March 19 2017. Ancaster ON. There is a short-lived spell, call it a moment, in mid-March when irregular patches of bright snow stand in contrast against the khaki-fawn tracts of winter-weary grasses. It can be quite stunning; especially if there are some little brush-strokes of scarlet along a watercourse where Red-osier Dogwoods have a toehold.
On my drive home from a day’s outing yesterday I noted my first signs of bird-spring: Turkey Vultures, two of them being blown along on a stiff breeze as if they’d thought, ‘I’ll just hop on this little wind-stream and see where it takes me’; The odd Common Grackle and a few Red-winged Blackbirds quite probably males making their purposeful way – going somewhere. Research shows that among many migratory species, the males tend to spend the winter farther north than females, a risky strategy some years but it probably gives them an edge in the spring race back to seize the best breeding sites and to have the best breeding success.
Along the way I saw a handful of American Kestrels perched on utility lines and closely watching the open roadside below for food on the move. They captured my attention and many times I thought of stopping for a photo. But it’s a just too risky on busy roads and besides, the very act of coming to a sudden stop is usually enough to scare the bird away. Then later on a quiet country road, I saw my chance, an actively hunting pair of kestrels, a place to pull into and turn around slowly and some chance of shooting from the car. Well, I took many bad photos by ignoring my own advice that an idling car means vibration and unless the camera shutter-speed is really fast, blurry pictures are what you get. But finally paying attention and turning off the ignition, I was able to get a couple of decent shots of these American Kestrels, a back view of the female and the male facing the camera – my first spring Birds of the Day.
