Birding in winter can be a challenge to find much diversity. Thank goodness for feeders! Recently I wandered around part of the former Dover Township west of Chatham to see what I could find. Some Snow Buntings were around, but not close enough. Some Horned Larks were a bit more willing to stay close enough to the road. They are early migrants, singing away already.
The warm water outlet at the west end of Chatham had a few ducks, but of most interest was this female Belted Kingfisher.
A trip to Rondeau went well. Not surprisingly the greatest bird diversity was at the several feeders in the park. There were the usual things: Dark-eyed Juncos, Am Tree Sparrows, White-breasted Nuthatches, Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers and such. Several Red-winged Blackbirds swooped in at one for a feed.
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| Downy Woodpecker |
I know....who bothers to photograph House Sparrows!
Away from the feeders there were a few things scattered about. I came across this White-throated Sparrow feeding along the side of the road.
This Hermit Thrush was the first of 2018 for me. It was hanging out in a brush pile at the pony barn.
Outside of the park I spent a fair bit of time driving back roads, hoping to come across a Northern Shrike, but it was not to be. On the way home one time, I checked for the ongoing Wilson's Snipe. It was there, but much farther back from the road, so only got a distant shot.
Allen : After many tries--I finally got a perfect look at the
ReplyDeleteWilson,s Snipe on Stefina, just after lunch, yesterday.[ 8th]
I think that was the same day as you. He flew in from somewhere,
and landed about 2 car lengths from me in the ditch.
Yeah--a 2018 tick!
Hi Irene....that little rascal can be annoyingly difficult to find sometimes, but at other times it is quite easy. I think I see it less than 50% of the time I check.
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