Rondeau Ric

Cedar waxwings singing a duet for New Years. Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot,and auld lang syne? For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne. July 27, 2020,  at Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario Canada.

 October 6, 2016, Rondeau Provincial Park. Cloud number 9, possibly Still grey and rainy but I did get my bike ride in, 6 C, no snow. What an unusual December. Do you see any faces?

Bay breasted warbler, May 10, 2019, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Another from the archives on a grey, rainy day. At least I don't have to shovel rain. Setophaga castanea Young Bay-breasted Warblers in fall can look very similar to Blackpoll Warblers. One surefire way to distinguish them is by the colour of the soles of their feet—bluish grey in Bay-breasted, yellow in Blackpoll. source - allaboutbirds-org.

 A grey, damp day but it is 42 F in mid December, so I checked the archives for an image.  Tui bird.  Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae,  New Zealand November 4, 2009 at my nephews Bach( cottage) A large, dark nectar feeder endemic to New Zealand. Easily distinguished by two curled white feather tufts (“poi”) visible on the throat. Tail and wings have blue, purple, and green iridescence. Found throughout much of New Zealand, including Auckland, Kermadec, and Chatham Islands, though mostly absent from Canterbury. Favors native forest and scrub, also venturing into suburban parks, farmland, and rural gardens. Often detected by its unique voice consisting of melodious notes intermixed with croaks, coughs, clicks, and wheezes. Also listen for its noisy whirring flight. Similar to male Eurasian Blackbird, but easily identified by its white throat feathers and iridescence. Song can be easily confused with that of a bellbird, but listen for distinct loud coughs, grunts, and whe...

 American tree sparrow, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, December 19, 2023. Not rare but it is what is coming to the yard these days, Spizelloides arborea American Tree Sparrows need to take in about 30 percent of their body weight in food and a similar percentage in water each day. A full day's fasting is usually a death sentence. Their body temperature drops and they lose nearly a fifth of their weight in that short time.

  Long-tailed jaeger, Aug 9, 2018, Burlington, Ontario, Canada. We took  a road trip down to see this bird and it was very co-operative. Moved around the Bech, flew a bit and posed nicely Stercorarius longicaudus For several kinds of Arctic predators, including Snowy Owls and Arctic foxes, lemming populations can make the difference between survival and starvation. But Long-tailed Jaegers are long-lived and eat lemmings only in the summertime; they forage at sea in the winter. This means they can avoid lemming shortages simply by choosing not to breed, a strategy that has been likened to “skimming the cream” off the lemming’s population cycles. source-allaboutbirds-org

Pileated woodpecker,Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Dec 13, 2023. A treat, we had two pleated in the yard, we usually hear them but don't see them. This one dropped down to the little pond in our water feature. a new pond bird. Dryocopus pileatus A Pileated Woodpecker pair stays together on its territory all year round. It will defend the territory in all seasons, but will tolerate new arrivals during the winter. source - allaboutbirds-org. Photo by Anne.

  Eastern bluebird, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. May 13, 2023, I do like seeing these birds, If you're old enough - Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay My, oh my, what a wonderful day Plenty of sunshine headin' my way Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay Mister Bluebird's on my shoulder It's the truth, it's actual Ev'rything is satisfactual Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay Wonderful feeling, wonderful day, yes sir! Sialia sialis Eastern Bluebirds typically have more than one successful brood per year. Young produced in early nests usually leave their parents in summer, but young from later nests frequently stay with their parents over the winter. Source, all bout birds org

Lesser Scaup, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.  Caught him in a flyby April 13, 2023. Aythya affinis Lesser Scaup chicks don't waste any time. As soon as their down dries, under the water they go. The little ones are a bit too buoyant to stay down for long, but by the time they are 5 to 7 weeks old, they can dive for up to 25 seconds and swim up to 60 feet underwater.