Rondeau Ric

Female summer tanager, May 12, 2018, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. A rare visitor to our neighbourhood, we normally get scarlet tanagers. Piranga rubra The Summer Tanager is a bee and wasp specialist. It catches these insects in flight and kills them by beating them against a branch. Before eating a bee, the tanager rubs it on the branch to remove the stinger. Summer Tanagers eat larvae, too: first they get rid of the adults, and then they tear open the nest to get the grubs. The oldest Summer Tanager on record was a male, and at least 7 years, 11 months old when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Texas in 1986. source -  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Summer_Tanager/

Grey squirrel, Dec25, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Our yard attracts many squirrels, they clean up under the feeders and when they can the clean the feeders right out. The North American Grey squirrel is native to this area of Southern Ontario and these animals occur in grey or black, and sometimes their fur has a reddish tinge. Its belly is often white and it has a large bushy tail. Particularly in urban areas where the risk of predation is reduced, both white and black coloured varieties are quite often found.

American Goldfinch, Dec 27, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. The blue jays found it and opened up the crevasse down to the water in the little stream in our yard. All the other birds appreciated the jays efforts. Spinus tristis When Brown-headed Cowbirds lay eggs in an American Goldfinch nest, the cowbird egg may hatch but the nestling seldom survives longer than three days. The cowbird chick simply can’t survive on the all-seed diet that goldfinches feed their young. The oldest known American Goldfinch was 10 years 9 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during a banding operation in Maryland. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch

Dec 25, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Lots of birds in the yard, not many species but lots of activity. Cardinalis cardinalis Only a few female North American songbirds sing, but the female Northern Cardinal does, and often while sitting on the nest. This may give the male information about when to bring food to the nest. A mated pair shares song phrases, but the female may sing a longer and slightly more complex song than the male. The oldest recorded Northern Cardinal was a female, and was 15 years, 9 months old when she was found in Pennsylvania. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/

Blue jay, Dec 25, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Digging deep to find the little stream under the snow. Cyanocitta cristata Some individual jays migrate south one year, stay north the next winter, and then migrate south again the next year. No one has worked out why they migrate when they do. The oldest known wild, banded Blue Jay was at least 26 years, 11 months old when it was found dead after being caught in fishing gear. It had been banded in the Newfoundland/Labrador/St. Pierre et Miquelon area in 1989 and was found there in 2016. source -  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/

Snowy owl, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Dec 23, 2020. Fellow birders let me know this owl was just down the road from me. Also let me know where a screech owl was. Nice to have birding friends. Bubo scandiacus Male Snowy Owls are barred with dark brown when they’re young and get whiter as they get older. Females keep some dark markings throughout their lives. Although the darkest males and the palest females are nearly alike in color, the whitest birds—including the ones that played Harry Potter’s Hedwig—are always males and the most heavily barred ones are always females. The oldest-known Snowy Owl was a female, and at least 23 years, 10 months old when she was recaptured in 2015 during banding operations in Montana. She had been banded in Massachusetts in 1992. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Owl/

White tailed deer, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Dec 17, 2020. We are starting to get deer back in the yard. They clean up under the bird feeders. Odocoileus virginianus The doe leaves her fawn unattended for hours at a time. When the fawn remains bedded, the natural camouflage of its spotted coat and its almost scentless condition effectively conceal it from predators. The doe returns at intervals to suckle the fawn. source - https://www.hww.ca/.../wil.../mammals/white-tailed-deer.html

Sept 14, 2017, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. One of the many warbler species that pass through the park on migration. Geothlypis trichas Adult Common Yellowthroats sometimes fall prey to carnivorous birds such as Merlins and Loggerhead Shrikes. Occasionally they have more unexpected predators: one migrating yellowthroat was eaten by a Chuck-will's-widow, while another was found in the stomach of a largemouth bass. The oldest Common Yellowthroat on record was at least 11 years, 6 months old. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Yellowthroat

May 28, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Photographed from the pontoon boat at the edge of the marsh. Cistothorus palustris Marsh Wrens are tiny but fierce. They fight for resources and regularly pierce eggs and kill nestlings of Marsh Wrens and other birds. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Marsh_Wren/

July 12, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Onntario, Canada. Most often skulking in the underbrush bur they come out for the water in the yard. Dumetella carolinensis The Gray Catbird’s long song may last for up to 10 minutes. The oldest known Gray Catbird was at least 17 years, 11 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in New Jersey in 2001. It had been banded in Maryland in 1984. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray_Catbird/

McLean's Conservation Area, near Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Aug 24, 2020. Posed nicely on a seasonal mudflat. Calidris melanotos Pectoral Sandpipers nest from the tundra of easternmost Russia across Alaska and into northern Canada. A few migrate to Australasia for the winter, but most winter in southern South America. This means that some Pectoral Sandpipers make a round-trip migration of nearly 19,000 miles every year! source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pectoral_Sandpiper/

Feb 5, 2018, Lasalle Park Community Marina, Burlington, Ontario, Canada. From the archieves. Aythya marila Eggs and ducklings fall prey to predators such as gulls, foxes, and ravens. In some areas, northern pike (fish) also eat ducklings. The oldest recorded Greater Scaup was a male, and at least 20 years, 5 months old when he was found in Michigan in 2007. He had been banded in New York in 1988. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Scaup/

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada,Dec 1, 2020. An common bur irregular visitor to our feeders. Poecile atricapillus There is a dominance hierarchy within flocks. Some birds are “winter floaters” that don’t belong to a single flock—these individuals may have a different rank within each flock they spend time in. The oldest known wild Black-capped Chickadee was a male and at least 11 years, 6 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Minnesota in 2011. It had been banded in the same state in 2002. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee

