First lifer of the year (#280)

I wanted to get out birding this weekend, but it wasn't until there was only about an hour left of sunlight left that I was ready to go. I already had it in mind that I wanted to look for the Barrow's Goldeneyes but hadn't mentioned it, so I had to laugh when I asked Matt where he wanted to go and he said "I was thinking of looking for the Barrow's Goldeneyes." Seriously, in what normal couple does this conversation happen?

"Barrow's goldeneyes."
"Yeah, that's just what I was thinking."

So we thought we'd pass through snowy territory on the way (which, by the way, is pretty much anywhere in Ottawa right now). The first spotting was on a tall hydro pole way out in the middle of the field--so far out you probably wouldn't see it, but I knew to look from the last time. Just around the bend, there were a bunch of parked cars, and no surprise, a perched snowy nearby.

The key to spotting a snowy owl? Look for a whole bunch of parked cars and expensive optics. 

I watched from the car and was extremely pleased with the behavior of the birders/photographers at this particular location--everyone was respecting property boundaries, keeping distance, being quiet and no flying rodents. The only thing that eventually flushed the owl was the behemoth snowplow that came down the street.

So we headed to our intended destination--one of few locations of open water in Ottawa. The patch of water in the Jock River is only about 100 metres long, so it didn't take long to find the five ducks bobbing about. They took off out of the water but only flew to the beginning of the patch of water, and they were busy ducking and diving and preening and generally being ducks, surfing the current backwards. It didn't seem to bother them at all that the water must be totally frigid! There were two female Barrow's, one male Barrow's and two male common goldeneyes. It's always pretty exciting to get a life bird on home turf--it doesn't happen so often anymore!

#280: Barrow's Goldeneye; January 2014; Ottawa, Ontario

I do worry what these ducks are going to do when the river freezes over! It's only going to get worse here before it gets better. It seems that -30 Celsius is the new normal in Ottawa.

Male Barrow's wit Common. Neat to see side-by-side!

At this point it was quite dark and shots were getting blurry even with the tripod, so we headed home. I spotted two more stories, one of which we practically drove right under, but didn't notice until the last minute. Not shy at all, these ones...

All in all, a life bird and four snowies in about an hour--not bad at all!

New Year Birding: Off to a Great Start!

New Year's Day was gorgeous--clear and blue--although a little chilly with the windchill at about -25. But a day off is a day off and not something to waste, as it's rare these days that I have much sunlight to play with. So I was really looking forward to having the camera (and my birding partner) back and hitting the trails.

Shannon, Brent, Violet and Donovan joined us (I'm secretly creating a birding army) and provided lots of extra sets of eyes to spot the winged ones. Apparently they weren't scared off by their first experience with us.

With the temperature it was, it was pretty quiet on Old Quarry Trail. But eventually we were swarmed by chickadees looking for lunch, and everyone was happy to oblige. Even a red-breasted nuthatch came to eat out of our hands. Violet's mittens were black so the birds couldn't see the seeds very well..she found she had better luck putting the seeds on her head...

We did the entire loop and saw just chickadees, a single nuthatch, three deer and a porcupine. Back by the cars though, I spotted a flash of red and a great black body. Everyone was a little mesmerized by the Pileated, even though we'd all seen them before. This individual was not at all concerned by our presence and really went at the tree, taking massive chunks off. The evidence of his destruction lay all around the base.  Soon after we noticed a brown creeper that reaped rewards from the pileated's work---he hopped around the pile on the ground investigating. Eventually two downy woodpeckers landed on the tree and there was a pileated, a creeper, two downies and then an American crow all on one tree! If I only I could have got a shot of all of them in the same frame.

I headed to yoga in the aft, but had just enough sunlight left to hear out one more time. I hadn't had a chance to look for any of the snowies so I thought we'd have a quick look. Within 15 minutes we'd found two, one really far off and another a little closer, still a little far for a great shot.

