Rondeau Ric

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, August 13, 2020. In our front yard which is naturalized with tall grass prairie species. Hemaris thysbe, the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth or Common Clearwing (wingspan 38-50 mm), readily visits flowers by day throughout the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada, where it ranges far to the north, even into the Yukon.

Oct 23, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. A regular fall visitor to the yard and the pond. 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. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-rumped_Warbler

Keith McLean Conservation Area, Ontario, Canada, Feb20. 2021. In a mixed flock of snow buntings and horned larks, hoping for a Lapland longspur however, none showed up. Eremophila alpestris Horned Larks inhabit an extensive elevation range, from sea level to an altitude of 13,000 feet. Linnaeus named this bird Alauda alpestris: “lark of the mountains” (it has since been moved to the genus Eremophila).

Near Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Feb 19, 2021. A friend mentioned there was a mixed flock including snow buntings so I went and sat in my car for an hour. Got some shots of the buntings and horned larks. Plectrophenax nivalis Male Snow Buntings head to their high arctic breeding grounds when the ground is still covered in snow and temperatures can dip to -22° F. That doesn't seem like a good time to arrive, but males need to arrive early to make sure they get one of the limited nesting spots in a rock crevice. Females join them 3 to 4 weeks later when things start to warm up. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snow_Bunting

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Feb 18, 2021. A rare winter visitor to our yard. The pond is bringing in a steady stream of birds and critters. Passerella iliaca People have spotted individual Fox Sparrows in Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Germany, and Italy. Some of these vagrant birds probably made part of their transatlantic journey by ship, after touching down to rest on a vessel far from shore.

Feb 16, 2021, Stefina Line, Blenheim, Ontario, Canada. Went out for a drive after the snow storm to check for birds. Didn't get the Virginia rail or snowy owl but did get two northern harriers, four rough legged hawks and two snipe, only one in the photo. Much closer than the last time. Gallinago delicata Wilson’s Snipe feed by burying their bills deep into soft, wet soil to probe for insect larvae, worms, and other invertebrate prey. The bill’s flexible tip can open to grasp food while the base of the bill stays closed. Snipe can slurp small prey from the mud without having to remove their bill from the soil. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wilsons_Snipe