A New Backyard Bird!

No, we don't have a lake in our backyard. Lake Chipican, as the crow flies, is only a few hundred meters from our house. The first year Mute Swan that has been hanging out in Canatara Park decided to vacate the area with the arrival of ice formation on Monday. Deryl was in our yard when it circled over our house on its way south.  

Upon returning home from my morning walk, I was welcomed by a flock of European Starlings. They typically look black, but in good light their iridescent, white tipped feathers, are quite striking in the winter months. I had planned on filling the birdfeeder but postponed my plans until this flock of 200 birds had moved on.

European Starlings are extremely aggressive birds that drive other species from nest sites. Among the species they've chased off are Wood Ducks, Buffleheads, Northern Flickers, Great Crested Flycatchers, Tree Swallows and Eastern Bluebirds. They are twice the size of a House Sparrow, but smaller than an American Robin.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/European_Starling/lifehistory

I always enjoy it when a Tufted Titmouse visits our backyard feeder. They are acrobatic foragers that often flock with chickadees, nuthatches and woodpeckers. They are regular visitors to bird feeders where they can be assertive over smaller birds.

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

 A Nuthatch, Waxwing and a Squirrel with a Raccoon Skull!

I was intrigued by the curious antics of a White-breasted Nuthatch that continually hopped around a tree cavity. He approached the hole and flew away 3 times. Perhaps he had found a predator.

An active White-breasted Nuthatch!

A small group of Cedar Waxwings spent time on a Siberian Crabapple Tree in Canatara earlier this week. In the past, many exotics have been planted in the park. Luckily today, emphasis is placed on native tree species.

A big apple to swallow! The Cedar Waxwing is one of the few North American birds that specializes in eating fruit. It can survive on fruit alone for several months. 

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

Eye on the prize!

2 Cedar Waxwings enjoying a feast.

I made an unexpected discovery in Canatara this week when I photographed an Eastern Grey Squirrel (black phase). I assumed the squirrel was carrying leaves to help insulate the nest for the approaching cold weather. But when I looked more closely, I realized it was carrying the skull of a raccoon! 

Rodents will nibble on bone to get calcium. Nothing goes to waste in nature!!

 On The Water!

A lone Mute Swan has taken up temporary residence in Lake Chipican. It's pink bill indicates that it is a first year bird. The large feet enable it to swim surprisingly quickly across the open water and it is usually on the far side of the lake from where I am standing. I recently managed to capture it eating plants from the bottom of the lake.

Chillin' with the geese!

Hundreds of Redheads have been gathering on Lake Chipican in recent weeks. The small lake shelters them from high winds flowing across Lake Huron, and also from hunters on the US side of the border. One day, Deryl counted 1,975 Redheads! Also present were Hooded Mergansers, Bufflehead, Scaup and Ring-necked Ducks.

Something disturbed the usually quiet and still birds. I couldn't see the cause of their concern. Perhaps a mink ran along the edge of the island, spooking ones that were closer to shore. It seemed a little too late in the season for a Snapping Turtle to have upset them.

Redheads repositioning in Lake Chipican.

Although there are several other bird species on the water the Mallard is the only one tame enough to come close to shore for a mug shot.

Canatara in November!

A hungry Blue Jay eating Staghorn Sumac berries.

Morning dew drops.

Fox Sparrows can be found during migration in both the spring and fall. The are often seen kicking up a spray of leaf litter in their quest for food. When on the forest floor, they are very well camouflaged!!

Carolina Wren - Even though these birds have a strikingly loud song, they can sometimes be difficult to locate!

Snow Bunting near the Canatara beach. They winter in open weedy and grassy fields and along lakeshores where debris piles up from wave or wind action.

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

4 Snow Buntings taking a break.

Swamp Sparrow with a twig in his beak.

 Komoko P.P., Part 2:

After leaving "The Ponds" trail area, we parked off Gideon Drive for a longer walk along wooded trails and through meadows.

The weather lured some reptiles into the sunshine, including this Common Garter Snake!