We observed for a bit before moving on, and just around the corner a bunch of little birds took off, but resettled and they turned out to be precious little horned larks!

umph. I'm so mad!

I have to say it was a pretty wonderful new year's day. We decided to keep a year list, and it stands at 8 so far. Best of birding in 2014 to all! I can't wait to see what this year has in store :)

a new year: looking forward; looking back

it seems that every year, I maintain the tradition of a New Year's post (2011 and 2012). This post has elements that are somewhat reminiscent of last year's post--but this shouldn't come as a surprise with birds coming and going just as the seasons do, and how we so often compare the present to where we were this day in the past. this will be one year that I won't promise frequent posts. For me and I'm sure for you, the new year always gives a moment of pause and time for reflection. It is a time of renewed clarity of purpose and good intentions.

I'd already visited the island on Christmas Day but took an unexpected trip back when Matt wanted to ferry over early in the morning to shovel out my dad's driveway (*insert sigh here*) since he'd been having bad back spasms the night before. We were just off the ferry and not at Dad's yet when wonder of all wonders--a beautiful white snowy owl swooshes over the road in front of us to land in the field. The first light of day was just starting to radiate, and we reaped the karma of Matt's planned good deed.

Snowy sits in front of the previous night's moon at dawn

**The future of snowies and other owl species (along with other birds and bats) are being threatened by the planned wind farm for the island. While I would certainly describe myself as an environmentalist who understands the need for alternative energy, this is a terrible move. AI is a world-recognized International Birding Area located in a major migration corridor. The wind farm on nearby Wolfe Island has staggeringly high kill rates for birds and knowing the special birds that frequent the island, I fear that Amherst will be worse. Not to mention the other issues that remain unaddressed. I'll have to save discussing this in depth for another day but please take the time to educate yourself and make your voice heard.**

On the way back out, we spotted another snowy on the lake side, quite a ways off, posted in a tree. We thought it was the same one, but when we continued on the first was still at its landing spot. Two snowies in one outing, when you aren't even looking for them, is a rare treat. It alternated between looking side to side at the birds zipping by at the feeder it was near, to gazing intently at me. There's something about their huge, glowing amber eyes that seem to understand or maybe know more than you do---maybe that's where the expression "wise old owl" comes from. Not just this, its calm gaze gave me a sense of quietness and serenity. Grandma loved owls and being only two days after she passed away, these two owls, angel-like and majestic, had to have been sent to me. I thought might be her way of being a continued presence in my life. This moment made me realize that birding is so much more than getting lifers, ticking off lists or snapping the perfect shot. Birding is a way to create meaning in my life. It is reverence for something bigger and awe, appreciation, respect and humility. Damn, it's therapy. Birding is not something that I have to set out to do--I can just go about my business and open my eyes and ears--they are always there. Maybe you get distracted by something else for a time, but they're always there to come back to.

Snowy with seemingly innocuous but actually foreboding windmills in background

Snowy highlights a life lesson--be ready for opportunity or [dinner] will pass you by!

As is so often the case, some country wisdom comes over the radio (cuz you can't cruise country roads to anything else) with clockwork timing to put it all together. At times I felt like 2012 dealt me a bad hand, but when it comes down to it, I have so much to be grateful for. No matter what hand you get, you still have to play, but if you play your cards right, you can still take the pot.

Every time you think you got it bad
You can find someone who's got it worse
All the things you take for granted now
They started out as blessings first
If you got someone who loves you
And a steady job that puts food on the table
If you're strong and able
Man, be grateful.

Somewhere there is a balance of being grateful for what you have and drive to take action for what you want/need. I do think it's possible to achieve both and that there is a difference between gratefulness and complacency. But I'm really going on a tangent now.

