Rondeau Ric

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, July 31, 2020. While out on my daily bike ride I spotted a little critter running around a cottage that was undergoing renovations. It totally ignored the workmen and myself and hunted through the yard and piles of material. Really hard to get a decent image, this was taken at 1/800th of a second. Mustela frenata Biologists have described the long-tailed weasel as the purist of carnivores, as every feature of their body and behavior is adapted to live exclusively as a hunter. In short, they are effective rodent-harvesting machines. The long-tailed weasel, also known as the bridled weasel or big stoat, is a species of mustelid distributed from southern Canada throughout all the United States and Mexico, southward through all of Central America and into northern South America.

Red-eyed vireo, July 23, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Occasionally we get red-eyed vireos near the pond but they don't go in. At best they dive and splash then find a perch to groom on. They tend to stay back in the shadows of the hedge. Vireo olivaceus The male has been known to sing its brief song more than 20,000 times per day.

July 27, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. They seem to be having a discussion about who is violating social distancing. Two of five cedar waxwings that were splashing in the little water feature. We had eight in the yard and five in the water but I couldn't get a good image of all five birds. Bombycilla cedrorum Because they eat so much fruit, Cedar Waxwings occasionally become intoxicated or even die when they run across overripe berries that have started to ferment and produce alcohol. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, July 24, 2020. Normally we just hear this large woodpecker but every once in awhile one comes into our yard. Dryocopus pileatus The Pileated Woodpecker prefers large trees for nesting. In young forests, it will use any large trees remaining from before the forest was cut. Because these trees are larger than the rest of the forest, they present a lightning hazard to the nesting birds. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, July 23, 2020. Had a different looking oriole in the yard, it took awhile before it came into the open. It has a severely hunch back probably due to a birth defect or an injury. It flies around and gets to the feeders with no apparent problem but it can't look up. Icterus galbula Baltimore Orioles seek out ripe fruit. Cut oranges in half and hang them from trees to invite orioles into your yard. Special oriole feeders filled with sugar water supplement the flower nectar that Baltimore Orioles gather

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Poecile atricapillus The Black-capped Chickadee hides seeds and other food items to eat later. Each item is placed in a different spot and the chickadee can remember thousands of hiding places.

Cedar waxwing, July 13, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Bombycilla cedrorum 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. Brown-headed Cowbirds that are raised in Cedar Waxwing nests typically don’t survive, in part because the cowbird chicks can’t develop on such a high-fruit diet.

It is so hot outside that the birds are panting. Just like dogs, wild birds will open their bills and pant to help dissipate heat on a hot day. As they get hotter, their panting may increase in speed, or they may open their bills even further for greater cooling. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, July 19, 2020. Melanerpes carolinus

Forester's tern, Erieau, Ontario, July 15, 2020. We saw lots of these tens along the beach but this was the only one posing on a piling. Sterna forsteri In the 1800s, Forster’s Terns and several other tern species were shot, stuffed, and mounted onto large hats that were fashionable during the Victorian and Edwardian era millinery trade. This practice ended with the passages of the Migratory Birds Convention Act in Canada (1917) and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in the United States (1919). source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Forsters_Tern

Red-headed woodpecker, July 13, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario Canada. Came in for the grapes. Melanerpes erythrocephalus The gorgeous Red-headed Woodpecker is so boldly patterned it’s been called a “flying checkerboard,” with an entirely crimson head, a snow-white body, and half white, half inky black wings. These birds don’t act quite like most other woodpeckers: they’re adept at catching insects in the air, and they eat lots of acorns and beech nuts, often hiding away extra food in tree crevices for later.

Eastern prickly pear cactus, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario , Canada, July 12, 2020. A small patch of the cactus grows along the south side of our cottage. Opuntia humifusa.

Spider web after a heavy dew, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, July 10, 2020.

Northern water snake, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, July 8, 2020. We were out on the pontoon boat when this northern water snake swam under the boat and continued down the shore. It was about 3 feet - 1 metre - long. Came as a complete surprise. They are most often seen basking on rocks, stumps, or brush. During the day, it hunts among plants at the water's edge, looking for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, small birds and mammals [citation needed].At night, it concentrates on minnows and other small fish sleeping in shallow water. Nerodia sipedon

One of the many rabbits that come in to eat the clover in the yard. I don't subscribe to the perfect lawn idea, as long as it is green and not prickly I leave it be. July 6, 2020 Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.

At the pond, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Pipilo erythrophthalmus The oldest known Eastern Towhee was a male in South Carolina, and at least 12 years, 3 months old.

Ontario, Canada, June 29, 2020. Out and about, probably just laid it eggs. The status of the Map turtle is listed as special concern both provincially and federally. Graptemys geographica

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, June 30, 2020. Pipilo erythrophthalmus Eastern Towhees tend to be pretty solitary, and they use a number of threat displays to tell other towhees they’re not welcome. You may see contentious males lift, spread, or droop one or both wings, fan their tails, or flick their tails to show off the white spots at the corners. Studies have shown that male towhees tend to defend territories many times larger than needed simply to provide food. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Towhee