Driving around April 18, 2020

On April 18, 2020, shortly after breakfast my dad and I decided to go drive around and see what we could find. We were going to drive around first at a swamp, not too far from Guelph Lake where there are Sora, Virginia Rail, Least & American Bittern, Common Gallinule and Swamp Sparrows.

When we were driving around we heard lots of Swamp Sparrows and I got my first picture of one for the year. We saw some waterfowl, including American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, two Green-winged Teal, some Mallards, Canada Geese, lots of Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, two Brown-headed Cowbirds, a pair of Ospreys but not much else, and so we moved on to a different spot.

Swamp Sparrow- Guelph, Wellington, Ontario- April 18 2020, at 9:55AM

Northern Shoveler- Guelph, Wellington, Ontario- April 18 2020, at 9:59AM

Our second spot was at Guelph Lake, Kaine Hill Drive. 

When we were going up the hill towards the lake, we heard a bird song that we assumed was a Chipping Sparrow at first, but it seemed less mechanical and more musical. We started thinking it might be a Pine Warbler. We did some pishing and about ten seconds later we saw a Pine Warbler swoop down in front of us and we got some amazing views of it.

Pine Warbler- Guelph, Wellington, Ontario- April 18 2020, at 10:14AM

            

 

After we made our way to the top of the hill we did not see much except a singing Winter Wren, about thirty-five Ring-billed Gulls, a few Loons and not much else, so we moved on to our next place.

The next spot was the bridge across Guelph Lake. We slowly drove across it and saw six Tree Swallows, three Common Mergansers and two Belted Kingfishers diving into the water catching small fish.

Our fourth spot was at the bridge in the Grand River, closest to the dam. We parked at the side of the road and walked the rest of the way to the bridge. The first thought that came into my mind was "Wow!" Across the bridge flying around was about three hundred or more Tree Swallows!

 Swallows- Bellwood, Wellington, Ontario- April 18 2020, at 10:48AM

They were all here because a big batch of a type of insect or insects where emerging and taking flight out of the water, probably Mayflies though I might be wrong; and the Tree Swallows gathered here to feast on them, helping themselves to the thousands of insects taking flight. You could see that the insects kept on moving around, because one second a giant group of Swallows would be flying up river and the next second they would take a sharp turn to the right following the insects, which to me is very cool!

Other than the Tree Swallows there was a Cardinal hanging around in the bush, one Barn Swallow mixed in the group that we could see (which was a year bird for dad and I), an Osprey flying over at one time, a pair of Green-winged Teal, a few Song Sparrows singing away, some Wood Ducks and Mallards.

Next we went beyond the dam, though still close to the Grand River. My dad drove slowly down the road. We saw a Great Blue Heron flying and our fourth Osprey of the day overhead. Then we stopped at the side of the road, where on the other side beyond the fence was a pond where my dad had once seen a Greater-white Fronted Goose, so we slowed down and checked it.

Unfortunately there was no Greater-white Fronted Goose this time, but there was an American Kestrel flying around catching insects. It would catch an insect, then go back and perch on the fence line with its catch, then flew off for another round.

    

American Kestrel- Bellwood, Wellington, Ontario- April 18 2020, at 11:10AM

After a few minutes we turned the car back on and made one last trip to another spot before we would head home.

On the way there we detoured around Douglas Park and found the second Pine Warbler of the day, bathing in a puddle. I got even better views of it than I did of the first Pine Warbler that morning. 

Pine Warbler- Belwood, Wellington, Ontario- April 18 2020, at 11:23AM

The last place we went to was a spot at Belwood Lake. Last year a lot of water dried up leaving a muddy spot where you could walk to the island and along the beach, and it provided a lot of shorebirds, like Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Dunlin, Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Least Sandpiper, lots and lots of Killdeer and even once a Curlew Sandpiper was found not to far down the river.

Of course there were no Shorebirds except maybe a Killdeer, because there wasn't enough mud and spring migration was just starting. We did look for some Tiger Beetles but didn't find any, though a Ruby-crowned Kinglet was perched at a spot for a minute or so, singing away, and it provided excellent views and pictures. 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet- Bellwood, Wellington, Ontario- April 18 2020, at 11:54AM

On the way home we passed some fields where we flushed a few Horned Larks from the ditches and sent them into the field as were passing by.

Horned Lark- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 18 2020, at 12:13PM

No one was at the house when get got there. My dad messaged my mom and she replied that she was at the back with my brother and sister playing there. We decided to make lunch, put it in a cooler and have it out back. We had wraps and a few hotdogs, and also brought wood for a fire. 

We made a nice fire out back and had our delicious lunch! 

After that we walked around a bit and found a caterpillar, a small insect, two species of Water Beetles and an Eastern Newt.

Grousewinged Backskimmer- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 18 2020, at 4:15PM

Acilius semisulcatus- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 18 2020, at 4:12PM

Butterflies or Moths- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 18 2020, at 4:35PM

Ampedus nigricollis- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 18 2020, at 4:30PM

Eastern Newt- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 18, at 4:22PM

After getting our photos we went back to the house to find a Muskrat standing on two of its feet looking at us!

Muskrat- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 18, at 7:03PM