Feb 8 – Venturing out of hibernation….
Finally February! I’m one of those people that struggle through winter – I hate the cold, hate the snow, ice, wind. Hate the multiple layers, thick mitts, puffy coats, big boots making movement and birding a huge effort. Birding at least gets me out of the house but I have to admit that this year without a goal its hard to get me out of PJ’s. I think I have hit a record number of days spent in my PJ’s this last month with the continual double-digit negative temperatures and constant winds and squalls. I’ve enjoyed watching the birds at our feeders and I have made an effort to get on the treadmill in the basement and shovelled snow to at least keep up some semblance of physical activity. I’ve also been reading a few books a week, completed 8 jig-saw puzzles and been making all our favourite comfort foods. Hoping my clothes still fit in another month LOL.
We put in a display at our local library for February titled “Blind Date with a Book” where we wrap up books and just write a little blurb on the front to peak interest so in that spirit I’ll share some book recommendations in case some of you are looking for something new – I am an eclectic reader and willing to read anything interesting.
Careless People – Sarah Wynn-Williams – memoir from a FB employee!
Three Days in June – Anne Tyler – classic relationship story from Anne Tyler
Atmosphere – Taylor Jenkins Reid – women and NASA!
All Her Fault – Andrea Mara – mystery with lots of twists
Whistle Linwood Barclay – thriller in the Steven King style
The Reason You Walk – memoir Wab Kinew (Premier of Manitoba) current read – future first Indigenous PM?
But you want to hear about the birding, right? We have only gotten out 8 times in the last month. Quite a difference from last year when we took a trip to BC and out birding most days. Back on Jan 12 we tried for local owls at Brant Park and flushed a Long-Ear Owl that was in a tree close to the road. We always feel bad when they flush as we know they need the rest. It flew out right overtop of us and went deeper into the forest where hopefully it was not disturbed again. A few days later on our way to a hockey game in Oakville we decided to actually “chase” a rarity and headed to Desjardin Canal where a Greater White-fronted Goose had been reported. Unfortunately it had flown off just before we arrived so we continued onto LaSalle Marina and checked through all the ducks again adding another 4 duck species for the year.
Two days later we were out again meeting up to bird with Angela and Michael. What a crazy day! Snow Squalls were in the forecast and boy did we get hit. We had been in beautiful sunshine at Bayfront Park and drove 3 minutes over to Pier 8, got out of our cars and were hit with a wall of snow. I wish I had taken a pic of us! We walked/ran to Williams Cafe and arrived looking like snowmen! We opted to grab hot chocolates and talk about birding instead of trying to bird. Once things had cleared up we headed to Windemere and Sayers Park adding another couple of birds for the year. The real purpose of the day was to grab some yummy Mexican food at Mesa on James Street. Always a fun time with Angela and Michael with soooo much laughter!
It would be another 10 days before we birded again due to the weather- lots of PJ days. We drove local roads for Snow Buntings, Jerry had added them to his list a few days before while running errands, and we managed to catch up with a few flocks but at a distance in the fields. We then headed to Waterworks Park and spent a lovely afternoon hiking along the river. We scanned carefully as you never know what rare goose might be tucked in with the hundreds of Canada Geese that rest along the riverbank.
Two hours after we got home a report came in that a Snow Goose had flown in. Yeesh! The following day Bill saw it first thing in the morning, we headed to yoga, and he confirmed it was a Ross’s Goose – a “bigger” rarity. We headed out after yoga but worried the goose might have gone off to feed as they are apt to do and indeed it was not seen after 10:30. We opted to visit Babi first and then walked the river just before dusk hoping we would catch it flying back in but it was never seen again. Not having much luck chasing things.
A couple of days later, on a sunny, cold, calm day we opted to visit the Burlington Canal at the Liftbridge. In very cold winters with a lot of ice along the shores of Lake Ontario the wintering ducks will congregate in the canal giving birders close up views of thousands of ducks. We were hoping to find Surf and Black Scoter to add to our year list but again dipped on both species.
The next day we drove up into Mennonite Country northwest of Kitchener the known spot to see Snowy Owls. We headed to the road where reports had come in and saw another car pulled over. That is almost always another birder and sure enough it was Bob who we have run into before around Hamilton and up in Rainy River.
They had not seen any owls although people had 5 the day before. We drove around and then ended up crossing paths again with none of us seeing anything. Shortly after I saw a weird lump out in a field and stopped for a look. I asked Jerry to take a pic to confirm and he said it was just a lump of snow.
I couldn’t let it go. Something about it just did not seem like a lump should be there and the colouring was more white than the blue-white of snow. I insisted we get out the scope and IT WAS A SNOWY OWL – a beautiful Male, pure white.
I called Bob and he headed to where we were. It was so far back in the field but it was our first Snowy this year and we sure were not disturbing it. Bob had family with him and they had nice views in the scope. We got back in our car and drove a bit more and then headed a bit further north where other owls had been reported. Turning onto another gravel road a car was pulled over with a birder out of the car so we pulled over. He had 2 Snowies, one female on a silo and a male in the tree line. A Rough-legged Hawk flew past at a distance. The Owls were also quite a distance away but we got out and got the scope out and suddenly cars were stopping all over and I had a line-up at the scope for people to view the owls. It was bitter cold but I love sharing those moments with people that are thrilled and excited to see something for the first time. They are always amazed at how close the bird is in the scope. We finally moved on as did the owls and drove up a bit further to see our 4th Snowy of the day up on another silo at the next crossroad. A fun-filled birding day.
So here we are closer to spring every day. While Bluebirds overwinter in this area their bright colour at the feeder makes us think of warmer days. We have been leaving some mealworms for the Virginia Rail that made it through the coldest week and Jerry got a cute pic of a curious Tufted Titmouse doing a drop-off.
I have spent many, many hours in the last month planning a trip to Costa Rica in March and that has been a tad overwhelming. The number of bird species typically seen over a few weeks can top 3-400 and the vast majority would be lifers for us. The birds come in every colour and the names are crazy – Golden-browed Chlorophonia, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, Three-wattled Bellbird, Scaly-throated Foilage-gleaner, Checker-throated Stipplethroat, Purple-crowned Fairy. And hundreds of other names that are hyphenated and similar to other names. We are scrolling slideshows every few days hoping that some of the names and pictures will stick so we will not be totally overwhelmed when we get there. I am taking the approach of quality over quantity and just planning on spending time at the different eco lodges that offer birding on their grounds with guides. Most people take tours where they can see hundreds of birds over a short period but I hope to make this a bit of a relaxed tour with time for afternoon swims and leisurely drives. It will be tough to get great pictures in rain forests but we hope to have the time to be patient and wait around to see and get as many pics of birds as we can, a luxury that many of the tours do not have.
I promised in my last blog a Birding Spectacle Blog coming but I still have not composed it so bear with me and I hopefully will get to it in the next few weeks or it can wait till later in the year.
Most of you know when I post a blog because you follow on FB but I know a few of you have left FB or do not have it. I plan on setting up a notification with email so if you would prefer to sign up for an email notification when I post a new blog let me know and I can add you. Send an email to ellyhorak at gmail dot com.
Till next time…