Rondeau Ric

Rondeau Provincial Park, Aug 31, 2022. In the shadows, waiting for an opening in the pond for its splash and dash bath. Vireo gilvus The highly variable song usually ends on a high note, leading the birder Pete Dunne to describe it as sounding “like a happy drunk making a conversational point at a party.” source - allaboutbirds-org.

I didn't see it at first as I thought it was a broken branch stub. A young yellow bellied sapsucker drilling holes in an ash tree. One of 6 woodpecker species we had in the yard on Sept 24, 2022. Rondeau Provincial Park. Sphyrapicus varius The sapwells made by Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers attract hummingbirds, which also feed off the sap flowing from the tree. In some parts of Canada, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds rely so much on sapwells that they time their spring migration with the arrival of sapsuckers. Other birds as well as bats and porcupines also visit sapsucker sapwells. source allaboutbirds -org

A northern parula was one of the pond visitors we had the other day. Even in the fall the have cheerful colours. Rondeau Provincial Park, Sept 21, 2022. 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." source - allaboutbirds-org.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Sept 21, 2022. One of the fall warblers migrating south through our yard. 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.

We have had regular visits from flickers dropping into to our little stream. We had four at one time today and I managed to get an image of three at the water. Rondeau Provincial Park, Sept 20, 2022. Colaptes auratus. Northern Flickers generally nest in holes in trees like other woodpeckers. Occasionally, they’ve been found nesting in old, earthen burrows vacated by Belted Kingfishers or Bank Swallows.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Sept 18, 2022. I guess it didn't like the running water in or little stream. He seemed to like the bird bath but I don't think it is going to fit. Meleagris gallopavo. When they need to, Turkeys can swim by tucking their wings in close, spreading their tails, and kicking. source - allaboutbirds

Recently got a Canon R7 mirrorless camera. Really impressed with the auto focus. It reached into he bush found the eye and focused with not problem. ISO 1000, 263mm, f6.3, 1/200 sec. Rondeau Provincial Park, Sept 16, 2022 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. source - allaboutbirds