The snows of November have melted away…

European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
("I'm a Ring-billed Gull!")

American Robin Turdus migratorius

Eastern Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis

  …and my energy has gone with them. Went for a lazy hour’s shamble in the afternoon dusk at a quiet spot in NDG (12 sp). I was scouting for signs of Fieldfares and Townsend’s Solitaires, in light of recent sightings in the province, but only half-seriously. A Pileated Woodpecker was a personal first at the site for me – I guess the trees are getting old and rotty enough for the species. Goodly numbers of American Goldfinch moving around, but nothing else, finch-wise.

  Some individuals within a medium-sized flock of European Starlings were practicing their mimicry. Gray Catbird (well-played, Starling), Killdeer, and Ring-billed Gull calls were all tried out, with varying degrees of success.

Jumpy Rodent, Wayward Thrush

Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina

Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina

Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina

Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

Purple Finch Carpodacus purpureus

White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis

Eastern Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis
(With a bad case of the jumpies)

Mount-Royal Cemetery, November 21, 2022

  Hush! Don’t rush or you’ll flush the Wood Thrush in the bush! Isn't that what they say?

  Went for a late-morning nosey round the Cem, after recent reports of a very late Wood Thrush. We ran into Rob and Henry at the feeders, who kindly gave us the most recent disposition of the Wood Thrush. Their intel was accurate, and we quickly found the bird by the stream behind the feeders. This is aways a “Wow!” bird, and these were the best views I’ve ever had of this reclusive and gorgeous species. All of my previous Wood Thrush encounters have been sweaty, mosquito-tormented affairs in the deep woods of June.

  This individual was foraging under the leaves at the stream’s edge (the only leaves in the cemetery not covered in snow), and was quite confiding. I do hope this bird gets turned back around, and gets off safely to Georgia, or wherever it's meant to be.

****

  “Excuse me sir, but I think your squirrel is broken.”

  Near the fireman memorial, an Eastern Grey Squirrel was misfiring in the snow, jumping way too high, and acting odd in general. What would explain this? Cold feet? Drunk on fermented Ginko berries? Perhaps it banged its little squirrel noggin? I worry for its fate.

****

  All in all, a pleasant and refreshing cemeterial jaunt, with 19 bird species were encountered in 3.5 hours. Also of note were five species of woodpecker, and a white dove being shadowed by an American Crow. Perhaps the dove was released at a fancy funeral that was underway?

  Oh hey, it’s winter now, by the way.

  Wood Thrush!

All owls, all the time

Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus

Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus

Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus

Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus

Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo

Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus

Honeybee sp.

Dreaded tokebis!

PN du Cap-St-Jacques, November 10, 2022

  The Cap was devoid of humans yesterday (Yay!). That, coupled with the unseasonably warm weather and flat light conditions gave the whole excursion a dream-haze feeling to it.

  A respectable variety of sparrows was lurking in the thorny areas of field edges, where the tokebi seeds (Korean for ‘goblin’) stick to your socks in scratchy clumps. In five hours, 29 species were logged.

  A dainty mystery bird perched in a row of windbreak trees between fields proved confounding. Most striking in the field was its colouration, seemingly plain tan/yellowish (egg nog) overall (with some grey mixed in), with subdued markings and the hint of an eye-ring. I looked at it for perhaps 15 seconds through the bins trying to ID it, but when I saw it hopping closer to the field side of the tree it was in, I fumbled for a record shot. Predictably, the bird absconded (mili)seconds before I could get the camera to focus on the bird through the branches in front of it.

  After much profanity and leafing through of the Sibley’s, many possible suspects arose, some of them quite outlandish. I feel that a yellow variant House Finch (…which I’ve never seen before…and…do they ever show up around here?) would be the closest reasonable match. A motley cast of sparrow suspects was also put forward, as was the possibility of a colour aberration in a ‘normal’ sparrow, and/or weird lighting being a factor. But I guess we’ll never know. Shakes fist at sky.

  Bird of the day was a mime-faced Short-eared Owl, spotted 15 minutes after the mystery bird fail, in a nearby field. The SEO came in low right over our heads, and did a lazy figure-S circuit over the field and path before disappearing into the woods. Badass!

  Oh, be careful, not only were bees and crickets still out, but so were the ticks. Check those ankles.

In the Crepuscular Gloom…

Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus
(Glaring at its irate mobbers)

A soft focus world

Sunset from t'other day, cuz why not?

Morgan Arboretum, November 6, 2022

  …is where the royalty of owls are found…the Grand Dukes of the forest (Great Horned Owl is ‘Grand Duc’ in French). We were alerted to its presence by the insistent scolding of rightfully wary American Red Squirrels, Black-capped Chickadees, and Blue Jays.

  All in all, nothing was spotted that was too out of the ordinary for the time of year. The warblers have melted away, and the Fox Sparrows linger. Was hoping for a bit more finch variety. They’re calling for a good winter for Evening Grosbeaks and Purple Finches. In a 5-hour circuit of the arbo, 22 bird species were encountered. The presence of dragonflies and singing Spring Peepers was bizarre for November 6, I thought. It was 24 bloody degrees yesterday.