LaSalle Marina, Burlington, ON. January 24th. 2021. This Northern Pintail was no surprise, I was half expecting to see it. He’d first shown up here a month or so ago and seems to be content mixing in with shuffling hordes of Mallards and Canada Geese, unconcerned that there are no other pintails for company.
I’d spent the first half of the morning in quiet, birdless woodlands and decided to visit our waterside park on the way home. My plan was to see how many bird species I could find here, knowing that, if nothing else, there would always be plenty of ducks. I’ve started keeping a record for 2021 of bird species within a 5-mile radius of home. It’s a harmless project, I did it last year and logged 171, you never know what might show up. Last year held some big surprises, oddities like a last minute American Bittern (deranged I think) and even a Ruffed Grouse. To give this a bit of context, home is in the older heart of a city that has become a suburb of Toronto. It’s all a big sprawl but we live within a kilometre of Lake Ontario and really not very far from farmlands and woodlands, it stands to reason that there is much bird variety.
I walked the length of this park and quickly noted about 20 species: easy ones, old familiars like Black-capped Chickadees, House Sparrows and Carolina Wrens, and because it is a waterfront park, Herring Gulls, Lesser Scaup and Canvasbacks too. An adult Bald Eagle sat high atop a White Pine presiding over the proceedings below, likely watching for any weakling who could become a meal later.
Many of the duck species gather here in huge numbers, sitting out the winter months in bobbing flotillas. I can’t help wondering what, if anything, they think about all day, just waiting out the winter months. I suppose that’s what my lovely, adult male Northern Pintail is doing, passing time with Mallards. He made a valuable addition to my 5-mile list, one of our most handsome ducks and My Bird of the Day.
Thanks, Peter. I enjoyed reading your post.
Peter, I was really absorbed by your descriptions on Birdoftheday. Thank you for this and looking forward to your excellent writings.
You brought tears to my eyes, so glad we were able to connect in this difficult time.
Plumage wise, your Pintail seems far more advanced plumage wise than any locals out here in Spain. Had to look twice as I thought you had a picture of Common Pochards that you have identified as Canvasbacks and a Redhead. Presumably, all belong to the Aythya family?
Yes Canvasbacks and Redheads are in the Aythya family (lovely birds both)- along with Greater Scaup (circumpolar) also Lesser Scaup and the Ring-necked Duck which are almost exclusively found in Central & N America. The photos of the Pintail in the post were taken on December 8 – making it more advanced still perhaps.
Your bird sightings at LaSalle inspired me to go there today. It is such a lovely day with no wind. I saw the lonely pintail along with 10 other species. It was well worth the trip from Mount Hope where I live. I was hoping to see the Carolina wren but no luck.
Keep posting. Much appreciated.