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RBG Arboretum, Hamilton. ON. January 27^th. 2021. A steady snowfall took up most of yesterday and was revealed this morning as two- or three-inches worth lying where it touched down and outlining every branch, stalk and stem. I walked these lakeside trails this morning mostly for the exercise but soon it became more for the magic. I ventured down to the frozen water’s edge noting that the gravel shore was glazed with ice. Stepping tentatively (I thought) my feet slid out from under me and I landed gracelessly on the body’s most cushiony muscle. No damage done to me, my camera or binoculars, just a bit of snow on lenses and a reminder to stick to the trails.

Just ahead I could see some fluttering bird activity, another morning walker had caught the attention of many Black-capped Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree Sparrows, I think they were hoping she had brought them some food but soon realised she hadn’t so turned their attention to me. I wasn’t bringing food either but a stick clenched in my fist looked suspicious enough to them that half a dozen chickadees took turns taste testing it.

As they checked, this busy Red-bellied Woodpecker flicked ice and snow from a downed log.  While all very enchanting from my point of view, it was probably all a mission of urgency from theirs.

A little further along, the trees were lively with dozens, perhaps hundreds, of American Robins, all chuckling or singing softly. I watched them all around me and followed one as it flew to a snowy branch where,  once I got my binoculars on it, I noticed that it wasn’t a robin at all, but a Northern Flicker (masthead photo); a big and welcome surprise because flickers are few and far between in winter months, most left for warmer places three months ago. Enough of a welcome surprise to make it My Bird of the Day.

So, two nice woodpeckers so far, the red-bellied, the flicker, then not very far along, a Downy Woodpecker accompanied by this Red-breasted Nuthatch on a charm-offensive. In this photo it was directly overhead and so close that I wasn’t sure a photo was possible.

LaSalle Marina, Burlington, ON. January 24^th. 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.

Snake Rd, Burlington ON. January 22^nd.2021. This is the third week of January, the beginning of the coldest stretch, yet the temperature hangs just around the freezing mark, mild for this time of year.

I have recently started exploring a deep wooded valley not far from home. It is accessible and lovely, mostly full of mature hardwoods like maple, beech and oak but dotted here and there with random clusters of graceful White Pines.  I foresee many absorbing days of exploration ahead. There is a wide gushing stream running its length, a place to cool off on summer days.

That’s not to say that the valley is perfect or pristine though.  It could be, but it is public conservation land and not everyone holds nature in the same high regard. There are several ad-hoc paths used by trail bikes, I don’t begrudge them their enjoyment, but it is clear that others have made their way into the valley with four-wheel-drive vehicles. They have forded the stream in places to find mud-spinning challenges and ridden roughshod through stands of precious marsh plants. 

I was there for the exercise on this cold day, I made my afternoon way up and down long winding trails with crunchy ice underfoot and sparkles of snow in the air, it was exhilarating. As part of my exploration I took several minutes to investigate how a beaver dam and the tennis-court-sized pond behind it was reshaping a stretch of the valley floor.

Up to this point, an hour or so into my walk, I had not seen a single bird, not one, a reality of mid-winter here where comparatively few birds can eke out a living unless there’s open water at hand and therefore a chance of unfrozen food.  Indeed here, at the beaver pond, I spotted a Song Sparrow. It flew across the pond and disappeared into a dense shrub before I could get my binoculars on it. I suspected Song Sparrow right away, but in odd settings, odd things sometimes pop up. And when it did show itself again I was able to confirm Song Sparrow and was quite happy to see it, a perfect mid-winter Bird of the Day – actually the only bird today.

Desjardins Recreation Trail, Hamilton ON. January 14^th.2021. I went for a long walk this morning following a level harbour-side trail beside notably calm waters. Not very challenging and a uniform grey overcast sky made everything seem flat. I always hold out hope of a remarkable discovery along this water’s edge, but not today although several Gadwalls caught my attention. I like the male’s sombre overall grey plumage with a coal-black butt, pale gold highlights across the back and fine wiggly lines like fingerprints detailing their breast and flanks.

This group of three, two males and a female, show quite nicely their rather understated round-headed profile and the somewhat more flat-backed contour of the female. There were some other modestly interesting bird species, a couple of Great Black–backedGulls and several dapper HoodedMergansers, but it’s mid-January and stop-me-in-my-tracks birds don’t come easily. Until that is, just as I was about to return to my car, a NorthernMockingbird darted across in front of me and dived into a tangle of old grapes and hawthorns. It disappeared deep into the denseness and I was afraid that my first glimpse was all I was going to get. But then it popped up, paused and posed for a while, long enough to allow me a couple of photos. It certainly made my morning.

Mockingbirds are an infrequent sighting, I think there are fewer around these days than formerly, perhaps a decade ago. This corner of Ontario is a precarious toehold for the species which is definitely more southern in distribution.

RBG. Hendrie Valley, Burlington ON. January 6^th.2021. I walked the length and breadth of the valley this morning and although windless and a couple of degrees above-freezing, it was hard going in sticky mud. Thanks to enforced limitations on indoor gatherings, the valley trails are getting far more use by far more people.  If the weather turns mild or wet then mud is the result. I passed a woman on a usually dry high-land trail, but today it was a gooey and as we drew close, stepping carefully, she huffed, “You’d think ‘they’ would bring in some loads of gravel. This is disgraceful! GrrMmm.” I laughed, but she was in no mood to share.

Apart from we superabundant humans, the valley is now the preserve of hardy winter birdlife: mostly a few Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, American Tree Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Black-capped Chickadees and Northern Cardinals. Shortly after my encounter with the grumbler, I saw today’s Bird of the Day, an Eastern Screech Owl. He or she is another hardy winter resident and is a semi-regular sighting in a particular tree cavity, I see him or her about one in ten or twenty times that I look. I don’t know whether it is there every day but only infrequently shows itself, or it has a number of daytime roosts and its appearance is luck of the draw.

I looked at it for a few moments, appreciating its near-invisibility but soon left, recognizing that it was not a great photo opportunity and there was a lot more mud to be waded through. I’ve written about this bird before and seen it several times and it dawned on me that what had become a rather routine sighting is really a great privilege. I mean, who ever sees an owl as they go about their day?  They are not particularly rare where they occur, but their being nocturnal lengthens the odds against.  You need to be looking, to know what you’re looking for and when; even so, sightings are rare. Which makes today’s old friend special, even if not all that surprising. My Bird of the Day.