Saturday, November 29, 2014

Late November Birding - Snowy Owl in Essex!


I've managed to get a little birding in over the last month and figured I would publish some highlights. Two or three weeks ago, I had gone out to Colasanties in Leamington with the family but then tried my luck with a quick visit to the Hillman Marsh Area. A Long-eared owl was an excellent find... but admittingly... predictable. I tried to see if I could find this beautiful bird today but no dice. I did see Blake who mentioned a SNOWY OWL that he found in the Point Pelee Onion fields and amazingly, I ended up catching up with it!

I had read this week that there are several Fox Sparrows at Ojibway Park - near the bird feeders. My visit was successful! As I was photographing the Sparrow, several Black Capped Chickadees, Nuthatches and even a Tufted Titmouse landed at point-blank range --- perhaps expecting a handout?





Earlier this week, I had read that a Varied Thrush was seen near Kingsville, as well as Little Gulls at Kingsville Marina, so I figured I would try my luck with those birds. A few Northern Harriers were seen as well as American Kestels on the way.


Ring billed Gull in a contemplative pose. Perhaps he is considering how he can differentiate himself from the masses?


Black underwings make this an easy bird to identify. Always a pleasure to see this bird.
I caught up with the Snowy Owl Blake had mentioned earlier. A beautiful bird easily found in the Onion Fields near Point Pelee.  Pine Siskins were another exciting first-of-season bird at the Pelee Wings feeders. A female Purple Finch was in the mix as well.
FOS -Snowy Owl - Heavily Cropped




Can you identify three finch species in this photo?

Seeing a Little Gull was pretty exciting because today's sighting is only the second time I've seen one. I haven't been able to chase some of the mega-rarities in the province right now but I'm pretty happy that I was able to catch up with some of the great birds in this posting.

Good birding!
Dwaynejava

3 comments:

  1. Very nice photo of the Little Gull! Good that you got out on this fine day from your busy schedule.

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  2. Congrats on the Little Gull as well as the Snowy Owl......they are always a treat to see.

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  3. Thanks for the comments Blake and Allen. It was a nice weekend to get outside!!

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