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.