2022SOntarioSpringMigration

 It was a cool morning and the sun was out when we started birding this morning. Our first stop was the North Toyota Wetlands.  This is a huge tract of marsh about 10 minutes from Susan's house.  Our first bird there was Cedar Waxwings.  They seemed to be everywhere and we estimated about a flock of 100.  We proceeded down the trails and one of us spotted two flying big birds.  First thought was Double Crested Cormorants, then Jane said 2 American Bittern flying.   fWe did not see them land, they flew over.   We also saw one of the most troubling birds to see each spring the first time.  It makes on think.... I have seen this one before but what is it.  Yes the female Brown Cowbird.  One our way back we heard and saw Savannah Sparrow.  It had a very bright yellow at the lores.  One last bird here was the Horned Lark in the muddy then grassy area.    We then drove to the Fanshaw Lake and Golf Club. ...

It was a beautiful sunny day with a cool start to the morning and  it warmed up to around 12 degrees.  While we left at 8 am for Long Point, we really did not arrive at the Long Point Banding Station until 11:20 am.  We did some birding first at the dead end of Fanshaw Road in London.  We saw and heard Killdeer and Eastern Medowlark in the fields.  On the way to Long Point which is about about an 1.5 hour drive from London we stopped for a Bald Eagle, a Brown headed Cowbird and some Ring necked Ducks.   At Long Point the feeders at the banding station were busy with Red winged Black Birds, Common Grackles, House Finches and Mourning Doves.  Here is handsome House Finch.   Further to the left there were bushes just coming into leaf and a Nashville Warbler and a Yellow Warbler seemed to hang out there all day.   Here is the Nashville Warbler. We observed several birds being banded.  The birds were processed very efficiently by th...

 The day was perfect for a long drive to London, Ontario.  Not a cloud in the sky.   It was cool all day though.  I picked Jane up shortly before 8 am.  We managed to get all of our stuff into the car.  Jane thought of everything and even brought a bowl for making oatmeal at the motel we were to stay in.  We saw several Red tailed Hawks roadside along the 401.  We had our first stop at the beach and marina area of Coburg.  It was cool and we put on several layers of clothes along gloves and hats.  We stopped and saw Bufflehead and Long tailed Ducks which are so pretty.  We also saw an Eared Grebe which was stunning in the sunshine.  There were lots of Cormorants around and several had their double crests showing.   We met a lady, Thelma, who was taking photos and she told us there was a Common Loon around which we did see.  After a bit of walking we met several people from Perth Ontario who were visiting Cob...

 In the last two years of pandemic contraints there have been no birding roadtrips for Susan, Jane or me. My last birding trip was to New Mexico in January 2020 with the Fort Worth Audubon and my birding friends there.  We had several days of super birding in New Mexico.  This was just when a virus was identified in China.  After this trip, our California friends visited with us in Fort Worth.  The four of us went digging for diamonds in Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park.    Then Norm and I drove home from Texas to Ottawa via a stop in Windsor to see the kids.  I was home only 8 days and flew back to Fort Worth to give a hand again.  I made it home back to Ottawa the third week of March via Fort Worth and Windsor stays.  It was surreal coming home.  There was so little we knew about the virus and it was worrisome.   So now fast forward two years. It feels weird to be planning a birding trip with the easing rules...