Rondeau Ric

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.

July 23, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. About to enjoy its bath. Setophaga petechia Life can be dangerous for a small bird. Yellow Warblers have occasionally been found caught in the strands of an orb weaver spider’s web.

Nov 2, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. The evening grosbeaks were back today, seven of them. Juncos are also in the yard, snow won't be far behind. Junco hyemalis Juncos are the "snowbirds" of the middle latitudes. Over most of the eastern United States, they appear as winter sets in, and then retreat northward each spring.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Nov 2, 2020. Usually these birds move in flocks, but we have just one in the yard. It has been around for several days now. Coccothraustes vespertinus The Evening Grosbeak is a songbird without a song—that is, it does not seem to use any complex sounds to attract a mate or defend its territory. It does have a small repertoire of simple calls, including sweet, piercing notes and burry chirps.

Oct 27, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Seen on the last cruise of the season on the pontoon boat. Calidris alpina Dazzling in its breeding finery, with vivid rusty back and black belly patch, the Dunlin was once called the Red-backed Sandpiper. It’s now named for its nonbreeding plumage, a mousy gray-brown or “dun” color.