Rondeau Ric

Two male northern shovelers were having a bump and splash episode in a flooded field at McLeans Conservation Area. There were about 30shovelers, mostly male and the behaviour was common. Spatula clypeata The oldest recorded Northern Shoveler was a male, and at least 16 years, 7 months old when he was found in Nevada. Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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Bay-breasted warbler, May 10, 2019, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Really looking forward to the spring migration. Setophaga castanea The density of nesting Bay-breasted Warblers during outbreaks of spruce budworm was very high in historical times. One Ontario study in 1946 found as many as 230 pairs in just 247 acres. Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Mclean's Conservation Area, Ontario, Canada, Mar 21, 2022. In a flooded field next to the road, they didn't come close but they didn't swim away either. They always remind me of clowns for some reason. Spatula clypeata The bill of the Northern Shoveler is big (about 2.5 inches long) and shaped like a shovel, but that odd-shaped bill also has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges that act like a colander, filtering out tiny crustaceans, seeds, and aquatic invertebrates from the water. Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Dark-eyed junco, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Mar 17, 2022. During the winter we had a large flock coming to the yard, now just a handful. They will disappear north soon. Junco hyemalis The Dark-eyed Junco is one of the most common birds in North America and can be found across the continent, from Alaska to Mexico, from California to New York. A recent estimate set the junco’s total population at approximately 630 million individuals. Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

A red-shouldered hawk from a long distance, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Mar 15, 2022. A long way off but I took the shot to help identify the bird. Buteo lineatus Red-shouldered Hawks return to the same nesting territory year after year. One Red-shouldered Hawk occupied a territory in southern California for 16 consecutive years.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Mar 13,2022. We have had a good year for siskins so far. Now they are showing more colour on their wings. 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.

Common grackle, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Mar 6, 2022. All the blackbirds are back, largest number is red-winged followed by cowbirds and then grackles. Combined they can clean out the feeders in the blink of an eye. Quiscalus quiscula Those raggedy figures out in cornfields may be called scare-crows, but grackles are the #1 threat to corn. They eat ripening corn as well as corn sprouts, and their habit of foraging in big flocks means they have a multimillion dollar impact. Some people have tried to reduce their effects by spraying a foul-tasting chemical on corn sprouts or by culling grackles at their roosts. Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Blackburnian warbler, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Sept 24, 2021. A fairly rgular visitor to the yard during the fall migration. During the spring they tend to be high in the canopy. Setophaga fusca No other North American warbler has an orange throat. Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

White-breasted nuthatch, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Mar 8, 2022. Not much selection these days, same dozen or so species. 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 - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The red belly of a red-bellied woodpecker. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Mar 4, 2022. Usually see the red strip on the head but the reddish blush on the belly is harder to see. Melanerpes carolinus You may sometimes see Red-bellied Woodpeckers wedge large nuts into bark crevices, then whack them into manageable pieces using their beaks. They also use cracks in trees and fence posts to store food for later in the year, a habit it shares with other woodpeckers in its genus. Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Red-winged black bird, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Mar 6, 2022. A bad case of mange. Spring must be near, red-wings are back on territory, grackles are displaying and the woodpeckers are chasing each other. Agelaius phoeniceus Male Red-winged Blackbirds fiercely defend their territories during the breeding season, spending more than a quarter of daylight hours in territory defense. He chases other males out of the territory and attacks nest predators, sometimes going after much larger animals, including horses and people. Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Boreal owl, Southern Ontario, Mar 4, 2022. A life bird, woohooo! Very unusual in our area. Made a day trip to the Niagara area to see this bird. It was our first trip since covid started. Tucked in tight to a tree trunk. Thanks to Rob for pointing it out, we had checked all the spruce trees in the area and had missed it. Now we just need the Elf owl. Aegolius funereus As with most other raptors, the female Boreal Owl is much larger than the male. In fact, they show the most extreme sexual dimorphism of any American owl, with the female sometimes 2 times heavier than the male. Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

If a chipmuunk comes out of its burrow in March and sees its shadow then it is sunny and time for a bath. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. An eastern chipmunk placing food in its cheek pouch. Chipmunks have an omnivorous diet primarily consisting of seeds, nuts and other fruits, and buds. They also commonly eat grass, shoots, and many other forms of plant matter, as well as fungi, insects and other arthropods, small frogs, worms, and bird eggs.

May 22, 2019, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Techincally spring is 3 weeks away but we won't be seeing the warblers for at least 5 weeks. Setophaga ruticilla The male American Redstart sometimes has two mates at the same time. While many other polygamous bird species involve two females nesting in the same territory, the redstart holds two separate territories that can be separated by a quarter-mile. The male begins attracting a second female after the first has completed her clutch and is incubating the eggs . Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Mar 18, 2016, Ecuador. From the archives, needed a splash of colour today. Pteroglossus torquatus A small toucan of tropical lowland forest and edge. Usually found in small groups moving through the canopy of fruiting trees or seen flying, one at a time, across clearings and between trees.