A Colourful Start to Spring:

A pair of Wood Ducks swam in the Lake Chipican channel this morning. The male is one of our most colourful ducks. Look for Wood Ducks around the edges of swamps, sluggish streams, overgrown beaver ponds and wood-fringed marshes. They pick their way around vegetation growing out of the water or stand on tree branches or logs along the shoreline. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds)

Flocks of White-throated Sparrows are currently migrating through our area. Making a brush pile in your yard, will give these sparrows a place to take cover in between trips to your bird feeder. They have a pretty, wavering whistle which sounds like "Oh-sweet-canada". (Cornell Lab, All About Birds.)

Warblers are trickling into the area. I had the good fortune to see a Northern Waterthrush this afternoon! They forage near or on the ground or in shallow water where their long legs enable them to wade into pond edges in pursuit of prey. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds.)

A very rare Humming-pecker visited our back yard feeders this evening.

Couldn't resist showing a couple more goslings in the "too cute" category!

Goslings Are Abundant...

Is nap time over? 

Gander Goose calling his kids back.

A couple of cuties on the trail! Hatchlings are covered with yellowish down and their eyes are open. They leave the nest when 1-2 days old, depending on the weather, and can walk, swim, feed and even dive. They have enough energy remaining in their yolk sac to survive 2 days before feeding. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds.)

A Killdeer did his best to hide from me on the Canatara Beach.

Only last week, the same bird was sitting in snow. Brrr.

Virginia Bluebells! The "sky-blue" bells provide early spring 

nectar for butterflies and are members of the Forget-Me-Not family.

 Hawk Migration!

Broad-winged Hawks were on the move this morning. While standing for 30 minutes on "Hawk Watch Hill" (a high point in Canatara, named by Deryl), we watched over 300 hawks migrate in kettles of up to 60 birds.

One of the flight "leaders" travelled closer to the ground for a photo op!

Warblers were also on on the move. I saw my first Palm Warbler of the season. The near constant tail-wagging of this species helps to confirm its identity. They mainly forage on open ground or in low vegetation, rather than in the forest canopy. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds.)

The Pine Warbler is the only warbler that eats large quantities of seeds, primarily those of pines. This seed-eating ability means Pine Warblers sometimes visit bird feeders. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds.)

The Brown-headed Cowbird is North America's most common "brood parasite".  (Males in top photo; a single female in bottom photo.) A female cowbird makes no nest of her own, but instead lays her eggs in the nests of other bird species, who then raise the young cowbirds. Cowbird eggs hatch faster than other species eggs, giving cowbird nestlings a head start in getting food from the parents. Young cowbirds also develop at a faster pace than their nest mates and they sometimes toss out eggs and young nestlings or smother them in the bottom of the nest. Most birds do not recognize Cow Bird eggs in their own nest. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds.) 

First of year goslings in Canatara Park with egg shell in foreground. They sure are cute at this stage! Luckily each pair of Canada Geese will only have one brood per year. It won't be long before we are over run with goose families!

 Mid-April Things:

A Mourning Cloak sipping nectar in the flowers on our Norway Maple.

An American Robin was busy picking up garbage discarded by careless people.

It looks like the garbage has a new home.

I was lucky to find a Northern Mockingbird three days in a row! They are uncommon in our area. In the nineteenth century, people kept so many mockingbirds as cage birds that the birds nearly vanished from parts of the East Coast. People took nestlings out of nests or trapped adults and sold them in cities such Philadelphia, St. Louis and New York where in 1828, extraordinary singers could fetch as much as $50.00. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds)

Lookout Goose on a pavilion roof!

It has been interesting watching the dredging process near the entrance to the Sarnia Yacht Club. Sediment build up is an annual problem for the larger boats but this is the first time I have witnessed the dredging in progress.

 

 More Things With Wings!

Thanks to their beautiful markings, warblers are sometimes called the "butterflies of the birding world" and are known for their long distance migrations. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds) We eagerly anticipate the arrival of more of these colourful birds to join the Yellow-rumped Warblers, found in Canatara today.

The Eastern Bluebird is sometimes called the "Bluebird of Happiness". They make me smile whenever I see one and they have started nest building in the park again. 

(Male in top photo, female above.)

Osprey were spotted fishing in Canatara Park this week. They return to the same breeding location every year and we have noticed improvements to last year's nest structure.

Turkey Vultures are moving through in large numbers. They are majestic but unsteady while soaring. Their teetering flight with very few wingbeats is characteristic. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds.)

The Great Blue Heron has been a regular at the flooded bench. 

Maybe he likes to keep his feet dry???

Water droplets after the rain.

A tiny, dewy spider web suspended in the catkins.

 A Visit to Henderson C.A.

I spent Tuesday morning walking the trails at Henderson Conservation Area near Petrolia. Here are some of my favourite pics.

Black Cherry blossoms were in full bloom!

It has been months since I last fed the Black-capped Chickadees, but a pair of them darted over to me for some seeds. Luckily I had a few in my pocket.

A quick glance at this Chickadee reveals an unusually large beak, but the positioning of the sunflower seed created the illusion.

A curious Northern Cardinal closely watched the hand feeding action. This photo was taken with my macro lens which shows how close he was. I have seen pictures of Cardinals hand feeding. I think if you had the patience, (which I don't) this fellow could be convinced to hand feed.

An immature Bald Eagle did a fly around with a stick. After circling the water, he returned to the same branch, stick still grasped in his talons.

A mink ran across the trail in front of me. It didn't go very far, dropped into a hole and peered back at me. Normally they disappear out of site when I find them.

I was happy to find some Spring Beauty in the woods. I love the candy-striped petals!

Both Yellow and White Trout Lilies are blooming 

on the forest floor! The white flower is relatively rare.

Butterflies in North Lambton!

It was an exciting day at the Pinery! We were hoping for an Olympia Marble and found our first one in the expected area of the park. The greenish yellow marbling is visible on the underwing. This uncommon butterfly is only 30-40mm across. 

Olympia Marble, upper wing pattern. They overwinter as a chrysalis.

Rockcress is a host plant for the Olympia Marble.

An unexpected bonus was finding a Brown Elfin during our lunch break. This was our second "Life butterfly" of the day! It is in the Gossamer-wings family characterized by small, delicate wings. They almost always hold their wings closed over their backs while perched. (The ROM Field Guide to butterflies of Ontario.) At this stop, we found another Olympia Marble!

Spring Azures are flying again. This butterfly ranges in size from 18-28 mm.

We made a quick stop at the Visitors Centre where lots of Red Squirrels were taking advantage of fallen bird seed from the feeders above.

Shorebirds can be viewed in water puddles on nearby fields. A flock of mostly Pectoral Sandpipers flew overhead in "arrow" formation. This flock of 135 birds swooped and swirled in a tight group for several minutes.

A patch of Bloodroot: Their petals are fragile and the plant will not likely be blooming much longer.