Birds, and other wildlife, of course!

Even without some of the 'best' spots to spend time in these days, there is lots of wildlife to see! I have continued to get out, safely without seeing many other people, so all is well. Certainly one of the highlights so far are the three American Avocets, as shown in my updated header, with a single bird below. It is certainly one of the most striking of shorebirds, especially in its breeding plumage this time of year. The fact that it is large, and fairly rare for this part of Ontario, makes it all the more appealing. The three of them were discovered yesterday at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands, which is looking good again this year for water birds given the high water conditions.

I spent a bit of time just outside of Rondeau, since the park itself is still closed, and there was a nice variety of things, including my first Baltimore Oriole of the year.....

 ...there were at least three Blue-grey Gnatcatchers flitting about, making photography a challenge.

 Brown-headed Cowbirds are typically detested by birders and non-birders alike. I am not a big fan of them, but they are native, and have managed an interested strategy for long-tern survival. This is a female.

 Hermit Thrushes are fairly plentiful these days, with a few of the other thrush species starting to appear.

 House Finches are often in full song.

 Ruby-crowned Kinglets are darting every which way looking for something to eat. I often don't bother trying to photograph them as they are constantly on the move, but occasionally one is a little more cooperative, remaining in one spot for a fraction of a second.

 Tufted Titmice are not often seen, but these days they can be pinpointed more easily since they are in song.

 White-throated Sparrows are fairly common these days as they scrounge amongst the leaf litter looking for something to eat. This particular day, the ones I saw were all back lit, making the photos less vivid.

In other locales, there have been a few other birds to enjoy. While American Robins are quite abundant these last few weeks, I came across this one near Paxton's Bush. The speckled nature is the result of the partial loss of pigment in the feathers. There is a recent article in the Ontario Field Ornithologists publication Ontario Birds, which features a variety of species that have shown this phenomenon.

 Also at Paxton's Bush, I have recently seen Blue-headed Vireos....

 ....and Black-throated Green Warblers.

 A flooded field is always worth checking out. In addition to several Wilson's Snipe on this occasion, I also found three Pectoral Sandpipers.

 All of the expected swallow species have been back for awhile, and Purple Martins are gathering at martin houses. There is an easily accessible martin house at Mitchell's Bay park, where I shot the male and female shown here.

 Turkey Vultures are frequent. I haven't caught up to a Black Vulture yet this year, but I keep looking.

 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are quite regular these days.....

 ....and Chipping Sparrows are common on lawns and other short grass sites.

I photographed this Chipping Sparrow while I was waiting to 'shoot' a Red Fox. I had been notified of a fox den on a piece of private property that I had access to. The first evening I was out, I watched and waited for more than two hours, without seeing the fox. I did see more than 20 species of birds while I was standing waiting. But the second time I went out, after an hour and a half, and just as it was getting very dull, the fox showed up briefly. I saw him/her for about 15 seconds and managed three photos. Since it was running through a shrubby area, the focus was thrown off, and so I only got this one photo that was worth keeping.

There are other types of wildlife to shoot at this time of year. Again, while I was waiting for the fox to show, I photographed this cottontail. Clearly it has survived being close by the fox's hangouts, at least for now.

 Eastern Chipmunks are out and about, and often fairly vocal.....

 ...as are their larger relatives.

 On the occasional sunny day, a wetland can have dozens of Painted Turtles out soaking up the sun, necessary for the egg development inside the females so they can lay them in another month.

 The Narrow-headed Marsh Fly is one of the most abundant types of syrphid flies in the spring, and throughout the year for that matter.

 Mourning Cloaks are flitting around or pausing to soak up some sunshine....

 ...as are a few Red Admirals.

 And a Great Horned Owlet, not the ones at Paxton's Bush, is growing and will soon be leaving this nest. You can just barely see it peering out at me, as I am possibly the first human this owlet had seen.

Ahhh...spring time! So much is happening, and there is so little time to catch up with it all!