January 20-26, 2020

Another week of mainly grey skies. Other birders had been reporting robins, but they had eluded us until this morning.  The berries on the Juniper trees provided a snack and shelter for them. We typically find Robins in the winter, so these ones are unfortunately not a sign of spring being around the corner.

Deryl had some luck finding a Rough-legged hawk this week.  It sat in a tree at roadside, and he was able to shoot these photos from the car.

One early morning before work, a quick walk in Canatara earned me a Red-bellied Woodpecker, above, and a Bald Eagle, below.

The eagle was high in a tree on the lake shore, near the Lifeguard building.

While walking along the Blackwell Trails, Deryl spotted a Greater White-fronted Goose.  One had been seen around Port Franks 2 weeks ago, so we have been hoping and watching for it to arrive in the Sarnia area.

It flew off with a large flock of Canada Geese, but we expect it will stay in the area for at least a couple of days, as long as we have open water.

Canoeing at Cloud Bay

The general lack of sunshine and birds this past weekend compelled me to reminisce about a couple of recent trips to Cloud Bay (west of Thunder Bay) to visit my brother and his family.

We enjoyed a relatively leisurely paddle around Cloud Bay and managed to get surprisingly close to 3 Common Loons.

Lake Superior is not often as smooth as glass.  We couldn't have asked for better paddling conditions!

A vein of beautiful purple amethyst was visible in the rock!

We stopped to hike to the top of McKellar Point.  

This ridge is visible from the front window of my brother's home.

3 dragonflies were busy hunting for bugs to eat at this high elevation. 

The scenery was spectacular.  

Sharon and Deryl taking a break at the top.

A rather tattered looking Bald Eagle soared past.

Another stop to explore an island.

My brother has nick named this area "Peggy's Cove".

Wonderful reflections were found in the rock pools. 

These White Pelicans were not viewed from the canoe, but were one of many trip highlights!  It was impressive being so close to such large birds!

Mid-January

I have been faithfully carrying my camera around, despite the dreary weather.  Once in awhile the sun pops out.  Yesterday at lunch was one of those times and I found a grey Screech Owl peeking out of a wood duck box.  He too, was enjoying the sunshine!

Carolina Wrens continue to come to our backyard peanut feeder.  This bird was keeping both eyes on me.  I had to take the photo through the glass window.

Deryl had a close encounter with a Canada Goose recently.  It's amazing that Lake Chipican is still mostly ice free.  I hope hibernating creatures don't wake up thinking that spring has sprung!

Near Strathroy, I encountered a large flock of Snow Buntings (1,000+), my first of the year!  

While touring around the county on the weekend, we found a few dead ends thanks to flooded roads.

The main trails to the back of Henderson Conservation Area have been flooded this winter more often than not.

Following the rainfall, muddy creeks and rivers are making it more difficult for fishing birds to find food.  A Kingfisher moved from Talfourd Creek to the St. Clair River in his quest for a meal.

Despite the rain, there was enough of a chill in the air to frost the trees.

Even the trees on Stag Island, in the St. Clair River, were frosted white.

This weekend's rains inspired me to look through some old photos for today's post.

Rascally Raccoons!

Raccoons show a lot of character and I enjoy photographing them while we are out and about looking for birds.

This fellow was "bathing" in the top of a tree snag, relaxing on his back....not at all concerned about hikers on the nearby trail.

One early morning in June 2018 I looked out my kitchen window to find this family of 5 navigating along the chain link fence in our backyard.

They were headed in the direction of Canatara Park and didn't hang around long. The youngsters were having a very difficult time balancing on the metal rod!

One month later I found a family of 5 in the park. Perhaps it was the same group that paraded through my backyard in June?

Some times the whole coon doesn't quite fit into the sleeping hole.

This pair of "teenagers" appeared to be "out back" having a smoke!

Although a mostly nocturnal creature, they can be very curious during daylight hours.

"The morning after the night before!"  Must have been a long night!

The Pinery Jan. 3, 2020

We had an early start at The Pinery and were greeted with this view of the Ausable Cut.

Tufted Titmice (above) and White-breasted Nuthatches (below) were abundant as they searched for food at parking area #9.

Our surprise find was an Eastern Towhee, definitely not on the expected winter bird list!  He disappeared almost as quickly as he appeared in the undergrowth.

Much of the main road  at The Pinery is closed to vehicles during the winter months.  We parked and walked a 5.5 km loop to reach the Riverside Trail, one of my favourite trails at any time of the year.  A Merlin made a fly by and shortly thereafter we found this Blue Jay, "frozen in fear". He didn't want to twitch a feather until the Merlin was no longer a threat to his survival. Another "frozen in fear" bird was the Red-headed Woodpecker, below.  We were happy to add the woodpecker to our 2020 list!

Since we were already in North Lambton, we made the short drive to Greenway Road and found over 50 Tundra Swans taking a break from their southern journey .

Canatara Park continues to host a variety of bird species through the winter including this male Red-bellied Woodpecker whose head was glowing in the morning light!

A White-breasted Nuthatch showed the Downy Woodpecker who was boss.  The nuthatch chased off the woodpecker with an aggressive display of feathers.

Deryl was touring in the Corunna area yesterday and found a Snow Goose on Lasalle Line that I luckily had time to see before it flew off.

Early this morning, Deryl headed to the Solar Farm and found his first Short-eared owl of the year...a species that I will need to watch for now!