Rondeau Ric

Don't know about ducks, but I've got my swans in a row. February 4, 2023, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Mute swans Cygnus olor The black knob at the base of the male Mute Swan's bill swells during the breeding season and becomes noticeably larger than the female's. The rest of the year the difference between the sexes is not obvious. source-allaboutbirds-org

 House finch, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, May 30, 2023, waiting its turn at the water. Haemorhous mexicanus. The red of a male House Finch comes from pigments contained in its food during molt (birds can’t make bright red or yellow colors directly). So the more pigment in the food, the redder the male. This is why people sometimes see orange or yellowish male House Finches. Females prefer to mate with the reddest male they can find, perhaps raising the chances they get a capable mate who can do his part in feeding the nestlings.

 Take from the pontoon boat at Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, October 14, 2023. Ardea herodias,  Great Blue Herons can hunt day and night thanks to a high percentage of rod-type photoreceptors in their eyes that improve their night vision. source-allaboutbirds-org

  May 21, 2023, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Sitting on a branch above the small water feature. Setophaga fusca.  If your backyard has plenty of trees, you might attract Blackburnian Warblers on migration or in summer. They may remain hard to find in the tree canopy, but they may come down into view if you offer a bird bath or water dripper. See more ideas for   creating water features  in your yard. Warblers don’t come to seed feeders, although they may stop by if you offer mealworms. source-allaboutbirds-org

  This one is for Denise, she asked for more warblers while waiting for the birds to show up. Tennessee warbler just above our little water feature. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Leiothlypis peregrina.  The Tennessee Warbler is a common nectar "thief" on its wintering grounds in tropical forests. Most nectar-eating birds, bats, and insects probe a flower from the front to get the nectar, spreading pollen on their faces in the process. But Tennessee warblers pierce the flower tube at the base, lapping up the nectar without helping pollinate the flower.

Continuing a theme, grey, snow shower and limited species of birds sent me back to the archives,  May 21, 2023, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada Cardellina canadensis.  Canada Warblers fly more than 3,000 miles from their wintering grounds in South America to their breeding grounds in the United States and Canada.

Still waiting for the spring migration. Another from the archives, May 21, 2023, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Waiting for its turn in the water feature. Leiothlypis ruficapilla.  Nashville Warblers don't breed anywhere near Nashville, Tennessee, although they do migrate through. The species got its name because Nashville was where Alexander Wilson  first saw it, in 1811, and went on to name it. source-allaboutbirds-org

Prothonotary warbler, May 23, 2023, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Another from the archives.    Protonotaria citrea. Most warblers nest either on the ground, in shrubs, or in trees, but the Prothonotary Warbler and the Lucy's Warbler build their nests in holes in standing dead trees. They may also use nest boxes when available.

  Another from the archives, May 29, 2023, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Just before its bath in our little water feature. Setophaga pensylvanica.  On the wintering grounds in Central America the Chestnut-sided Warbler joins in mixed-species foraging flocks with the resident antwrens and tropical warblers. Individual warblers return to the same areas year after year, joining back up with the same foraging flock it associated with the year before.

  In the yard at Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, February 8, 2023. A winter visitor taking advantage  the feeders and water, puffed up against the wind. Spizelloides arborea.  Misleadingly named by European settlers reminded of Eurasian Tree Sparrows back home, American Tree Sparrows are ground birds. They forage on the ground, nest on the ground, and breed primarily in scrubby areas at or above the treeline. source -alllaboutbirds-0rg

 Still a lack of birds to photograph, so one from the archives. Cerulean warbler, Rondeau Provincial Park, May 11, 2019, Ontario, Canada. Setophaga cerulea The female Cerulean Warbler has an unusual way of leaving a nest after sitting on it a while. Some people call it "bungee-jumping." She drops from the side of the nest, keeping her wings folded to her sides, and opens her wings to fly only when she is well below the nest. source - allaboutbirds-org

Seen at Rondeau Provincial Park, August 26, 2016, along the marsh edge. A hard to find/see bird even without the fish it just caught. Ixobrychus exilis John James Audubon  noted that a young captive Least Bittern was able to walk with ease in a 1.5-inch gap between two books, even though the bird's body normally measured 2.25 inches across—indicating that it could compress its body to an extraordinary degree to squeeze between marsh stems and reeds. source- allaboutbirds-org

Chipmunk Rondeau Provincial Park, June 29,  Not photoshopped, its tail covered the post the sculpture is attached to. Tamias striatus Eastern chipmunks mate in early spring. The female usually has one litter a year with between three and five young. In some areas, a female may have a second litter. The young will come above ground when they are about six weeks old.

Baltimore oriole, Rondeau Provincial Park, June 29, 2023. Removed the sculpture support in photoshop. Alternate title - Surfin' Bird 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 - allaboutbirds-org.

Red admiral butterfly up close and personal. Rondeau Provincial Park, July 23, 2023 Vanessa atalanta Butterflies can commonly be seen wicking near muddy puddles of water. Red Admirals are also known to drink tree sap and even wick from dung. Butterflies that live in more northern latitudes migrate to the Southern states, like Texas, to avoid a loss of food resources in the winter.

July 24, 2023, warmer times in our little water feature, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. A few that come to our feeder still have/are getting colour. Nice to see on another dreary day  Spinus tristis.  American Goldfinches are unusual among goldfinches in molting their body feathers twice a year, once in late winter and again in late summer. The brightening yellow of male goldfinches each spring is one welcome mark of approaching warm months. source -allaboutbirds-org

  A friend told us about 2 long eared owls that could be seen from the road. Tucked away behind all sorts of twigs and branches we were able to spot both. Images taken from the car with  telephoto lens to avoid disturbing the owls. Asio otus Like other owls, the Long-eared has a body adapted for silent flight and precision hunting. Flight feathers with fringed edges and downy surfaces mute the sound of the owl’s passage through air. The owls gain incredible hearing from their asymmetrically placed ear openings and large, sound-catching facial disks.

 Fluttering after the bath, to dry off,  Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, October 2. 2023. Thryothorus ludovicianus The Carolina Wren is sensitive to cold weather, with the northern populations decreasing markedly after severe winters. The gradually increasing winter temperatures over the last century may have been responsible for the northward range expansion seen in the mid-1900s.

It is almost warm enough for me to go back out to do photography. This is from Feb 5, 2023 at Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Sitta carolinensis.   If you see a White-breasted Nuthatch making lots of quick trips to and from your feeder – too many for it to be eating them all – it may be storing the seeds for later in the winter, by wedging them into furrows in the bark of nearby trees.

 Rose-breasted grosbeak enjoying a bath when the stream was open. Rondeau Provincial Park,Ontario, Canada,  June 10, 2023. Pheucticus ludovicianus.  The male Rose-breasted Grosbeak takes a turn incubating the eggs for several hours during the day, while the female incubates the rest of the day and all night long. Both sexes sing quietly to each other when they exchange places. The male sometimes sings his normal song at full volume from inside the nest. source- allaboutbirds-org