Back on the mainland at Mary's, I noticed some movement in the trees behind the house, which seemed to intensifying. She'd wanted us to fill up her winter feeders earlier in the week but nothing had shown up yet. I pulled out the binoculars to ascertain just what the wee tiny things were -- a gallup of 50 or more redpolls had converged on the feeder, many perched on clothesline, rallying for position and waiting turn for one of the 8 spots on the feeder, or hopping around on the ground. We enjoyed watching them for 5-10 minutes (of course, Mary was gone). Skittish as they were, they would all take off and all eventually make their way back. Finally a few lifted off, then a few more, until the last stragglers also took flight and there were none left. I waited for them to return but they were gone for good this time. If you blinked, you would have missed it. You would have thought that the feeder had been empty as it had been the rest of the week if you didn't notice the tiny tracks all over the snow. It was also a reminder of how much we miss when we don't observe things closely enough. The snowies and this redpolls all before 10 and I mentioned to Matt how I felt that day was blessed...which is really unusual coming from someone who's not religious.

I won't promise that 2013 will be prolific year of posts for me, as it's not my intention. I'm sure I'll check in and post the odd time as I do when I have something exciting to share. I haven't actually set any resolutions yet, but in the near future I'll meditate long and hard about it. Many of us feel a sense of impending and momentous change this time of year but rarely is that feeling translated into action before it is obscured again. I think it's important to frame resolutions not in terms of achievement/ failure but of mindfulness and purpose of being--a reminder of the person we want to be and how to live a meaningful life. An opportunity to take stock and adjust as necessary.

For those of you who find yourself here now, or who have been here a long time...I wish you all a very happy new year, and I hope that 2013 deals you a good hand. :)

A New Year (#191-192)

Alright, so it's 2012, and the beginning of another birding year. My birding has definitely slowed down since I started my 100 Birds in Year Challenge back in 2010. The wee winged ones still have a very special place in my heart, though I'm not nearly as obsessive about my outings and seeking them out. Still I have managed to add many lifers to my list, and have had some amazing birding experiences this past year, and I'm stoked for my upcoming trip to Mexico where I'm sure to see even more fantastic birdies! I still have to get a copy of a field guide (thinking of this one), but here are some of my target birds, which I think I'll be likely to see right where I'm staying:

• Yucatan Jay (wicked looking bird, in the Corvidae family. Guess what I just realized? Jays are in the Corvidae family. Doh!)
• Great Kiskadee
• Hooded Oriole
• Pelicans (*heart* *heart* *heart*)
• If I'm REALLY lucky, a blue-crowned motmot

For the most part over the holidays we stayed at Matt's mom's, Mary's, in Bath. She has an amazing new house on the water, and there are a ton of birds there all the time. We were treated to a huge group of swans right out front every single day, along with lots of other ducks, and woodland birds too.

This was pretty frustrating: This little nuthatch kept perching on this branch right in front of the swan sitting out in the lake. I wanted to juxtapose the two but the swans were so far back, and the focal length just really does not give you any depth of field. I cranked the ISO to close down, but there just wasn't enough light to get both and a clear shot! Anyways, here is my best effort!

I headed to AI over the holidays and paid a visit to the Owl Woods. We actually didn't see any owls in the woods that day, only a snowy along the south shore. Either an unlucky day, or maybe too early in the year. Well, if there's one thing I learned about owls, is that it takes some patience if you want to see them!

View of the Wolfe Island windmills from Amherst. They are putting windmills on Amherst too. Sadly, this is not going to be good for the birds :( I totally understand the desire to come up with alternative energy sources, but we can't do it at the expense of wildlife! Well, the main thing I liked was the wind and the waves--the colour was an awesome colour of blue. I probably should have taken the time to put the wide angle on to get the full effect.

I do have to go back just a bit to late fall to mention a very important bird for me. We hadn't been out birding in quite some time but Matt mentioned that a purple sandpiper had been spotted in Andrew Hayden Park. He asked me if I wanted to go...usually the bird chasing ends in frustration (like the razorbill we tried to see on the Ottawa River...all I saw through the x60s was a black speck that may or may not have been a razorbill...not hugely satisfying...).

