Rondeau Ric

A tree rat with a furry tail and a good publicist, but he's still a peanut thief. Rondeau Provincial Park, Jan 28, 2023. Sciurus carolinensis Eastern grey squirrels Sciurus carolinensis commonly occur in two colour phases, grey and black, which leads people to think—mistakenly—that there are two different species. Black is often the dominant colour in Ontario and Quebec, toward the northern limits of the species’ range. Farther south the black phase is less common and is not found at all in the southern United States. This may indicate that the gene responsible for black coloration has some cold-weather adaptation associated with it.

Black-capped chickadee above the pond. January 28, 2023, Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Poecile atricapillus Even when temperatures are far below zero, chickadees virtually always sleep in their own individual cavities. In rotten wood, they can excavate nesting and roosting holes entirely on their own.

Was at friend David's trying out his 100-500mm RF lens when a neighbour said a pileated was in a tree down the road. Off we went and we had a close encounter with the woodpecker. If you look closely you can see an ant in its bill. By the way, it is a great lens and I'm probably going to order one. Just outside Rondeau Provincial Park Jan 28, 2023. Dryocopus pileatus The Pileated Woodpecker digs characteristically rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Jan 27, 2023. We don't usually have many cardinals in the yard but this year we have had up to 12 at one time. Definitely not complaining. Cardinalis cardinalis The Northern Cardinal's bright red plumage reminded early European settlers of the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, high-ranking bishops who wear red robes and caps. Both this bird's common name and its scientific moniker Cardinalis cardinalis refer to these church officials. A group of Northern Cardinals is called a "college," "conclave," or "Vatican."

Red-breasted nuthatch , Rondeau Provincial Park, Apr 25, 2021. Not a lot of colour around these days, just a few goldfinches starting to brighten up for spring. Blue jays and cardinals are great but the grey weather is boring. Sitta canadensis Descends head downwards on tree trunks and branches to search in nooks and crannies of the bark for tiny organisms. Has a greatly enlarged hind toe and a stubby tail, which are probably both adaptations for climbing downwards

A major storm was forecast for Lake Eries north shore. So far we have gotten off lightly, a mix of snow and rain; The mixture was gathering on our east facing windows Wasn't going out to trey to find birds so we have something different.

Eastern towhee, Rondeau Provincial Park, having a bath, Apr 17, 2021. 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.

Above the water, Rondeau Provincial Park. Jan 14, 2023. 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.

A skull just sit-in' on a stump. I assume someone put it there but, I'm not sure why. I think it is from a racoon. Rondeau Provincial Park, Jan 18, 2023.

Northern cardinal enjoying a stripped sunflower seed, Rondeau Provincial Park, Jan 17, 2023. Still impressed with the Canon R7s ability to focus through branches and to grab the eye. Cardinalis cardinalis

In our front yard at Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Aug 18, 2019. Wavy-lined emerald moth or camouflaged looper are well known for their camouflaging technique where they attach bits of the plant petals/tissue along their backs using silk. Depending on what plant they are feeding on, they may adorn all types of different coloured plants in hopes of avoiding detection. When the petals begin to wilt and discolour, they will discard their outdated camouflage and replace with a new ‘coat’. Synchlora aerata

Not sure what the racoon thought it was doing but it got away with it. One from waaaay back. Through the window as I wasn't going to get anywhere near them. Rondeau Provincial Park, Jan 3, 2005.

Not by the hair on my chin, chin, chin. White-tailed deer in the yard this afternoon. I was in the bird observatory when they came in, they were very unsure of the situation. Rondeau Provincial Park, Jan 14, 2023. Odocoileus virginianus

Come back in approximately 100,000 years and we will see if they turned into fossils. These leaves were on a dirt road and had been pressed into the mud making an interesting design. I wonder if this is how the fossilization process starts.

Ship channel at Erieau, Lake Erie in the background. Dec 27, 2022. Don't think we will take the pontoon out today.

We had an opossum late yesterday cleaning up under the feeders. Photo through the wonderful wildlife window. I haven't seen one in the yard for a long time. They are tick eaters so they are always welcome. Rondeau Provincial Park, Jan 11, 2023. Didelphis virginiana This native species is a marsupial about the size of a housecat, but with shorter legs, large naked ears, and a long prehensile tail. Opossums are known for feigning death, or pretending to be dead, whenever they feel threatened or scared. This behavior is mostly displayed by young opossums. Adults will bare their teeth, hiss, screech or flee when threatened.

We saw this chickadee a long way out of its normal range and down in the grass feeding on fallen dogwood berries. In the cedar right beside it was a saw-whet owl dozing the day away. Holiday Beach Memorial Forest Jan 9, 2023. Poecile hudsonicus Boreal Chickadees often visit backyards when foraging, and their tolerance of people has resulted in multiple folk names, especially in Canada, where it is known as tom-tit, chick chick, and fillady. source - allaboutbirds-org.

We went looking for a boreal chickadee that was far out of its range, which we found. There was a northern saw-whet owl roosting deep in the branches of the tree next to the dogwood bushes the chickadee was feeding on. I don't think the chickadee knew the owl was there. South western Ontario, Jan 9, 2022. Aegolius acadicus The Northern Saw-whet Owl may have been named for giving a call that sounds like a saw being sharpened on a whetting stone, but there is no consensus as to which of its several calls gave rise to the name.

American woodcock. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, April 21, 2021. Spotted an adult crossing the road with four chicks. Their camouflage didn't work in the snow. All the chicks safety crossed the road and moved into the forest. Scolopax minor. The American Woodcock probes the soil with its bill to search for earthworms, using its flexible bill tip to capture prey. The bird walks slowly and sometimes rocks its body back and forth, stepping heavily with its front foot. This action may make worms move around in the soil, increasing their detectability. source - allaboutbirds-org

Great horned owl at the Canadian Raptor Conservancy March 25, 2017. This is a captive bred owl. Bubo virginianus If you hear an agitated group of cawing American Crows, they may be mobbing a Great Horned Owl. Crows may gather from near and far and harass the owl for hours. The crows have good reason, because the Great Horned Owl is their most dangerous predator. source -allaboutbirds-org

Barred owl, Jan 2, 2023, Shrewsbury, Ont. It was well hidden behind several trees sitting in a pine. Some others got much better images but this was what I got and it will do. Nota bird species that is regularly seen in our area, maybe it will stay a while. Strix varia Barred Owls don’t migrate, and they don’t even move around very much. Of 158 birds that were banded and then found later, none had moved farther than 6 miles away. source - allaboutbirds.org

Red-breasted nuthatch, Oct 22, 2022, Rondeau Provincial Park. It has been grey and overcast or snowing/raining for a while, so one from the archives. Sitta canadensis. The oldest known Red-breasted Nuthatch was 7 years, 6 months old. source - allaboutbirds.org