Rondeau Ric

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

It has been slow at the stream the last few days. I think I know why. Cooper's hawk, Rondeau Provincial Park, Nov 2022. Photo by Anne, through the Wonderful Wildlife Window. Accipiter cooperii. Life is tricky for male Cooper’s Hawks. As in most hawks, males are significantly smaller than their mates. The danger is that female Cooper’s Hawks specialize in eating medium-sized birds. Males tend to be submissive to females and to listen out for reassuring call notes the females make when they’re willing to be approached. Males build the nest, then provide nearly all the food to females and young over the next 90 days before the young fledge. source-allaboutbirds-org

An eerie sunrise over Lake Erie. A heavy fog over the lake this morning. Rondeau Provincial Park, Nov 3, 2022.

Near Rondeau Provincial Park, Oct 27, 2022. Friend David called to say he had a woodcock in his yard. Left the Townsend's warbler watch and went over. Got the bird immediately then, as a bonus, we had an evening grosbeak come in. A twofer. Scolopax minor. Young woodcocks leave the nest a few hours after hatching, but for their first week they depend on their mother for food. They start to probe in dirt at three or four days after hatching. source - allaboutbirds-org

This yellow rumps pose made me think of the yellow rubber duck. Yellow-rumped warbler was content to just sit after its gyrations in the water. Rondeau Provincial Park, Oct 16, 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.