Spring, Not Spring? Make Up Your Mind!

I know that weather is definitely hard to follow in Southern Ontario, the snow is very much back and forth of showing up and going away but this year has been so weird. Yesterday (05-Mar-2020) was very warm (+6°C) and the sun was out, the birds were calling and I had that migration tingle and the banding season along with the return of Warblers was making me damn near gitty. So to my surprise into work this morning was the blast of large snowflakes plowing into my windshield and I just thought to myself, what happened here??

Let me paint the true picture of yesterday to me: 

I could smell the moisture in the air, and feel the sun on my face. It had been a while since I could bird with absolutely no hat or gloves on and it excited me! The calls of Canada Geese and Red-winged Blackbirds calling from all edges of the pond behind my work. I stop to take a deep breath and feel the freshness in the air. This is the iconic early spring day for a birder and I feel like a lot of birders (myself included) would start counting the days until the breeding birds like Blue-winged Warbler and Eastern Wood-Pewee (in the east) return to our daily lists or sightings for the non-listers out there. 

Today, that is a very different feeling. I walk out of my car and feel the slush squish around my boots, this is a feeling I was hoping to never feel ever again, yet here I am. A heavy coat weighs me down and a toque covering my ears cutting the calls of birds near by. I feel the excitement leave my soul, and fall into disappointment. This is what late February and March has been for Southern Ontario so unfortunately we may not be done with the snow just yet! 

This is Hamilton area mind you, the Haldimand area I usually bird (Ruthven National Historic Site, Selkirk Provincial Park, etc.) were definitely not half as bad, and it looks like we are going to get more rain than snow at home, but tomorrow will be fantastic! It looks like it's going to be another early spring typical day so one can hope! 

Red-winged Blackbird calling - Hamilton ON

Birding with a Camera

You would not think that me, an almost 23-year-old, would have a hard time with cameras since we have been through it all. The movement from film to digital and whatnot, I still remember using disposable cameras and having to get them developed. But there is always one thing I have had a hard time with, using a camera on my birding trips.

I always pictured birders as a bunch of people with binoculars, notebooks, and field guides just like me, but that image is changing. The birders of today carry with them a pair of binoculars but have swapped out most field guides for an app on their phone and have replaced notebooks with eBird. Along with the change in literature they have added an extra item to their list, a camera. Nowadays it is hard to find an experienced birder who isn’t an amateur photographer, myself included. I may still be new to the whole birding with a camera concept, but it has changed the way I approach birding. I find that I reach for the bins and then immediately try to snap a pic of any bird, rare or not. The satisfaction of getting a picture of a bird spikes the adrenaline of seeing a cool bird to the max, for me at least.

I solemnly believe that all birders should carry at least a little point and shoot camera with them. It doesn’t have to be a ridiculously expensive piece. My set up was probably just over a grand total but I have met a few young birders who can’t afford anything that extravagant so they bought a simple $100-$200 point and shoot camera and get by perfectly fine, in fact they can get some good shots. I encourage photography as long as they follow the birding code of ethics.

My Canon T100 Body and 75-300mm Lens

My 150-500mm Sigma Lens Canon EF mount.

Week 8 (February 16 - February 22)

Sunday was a great day! Got to do a lot of birding in going to two cemeteries in Burlington, one to find a little Screech-Owl and the other to find the pesky Shrike I missed a few weeks ago!

Starting with the Shrike, I showed up at about 1/4 after 9. I was there for over and hour and tried and tried to find this Shrike. I seen a coyote and a lot of Bluebirds, but still no Shrike! I was just about to give in to the little guy once again and I tried a hail Mary, I went to the building at the front of the property, and there is was, perched at the top of a tree! Finally, Northern Shrike!

Next up was the Screech-Owl, this was the same story. I showed up, and I walked around for what seemed like forever. This time though I had a little help, a guy showed up, probably around the same age as me, and he let me know where the Screech-Owl likes to hide out, and low and behold there it was. Eyes closed, hiding from the world, and the best part; it was right above where some photographers walked and they could not find it! Win for the birds today!

Also visited some spots in Hamilton; Burlington Ship Canal, Bayfront Park, the works. Picked up an Iceland Gull. Great day for birding. Did get some awesome pictures of Trumpeter Swans though!

Northern Shrike - Halton ON

Cooper Hawk - Halton ON

Eastern Screech-Owl - Halton ON

White-breasted Nuthatch - Halton ON

Trumpeter Swan - Hamilton ON

Monday was a big thing, back to banding! That's right Ruthven did a little a little banding on Family Day and what a great time it was! It helped me get the rust off before we start banding in just over a month. We banded 18 new birds and 20 retraps. I myself got to band a quite a few as well as grab the census count, nice to be back! Nothing rare really, however we did get to spot a pair of Trumpeter Swans and a pair of Bald Eagles!

Immature Bald Eagle getting it's adult plumage - Haldimand ON

Adult Bald Eagle - Haldimand ON

Trumpeter Swan (V18) - Haldimand ON

Did a little traveling this past week, Nashville Tennessee, City of Music. What a beautiful place, the only problem, it was still cold! The one morning it snowed and another there was frost. For being close to Georgia you would think it would at least be warm! Anyhow, it was definitely still nicer than southern Ontario this time of year. Racking up some migrants I usually only see in the spring and the infamous Carolina Chickadee that I can't see in Ontario. I was at a work convention and the place where the convention was was amazing! They had 3 rooms of all plants, 3.. that is crazy to think about. And not to mention the explosion of Northern Mockingbird, there was only 1 day I didn't see at least one, they're just crazy common down there. I did not bring my camera however so I didn't get any decent bird pictures but still amazing. Would definitely recommend going!

Week's end totals:
Species: 49
Individuals: 1,205

The convention was at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel - Nashville TN

Gaylord Opryland Hotel - Nashville TN