Rondeau Ric

A common grackle in the sunshine is a resplendent thing to see. A flock of 30+ is a nuisance. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Apr 28, 2022. Quiscalus quiscula Grackles are one of the types of birds that are known to practice anting. This appropriately titled behavior involves the birds rubbing ants on their feathers and skin. The real mystery is no one is exactly sure why. Some suggest the ants secrete a liquid that can act as an insecticide, killing feather mites for the bird. Others think it could have something to do with the bird shedding its feathers or molting.

Maybe the black capped oriole? This chickadee was raiding the grape jelly that we put out early in the seson to give new arrivals a boost. This is the first year we've noticed this behaviour. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Apr 28, 2022 Poecile atricapillus Chickadee calls are complex and language-like, communicating information on identity and recognition of other flocks as well as predator alarms and contact calls. The more dee notes in a chickadee-dee-dee call, the higher the threat level. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Apr 27, 2022. A pleasant find in the yard, we don't get a lot of mockingbirds around the yard. Mimus polyglottos Northern Mockingbirds sing all through the day, and often into the night. Most nocturnal singers are unmated males, which sing more than mated males during the day, too. Nighttime singing is more common during the full moon. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Ruby-throated hummingbird, April 24, 2022, Rondeau Provincial Park. First sighting of the year for us. Showed up with a Baltimore oriole at the nectar feeder. Archilochus colubris The Ruby-throated Hummingbird beats its wings about 53 times a second. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Adult male Baltimore oriole, April 24, 2022. Among others we also had, an orchard oriole, ruby-throated hummingbird, and an eastern kingbird. Many other species reported in the park including summer tanager, worm eating warbler, black and white warbler, blue gray gnat catcher, black-throated green, and a red-headed woodpecker. Icterus galbula Baltimore Orioles sometimes use their slender beaks to feed in an unusual way, called “gaping”: they stab the closed bill into soft fruits, then open their mouths to cut a juicy swath from which they drink with their brushy-tipped tongues. source - cornell Lab of Ornithology

The infamous black and white oriole. This downy seems to like the nectar feeder. No orioles or hummingbirds yet. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, April 23, 2022.

First voyage of 2022 on the One Good Tern. A little crisp, 50F, 10C, but the sun was out and the winds were light. Good day birding, osprey building a nest, horned grebe, kingfishers, eagle, double crested cormorants, tree sawllows, bonaparte's gulls, common terns and 4 species of ducks.

American woodcock chick from the archives. Saw the chicks last April 21, 2021. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. A late snow storm stripped away their camoflauge. Scolopax minor Young woodcocks leave the nest a few hours after hatching, but for their first week they depend on their mother for food. They start to probe in dirt at three or four days after hatching. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Ring-billed gull in flight, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Nov 29, 2020. Larus delawarensis Ring-billed Gulls near Tampa Bay, Florida, became accustomed to feasting on garbage at an open landfill site. Then, in 1983, operators replaced the dumping grounds with closed incinerators. The thwarted scavengers found themselves another open dump, but the pattern continues all across the gull's range. When waste-management practices shift from open landfills to closed incinerators, gull numbers often drop. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Indigo bunting, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, May 15, 2021. It certainly stands out even for me (colour blind, aka Colour Differentiation Disorder). Sat just above the water feature but didn't come down. Passerina cyanea Indigo Buntings migrate at night, using the stars for guidance. Researchers demonstrated this process in the late 1960s by studying captive Indigo Buntings in a planetarium and then under the natural night sky. The birds possess an internal clock that enables them to continually adjust their angle of orientation to a star—even as that star moves through the night sky. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, April 12, 2022. They have been mobbing our feeders for days, finally they seem to be moving on to set up their territories. Agelaius phoeniceus Red-winged Blackbirds roost in flocks in all months of the year. In summer small numbers roost in the wetlands where the birds breed. Winter flocks can be congregations of several million birds, including other blackbird species and starlings. Each morning the roosts spread out, traveling as far as 50 miles to feed, then re-forming at night. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Northern flicker at the water feature, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, April 12, 2022. First good opportunity to get a shot, previous ones were through the window. 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. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, May 19, 2021. Another overcast, rainy day. Needed a little colour. Cardellina pusilla Unlike most warblers, they tend to forage at lower levels which makes finding them easier; no neck craning needed. The only real challenge is getting them in your binoculars. They don’t tend to stay still for long, so watch carefully and have your binoculars ready. Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, May 23, 2020. Looking forward to seeing these in a few weeks. Setophaga americana Northern Parulas have an odd break in their breeding range. They breed from Florida north to the boreal forest of Canada, but skip parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and some states in the Northeast. The reason for their absence may have to do with habitat loss and increasing air pollution, which affects the growth of moss on trees that they depend on for nesting.

Brown creeper, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, April 7, 2022. Well named bird, it creeps up a tree looking for food then it flies to the bottom of the next tree and repeats. Certhia americana In Arizona, Brown Creeper nests often have two openings, one which serves as an entrance and the other as an exit. Entrances face downward and exits upward. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

A ruby-throated hummingbird was hovering over the water feature but I didn't see it actually go in. I have seen hummingbirds go into shallow water and do a quick dip but not this time. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, May 23, 2020. Archilochus colubris Ruby-throated Hummingbirds normally place their nest on a branch of a deciduous or coniferous tree; however, these birds are accustomed to human habitation and have been known to nest on loops of chain, wire, and extension cords. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, May 28, 2020. Another from the archieves. Melanerpes carolinus You may occasionally see a Red-bellied Woodpecker flying quickly and erratically through the forest, abruptly changing direction, alighting for an instant and immediately taking off again, keeping up a quick chatter of calls. Scientists categorize this odd behavior as a type of play that probably helps young birds practice the evasive action they may one day need. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Oct 12, 2021. One from the archives on a cold, grey, rainy afternoon. Vireo solitarius The Blue-headed Vireo is the easternmost form in the "Solitary Vireo" complex. Formerly considered one species, three species now are recognized. In appearance it is the most brightly colored of the three. Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.