So out we went, and saw a bunch of birders on the shore all looking out in the river. Naturally, we looked where they looked, to see some of the expected ducks and geese. So we ask, "have you seen the purple sandpiper?" They replied, "Oh sure, it's right there," and they point 5 metres to their left. I was a bit floored--they were already done with that one, already had their looks. Huh! Birders are weird sometimes.

Anyways, the purple sandpiper, an Arctic bird (and therefore less accustomed to people), was anything but timid and let us get extremely close. When I saw it, it actually made sense as to why it's called purple--it definitely seemed to have a purple tinge to it. There is something very striking about the bird, and I think it's that it appears to have eye whites. Since that's what we're used to seeing in humans, it looks almost "knowing," or something.

# 191: Purple Sandpiper; Andrew Hayden Park (Ottawa), November 26, 2011

We also saw many ducks in the pond. As it turns out, I never claimed a lesser scaup, so I will now! There were lots that day.

#192: Lesser Scaup; Andrew Hayden Park (Ottawa), November 26, 2011

and another one, scratching the head!

On an earlier stop in the Britannia area in the fall, we'd seen some sandpipers, but I'm still working on my ID skills. I definitely need to brush up and get better at observing and knowing what to look for. Maybe next Christmas I need to ask Santa for a scope.

unidentified...anybody want a challenge?

So by the end of 2012, I hit 192. Dad had said to me at the start of the year, "maybe you'll get to 200 in 2 years?" Not quite, but I'll take it!

Today we visited the Hilda Road feeders for the first time in a while. Just as many birds as ever...saw a beautiful pileated, which is always a treat (saw one out skiing yesterday too...that's 2 days in a row!).

Ok good, I'm all caught up and it didn't even hurt that much! Hope everyone is off to a great start in 2012!!

AI: part two aka THIS is what we came here for aka birds of prey (29-32)

First of all, I have to say I wouldn't have got any of these shots without my new lens, and I'm so glad I was able to pick one up before the weekend after 4 kijiji deals fell through. I visited Owl Woods on the Island but was told that I had missed them by a few weeks. There are still short-eared owls on the Island in the fields but I kind of ran out of time so I'll have to go back for them, when I will hopefully get together with another birdwatcher who is a friend of my dad's and who is helping out with this study (the population declined by approximately 85% between 1966 to 2005...yet another sign that we clearly doing something very very wrong). For the Owl Woods, I need to try January to mid-March next year, but this one made up for it and more.

29: Snowy Owl; April 5, 2010; Amherst Island
Ok, the snowy is maybe my favourite. It is so big and beautiful. As I approached I could totally feel myself being watched. Normally we are the ones doing the watching, but sometimes there are these moments when you are watching a bird and and you know that they are watching you back...and it's kind of profound, you know? I was the only one in the field with this owl and I felt like he was permitting me to be in his presence. So yeah....it was pretty amazing.
30: Red-tailed hawk, April 2, 2010; Amherst Island
Matt seems to have mastered the hawk picture taking...so the camera goes to him whenever hawks are around. All other times we argue about who gets to the use the camera! Anyways, props are due to him for this sick, sick picture.

31: Rough-legged Hawk; April 2, 2010; Amherst Island
This hawk was flying really high up. Hawks are so hard for me to identify, although I think I'm getting a little better. I'm 90% sure it's right, but if I got this ID wrong....please tell me!

32: American Kestrel; April 5, 2010; Amherst Island
These guys are so awesome. They are tiny hawks. They're so small that if you didn't look at them you would think they were blackbirds sitting on telephone wires. But they aren't, and they do all things exactly like hawks, hovering over fields and the like. Since I saw my first one and realized what it was, I started seeing them everywhere. You can tell them by the black bands on their eyes. I'm beginning to think I was one of the most non-observant people out there! But there are little wonders everywhere.

I also saw what I thought were Northern flickers but didn't get a decent shot. Sneaky buggers.

Stay tuned...I still have more birds to cover from the weekend.