Bring on Spring, Part 2: March 11 was Crazy Good!

The last two weeks have been a strange mix of great birds and deep angst. I'll save my thoughts about the COVID-19 pandemic and birding for another post and keep this post focused on the birds. This post is all about March 11, which was filled with excellent photographic opportunities for some spring migrants, including HOODED MERGANSER, RED-NECKED GREBE, GOLDEN EAGLE, and RED-SHOULDERED HAWK.

Hooded Merganser
Around this time of year, when the ice has melted and the ducks are active, the Valley Inn ponds can provide close views of some duck species. A small flock of HOODED MERGANSERs almost always finds its way here for a week or so every spring and fall. Normally, they are incredibly skittish and swim far away at the slightest sound or movement along the shore line. On March 11, I drove slowly beside one of the ponds and discovered a group of 6 feeding right beside the road. My lens was quickly resting on the bean bag for the car window!

Hooded Merganser eating a small fish

Eventually, the HOMEs swam out into the pond where the reflections from the hill side made for some great art shot opportunities.

Hooded Merganser

Hooded Merganser

Hooded Mergansers

Red-necked Grebe
This time of year, RED-NECKED GREBEs start returning to selected areas along the shores of Lake Ontario. A well-known spot for one pair is Bronte Harbour, where the town puts out floating tires for nesting spots. After finishing up with the Hooded Mergansers, I took a drive to Bronte Harbour to see if the RNGR were around. Sure enough, they were swimming in the harbour. I was hoping they would perform some of their mating ritual while I was there, but they didn't. They were, however, quite chatty with each other.

Red-necked Grebe

The other Red-necked Grebe

I had some very close views!

Golden Eagle
After arriving home from the Red-necked Grebes, I received a report that some Red-shouldered Hawks were migrating over the Hamilton area. So, off I went to the Valley Inn and Woodland Cemetery to see if I could find some. These moments are always fun when other birders are showing up for the same thing.

Our first stop was Woodland Cemetery, which has a few spots that provide good views south, east and west for migrating raptors. From here, we saw one distant Red-shouldered Hawk. As we were about to leave here and go to Valley Inn, we spotted a large raptor flying directly towards us. We could tell that it was an eagle, and I assumed it would be an immature Bald Eagle since we see so many of them at this spot. I started taking photos as it approached, thinking that it might not be a Bald Eagle ... maybe it's a Golden Eagle. It was cloudy and quite dark, so it was impossible to see any plumage markings at all. I took a number of snaps as it passed overhead so that I could look at them later on my computer.

When we got down to the Valley Inn, another birder was there who had just seen a Golden Eagle. Say what!?!? Sure enough, the bird that flew over us was an adult Golden Eagle. I didn't get finely detailed photos, but they're good record shots. Here's one:

Golden Eagle over Woodbine Cemetery

Red-shouldered Hawks
Down at Valley Inn, we patiently waited for migrating raptors, hoping for some Red-shouldered Hawks. It didn't take too long for one to fly overhead. We had three adults here, for a total of four on the day. Again, the dark afternoon did not provide good light, so the best I could hope for were some solid record shots. Someday, I'll get awesome, detailed photos of a Red-shouldered Hawk!

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

You can see the Red-shoulder on this one.

 All-in-all, a good day for bird snaps!

Bring on Spring, Part 1 (March 01 - 07)

It's been a while since I've written a post, which must mean that I've been busy with spring birding. It's true, so I'm going to write two posts since there's so much to cover.

Yes, migration has begun! Lots of new birds in the area, which is a relief! I love photographing ducks, but even I was getting a little bored with the same ones.

I guess you could say that the beginning of Spring arrived on March 4 when thousands of TUNDRA SWANs migrated over Hamilton. After reading an early morning report that a large flock of Tundras was observed flying over the area, I looked out my backyard window ... sure enough, off in the distance I saw a flock flying west. I quickly grabbed my gear, hopped in the car, and went to Woodland Cemetery, which provides a good view of the sky. At first, a few flocks of a couple hundred flew overhead, but that quickly turned into a stream of flocks, one after the other. I estimate seeing around 1,000 between 9:30 and 10:30.

