Optics v2

I've made several attempts to bird Ojibway Park this week. Its been generally quiet, with singles of migrants and breeders. Here are some birds seen:

Eastern Bluebird
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
White throated Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Broad winged Hawk
Hermit Thrush
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Screech Owl
Great Horned Owl
Hairy Woodpecker (I prefer the name Canadian Woodpecker that was used in Audubon's time. My humble opinion...)
Downy Woodpecker
Red bellied Woodpecker
Belted Kingfisher
Solitary Sandpiper
Wood Duck
Ruby & Golden Crowned Kinglets
Yellow rumped Warblers

Ruby Crowned Kinglet framed by freshly unfurled foliage

 

Pelee this Weekend

Having sold my kayak this (past) weekend, I told the buyer I would replace the day-hatch cover that was lost somewhere along hwy-3 last summer. I had to go to Pelee Wings to pick up the hatch cover so I figured I would drop into Point Pelee while I was there. I had read that a Prarie Warbler and Bells Vireo were seen, so that was a great excuse to get out there as well. I saw Sarah R. & Kory (AKA Audubon) out at the tip and looked for these birds with them for an hour or so, but left before it was later refound. Just before departing, Sarah pointed out an Eastern Phoebe that had caught a Red Admiral butterfly. Later, while walking towards sparrow field, I did see a Hermit Thrush, then a Blue headed Vireo, along with both Kinglets and a Nashville Warbler. From what I read, this was the same group of birds that the Bell's Vireo was associating with! Field sparrows and Blue-grey Gnatcatcher were seen in Sparrow Field. The Post woods trail and Woodland nature trail were quiet with the exception of the of the most common birds. I was a little disappointed when I got home later to check my email with  3 confirmations of the Bell's Vireo. This reminds me again that I need a cell phone with a data plan!

There is a small pond near the corner of Cabot  Talbot Trail and Hwy 3 that seems to be attracting shorebirds. Its at a nice depth right now. This is the same pond that I found the American Avocet last August. You can bet I will stop for a few minutes when driving by this spring. LLBs (Local Leamington Birders) should check this out as well.

Wide Angle Lens Re-Purchase
A while back, I had a wide angle lens, the Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens, which I found that I did not use much, so I sold it to buy my Sigma 150-500mm telephoto lens. But recently, I found one on sale on Kijiji, basically at half price, and in mint condition!  I consider it an investment, as I can resell this lens at $200 more than I bought it for! This lens is so wide-angle, that if you hold the camera in portait orientation, you might catch your toes in the bottom of the photo!

Q: When is glass more precious than diamonds? A:10-22mm & 17-55mm EF-S lenses

I would like to take more landscape shots, like this one I took on Arner Town Line (near Cedar Creek in Kingsville).

New Birding Scope

The Bushnell Elite 80mm scope (see photots below) has not been used much yet, but I'm sure it will be used alot in the next month or so. I still have some logistical issues to work out... I currently have it mounted on a ball-head tripod mount, which works good for my camera but not so much for a scope. I need a panning head for my new scope. Also, how does one balance between having a camera, binos and a scope? I guess the answer is to only bring a scope out when shorebirding...

Good Birding!
Dwaynejava