Says Phoebe - April 25th, 2020

What started out be a normal day became an amazing day!

When I woke up I ate breakfast then went outside to play with my brother and my sister while my mom worked.

At about lunch time my mom came outside and said that my dad found a rare bird and asked if we wanted to go see it. Of course I said "YES!" so we packed some food for lunch and then we hit the road.

In the car my mom asked if I wanted to know what the species of bird was, but I said to only tell me the first letter of it and keep the rest as a surprise. She told me it started with an "S"and for the rest of the car ride I thought of different birds it could be while eating my lunch.

We met up with my dad at the spot and my brother, sister, dad and I started exploring the spot where my dad had found the bird earlier in the day.

He found it in Dundalk at a place where there was a lot dust and gravel with a few muddy ponds, so I asked my dad if it was a a type of shorebird that he found. He said "No" so I said a few more guesses (all of them wrong). Finally my dad said it was a type of Phoebe, then I asked "Is it a... Says Phoebe?" and finally I was correct.

After a few minutes of not finding the Says Phoebe we saw Barb Charlton and asked if she had seen it. She said yes and told us the location. We jogged to my dads work truck, got in and drove to a a little pond with some houses behind it and a fence going around the pond. As we got out of the car we met a few birders with their spotting scopes, bins and cameras all set up and as we followed Barb we saw it perched on the fence.

Says Phoebe- Dundalk, Grey County, Ontario- April 25, 2020 at 1:08PM

After a few seconds it flew down and perched on a metal railing, where it coughed up an insect or something else it had caught, then flew to another spot.

Says Phoebe- Dundalk, Grey County, Ontario- April 25, 2020 at 1:10PM

As I was slowly walking toward the end of the pond to get a better look at the Says Phoebe I saw some flowers with bees and flies on them and I knew that the bees were Western Honey Bees but the flies I was not so sure. Later on they were identified as Narrow-headed Marsh Flies. I moved on and got some more photos of the Says Phoebe.

Narrow-headed Marsh Fly- Dundalk, Grey County, Ontario- April 25, 2020 at 1:29PM

Western Honeybee- Dundalk, Grey County, Ontario- April 25, 2020 at 1:26PM

Says Phoebe- Dundalk, Grey County, Ontario- April 25, 2020 at 1:45PM

At about 1:40 PM we decided to go check for some Upland Sandpipers with Barb and a couple of other birders. 

Oh! Here's one last photo of the Says Phoebe on a roof! 

Says Phoebe- Dundalk, Grey County, Ontario- April 25, 2020 at 1:50PM

Once we found the Sandpiper we got a few pictures. They weren't very good ones because they were far out in a field and since it was a hot day there was a lot of heat haze, making views and pictures not very good, but identifiable at least. After a few minutes we all headed our own ways, ending the day on the perfect note!

Upland Sandpiper- Dundalk, Grey County, Ontario- April 25, 2020 at 2:08PM

Osprey, Swallow and Grouse!

On the afternoon of April 12th, 2020 close to lunch my family went on a walk on our property.

When we got to the Sapsucker spot I, of course, checked where it's usually pecking but did not see it. This is usually the case after 9:00 am because it stops feeding at that tree and moves on.

When we got to the middle of the trail where there is a big clearing, we sat on the benches for a bit and I walked around the small pond then started making my way up the trail.

When we got to the spot where we saw the Fox Sparrow flipping over the leaves the other day I heard and saw nothing, except a Ruffed Grouse thumping away on a log somewhere in the bush which was pretty cool. When we got to another bush farther up the trail I heard some rustling in the leaves so I stopped and looked for a minute and finally discovered two Fox Sparrows flipping over the leaves but when I went on they flew away in the direction of where we saw them yesterday.

After, I turned right and walked down a pathway where I saw the male Eastern Bluebird, and in the middle of the walkway I heard something pecking away. I looked up and saw that it was a Downey Woodpecker.

I was going up the middle of the trail and saw one of the Phoebes flying around catching small insects.  I stayed around for a few minutes watching him/her fly around, got a few photos then when on, but when I was turning the bend it started raining. That was fine with me but in a few minutes I heard mom calling me to get back, so I took a short cut crossing through the field (on the path of course).

Eastern Phoebe- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 12, 2020, 11:40AM

When I was just in the middle of the path I heard some very loud pecking, and for a moment I thought it was the Downey, but when I looked up in the trees I discovered what it was...

a Pileated Woodpecker!

