Rondeau Ric

Indigo bunting, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, May 15, 2021. A welcome touch of colour in the yard. Passerina cyanea Like all other blue birds, Indigo Buntings lack blue pigment. Their jewel-like color comes instead from microscopic structures in the feathers that refract and reflect blue light, much like the airborne particles that cause the sky to look blue. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

A Cooper's hawk was sitting in the tree looking to see if someone was late in vacating the yard. No joy, at least for the hawk. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Oct 23, 2018. Accipiter cooperii Dashing through vegetation to catch birds is a dangerous lifestyle. In a study of more than 300 Cooper’s Hawk skeletons, 23 percent showed old, healed-over fractures in the bones of the chest, especially of the furcula, or wishbone. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

White-breasted nuthatch at the pond, Oct 23, 2018, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Been slow around the yard so this is from the archives. Sitta carolinensis If you see a White-breasted Nuthatch making lots of quick trips to and from your feeder – too many for it to be eating them all – it may be storing the seeds for later in the winter, by wedging them into furrows in the bark of nearby trees. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Had the rain, freezing rain, snow just starting, temperatures heading for the basement. The storm had just started when this Eastern Towhee showed up in the yard next to a puddle. Very unusual/rare at this time of year. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Feb 17, 2022. Taken throught the Wonderful Wildlife Window. 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- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Eastern screech owl in a regular roosting place that I've known about for many years. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Feb 16, 2022. Megascops asio 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.

I'm tired of winter so I'm looking forward to spring. Prothonotary warbler, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, June 3, 2021. Protonotaria citrea For Prothonotary Warblers it pays to be bright. Males that are brighter yellow gain access to better nest sites than less colorful males, according to a study conducted in Louisiana. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

White breasted nuthatch up close and personal. Hanging from a feeder. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Feb8, 2022. Sitta carolinensis The oldest known White-breasted Nuthatch was at least 9 years, 9 months old when it was found in Colorado. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Feb 8, 2022. We have a large number of siskins frequenting our yard. Earlier we would see one or two, now it is 15 to 25 and they are swarming the niger seed feeders. They also use the water feature in the yard. Spinus pinus Pine Siskins get through cold nights by ramping up their metabolic rates—typically 40% higher than a “normal” songbird of their size. When temperatures plunge as low as –70°C (–94°F), they can accelerate that rate up to five times normal for several hours. They also put on half again as much winter fat as their Common Redpoll and American Goldfinch relatives. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Normally we have white-tailed deer visit the yard. Occasionally we get white faced deer in the winter. Rondeau Provincial Park, Feb 3 2022.