Rondeau Ric

When we're tired we sleeps. Two tired kittens after a tiring visit with the grandkids. Both kittens climbed into the carry pouch of my walker and promptly and a well deserved nap.

  Bath time, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario , Canada, July 19. Colaptes auratus Although it can climb up the trunks of trees and hammer on wood like other woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker prefers to find food on the ground. Ants are its main food, and the flicker digs in the dirt to find them. It uses its long barbed tongue to lap up the ants.

  One of the two new residents at our place. Came with the name- Mickey Mouse. Will change that eventual, based on behaviour.

 Not much variety in bird species this time of year. First of year sighting is "Oh!, a yellow warbler." Two months later it is Oh, just another yellow. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, July 5, 2024. Setophaga petechia.  The nests of the Yellow Warbler are frequently parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird. The warbler often builds a new nest directly on top of the parasitized one, sometimes resulting in nests with up to six tiers.

 This year we are having regular visits by at least one male orchard oriole. Occasionally we see a female, which makes us think they are nesting somewhere close by. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, July 8, 2024. Icterus spurius Orchard Orioles migrate north late in the spring and head southward early, with some returning to their wintering grounds as early as mid-July. Because of the short breeding season, researchers have trouble distinguishing between breeding orioles and migrating ones in any given location.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, July 7, 2024. A regular visitor this time of year. Archilochus colubris   The Ruby-throated Hummingbird beats its wings about 53 times a second. source- allaboutbirds.org

  We have been heating the gnatcatcher for a while and today I managed to get an image as it bounced around the hedge. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada , July 4, 2024. Polioptila caerulea.  The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher's grayish coloring and long tail, as well as the way it mixes snippets of other birds' repertoires into its own high, nasal songs, have earned it the nickname "Little Mockingbird." source- all about birds.org

 Lots of activity at the wren house these days. I think they are on their second nesting. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, July 1, 2024. Troglodytes aedon.  House Wrens nest inside tree holes and nest boxes. As the season progresses their nests can become infested with mites and other parasites that feed on the wren nestlings. Perhaps to fight this problem, wrens often add spider egg sacs into the materials they build their nests from. In lab studies, once the spiders hatched, they helped the wrens by devouring the nest parasites. source - allaboutbirds.org