Near Erieau, Ontario, Canada, Dec 3, 2020. Out looking for snowy owls, found one too far away for a photo, got two rough-legged hawks. This was the closer one, still 400+ yards/meters way. Buteo lagopus Nonbreeding adults eat about a quarter-pound of food daily, or a tenth of their body mass - that’s about 5 small mammals. Nestlings start feeding themselves (swallowing lemmings whole) at about 16 days old. It’s estimated that a brood of 2 nestlings requires 26 pounds of food during the 40 days between hatching to fledging. The oldest Rough-legged Hawk on record, a female, was at least 17 years, 9 months old when found in Illinois in 1979. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rough-legged_Hawk

After years of working and supporting people these chairs finally retired and are waiting to go on a trip. I was out looking for snowy owls but found this instead.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Nov 29, 2020. Went down to the beach to see if anything ws happening. Flights of red-breasted merganser and lots of ring-billed gulls. Larus delawarensis Many, if not most, Ring-billed Gulls return to breed at the colony where they hatched. Once they have bred, they are likely to return to the same breeding spot each year, often nesting within a few meters of the last year's nest site. Many individuals return to the same wintering sites each winter too. The oldest recorded Ring-billed Gull was at least 27 years, 6 months old when it was found in New York. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ring-billed_Gull

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, July 27, 2018. A very wet bird after an energetic bath in the little stream. Baeolophus bicolor Tufted Titmice hoard food in fall and winter, a behavior they share with many of their relatives, including the chickadees and tits. Titmice take advantage of a bird feeder’s bounty by storing many of the seeds they get. Usually, the storage sites are within 130 feet of the feeder. The birds take only one seed per trip and usually shell the seeds before hiding them. The oldest known wild Tufted Titmouse was at least 13 years, 3 months old. It was banded in Virginia in 1962, and found in the same state in 1974. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, May 17, 2018. Setophaga coronata The Yellow-rumped Warbler is the only warbler able to digest the waxes found in bayberries and wax myrtles. Its ability to use these fruits allows it to winter farther north than other warblers, sometimes as far north as Newfoundland. The oldest recorded Yellow-rumped Warbler was at least 7 years old. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-rumped_Warbler

May 15, 2018, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Vireo olivaceus The red iris that gives the Red-eyed Vireo its name doesn't develop until the end of the birds' first winter. Then the brown iris the birds were born with becomes dull brick red to bright crimson in different individuals. The oldest known Red-eyed Vireo was at least 10 years, 2 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operation in Maryland. source -  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-eyed_Vireo

Common grackle, Oct 20, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. With the dictating membrane protecting one eye it reminds me of a pirate with an eye patch. Quiscalus quiscula Common Grackles are resourceful foragers. They sometimes follow plows to catch invertebrates and mice, wade into water to catch small fish, pick leeches off the legs of turtles, steal worms from American Robins, raid nests, and kill and eat adult birds. The oldest recorded Common Grackle was a male, and at least 23 years old when he was killed by a raptor in Minnesota. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Grackle/

Canvasback duck landing in Detroit River at Windsor, Feb 21, 2019. Aythya valisineria The species name of the Canvasback, valisineria, comes from Vallisneria americana, or wild celery, whose winter buds and stems are the duck’s preferred food during the nonbreeding period. The oldest recorded Canvasback was a male, and at least 22 years, 7 months old when he was shot in California in 1991. He had been banded in the same state in 1969. source -https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canvasback

 Do you see the alien? Wasp nest.

Big south west winds caused flooding along the Lake Erie shore a few days ago. Lake This photo was taken from about 2km (1.2 miles)away, the road was closed. Waves were crashing into the hardened shore line and going up and over the houses and across the road.

Nov 17, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Just a single bunting, normally they arrive in a large flock, eat the available food and then leave as quickly as they came. Image taken through a dirty window. Plectrophenax nivalis Male Snow Buntings head to their high arctic breeding grounds when the ground is still covered in snow and temperatures can dip to -22° F. That doesn't seem like a good time to arrive, but males need to arrive early to make sure they get one of the limited nesting spots in a rock crevice. Females join them 3 to 4 weeks later when things start to warm up.

 Saw this one on Nov 12, 2020,  alongside Harrison Trail, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Seems to be late migrating south. Danaus plexippus The eastern North American monarch population is notable for its annual southward late-summer/autumn  migration  from the northern and central United States and southern  Canada  to  Florida and  Mexico . [4]  During the fall migration, monarchs cover thousands of miles, with a corresponding multi-generational return north.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Nov 12, 2020. High in a tree against a bluebird sky. Sialia sialis Eastern Bluebirds eat mostly insects, wild fruit and berries. Occasionally, Eastern Bluebirds have also been observed capturing and eating larger prey items such as shrews, salamanders, snakes, lizards and tree frogs.

Sept 10, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. A pond visitor. Catharus ustulatus If you live within the Swainson’s Thrush’s range, you can make your yard more enticing to this bird by providing tree and shrub cover and ground-level bird baths and letting leaf litter accumulate. The longest-lived Swainson’s Thrush on record was at least 12 years, 1 month old when it was recaught and rereleased during banding operations in Montana in 2006.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Nov 8, 2020. I was out for a bike ride when I met up with another birder/photographer who told me where an owl was roosting. Went home and go the camera and found it sitting high in a tree. Megascops asio The Eastern Screech-Owl is known to eat a variety of songbirds, including the European Starling. Despite this fact, the starling regularly displaces the owl from nesting sites and takes over the hole to raise its own brood.