April 13th – Trickling In/Through

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Carolina Wrens have become a common part of southern Ontario’s avifauna. -MMG

Even though the weather has turned bad – those halcyon days of sunshine and warmth earlier in the month seem a long time ago in light of the wind and rain and cold temperatures of late. But….”new” birds continue to show up. Yesterday I saw 4 for the year in my area: Osprey, House Wren, Chipping Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow. It will be interesting to see if these SW winds blow in something interesting.

A good way to fight the Covid-19 blahs is to get outside and take in what’s around you. Here’s some pictures from people who are doing just that:
Aliya in Oakville:

Female (see the orange breast band) Belted Kingfisher. -AG

Blue Jays make themselves noticeable with their boisterous calls – sometimes signalling the presence of a predator. -AG

Eastern Phoebes must be feeling these cold, windy days – especially after the warm sunny ones earlier in April. -AG

Ducks have been n the move for awhile but many can still be seen along the lake fronts; here a pair of Bufflehead. -AG

Red-breasted Mergansers are commonly found at this time of year in big bodies of water (this one was in Lake Ontario); we see very few of them along the Grand River. -AG

Aliya seems to be particularly adept at turning up Eastern Screech Owls. -AG

Killdeer feeding at a rain pool/puddle. -AG

Ah…the joy of the arrival of warblers – even early arrivers like this Myrtle Warbler. -AG

Soaring Red-tailed Hawk – from a few days ago as we haven’t seen clear blue skies for a couple of days now. -AG

Karen in Caledonia:
A male American Robin – indicated by its bold colouring. -KMP

Here is a female American Robin – note the difference in the brightness compared to the male. -KMP

Karen caught this Blue Jay busily scratching through leaf litter in its search for food. -KMP

It would be difficult to call a perched Turkey Vulture handsome….. -KMP

But in the air it’s as graceful as a dancer. -KMP

Cody just north of Lake ERie:
Cody’s newest Wood Duck box – nicely made and ready to go. -CB

Male Eastern Towhee. Towhee numbers show a significant decline in the Carolinian part of their range in Southern Ontario and a steady gradual overall decline since spring migration monitoring began at Long Point in 1961. -AG

And Marnie in Burlington:
Beautiful early spring wildflower: Bloodroot. -MMG

Very drab – female Brown-headed Cowbird. The females weigh about 75% as much as a male. -MMG

Early spring wetland plant: Skunk Cabbage. -MMG

Rick

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