Flatt Rd, Burlington ON. April 6th. 2021. The sudden sweep of a shadow across my path is a birding clue to be taken as a challenge. Invariably it’s a large bird, soaring, a gull usually, but sometimes an eagle, crow or hawk. The challenge is to react quickly, spin around and figure out where it is in the wide skies above – or was. Following the shadow’s source will often add a sighting that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.
This afternoon I was exploring a long up and down path through a quiet forest of oak, maple, and beech. Quiet because it is still early, it’ll be three or four weeks before a filling-in of the leaf canopy and the flood of migrants bring their bird-song. For now the forest floor is open, bright and soon warmed. A few early flowers had unfolded making the most of the available light, this Round-lobed Hepatica caught my attention.
It was as I was paying attention to the forest floor that a couple of dark shadows scudded past. I looked up to see a convoy of Turkey Vultures drifting over and as I watched they decided they’d had enough for a while and settled to rest in the top of a White Oak. I moved closer to watch as they spread their wings as if to dry them out. They didn’t stay long just long enough, curious enough and attention-grabbing enough to be My Birds of the Day.
