Rondeau Ric

Hermit thrush at the water feature, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Jan 30, 2022. Through the Wonderful Wildlfe Window. An unusual visitor in the dead of winter. Catharus guttatus East of the Rocky Mountains the Hermit Thrush usually nests on the ground. In the West, it is more likely to nest in trees. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Mourning warbler, waiting for its turn at the water feature. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, May 21, 2021. Geothlypis philadelphia The name "mourning" warbler refers to the male's hood, thought to resemble a mourning veil. Both male and female Mourning Warblers pretend to have broken wings to distract predators close to their nest. The adult female Mourning Warbler eats the eggshells after the young hatch.

American goldfinch shivering in the yard. We are going through a huge amount of niger seed this winter, the feeders are always mobbed. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Jan 23, 2022. Spinus tristis Goldfinches move south in winter following a pattern that seems to coincide with regions where the minimum January temperature is no colder than 0 degrees Fahrenheit on average. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Blue jay, in the snow, at the water feature. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Jan 22, 2022. Cyanocitta cristata The black bridle across the face, nape, and throat varies extensively and may help Blue Jays recognize one another.source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

You got snow on yo' face You big disgrace, Female northern cardinal in the yard, Jan 23, 2022. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Cardinalis cardinalis Only a few female North American songbirds sing, but the female Northern Cardinal does, and often while sitting on the nest. This may give the male information about when to bring food to the nest. A mated pair shares song phrases, but the female may sing a longer and slightly more complex song than the male. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Virginia opossum at the water feature in the yard. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Jan 23, 2022. In the past few days we have had white-tailed deer, racoon and now an opossum drinking from the water feature. Didelphis virginiana The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is Canada’s only marsupial. It belongs to one of three marsupial families native to the Americas. The Virginia opossum’s northernmost range reaches into Southern and Southeastern Ontario,Southern Quebec, and the lower Fraser valley, British Columbia. source - https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/opossum

A pair of red-breasted nuthatches deciding who had rights to the small water feature we have in the yard. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada,Sept 24, 2020. Sitta canadensis Red-breasted Nuthatches sometimes steal nest-lining material from the nests of other birds, including Pygmy Nuthatches and Mountain Chickadees. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Tufted titmouse at the little stream in the yard. We use a small submersible heater to keep the water open. Shallow stream to keep the birds from bathing in sub-zero temeratures. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Jan 17, 2022. Baeolophus bicolor Tufted Titmice hoard food in fall and winter, a behavior they share with many of their relatives, including the chickadees and tits. Titmice take advantage of a bird feeder’s bounty by storing many of the seeds they get. Usually, the storage sites are within 130 feet of the feeder. The birds take only one seed per trip and usually shell the seeds before hiding them. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, May 5, 2018. Not much activity this time of year so here is one from the archives. Setophaga citrina The white spots on a Hooded Warbler's tail help them capture more insects, possibly by startling the insects into taking flight. An experimental study conducted in Pennsylvania found that birds with temporarily darkened tail feathers were less successful at capturing insects than those with white spots on their tails. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Jan 7, 2022. Not anything unusual for our area, however the selection of birds is limited this time of year. We are trying to keep our little water feature open this winter, so far so good. Spinus tristis Goldfinches are among the strictest vegetarians in the bird world, selecting an entirely vegetable diet and only inadvertently swallowing an occasional insect. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, January 7, 2022. We don't get many red-wings during the winter but we do have one visiting on a regular basis this year. Agelaius phoeniceus The oldest recorded Red-winged Blackbird was 15 years, 9 months old. It was banded in New Jersey in 1967, and found alive, but injured in Michigan in 1983. It was able to be released after recovering from its injuries. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Jan 7, 2022. One of the first photos taken from the new bird blind/hide. Melanerpes carolinus A Red-bellied Woodpecker can stick out its tongue nearly 2 inches past the end of its beak. The tip is barbed and the bird’s spit is sticky, making it easier to snatch prey from deep crevices. Males have longer, wider-tipped tongues than females, possibly allowing a breeding pair to forage in slightly different places on their territory and maximize their use of available food. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

A ten point buck wandered into the yard this morning, unfortunately there was no cracked corn left, the birds had eaten all of it. Taken throug a rather dirty Wonerful Wildlife Window. Odocoileus virginianus

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, July 27, 2020. In the water feature in the yard. Bombycilla cedrorum Cedar Waxwings with orange instead of yellow tail tips began appearing in the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada in the 1960s. The orange color is the result of a red pigment picked up from the berries of an introduced species of honeysuckle. If a waxwing eats enough of the berries while it is growing a tail feather, the tip of the feather will be orange. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.