Winter Life in Canatara Park and Waterfowl at the St. Clair River!

It is a misconception that Owls can turn their heads 360 degrees. Unlike humans with moveable eyes, owls have large, elongated, tubular eyes that are fixed in place. Extensive head rotation serves to compensate for their fixed gaze. Unlike humans with 7 cervical vertebrae, owls posses 14 vertebrae, allowing them to turn their heads 270 degrees in either direction. This Eastern Screech Owl rotated its head back and forth as it followed the movements of 2 squirrels racing around the tree in which it was sitting.

https://biologyinsights.com/how-far-can-owls-actually-turn-their-heads/

The same Screech Owl looking up (180 degree head turn) at the squirrels from the same roosting spot but a different angle with the camera.

In an area known as the "feeding stumps, many birds have been congregating to get food during the recent frigid weather. An American Tree Sparrow had the stump to himself for a few moments.

Northern Cardinal, Dark-eyed Junco and American Tree Sparrow sharing space on the "feeding" Log.

Ice on Lake Huron from Canatara Beach.

We parked on the gravely road shoulder on a rural tour when we saw a small flock of Snow Buntings. Some corn had spilled and 34 Snow Buntings plus 7 Horned Larks were enjoying the treat.

At Guthrie Park, just north of Corunna, a patch of open water in the St. Clair River attracted a great deal of waterfowl. About 200 Redheads were concentrated in this location.

Video: Ducks swimming against current in St. Clair River.

Long-tailed Ducks flew north after drifting downriver in the strong current.

Some of the 200 Common Mergansers that we saw. It was difficult to get an exact count since there was so much movement in the water. We saw 17 species and over 600 individual birds at Guthrie Park.

Canvasback with snow on head.

Belted Kingfisher. A Kingfisher can often be found in the area of open water each winter.

A recent sunrise!

 Remembering 2018!

There were few opportunities to photograph birds due to cold weather and storms this week. (Everyone was hiding!) These photos were taken in 2018 prior to starting my Blog:

Snowy Owls are diurnal. They hunt actively during daylight hours.

Snowy Owl: Thick feathers for insulation from Arctic cold make Snowy Owls North America's heaviest owl, typically weighing about 4 pounds, one pound heavier than a Great Horned Owl, and twice the weight of a Great Gray Owl (North America's tallest owl.)

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

7 Monarch Butterflies on Missouri Ironweed in our backyard in the fall. These  migrating Monarchs were having a food and rest break on their way to Mexico.

One morning while looking out the kitchen window, I saw a Mom Raccoon leading her litter of babies as they walked along the top of the chain link fence. The youngsters were having a difficult time balancing on the slippery, narrow pipe!

When I carefully opened the back door, they 'paused for a photo'. They were headed in the direction of a treed area, but would eventually end up in Canatara Park.

Summer Tanagers are regular visitors to Ontario and one shows up locally approximately every 3 years. (Immature male in above photo.) They are Bee and Wasp specialists. After catching the stinging insects in flight, they kill them by beating them against a branch. Before eating a bee, the tanager rubs it on a branch to remove the stinger.

https://.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Summer_Tanager/overview

A close-up of a pair of Great Blue Heron feet and legs - an interesting scale-like pattern on the legs!

Red-headed Woodpeckers attempted to nest three years in a row in Canatara Park. They were successful in two of those years, and in 2018, I saw 2 juvenile birds out of the nest! Part of the tree has since fallen down, and the birds have not returned to nest.

Life is tough in the wild. Eat or be eaten. The Red-tailed Hawk 'plucked' this’ Northern Flicker right out of its nesting cavity while we watched!

Unknown dragonfly on a dewy morning!

Common Green Darner laying eggs

Northern Rough-winged Swallows - feeding time!

Smartweed Caterpillar

Wild Turkey Toms during an argument.

Female Wild Turkey with at least 4 "poults" or chicks.

 

Raven v.s. Canada Goose!

A pair of Common Ravens descended on a small flock of Canada Geese that were feeding in a corn field. The Ravens were quite aggressive, possibly trying to steal corn pieces that the Geese had dug up from under the snow.

At one point, a Raven grabbed a feather that was still attached to the Canada Goose!! The Ravens eventually wandered off, perhaps to find something else to pester.

Winter Snow Birds!

Unmistakeable Northern Cardinals, female top, male bottom.

Golden-crowned Kinglet; one of 2 spotted in the gardens adjacent to the Sarnia Bay.

While I was watching the Eastern Screech Owl, a dog on leash passing by, quickly got the owl's attention! (The roosting box is on an island separate from the walking trails.)

Screech Owls are regularly poking their faces out of tree cavities.

Wind blown Canatara beach!

White-throated Sparrows winter in areas with dense low cover, including forest undergrowth and edges. They can also be found in well-vegetated suburbs and parks. Although found in southern Ontario in the winter, they aren't common at this time of year.

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/white-throated-sparrow

A Red-bellied Woodpecker pair briefly shared the same tree.  This species is found locally throughout the entire year.

A wind blown Red-bellied Woodpecker.

A male Red-bellied Woodpecker spent a lot of time investigating caching places for the peanut. I watched it inspect several locations on 3 different trees! They often wedge nuts into tree bark crevices as deep as 1-3 inches. They create storage holes with their strong beaks to hide the food for later consumption.

https://birdfeederhub.com/facts-about-red-bellied-woodpeckers/

The Red-breasted Nuthatch has a greatly enlarged hind toe and a stubby tail. Both adaptations assist the bird when climbing downwards. The large toe provides secure footing; If the tail was long and floppy (rather than stubby), it would likely get in the way.

https://www.hww.ca/wildlife/birds/red-breasted-nuthatch/

 Pinery January 8th:

During the winter months, car access to the 14 km road loop through the Pinery is closed. The quieter conditions can result in good finds, but birds were scarce along the road last Thursday. Although we saw few birds, we heard a Common Raven, Pileated Woodpecker, both Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, and some chickadees. We hoped for some of the winter finches, but they did not want to be seen or heard.

Birch Polypore on a Birch Tree. They look like large saucers.

White-tailed Deer Tracks

Raccoon Tracks

Many trees were covered in lichens, adding some colour to the landscape.

Fishing Bobbers and fishing line are tangled on tree branches along the Riverside trail. Fishing line is a hazard to wildlife if they become tangled in, or digest it. Six Bobbers could be seen near the lookout dock along the Riverside trail.

There was a little more activity at Beach #9, including some Red Squirrels who were busy scurrying among the trees.

A Tufted Titmouse found seed on the ground.

Red-breasted Nuthatch: This species doesn’t often hand feed.

We walked to Lake Huron from the parking lot but ducks were so far out they were difficult to see. A juvenile Bald Eagle made a pass along the shore line. 

Lake Huron tossed thousands of ice balls up onto the shore! 

The former road at Beach #9 which is now a foot path, was underwater.

Our last stop was at the Visitor Centre. The Black-capped Chickadees were happy to see us. My head served as a waiting zone until space was available for seed retrieval from my hand. Chickadees have their own hierarchy for eating and there was a lot of squabbling whenever a bird tried to eat out of turn!

We traveled back roads on the tour home, and found one of our target birds, a Northern Shrike. His hooked beak is used to feed on rodents and small birds. It breeds in the far north and is only seen in southern Canada during the winter. They perch high on trees and wires to watch for prey.

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/northern-shrike

A well camouflaged Northern Harrier sat in a field snacking on prey. Northern Harriers are the most "owl-like" of hawks. (but aren't related to owls.) The disk-shaped face looks and functions much like an owl's with stiff facial feathers helping to direct sound to the ears.

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