Natural White!

I visited the Desjardins Canal again and discovered many white critters! Larger and plumper than a Mourning Dove, Rock Pigeons are tubby birds with small heads and short legs. There is a lot of colour variation in individual birds. 

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rock_Pigeon/id

Although Mute Swans are commonly found at the canal, today a pair of Trumpeter Swans joined the party. The yellow tag is one of the best field marks for separating Trumpeter Swans from Tundra Swans. 😉 The swan on the right has managed to escape capture and is therefore "tag-less"! Trumpeter Swans have expanded their range in recent years as they continue their comeback from near-extinction. The species now nests across a broad area of the Midwest and Great Lakes.  

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Trumpeter_Swan/overview#

A lot of their time was spent with submerged heads as they scoured for plants. In the lower photo, the neck, head and beak are all visible under the water.

Ring-billed Gulls were plentiful in their primarily white wardrobe.

Although not found at the canal, a Great Pyrenes matched the white theme of the day!

 Waiting for Spring:

After experiencing mild weather last week, many of us are looking forward to the return of more migrating birds. Lake Huron has not been an inviting place lately.

Birds are more easily found at feeding stations. A Northern Cardinal and Black-capped Chickadee were willing to share the stump.

A Dark-eyed Junco patiently awaits its turn to get seed.

A light coloured Mallard Hen

Mallard Drake and his shadow. The purplish-blue speculum, outlined in white, is visible on the wing. It is easier to see when the bird is in flight.

I liked the look of lichens covered in ice after a recent storm.

 Canatara Park, mid-February:

Canada Geese have been staking out territories on Lake Chipican. The Goose in the lower photo is in it's defense pose, jokingly called a "Cobra Chicken". It looks like "Cobra Chicken Season" has begun! 

A Downy Woodpecker appears to be checking a "map" created by beetle larva. If only it could follow a "road" to some juicy food! Beetle galleries are carved into the inner bark by female beetles and their larvae. Some species of beetles carve a specific pattern, while others carve random grooves. 

https://www.wta.org/news/signpost/the-truth-behind-bug-trails

The bright red colour of the Seven-spotted Lady Beetle caught my attention this week as it crawled across the ground. They will overwinter under tree bark and inside rock crevices. This species has been repeatedly introduced to North America as a biological control agent to reduce aphid numbers. 

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/51702-Coccinella-septempunctata

Hopefully the current ice storm doesn't cause a lot of damage. These images were taken following last week's freezing rain event.

 Back to Chatham-Kent:

We had some errands in Chatham last week, and made a detour to Mitchell's Bay.  We didn't seen any birds at the end of Main Street so drove to the North Lakeshore Nature Trail for a walk. 

Some of the 19 Greater Black-backed Gulls that we found tucked into sheltered areas at the North end of the Bay.

175 Tundra Swans were visible but many more could be heard beyond our view.

This picture will likely need to be enlarged, but a row of dots just below the line where the sky meets the water is visible. There were thousands of ducks resting in that line. At this location, we were able to positively identify 28 species, including a pair of Sandhill Cranes that flew in but were too far for photos.

We also made a stop at Peers Wetland, just north of Wallaceburg, where we encountered the aggressive Mute Swan residents. The Swan above flew straight down the path at me before veering over the water to chase away a rival swan. They make a lot of noise in flight and when landing.

Watching and listening to them land was entertaining. They used their wings and feet as brakes by repeatedly dipping them into the water.  It sounded to me like a car driving with a flat tire!

I have driven past these poles on several occasions and finally got to see their purpose. These students were learning at the St. Clair Power Line Training Centre.

 Signs of a Too Early Spring:

A few days of exceptionally mild temperatures in February fooled some local critters into believing Spring is here.

February 15th is by far the earliest date that I have ever seen Painted Turtles basking in the sun.  

After also seeing a Red-eared Slider, I did a fairly thorough scan of the traditional basking territories in Canatara Park and luckily did not find any more turtles.

As long as they can find food, some American Robins will choose to spend the winter in Ontario. It’s always nice to see them as we await the arrival of spring. The fruit on Staghorn Sumac is a favourite food in the winter.

Pussy Willows can be found in mid to late winter. This photo was taken February 15. Pussy Willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus Salix when their furry catkins are young in early spring. Catkins are typically downy and are composed of flowers of a single sex which will be wind-pollinated. 

https://www.thespruce.com/planting-pussy-willow-trees-for-spring-2130899

We don't normally see Red-winged Blackbirds in Lambton County until March but a few have shown up in Canatara Park in recent days. The males are busy securing their territories prior to the arrival of females.

