Blue-winged Teal

Royal Botanical Gardens. Hendrie Valley, Burlington. ON. March 31, 2022.  A week ago, I caught the Covid-19 virus and it laid me low for five days, lots of sleeping and sniffling.  Notwithstanding the physical discomfort, I didn’t mind too much because through those days, the world outdoors was unseasonably wintery, even hostile. I bounced back yesterday, and today set out to do my first transect of the year in ‘the valley’ You might want to take a moment to read this post from September 2020 as a refresher on what ‘transects’ are all about.

Happily, in marked contrast to the past week, today was breezy, sunny and mild. Two hours of lively birding delivered many familiar bird-friends and a handful of ‘Oh-I-hadn’t-expected-that!’ surprises. The familiars included:  small flocks of Common Grackles, iridescent, assertive and noisy; four Trumpeter Swans, two of whom are the pair who raised three cygnets in the valley last year. They look comfortably at home on one of the ponds, and the other two seemed to be strangers, interlopers, hopefuls who patrolled the valley skies a couple of hundred feet above, looking for an unlikely opportunity. One of the ponds held Wood Ducks, Buffleheads and at least twenty Common Mergansers, the males looking splendid in an almost military crisp white trimmed with black and red.

I attributed a minor disturbance among waterfowl to a Merlin that swept through the valley and a familiar Eastern Screech Owl friend sat and watched the day go by from its roost hole.

And…. those unexpected surprises?  First was a high-overhead Belted Kingfisher, rattle-calling as it flew (and as they always do). I shouldn’t say it was entirely unexpected, just more of a ‘glad-to-see-you-back’ sort of surprise. That was topped a bit later by a pair of kingfishers, in flight, side by side and sizing up the valley. The ice has cleared out and there are fish to catch, so it’s time.

Another birder pointed out a single Golden–crowned Kinglet busy zipping all over the place foraging for early insects. To see one at the end of March is a pleasure even if not a rarity, their tininess seems out of place in a bare-sticks landscape without a sign of green. This is a tough little bird weighing in at about 6 grams and able to withstand our northern winter – at least some of them do and this one probably made it through not too far from here.

And then, My Bird of the Day was a male Blue–winged Teal on one of the valley’s ponds, it didn’t seem to have a mate but was in the company of a few early-returned Wood Ducks. I make the observation about lack of mate because we tend to see Blue-winged Teals on these ponds in pairs and quite a bit later in spring. A single teal this early is a touch unusual and rather added to my surprise and pleasure at seeing it.  This handsome pair was photographed on the same pond late in April seven years ago.

And finally, something I’ve never done before.  A good friend Dr. Anthony Ford–Jones, died today, recently retired and far too young. A husband, father, grandfather, and paediatrician, he was warm-hearted, optimistic and an always-interested-in-you type of person. He was not a birder by any stretch of the imagination, he sometimes sent me hopeless photos looking for an i.d and many times thanked me for these reads. This one’s for Anthony.