Rondeau Ric

White tailed deer, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Dec 23, 2017. After our monster storm the snow has all melted and the temperatures have been well above freezing. This image is from 5 years ago. Odocoileus virginianus • is the most widely distributed and the most numerous of all North America’s large animals • leaves its fawn unattended for hours at a time • may have difficulty surviving the winter, particularly if there are too many deer competing for food or if snow is deep • occasionally gets its antlers hopelessly entangled with those of another male during a mating season battle, resulting in the slow death of both animals source - Hinterlands who's who.

The frog wasn't going to make it easy but it didn't make a difference in the end. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, May 2, 2015.

A few of the Hydro One trucks working to repair the power lines in Rondeau Provincial Park. We are on a dead end road with less than 200 seasonal cottages. Repair tricks started showing up the morning after the big storm. There were at least 10 big trees dow on the wires and hundreds of feet of wire on the ground. The workers did a tremendous job of getting the power back on. They worked through Christmas and Boxing Day to get the job done. Thanks. This isn't my photo. It is the road we use to get into town.

I was out checking the backup generator when I noticed something in the driveway. It was a ruddy duck sitting in the snow. I had time to go back to the house to get my camera and take a few images in the twilight. Lots of duck species fly along the lake in front of our place but are too far away to identify. I have no doubt that ruddy ducks were one of the unidentified. We have had a wood duck land in the yard, a couple of mallards walk in but that's it for ducks. Quite odd. Rondeau Provincial Park, Dec 25, 2022. Oxyura jamaicensis Pleistocene fossils of Ruddy Ducks, at least 11,000 years old, have been unearthed in Oregon, California, Virginia, Florida, and Illinois.

This was the stream on Dec 23, 2022 before the big storm. We lost power for 4 days, thank goodness for our back-up generator. The pond is completely frozen over, not sure if the pump survived. Temperature was -17c (1.4f) with windchills of -25c(-13f). The big problem was the wind. It shook the cottage for 3 days and whipped up monster drifts and took down a lot of trees. Just above freezing now and forecast to get to 10c (60f) tomorrow. Hope everyone had a good Christmas.

Hermit thrush at the pond, Dec 1, 2022, Rondeau Provincial Park. A late season visit, hopefully it is somewhere warmer that our yard. A weather bomb is coming tonight, heavy rain then a flash freeze with temperatures dropping form 4C to - 10C, 41F to 14F, in two hours, followed by heavy snow and big winds. The winds are expected to drive 25 foot, 8 metre, waves on shore at various points on the great lakes. Right now it looks like we will be on the leeward - sheltered, side from these big waves. Catharus guttatus. A more hardy bird than the other brown-backed thrushes, the Hermit migrates north earlier in spring and lingers later in fall than the others; it is the only one likely to be seen in winter in North America. If startled from the ground in the forest interior it often perches low and stares at the observer, flicking its wings nervously and slowly raising and lowering its tail. In summer, its clear, pensive song is heard in forests of the mountains and the north. source - Audub

We had over 50 goldfinches under and on our seed feeders yesterday. They were back again today taking advantage of the only open water, except for Lake Erie, in the area. A welcome splash of colour in the winter. Rondeau Provincial Park, Dec 21, 2022. Spinus tristis.  American Goldfinches use a four-syllable call when they’re ready to take flight. If you listen closely, it sounds like the birds are saying “po-ta-to-chip”. Both male and female Goldfinches use that call. 

A common sight around the house, Crash and Oz sleeping together somewhere sunny.

An unknown, to me, species of spider waiting for a food delivery. Possibly an orb spider? Rondeau Provincial Park, Oct 3, 2016.

In the stream, Rondeau Provincial Park, May 22, 2022. Snowing and cold, need a splash of colour. Setophaga ruticilla The American Redstart is a unique warbler. The male is black with orange patches on each wing, on the sides of its breast, and at the base of its tail on either side. The male's throat is black, but its breast and belly are white. The female is gray where the male is black, and yellow where the male is orange. The female also has a white eye-ring. Juveniles and first-year males look like females, although first-year males generally have some black on the upper breast or head. The American Redstart has a relatively short, wide bill.

Rondeau Provincial Park, May 23, 2022. Snow pellets, cold and overcast so I'm still working thru the archives. Setophaga pensylvanica. The Chestnut-sided Warbler sings two basic songs: one is accented at the end (the pleased-to-meetcha song), and the other is not. Males sing the accented songs primarily to attract a female; once nesting is well underway they switch over to the unaccented songs, which are used mostly in territory defense and aggressive encounters with other males. Some males sing only unaccented songs, and they are less successful at securing mates than males that sing both songs. source -allaboutbirds-org.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Sept 21, 2022. High winds rain, no snow fortunately, and overcast so back to the archives . Setophaga americana Before this species received the name Northern Parula (a diminutive form of parus, meaning little titmouse), Mark Catesby, an English naturalist, called it a "finch creeper" and John James Audubon and Alexander Wilson called it a "blue yellow-backed warbler."