A Mourning Dove spent several hours sitting in a natural “wooden bowl" on a branch in our backyard yesterday. At first glance, the Dove appeared to be on a nest. I often joke that Doves only use about 6 sticks in building their nest structure. Perhaps the dove is claiming the sturdier location for use once nesting season begins! 😉😉

 100+ km Bike Ride on Valentine's Day!

I never thought that weather conditions would allow Deryl to go on a 114.7 km bike ride on Valentine's Day!  He is doing a second consecutive Green Birding Year in Lambton County and hoped to add the Harris's Sparrow to his bird list by cycling to Bog Line.

It took an hour of waiting before it popped out of the bushes, but we finally got to see the Harris's Sparrow. Range maps of this species show it as a mid-western bird. They tend to wander a lot during migration and we have been lucky to have one spend the winter in Lambton County!

Once the Sparrow was documented, I drove to the Port Franks beach while Deryl cycled.

Our purpose in heading to the beach was to see the Black-legged Kittiwake that has been in the area for a few weeks. The Mud Creek outlet into Lake Huron is a popular feeding area for gulls and is a common location to see the Kittiwake.

This is NOT a Black-legged Kittiwake! We weren't able to find the Kittiwake, but it gave me the chance to photograph other gulls in flight. Ring-billed Gulls use a wide variety of foraging methods: walking on land, stamping their feet in shallow water to uncover small invertebrates; skimming shallow water for small fish; and nabbing insects out of the air. They steal food from other birds, hunt for small rodents, and scavenge along beaches, parks, and garbage dumps.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ring-billed_Gull/overview

Prior to starting the road trip, a pair of Northern Cardinals posed for their Valentine photo this morning!

Lake Erie, Chatham-Kent:

We met some friends in Chatham-Kent to do some birding yesterday. Behind the Canada Geese and beyond the ice was a Barrow's Goldeneye! We were standing on a dock at Erieau, looking toward the tip of Rondeau Provincial Park which is visible in the background.

Deryl managed to photograph the Barrow's Goldeneye after we found it through the scope. It spent most of the time hiding behind the ice. The Barrow's Goldeneye is primarily a coastal bird.

Lake Erie from Erieau dock.

We were fortunate to see a Barred Owl which we probably would not have found if it hadn't been pointed out to us. It is resting in a tree beyond the phragmites and looks a bit like a hornet's nest.

Deryl was able to get a better photo of the owl. Barred Owls are large, stocky owls with rounded heads, no ear tufts and medium length, rounded tails. The Great Horned Owl is the most serious predatory threat to the Barred Owl. Although the two species often live in the same areas, a Barred Owl will move to another part of its territory when a Great Horned Owl is nearby.  

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

 A Bit of This and That:

A White-throated Sparrow has chosen to spend the winter in Canatara Park. I have seen it several times, but Deryl was able to photograph it when it popped up and posed for him. White-throated Sparrows tend to stay near the ground, scratching through leaves in search of food. You may see them low in bushes, particularly in spring when they eat fresh buds.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-throated_Sparrow/id

White-breasted Nuthatches get their common name from their habit of jamming large nuts and acorns into tree bark, then whacking them with their sharp bill to "hatch" out the seed from the inside.  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-breasted_Nuthatch/overview

Many gulls, including these Greater Black-backed Gulls took a break on the ice in Sarnia Bay, when we actually had ice. It is the largest Gull species in the world, weighing up to 4.5 pounds with a wingspan up to 63 inches! 

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Black-backed_Gull/id

More often than not, the Sarnia Bay has been free of ice this winter. Mallards enjoyed the "surfing" conditions on the choppy water one day.

The white bird in the centre of the photo is a Ross's Goose. Like the Snow Goose, it is also white with black wingtips but has a shorter neck and stubbier bill. A Ross's Goose can often be picked out of a large flock of Snow Geese by its immaculate white head. Snow Geese usually have yellow staining on their heads because they eat tubers in marsh soil. Ross's Geese tend to forage more on plants at the water's surface.

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

In their never ending quest to access our backyard bird feeder, a squirrel has been unsuccessfully launching itself from our daughter's day camp craft, made oh so many years ago.