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.