Black-throated green warbler, Rondeau Provincial Park, May 14, 2019. Still a lack of birds around the yard so, another from the archives. Setophaga virens Searches for insects among branches, twigs, and bases of leaves, moving rapidly between foraging sites. Frequently hovers to take insects from underside of leaves. Occasionally catches insects in mid-air. Males tend to forage higher than females while breeding. In late summer, often forages in mixed flocks with chickadees. source - Audubon-org

Black-throated blue warbler, Rondeau Provincial Park May 14, 2019. Still a shortage of birds in the yard, not seeing any accipiters lurking around. Even the squirrels are staying away. Strange. Setophaga caerulescens The Black-throated Blue Warbler is an expert catcher of flies, pursues insects to a considerable distance in all directions, and in seizing them snaps its bill so as to produce a clicking sound. It now and then alights on a low plant and moves along the branches searching for pupae, ants, and insects. source - Audubon-org

May 15, 2018, Rondeau Provincial Park. Still not much activity in the yard so, another from the archives. Setophaga tigrina. The common name of the species comes from Cape May, New Jersey, where Alexander Wilson first described it. After that first time, Cape May Warblers were not recorded in Cape May for more than 100 years.

Royal terns, Texas, Jan 24, 2012. Big east wind for the 3rd day which means fewer birds in the yard. This is from the archives. Thalasseus maximus Royal Tern chicks leave the nest scrape within one day after hatching and congregate in a group known as a crèche (“nursery”), which can contain thousands of chicks ranging in age from 2–35 days old. Each Royal Tern parent feeds only its own chick, finding it in the crowd probably by recognizing its call.

An armadillo foraging in the grass near some bird feeders in Texas. Jan 25, 2012. Still overcast and cold here so I'm looking through old images. The armadillo, in fact, is the state small mammal of Texas. Their life span is usually 12 to 15 years. Their armor-like skin appears to be their main defense, However, many armadillos escape predators by fleeing (often into thorny patches, from which their armor protects them) or digging to safety. Dasypus novemcinctus linnaeus

Dark-eyed junco in the water feature in the yard. Rondeau Provincial Park, Dec 3, 2022. 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. Other juncos are year-round residents, retreating into woodlands during the breeding season, or, like those of the Appalachian Mountains, moving to higher elevations during the warmer months.

To ride the wind. From the archives on another grey day. Certainly maintaining social distancing. Rondeau Bay, Rondeau Provincial Park, May 2, 2021.

Rondeau Bay, Rondeau Provincial Park, Nov 1, 2022.

Red-breasted nuthatch having a drink at the water feature in the yard. Rondeau Provincial Park, Dec 4, 2022 Sitta canadensis. Red-breasted Nuthatches migrate southward earlier than many irruptive species. They may begin in early July and may reach their southernmost point by September or October. Feeds mainly on insects and spiders in summer; in winter, eats many seeds, especially those of conifers. Young are fed mostly or entirely on insects and spiders.

Eastern screech owl in roosting hole. It probably isn't the same owl that has been using this roost May 2019. We have seen a grey phase screech in this location for 4 years running. According to Cornell Lab of Ornithology - The oldest recorded Eastern Screech-Owl in the wild was at least 14 years, 6 months old when it was found in Ontario in 1968, the same province where it had been banded in 1955. Seen from a long distance, Rondeau Provincial Park, Dec 2, 2022 Megascops asio

White breasted nuthatch, at the pond, Dec 1, 2022. Rondeau Provincial Park. A lot more goldfinches today along with tree sparrows and a hermit thrush and of course, the regular suspects. Sitta carolinensis. In winter, White-breasted Nuthatches join foraging flocks led by chickadees or titmice, perhaps partly because it makes food easier to find and partly because more birds can keep an eye out for predators. One study found that when titmice were removed from a flock, nuthatches were more wary and less willing to visit exposed bird feeders. source - all-outbids-org.

This young buck, with a new set of antlers, wandered through the dunes behind our cottage in the early morning 4 years ago. Aug 8, 2019, Rondeau Provincial Park. Odocoileus virginianus The white tailed deer is the most widely distributed and the most numerous of all North America’s large animals. It leaves its fawn unattended for hours at a time. It may have difficulty surviving the winter, particularly if there are too many deer competing for food or if snow is deep

It is just the back of a cardinals head but the shadow made it look like a bird face, at least to me. Rondeau Provincial Park, Nov 29, 2022. Cardinalis cardinalis. Many people are perplexed each spring by the sight of a cardinal attacking its reflection in a window, car mirror, or shiny bumper. Both males and females do this, and most often in spring and early summer when they are obsessed with defending their territory against any intruders. Birds may spend hours fighting these intruders without giving up. A few weeks later, as levels of aggressive hormones subside, these attacks should end (though one female kept up this behavior every day or so for six months without stopping). source - allaboutbirds-org

A splash of colour on a grey day. May 15, 2018, Rondeau Provincial Park. Setophaga tigrina. The tongue of the Cape May Warbler is unique among warblers. It is curled and semitubular, used to collect nectar.

