me. I counted 3 Green Herons along the trail that day.

The male Coopers Hawk was hunting this morning, probably

staking out a nearby backyard feeder to catch food for his growing family.

We haven't seen any sign of Coopers Hawk chicks yet but I assume they have hatched.

Mom's tail is sticking out beyond the nest as she shields them from the elements.

Deryl was up early yesterday hoping for Whimbrels and snapped this sunrise over Lake Huron.

Lift Off!

My entrance to Canatara was well timed yesterday as I arrived

 in time to watch an Osprey pluck a Goldfish out of Lake Chipican.

The fish was large, so it took awhile before the Osprey got enough lift to fly away.

We don't often see female Scarlet Tanagers. They are very well

 camouflaged in comparison to their male counterparts. (below.)

For years I've been telling primary kids that Chipmunks relax on lawn

 chairs under Mayapples. I finally found a chipmunk under the Mayapples! 

Now I just need to find one sitting on a miniature lawn chair!

While visiting The Pinery last weekend, we found a new butterfly for my life list!. 

A Hoary Elfin!

Lots of mating activity happening in the park. 

Snapping Turtles are on the move.  Must be mating season for them too!

Oh The Warblers You'll See...

We had a "fallout' of migrating warblers in Canatara Park this week. I really can't choose a favourite, so am providing a selection of birds found in the past few days. I also researched some warbler trivia on the "Cornel Lab All About Birds" web page, included below.

 

The BREWSTERS Warbler does not get full species ranking as it is 

a hybrid of the Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers. 

The NORTHERN PARULA is the warbler with a "sunset" on the breast. They eat spiders and insects including caterpillars, beetles, moths, ants and wasps. 

The tongue of the CAPE MAY Warbler is unique amoung warblers. 

It is curled and semi-tubular allowing it to drink nectar.

The BLACKBURNIAN is the only North American warbler with an orange throat.

Most insects and nectar-eating birds probe flowers from the top, enabling them to 

pollinate flowers. The TENNESSEE WARBLER will pierce a flower tube at the 

base and drink up the nectar without helping in the pollination process.

Most warblers nest either on the ground, in shrubs or in trees, but the PROTHONOTARY warbler builds its nest in holes in standing dead trees. Sometimes they use nesting boxes. This species is known to admire its reflection in the water! 

Life Bird in Lambton!

An off-course, Pacific Loon has made the Sarnia Bay a rest and feeding stop during spring migration. Many birders have "flocked" to the waterfront over the past several days to get a glimpse of this beautiful bird in breeding plumage. He swims surprisingly close to shore and is very photogenic!

The grey colour in the head will shine depending upon the angle of the sun. Social Media helped us find this bird. A friend currently living in New Brunswick, noticed a photo of the bird on Facebook taken by a non-birder. When he realized none of the local birders had reported it on ebird, he sent me a message. Deryl and I immediately went to look for it and made a quick find! Many thanks, Eric for looking out for us Lambton County birders!!

The Red-headed Woodpecker pair have returned to the same nesting spot in Canatara for the 3rd year in a row! 

Yesterday one of the adults hunted for food close to the 

ground, making him easier to photograph.

We believe Osprey from 2 different nesting locations are shopping for groceries in Lake Chipican. The bright orange colour of the goldfish must make for easy target practice!

                            

Gulls are known as pirates of the sky as they often steal food from other 

predators. He didn't have any luck grabbing the Osprey's golden prize.

A Nashville Warbler is busy hunting for insects to eat. Warbler migration 

continues to be very slow. We are still awaiting the arrival of many species.  

This Tree Swallow reminds me of a dog trying to get through

 a door while holding a stick that is just too long!

We found an adult Double Crested Cormorant with his "double crests" visible this morning. It is the first time I remember noticing this feature and after some quick research learned that the crests are only visible during breeding season on adult birds.

And with this picture I hope we all can be with family and 

friends soon, just like these Coromorant buddies in a tree!