Migration 2011
April 5th, 2011
The birding gods are comedians. I take an hour-long hike along the river looking for my first Great Blue Heron of spring. And where I do I finally see my first Great Blue Heron of spring? Flying across Bank Street.
Specifically, flying across Bank Street at Heron.
It's been a slow spring so far. The best action I've seen was on the first. After doing house-related stuff, Mike and I decided to explore the west end, and we ended up at Constance Creek--a well-known birding mecca, but one I'd never been to before. Saw a nice variety of migrant ducks there, plus a Northern Harrier.
Tomorrow I'm off to Eardley-Marsham / Gatineau with a local birding group. We'll see what kind of excitement we can stir up. I'm hoping for the kind that involves Golden Eagles :-)
( Spring Migration 2011 )
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
April 3rd, 2011
Raw Bar
April 2nd, 2011
I was fascinated by the behavior of a pair of Ring-Billed Gulls at Riverain Park. They were foraging on some waterlogged land--where the river had flooded then receded--and picking out what looked at first like shiny black rocks.
The "shiny rocks" turned out to be some sort of small freshwater bivalves (mussels?). The fascinating part was when they picked these up and carried them over to dip them in the river--a behavior that reminded me of raccoons. They would sit the bivalves in shallow water and peck at them. My theory is that they were putting them in the water to encourage them to open. Then they pecked and pried them open wider, picked them back up and feasted on the contents.
There was a fair bit of cooperation and sharing between the two gulls--a mated pair, perhaps?
Sublimely Silly
March 28th, 2011
The courtship of Hooded Mergansers never fails to make me smile.
On the Rideau Friday morning, I watched as two males vied for the attention of a female. It's like this: a male swims along in front of or beside his prospective mate--his white crest expanded to its full unwieldly proportions--then he starts jerking his neck spasmodically. After a second or two of this, all of a sudden (good luck firing the shutter at the right moment!), he pops his head all the way back, and utters a hoarse, soft "bow-bowwww." Some people call it a froggy sound--to me it's like a distant, muted didgeridoo.
As with the goldeneyes, the female just swims along staring straight ahead and showing no apparent interest in all this weirdness. And yet, eventually, she gives in!
Greed
March 25th, 2011
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It's begun
March 15th, 2011
Migration has begun. In fact, it's well underway! Four spring firsts at Mud Lake this morning: Canada Geese by the dozens, several Red-Winged Blackbirds singing on territory, a pair of Hooded Mergansers, and last but not least, five Wood Ducks--the earliest I've ever seen that species in Ottawa. These early birds arrive in a land still crusted with snow and ice, still below freezing at night and with precious few natural food sources. They tough it out so they can claim their breeding grounds early.
Ring-Billed Gulls have been reported back in Ottawa as of March 1st--my first sighting was a few days ago. They're everywhere now. Some people turn up their noses at this common, noisy urban species, but I like them. They're quite handsome up close, in their crisp breeding plumage, and their tameness affords the opportunity for excellent photos.
Brant
March 13th, 2011
Another one from the backlog. This is the Brant goose who lingered at Andrew Haydon park a couple years ago.
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Success
March 12th, 2011
I found this one lurking in my backlog. In retrospect it deserved attention long before now! This is a Ring-Billed Gull fishing the rapids near Carleton University--photographed April 2009.
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Detail:
Gimme
March 10th, 2011
House Finches don't go to the sunflower feeder one by one like the chickadees do. Small finches don't typically believe in this concept of "taking turns." They all pile on at once, as many as can fit and occasionally more than that! It tilts and spins as they come and go.
A Finchy Assortment
March 9th, 2011
The Hurdman feeders are heaven for bird-lovers right now. Redpolls galore, house finches galore, goldfinches galore, cardinals. And everyone singing!
Upper left: male Common Redpoll. Upper right: female House Finch. Below: American Goldfinches. The goldfinch on the left is beginning to molt into his bright breeding plumage: notice the lemon-yellow spot on his belly, and the mottling of bright and dingy yellow on his face. The male redpolls are becoming more colorful too.
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