Tundra Swans flying over Hamilton, 04-Mar-2020

Tundra Swans flying over Hamilton, 04-Mar-2020

Tundra Swans flying over Hamilton, 04-Mar-2020

Blackbirds have been pouring in as well. The familiar (and sometimes irritating) sound of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDs has erupted! COMMON GRACKLEs have also been showing up. I'm sure there are BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDs too, but I have seen any yet. Many folks don't like Grackles because they aren't particularly friendly to smaller birds and they make a mess at their feeders. I think they look pretty cool this time of year. Those electric yellow eyes, that iridescent colouring, and their furrowed brows give them a very dramatic look.

Common Grackle at a feeder, 06-Mar-2020

This time of year also brings vagrants, who belong somewhere else. The first big one for this spring was a WESTERN GREBE seen down in Niagara-on-the-Lake. On March 7, Paul Riss and I took a drive down to have a look. It was surprising how close this bird came to shore. This was an Ontario first for me. There were also some RED-THROATED LOONs showing very well. One even had a bit of its red throat starting to show.

An unusually cooperative Western Grebe, 07-Mar-2020

Western Grebe with Red-throated Loon, 07-Mar-2020

One of the 4 or 5 RTLOs for the day. This one is showing some red on its throat.

The next day, I took a trip down to Valley Inn to see if some Cackling Geese were still present. They weren't, so I took a drive up to Gates of Heaven Cemetery to see if anything was happening there. There certainly was something happening. When I arrived, I rolled down my window to hear an EASTERN MEADOWLARK singing!!! I quickly found it perched on the tallest little tree in the field. I didn't get any snaps of it until the next morning.

Eastern Meadowlark arrived 08-Mar-2020

Unfortunately, a photographer was in the middle of the field playing taped recordings of birds, which is a no-no in spring. Birds might think there are competitors for territory when folks play bird recordings in spring. This is a known nesting spot for Eastern Meadowlarks, so I look forward to keeping an eye on them in the coming months, and hope to see fledglings in summer.

The Northern Shrike was also showing well, and even better the next morning when it came very close to me as I hid in my car. It perched on a Bluebird box for a couple of minutes, which made me laugh to think what a Bluebird would think about that!

Northern Shrike: A strange welcoming party for the Eastern Bluebirds 

Northern Shrike in flight

Shortly after those photos, a couple of birders showed up looking for the Eastern Meadowlark. We got to talking about the Shrike, and the story that someone had found Northern Shrike feathers a few weeks ago, suggesting that the bird we'd been seeing since November had died and the one we were seeing today was a different bird. When I got home afterwards, I started to compare photos. Sure enough, the bird from earlier in winter had more brown on its forehead and cheeks. The one that's there now is pristine white and grey.

Northern Shrike in January: Note brown smudging on forehead, cheeks, and throat.
Lower mandible is also light-coloured. 

Northern Shrike in March: Much cleaner without brown smudging. Lower mandible is dark.

Week Summary: Feb. 22 - 28

Not much changing in the birding scene lately. Lots of ducks are still around, with some REDHEADS coming in close and the usual good numbers of other species. It's been a bit of an odd winter for ducks this year without there being much ice around. On fair-weather days, many venture well offshore, which they wouldn't be able to do during a "normal" winter when the Hamilton Harbour has more ice.

The highlight of the week was a good one though! Paul Riss and I drove down to Ruthven Park where there's a pair of TUFTED TITMICE, along with some EASTERN BLUEBIRDS and other regular winter species. A Tufted Titmouse makes me think of what would happen if a Black-capped Chickadee and a Northern Cardinal had a baby!

Unfortunately, most photos I took were at a bird feeder, which is not my favourite backdrop for bird photos, but you take what your given.

The one decent photo not at the bird feeder.

Redheads were the other highlight of the week. I watched a male and female pair for about an hour as they fed quite close to shore. A female Canvasback was sticking quite close to them the entire time I watched them. It was interesting to see the behaviour of these ducks as they fed. The male Redhead seemed to be the one who would lead his partner away from shore when they noticed my movement, but the female seemed to lead them back to the feeding area close to shore when she deemed it was safe. The Canvasback was less wary of me, but still followed the Redheads wherever they went.

I was hoping this Redhead pair would "get it on" but they didn't.

The male Redhead would periodically go into alert mode, with its
 neck stretched up for better viewing.

The female Redhead feeding.

The female Canvasback would shake off after each dive for food.
This made timing photographs easier.

Early migration will begin to heat up a bit in the next week or so. Some RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS are already coming in. Soon, we'll be seeing/hearing Killdeer and seeing Turkey Vultures.