That's exactly what my dad and I did on April 11, 2020. When we were at some of the first pine trees we spotted our first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker of the year.
A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker has been coming (we don't know if it is the same one) to the same tree for the past few years so it's now easy to know where they are so when my dad checked the tree we found our first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Ontario of the year!
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| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 11, 2020, 8:00AM |
Then we went up to the back pond and we heard some rustling in the leaves so we we looked around to see what was making all that rustling when my dad called "Broad-winged Hawk!" I quickly looked around and saw my first Broad-winged Hawk of the year flying away!
After that we went on and tried again for the mystery bird that was rustling in the leaves but still had no luck so on we went.
We were going to make a turn towards the other side of our swamp when I spotted a sparrow that turned out to be a American Tree Sparrow. They start disappearing at our place once the Chipping Sparrows start coming.
When we were making our way beside the swamp we saw a pair of Mallards and flushed a pair of Wood Ducks. I love when they make their whistling noises that sound like "o-week o-week" as they fly away.
When we were doing the back loop we saw the pair of Eastern Bluebirds and heard the distant call of the Northern Flicker.
Once we got to the back pond we heard the same strange rustling in the leaves and we thought
"What if it's a Fox Sparrow?" so we tried the smack call of the Fox Sparrow on an app that I suggest you should use called iBird Pro, and sure enough when it called we saw one.. two actually!
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| Fox SparrowGuelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 11, 2020, 8:50AM |
Yes, another year bird!
As my dad was looking into the forest I was looking at the Fox Sparrows, fascinated by the colours, size and the characteristics they were showing! The Fox Sparrow will use their legs to scratch at leaves and sticks in the forest to find meals (in this case insects, like lots of other sparrows and birds.) Fox Sparrows migrate through Southern Ontario and go up north to breed and raise their young like lots of other migrant bird species do.
As I was watching them I felt like something was watching me so I spun around to see a Coyote looking at me as it ran across the field!
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| Coyote-Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 11, 2020, 9:00AM |
Coyotes have lots of different colour variations depending on how old they are, what time of year it is (sometimes) and where they are located. This one was very blonde.
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| Coyote- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 11, 2020, 9:00AM |
I called for my dad but as soon as he got there it had disappeared into the woods.
As we were turning the bend I spotted a small bird fluttering through some small cedars and it turned out to be a Winter Wren. I tried to get some pics but it was just too fast!
After that we went back to the house and heard an Eastern Phoebe and then went in the house to have some breakfast.
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