A highlight was finding about a dozen Bruce Spanworm Moths. Male moths are light brown with a one inch wing span. After mating in the fall, females crawl up and deposit their eggs singly in the trunk and branches of host trees. Overwintering eggs turn bright orange in colour and hatch in late April or May, about the same time that the leaf buds begin to open.

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/forest_health/insects/bruce_spanworm.htm

The male Bruce Spanworm Moths were very active, probably attracted by the phermones of the wingless females. 

A late flying Clouded Sulphur also made an appearance earlier in the week on a sunny day. This species will overwinter at the larva and chrysalis stages, depending upon their age once winter approaches.

 Komoka Provincial Park

We spent a few hours at Komoka Provincial Park on Wednesday. The gate for our first hiking location was at the south-west end of the park. We had not visited this section before.

View of the reservoir: There was very little sign of life on the water. About 130 Canada Geese could be seen in a field at the far edge of the water. We also saw 3 Mute Swans, 13 Mallards and a Great Blue Heron. At other times of year, there is likely a great selection of waterfowl! We will return!

It was a dewy morning. I liked how the blue arc, reflected from the water below, showed up in the water droplet.

Dew covered Common Milkweed fluff and seed.

As soon as we left the parking lot, we found 4 Eastern Bluebirds! Their food includes many insects such as caterpillars and grasshoppers. In the fall and winter, they eat large amounts of fruit including sumac, black cherry, hackberries and juniper berries.

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

6 Tundra Swans made a fly-by, trying to decide if they were going to take a rest and fuel stop. They eventually landed just out of sight.

We were being watched by a White-tailed Deer buck who turned and ran when we looked at him.

He eventually posed nicely when we were on the ridge trail.

We found a few pockets of songbirds, most of whom were too fast for me to capture with the camera. In addition to Black-capped Chickadees, we saw sparrows, nuthatches, kinglets, Goldfinch and Blue Jays.

 Butterfly Gardens

I didn't expect to see any butterflies at the Urquhart Butterfly Gardens on November 10th in Dundas, but it did make for a nice spot to stroll on a sunny day!

Birds in flight ended up being a theme for the walk. A Red-tailed Hawk took "lift off" from a nearby tree.

It was aggressively being chased by an American Crow. The Crow was performing aerial manoeuvres as it flipped upside down on its approach to the hawk. No contact was made.

A Northern Mockingbird, in true Mockingbird fashion, sat up on a high perch. They are known to sit on high vegetation, fences, eaves or telephone wires.

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

I was glad to be able to catch an in-flight shot of the Mockingbird!

Two Turkey Vultures circled overhead.

A Great Blue Heron flew past the vultures.

(Notice how the legs drag behind the heron while in flight.)

The chimney from the former Veldhuis' Greenhouses continues to stand, providing nesting shelter for Chimney Swifts in the warmer weather.

 Pinery Birds!

We headed back to Pinery Provincial Park today to help a friend introduce some cousins to birding. There were few birds to see in the morning, but that changed when we stopped for lunch at Beach Parking #9. Several Tufted Titmice were happy to see us!

Black-capped Chickadees were the "stars of the show". Their black cap and "chick-a-dee" song made for easy species identification. It was nice to experience the start of "hand-feeding season"!

A White-breasted Nuthatch stayed close by but did not land on any out-stretched hands. These birds are masters of stealing food cached or stored in tree bark by other birds.

A walk along the beach resulted in only one bird that the group could see which was a distant Bonaparte's Gull. Tracks in the sand revealed an American Crow had passed by earlier. Crows are in the group of birds with 4 toes; 3 pointing forward and 1 pointing behind. The backward-facing toe is called the hallux and is often larger and stronger than the other toes, providing support and balance. Two side-by-side Crow tracks are visible in the picture. The toenail of the hallux is dented into the sand behind the toe print.

https://learnbirdwatching.com/bird-claws/

Cedar Waxwings followed us along the Heritage Trail. There were lots of berries for the waxwings and Robins to feast upon.

We weren't lucky enough to see a Pileated Woodpecker today, however Deryl spied this individual on a visit a few days ago.