April 6th – Pot Pourri

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Hooded Oriole (left) and a Baltimore (on the feeder) in northern Belize. -DOL

To add onto yesterday’s blog about orioles….I mentioned that these birds like flowers and nectar in their wintering ground so fruit jelly in our feeders to greet their return would be a very good strategy if you want to attract them. Here’s a couple of pictures I took at the place we were staying in northern Belize.
One of the places we stayed at in Belize this past January was surrounded by flowering trees, which attracted orioles in large numbers, and ran this sugar water feeder which was always busy with a variety of orioles and hummingbirds. This one is a female Baltimore Oriole. -DOL

I’ve had a few people send me pictures and comments from around the area:
Grimsby:
Two male American Goldfinches fattening up at the feeder. -LEO

I was attempting to clean up after dinner when the girls (ages 7 & 8) started jumping up and down and screaming about something. I was about to reprimand them for making so much noise in the house when I realized they were yelling “The goldfinches are back! The goldfinches are back!” I grab my camera and managed to get a few photos before they flew away. Such a welcome sight and well worth all the noise and excitement in the house.
Laura O.
Cayuga:
Fred’s feeders – just a kilometer down river on the opposite side, are always busy. Here a Black-capped Chickadee and 2 Tufted Titmice are working it over.
-FJS

I’ve noticed that Tufted Titmice are becoming more and more common in our area. Fred has (probably) a couple of breeding pairs around his place in Cayuga. There are 2-3 breeding pairs around Ruthven. And the other day on a walk between Caledonia and York along the Rotary Club Riverside Trail (which evidently…and sadly…is closed now) I counted 4.
Caledonia (Carol’s version):
Carol is a fan of this “open concept” feeder. It comes in funky colours and, being made of metal, is easy to clean/disinfect. The fuzzy birds are House Finches and a male Northern Cardinal. -CAJ

I really like this feeder. Daily I put in just a small amount of strictly safflower seed. Mostly used by cardinals and house finches which are quite willing to socialize and share. The occasional MODO gets in there too.
Male Eastern Towhee. -CAJ

I know we had one [Towhee] at Ruthven but I had this one at LaFortune the next day.
Caledonia (Karen’s version):
Male American Robin. Robins are everywhere right now, defending territories and some are even building nests. Although some you might see are still on the move heading further north. –KMP

Two pairs of Bufflehead in the Grand River. They will soon be on their way not to be seen until next Fall/Winter. -KMP

Adult Ring-billed Gull. They’ve become much more noticeable in the last couple of weeks. I would imagine that the large nesting colony at the east end of Hamilton Harbour is filling up. –KMP

An older Red-winged Blackbird. The females have just started to show up generating a lot of excitement – territorial disputes and chases. -KMP

Song Sparrows are on top of their game right now; they seem to be everywhere. But just wait: when the nests are made and eggs laid they will be few and far between – present but much quieter. -KMP

Roosting Turkey Vultures. It’s difficult to say if these are migrants or locally nesting birds; probably the former. -KMP

An early Garter Snake. -KMP

A face that only a mother could love….. -KMP

Wooly Bear caterpillar – you can see them late in the Fall and early in the Spring; hardy little critters. -KMP

Oakville:
Marnie has a secret “blog walk” that gets her into the natural world around her but is isolated enough that she’s not infectious….except maybe her winning personality…
A Common Raven soars over Oakville. -MMG

Early-returning White-throated Sparrow. It won’t be long before we’re inundated with them as they move through, heading north. -MMG

Marnie spotted this trout running in one of the local streams. Anyone know what it is? _MMG

Marnie says iNaturalist suggests these flowers are called Squills. Never heard of them….do you all concur with her? -MMG

Rick

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