Spring has sprung

What a weekend! I was down at Presqu'ile Provincial Park (near Brighton, Ontario, about 110 km west of Kingston). The ducks, geese and swans are all staging, although it's a bit early for some species.

My weekend list is huge (see end of post), but includes quite a few "lifers." You birders will know what I'm talking about. Thanks Bruce and Ben!

Here are a few shots from the last two days:

~From the Calf Pasture, Presqu'ile Provincial Park~
Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 640, 1/500, f/20, 300 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full Frame


~Mute Swan on take off~
Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 640, 1/1000, f/22, 300 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full Frame


~Sunrise off Lighthouse Point~
Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 250, 1/250, f/10, 180 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full Frame


~Mute Swan on ice~
Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 250, 1/640, f/8, 300 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full Frame


~Canada Geese in flight~
Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 250, 1/320, f/5.6, 300 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full Frame


~Redheads in flight~
Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 250, 1/640, f/9, 300 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full Frame


~Curious coyote~
Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 250, 1/30, f/5.6, 70 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Cropped to 70%

And now for the weekend list:

• Long-tailed Duck
• Common Goldeneye
• Bufflehead
• White-winged Scoter
• Greater Scaup
• Ring-necked Duck
• Canvasback
• Redhead
• American Widgeon
• Gadwall
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Common Merganser
• Hooded Merganser
• American Coot
• Mute Swan
• Canada Goose
• Double-crested Cormorant (1 in flight)
• Hoary Redpoll
• Common Redpoll
• Turkey Vulture
• Great Blue Heron
• Ruffed Grouse
• Mourning Dove
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• Brown Creeper
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Northern Harrier
• American Robin
• Song Sparrow

I can assure you spring is here!

- Frances

Signs of spring

I made yet another attempt to find the elusive Gray Partridge today, with no luck. What I did find was 40 Canada Geese hunkered down in a nearby field along Maple Grove Road. They were feeding on a corn "snow fence." As they took flight I managed to capture this photo.

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 400, 1/800, f/16, 70 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full Frame

After that visit to Kanata, I headed back to the Fletcher Wildlife Garden to check out the duck pond and the feeder. It was a productive trip...once I got "unstuck" from the driveway into the FWG (thank you CAA!!!).

The duck pond was full of mallards. Unfortunately, I couldn't get quite low enough to get many good shots because of the height of the snow around the pond. The light was also pretty harsh given the time (due to the little tow truck delay).

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 640, 1/200, f/18, 180 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full Frame

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 640, 1/200, f/18, 240 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full Frame

Spring must be almost here - I heard and saw my first red winged blackbirds of the season.

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 640, 1/500, f/16, 210 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Cropped from Horizontal

Saw this little fellow at the FWG today, too. I think it's a female American Goldfinch with her winter plumage. [UPDATE: Super-Birder Ethan Meleg confirmed my ID...I was right!]

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 640, 1/400, f/16, 300 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Cropped from Horizontal

I'm not sure about this one...a female house sparrow, maybe? [UPDATE: Super-Birder Ethan Meleg confirmed my ID...I was right!]

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 640, 1/500, f/18, 300 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full Frame

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 640, 1/200, f/13, 300 mm
Fill Flash
Manual Mode, Handheld, ~70% crop

And here is evidence of the "stuckness." The people I trapped in the garden were awfully friendly, helpful and patient (perhaps because they are also Nikon photographers!).



So...here's to hoping spring comes soon so that these ruts melt away and let us have freer access to the FWG and the trails at the Arboretum.

- Frances

The elusive was found

Today was the first day of Bruce di Labio's Spring Birding Course. It certainly didn't feel like spring out there with -10 C temperatures and a brisk wind. Brrr!

We started at Deschenes Rapids (Ring Billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Black Duck, Common Golden Eye, Canada Geese) then moved to Remic Rapids at Bate Island (Common Golden Eye, Buffle Head). From there we went down to Jack Pine Trail (Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Downy & Hairy Woodpeckers, Mourning Dove). A quick stop at the Trail Road Landfill (Ring Billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, American Crows, Starlings) was followed by some back roads driving (Horned Lark, Snow Bunting) to Kanata. We stopped near the Bell Sensplex to find the elusive Gray Partridge!!! Here are a few shots as it darted off.

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 400, 1/800, f/13, 300 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, ~60% crop

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 400, 1/800, f/13, 300 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, ~60% crop

I'm looking forward to next weekend at Presqu'ile!

-Frances

Larks & Waxwings

It was finally sunny in Ottawa today. I went out to try to find the Horned Larks that had been reported near town. I managed to get just one decent shot (they seemed to like the gravel shoulders of the road), but even this is a huge crop.

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 200, 1/400, f/7.1, 300 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full frame

I also went to Mud Lake. The regulars (mallards and chickadees) were hanging about. There were also a couple of Canada Geese on the Ottawa River. The wind was crisp, the skies were clear. As I was leaving I found a small flock (20 birds) of waxwings. They were not very cooperative (as you can see from the photo), so it was hard to see if there were any Cedar Waxwings in amongst the Bohemian Waxwings. Mix flocks were reported here a few weeks ago.

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6G
ISO 400, 1/1000, f/9, 70 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full frame

While searching, I also found a field with about 15 wild turkeys. They were very skittish, and by the time I got out of the car and over the snowbank, they were well hidden in the woods.

All in all it was a good day.
- Frances

Chutes de Plaisance

Today, I went out to my very first Cabane à Sucre in Papineauville, Québec. We were a week early...the sap hasn't quite started running (but the breakfast was still delicious). I guess that means that I have to go back!!

We then wandered along the backroads before heading back to Ottawa. We discovered the Chutes de Plaisance somwhere out there and stopped to take a few photos. It was an awkward climb over the snowbanks to see the falls and the light wasn't so great, but it was still a neat spot.

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f3.5-5.6G
ISO 400, 1/500, f/6.3, 70 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full frame

Nikon D80, 70-300 mm f3.5-5.6G
ISO 400, 1/500, f/6.3, 18 mm
Manual Mode, Handheld, Full frame

Some of the piles of snow we saw were pretty incredibly high - in many places it came down to being able to see nothing but the piles of snow on the side of the road. Spring is around the corner...or so they tell me.

- Frances