A yellow-rumped warbler with all its field marks. Full day of rain so one from the archives. Keeping with a wet day I'm posting a wet bird. Rondeau Provincial Park, Oct 12, 2022. 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.

An unusual visitor this time of year. Seen at friend Davids water feature which is just down the road from us. It was with a large flock of house sparrows. Felt like we were playing - one of these is not the same. Spiza americana. In preparation for fall migration, Dickcissels assemble into larger and larger flocks that can reach into the thousands. On their wintering grounds, these flocks can number in the millions of birds.

I have been blaming raccoons for rearranging the rocks and moss around the water feature. They may be doing some of the work but this eastern grey squirrel was trying his hand earlier today. Yes I know it is black, they commonly occur in two colour phases, grey and black, which leads people to think—mistakenly—that there are two different species. Rondeau Provincial Park, Nov 26, 2022. Sciurus carolinensis They can reach speeds of up to 25 km per hour on the ground and leave tracks in the snow that often look like two exclamation marks (!!)

American goldfinch taking advantage of the warm day late in November . Rondeau Provincial Park, Nov 24, 2022. Spinus tristis. Paired-up goldfinches make virtually identical flight calls; goldfinches may be able to distinguish members of various pairs by these calls.

The blue jay was at the water and looked up at the right time for me to get the shot. Looks a little like Santa Jay with the white beard and cone hat. Rondeau Provincial Park, Nov 18, 2022. Cyanocitta cristata. The black bridle across the face, nape, and throat varies extensively and may help Blue Jays recognize one another.

A red-bellied woodpecker jumped on the head of a pileated woodpecker in a death defying move. The pileated was minding its own business when the red-belly started harassing the pileated. The red-belly literally jumped on the pileateds head and then flew off. The pileated continued working on the tree. Photo by Anne. Rondeau Provincial Park, Nov 17, 2022.

Rondeau Provincial Park, sept 24, 2021. It is snowing so here's another from the archives. Birds at the stream series. Cardellina pusilla Wilson’s Warblers tend to be brighter yellow in the West and paler yellow in the East. Pacific Coast populations have the brightest yellow, almost orange, foreheads and faces. Rocky Mountain and Alaskan birds also tend to be slightly larger than the Eastern and Pacific Coast populations. source - allaboutbirds-org.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Sept 18, 2021. Things have really slowed down with the cold wet weather, so this is from the archives. Sitta canadensis The Red-breasted Nuthatch collects resin globules from coniferous trees and plasters them around the entrance of its nest hole. It may carry the resin in its bill or on pieces of bark that it uses as an applicator. The male puts the resin primarily around the outside of the hole while the female puts it around the inside. The resin may help to keep out predators or competitors. The nuthatch avoids the resin by diving directly through the hole. source - allaboutbirds-org.

Rondeau Provincial Park, May 27, 2022, I originally called this a short tailed weasel but have been corrected by a knowledgeable friend.   One from the archives   It was working the yard and paying close attention to the water feature. I didn't see it find anything.   Long-tailed weasels have a tail longer than half their body length with a black tip, ermine have a tail length around a third of their body length with a black tip, and short tailed weasels have a tail length around a quarter of their body length and lack a black tip

Not sure if it was having a dust bath or if it was anting. Anting is a maintenance behavior during which birds rub insects, usually ants, on their feathers and skin. The bird may pick up the insects in its bill and rub them on the body (active anting), or the bird may lie in an area of high density of the insects and perform dust bathing-like movements (passive anting). The insects secrete liquids containing chemicals such as formic acid, which can act as an insecticide, miticide, fungicide, or bactericide. Alternatively, anting could make the insects edible by removing the distasteful acid, or, possibly supplement the bird's own preen oil. Instead of ants, birds can also use millipedes. More than 200 species of bird are known to ant. Dumetella carolinensis Rondeau Provincial Park, July 24, 2022.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Oct 16, 2015. Corthylio calendula. Metabolic studies on Ruby-crowned Kinglets suggest that these tiny birds use only about 10 calories (technically, kilocalories) per day.

Photo by Anne, who says she isn't a photographer. Didn't get up at 4am to get the lunar eclipse but this image shortly after moon rise over the lake will do for us sleepy heads. Rondeau Provincial Park, Nov 7, 2022.

A very enthusiastic robin was trying its best to empty the little stream. Rondeau Provincial Park, July 24, 2022. Turdus migratorius. Robins eat different types of food depending on the time of day: more earthworms in the morning and more fruit later in the day. Because the robin forages largely on lawns, it is vulnerable to pesticide poisoning and can be an important indicator of chemical pollution. source - allaboutbirds-org.

Photo by Anne. Anne got this great shot of a creeper having an energetic bath while I was out. We didn't know the creeper had a brownish patch hidden on its tail similar to a yellow rump. Rondeau Provincial Park, Nov 5, 2022. Certhia americana. Brown Creepers burn an estimated 4–10 calories (technically, kilocalories) per day, a tiny fraction of a human’s daily intake of about 2,000 kilocalories. By eating a single spider, a creeper gains enough energy to climb nearly 200 feet vertically. source -allaboutbirds-org