North Service Rd. Woods, Burlington ON. March 20 2022. My birding worked as it’s supposed to today: I (or you could too) go birding, look, pay attention and something unexpected will usually pop up. Two specials today: A Snowy Owl this morning and an Eastern Phoebe this afternoon. On this date, both would likely fall into the category of ‘unexpected-but-certainly-possible,’ so certainly worth dancing a little jig for.
The Snowy Owl took me by surprise, I was visiting a nearby marina where I had hoped to see early-returning Red-necked Grebes, (and did). But as I walked out to the end of the breakwater a dog-walker said, “Good thing you have your camera, there’s a white owl by the lighthouse – flying around” Right away I knew what he meant and ‘- flying around’! My heart started to beat a little faster. Not that I keep records very seriously but I hadn’t seen a Snowy Owl all winter and assumed that I probably wouldn’t. Late or not, in flight or not, a Snowy Owl is always a nice sighting and it must be said, a real privilege. Here it is – it didn’t fly – not for me anyway.
After lunch, I took advantage of this bright, if blustery, March day to follow up on a couple of possible sites where I nurse hopes that American Kestrels might decide to set up home this spring. The population of American Kestrels is on a steep decline and I really hope to find a breeding pair somewhere in my study area for the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas. There were no kestrels at either site but there’s plenty of time, it’s still early.
Despite rather muddy trails I made a loop around a nice old woodland, not expecting much in the way of birds but enjoying the still sleeping forest floor and the reaching twigginess of Sugar Maples, White Oaks, Shag–bark Hickories and Hop–hornbeams. And then quite unexpectedly this Eastern Phoebe did what phoebes do best, fly off and watch me from a safe distance.
The appearance of the first Eastern Phoebe is always notable and always a bit of a surprise. They are a flycatcher and you wouldn’t think there are any flies around to catch. I bless them for their optimism and also because they have a way of sitting still long enough and close enough that I often manage to get a decent photograph.
The Snowy Owl and the Eastern Phoebe were sightings of quite different times and places, but they were equally My Birds of the Day. For similar reasons; one taking winter back north to where it belongs, the other dragging spring along behind it.