Rondeau Ric

American redstart, Rondeau Provincial Park, June 30, 2022. For most of June we have yellow warblers but no others. This redstart popped in late in the day and was a welcome surprise. Setophaga  ruticilla. American Redstarts are common spring and fall migrants in the East. It is a later spring migrant (arriving in May in much of the U.S. and Canada) and a mid-season fall migrant (September-early October). source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

American goldfinch, Rondeau Provincial Park, June 25, 2022. Limited number of species coming into the yard to use the water these days. Most birds are busy nesting. This goldfinches dark feathers looked odd, normally they appear without the fringe 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.

Downy woodpeckers, Rondeau Provincial Park, June 25, 2022. Dryobates pubescens The Downy Woodpecker eats foods that larger woodpeckers cannot reach, such as insects living on or in the stems of weeds. You may see them hammering at goldenrod galls to extract the fly larvae inside. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Place cat in direct sunlight on window sill. Let broil for 15 minutes, turn over and wait 15 minutes or until done. Oz loves sitting in the sun but overdoes it a bit. He is usually panting when he drags himself onto the floor. In case you didn't know, cats are odd.

Male rose-breasted grosbeak, Rondeau Provincial Park, June 21, 2022. Pheucticus ludovicianus During the breeding season Rose-breasted Grosbeaks eat a lot of insects, as well as wild fruit and seeds. They mostly feed on berries during fall migration, and on their wintering grounds they have a varied diet of invertebrates and plant material. Grosbeaks usually glean their food from dense foliage and branches. They also snag food while hovering, and sometimes fly out to hawk for insects in midair. The animal portion of their diet includes beetles, bees, ants, sawflies, bugs, butterflies, and moths. Their vegetarian fare includes elderberries, blackberries, raspberries, mulberries, juneberries, and seeds of smartweed, pigweed, foxtail, milkweed, plus sunflower seeds, garden peas, oats, wheat, tree flowers, tree buds, and cultivated fruit. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, June 19, 2022.

12 spotted skimmer, Rondeau Provincial Park, June 18, 2022. Seen in the front yard this afternoon Libellula pulchella The twelve-spotted skimmer is a common North American skimmer dragonfly, found in southern Canada and in all 48 of the contiguous U.S. states. It is a large species, at 50 mm long. Each wing has three brown spots. source wikipedia

Rondeau Bay, June 7, 2022. Spotted quit a few turtles on a log on the way to see the pelican, this Blanding's was one of them. Emydoidea blandingii The Blanding’s Turtle is a medium-sized turtle easily identified by its bright yellow throat and chin. Unlike most Ontario turtles that have wide, flatter shells, the Blanding’s Turtle has a domed shell that resembles an army helmet. Its shell is black to brown with yellow flecks and streaks and can reach 27 centimetres long. Its head and limbs are black-grey and the bottom shell is rich yellow.

Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, June 8, 2022. Just before it hand a splash and shake in the water feature. Bombycilla cedrorum The name "waxwing" comes from the waxy red secretions found on the tips of the secondaries of some birds. The exact function of these tips is not known, but they may help attract mates. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Eastern towhee bathing enthusiastically in our little water feature. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, June 10, 2022. Pipilo erythrophthalmus Eastern Towhees are common victims of the parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird. Female cowbirds lay eggs in towhee nests, then leave the birds to raise their cowbird young. In some areas cowbirds lay eggs in more than half of all towhee nests. Towhees, unlike some other birds, show no ability to recognize or remove the imposter’s eggs. Female cowbirds typically take out a towhee egg when laying their own, making the swap still harder to notice. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

This American white pelican is a rare visitor at Rondeau and seems to be asking the Map turtles for directions. There also was a tri-coloured heron with the pelican and it is definitely far outside its normal range. I figure people my age will get the song reference. Rondeau Bay, Erieau Rail Trail, Ontario, Canada, June 7, 2022. Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Contrary to cartoon portrayals and common misconceptions, pelicans never carry food in their bill pouches. They use them to scoop up food but swallow their catch before flying off. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

From the archieves. Mourning warbler, May 21, 2021, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Geothlypis philadelphia Mourning Warbler is sometimes called a “fugitive” species because individuals sometimes have to search out new breeding habitat as its preferred early-successional habitat begins to mature, after about 7–10 years. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Warbler/

American goldfinch, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, May 25, 2022. Lots of dandelions in the yard for the goldfinches to feed on. Spinus tristis American Goldfinches breed later than most North American birds. They wait to nest until June or July when milkweed, thistle, and other plants have produced their fibrous seeds, which goldfinches incorporate into their nests and also feed their young. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch

From the archieves Wilson's snipe, Rondeau Provincial Park, Oct 6, 2016. Seen from the pontoon boat near the south end of the marsh. Gallinago delicata Wilson’s Snipe look so stocky thanks in part to the extra-large pectoral (breast) muscles that make up nearly a quarter of the bird’s weight—the highest percent of all shorebirds. Thanks to their massive flight muscles this chunky sandpiper can reach speeds estimated at 60 miles an hour. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wilsons_Snipe