Pileated Woodpecker- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 12, 2020, 11:50AM

I know some people might see a Pileated Woodpecker almost everyday, and think it's normal and not very special. But where I live, we hear them a lot more than we see them. When we do see them it is only for a second or they're far away, because they're very skittish towards humans and will fly away even if the see you from faraway, but for this guy it was a different story. He/she was letting me get pretty close, letting me get some good views.

But what was really spectacular is that it showed a cool characteristic; it was still raining when I saw the Pileated, it opened its mouth and I thought, "Great! Now I can watch it call!" But that did not happen. Instead, it opened its mouth, made no sound and instead he/she drank the water droplets that were falling from the sky! Unfortunately,  I couldn't capture that moment on my camera but really what matters is that I got to experience that moment and I'll remember it when I look back when I am older.

Pileated Woodpecker- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 12, 2020, 11:50

Then I headed back with my mom and my siblings, told them about my finds then we had some lunch, and on the way back I saw a Brown Creeper climbing up a tree!

Shortly after lunch I decided to take another walk. When I got to the Sapsucker spot the Sapsucker was not there, and I didn't even see or hear the Fox Sparrows, though there were better things in store for me.

When I was walking down the fence line (separating my family property and the neighbour's field) I heard a high pitched shrieking sound. I put my head up to the sky and found a pair of Ospreys soaring in the sky, but they were getting out of sight so I ran down the fence to the dead end, where there's a small marshy area, and found the Ospreys again and got a few photos. I watched them until they were gone. That was a new 5-mile bird for the year so I was pretty happy, but I would get happier because there were still two more surprises awaiting me!

Osprey- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 12, 2020, 3:30PM

                                                               
I had not yet seen a Tree Swallow this year at that time, though they had been showing up and even my dad had seen them. I was looking out for them on wires or seeing if they were gliding and flying in the air but still I had not yet seen them.

Shortly after I had seen the two Ospreys I walked farther down the fence line feeling happy about my find and out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw something flying above me, so I looked up and found... a Tree Swallow!

I followed it down to the dead end where I lost it! I was bummed, because that was a year bird and a new 5-mile bird for the year, but I stopped at the dead end for a bit and birded there hoping I would see the Tree Swallow. I had no luck and slowly started going back up the trail when suddenly I saw something flying behind me! I looked around and found the Tree Swallow flying towards me, so I ran after it on the main trail where it started swooping and diving, catching bugs and chirping (which I got a recording of) and it even checked out a nesting box!

Tree Swallow- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 12, 2020, 3:40PM

Then it slowly flew away, leaving a very happy Desmond with a few poor record shots!
                               
After I found my brother Jackson, soon followed by my sister and my mom, and we went over to the benches and I told them what happened. I then decided that I would walk the back loop, where I would have my last surprise...

When I when I was at the spot where I had photographed the Tree Swallow I spotted the Tree Swallow, only one thing was different- there was not one, not two but three Tree Swallows! I followed them up the hill where I got a few pics. Afterwards I did the back loop of my property and I flushed a pair of  Wood Ducks, saw and heard a few Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers, then I went on until I found a Butterfly, which was later identified as a Milbert's Tortoiseshell. It was the first of the year for me. 

Tree Swallow- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 12, 2020, 4:00PM

Wood Frog- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 12, 2020, 4:10PM

Milbert's Tortoiseshell- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 12, 2020, 4:20PM

When I was going to turn the bend I heard something rustling in the field where there were a few trees. I followed the sound and found a beautiful Ruffed Grouse. I stood just staring at it holding in my breath!

Ruffed Grouse- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 12, 2020, 4:30PM

Yes, yes I know they are common and I even heard one this morning, and many people have seen them multiple times and blah blah blah, but usually whenever I see a Grouse they see me first and take off (except at Algonquin) and usually it's just foot prints or scat or your just hear them doing their displays. But, this time I saw it first.. and it was only 20 feet away! Later on I would discover that I was the only one who got a picture of one (that wasn't scat or a foot print) for our yard!

So there I was rooted to the spot staring at the Grouse. It now saw me and was slowly making its way back to the main part of the forest, but then I snapped out of it, got out my camera, got a few photos, then slowly turned my head the other way so the Grouse would not think I had spotted it, but kept my eyes trained on it as I slowly walked past it. Then he/she flew away and I resumed my normal pace and finished my walk.

Ruffed Grouse- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- April 12, 2020, 4:30PM