American Kestrel

Hamilton Harbour, Hamilton, ON. December 8^th. 2020. It’s only mid-December and the bitter winds of winter are yet to come. But a brisk north-wester that has swept across a lake to reach you can easily make your eyes water and nose drip. It was in the face of that wind that I met a probable lifer-bird today: Ross’s Goose (actually two of them). I use the word ‘probable’ because there’s a slim chance I have met the species before and not known it, but the more likely reason, the fly in the ointment, is that these may not be thoroughbred Ross’s Geese. They sure look like them, but those who pass judgement on rare bird sightings hesitate to pronounce them as such lest they be tainted with a touch of Snow Goose. The two are sister species that are just about identical except for size, the Ross’s is about two-thirds the size and there are some facial subtleties.  They seem to have diverged from a common ancestor some 2.1 million years back.  Today’s pair were associating with a mass of Canada Geese where, to heighten the day’s intrigue, there was a solitary Cackling Goose.

More excitement, a near-lifer, it might just be the second or third of the species I’ve ever seen. Cackling Goose? Well, like the Ross’s, the Cackling Goose just appears to be a junior version of its familiar Canada Goose cousin. The story is a little more complex than that, but Cacklings do exhibit several behavioural and morphological differences from Canadas. I wrote about some of those complexities in a post two years ago; maybe worth a read if you are gripped with curiosity.

My Bird of the Day, to the surprise of companions, was a beautiful, male American Kestrel that appeared from nowhere, swept low overhead and landed on a nearby flag pole. Uncharacteristically it was quite unmoved by our approach. This is a species that I have always found hard to photograph: no sooner do I stop and venture to look at them than they take flight but going just far enough away to make it appear worthwhile to try again – and repeat – and repeat – but always fruitlessly. No so today, and although my photos vary little in composition I’m smuggly happy with them, they only reinforce the status of the individual as My Bird of the Day.