Outings of a Young Naturalist: First Week Of May!

Ahh.. May- one of the best times of the year with the frogs singing, the leaves coming back to the trees but, most of all, spring migration! We'll start off with the first day of spring.

On May 1, my Dad and I went for a morning walk, where we found a few species. The highlights were Northern Waterthrush, five Tree Swallows along with a Barn Swallow, Brown Thrasher, two Field Sparrows that have been hanging around a week or so and a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Brown Thrasher- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Field Sparrow- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Northern Waterthrush- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

We ate some breakfast and then my dad was going to work on some stuff. After we would plant some trees that we ordered through Wellington County Green Legacy Programme- they give them away for free (the earlier you order the more species are in stock!) Beforehand I birded around our house. As I walked up a hill close to my neighbours house I flushed a few birds (a few different species) and as they settled down I heard a strange sound from some cedars. I went over there and did some pishing and out of the cedars, for a second, came an Eastern Towhee. Since we had only seen this bird once this year I was very excited to hear it and snapped a few photos. I went to tell dad and when he heard the news he stopped the tractor and came to the hill to see it. For a few minutes we only got glimpses of it, but then he (we could tell it was a male by how he looked) started getting brave and finally gave us excellent views while he was singing.

Eastern Towhee- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Dad went back to what he was doing and soon enough it was time for lunch. After lunch we were ready to start planting the trees with my big sister Brooklynn (she's 19), my brother, dad, mom, and even my little sister Eloise planted a tree. When we were all done we walked back to the house and at the end of where we planted all the trees Jackson spotted a Red-bellied Snake!

Red-bellied Snake- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Late in the afternoon dad and I went on a second walk. The highlights of that walk were three Double-crested Cormorants flying over the back pond.

Double-crested Cormorant- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020 4:59 PM

I finished a terrific dinner my mom made and I went down to the pond for a few minutes before my dad and I planned to check out a spot I had been wanting to visit for a few days. When I went down to the pond I brought a net and the one thing I caught was a good sized Leopard Frog.

Leopard Frog- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Then it was time to go. The spot was called Wilsons Flats, and I would recommend going there for a walk in early spring. There's a nice river, the Grand River, going through a grassland. The river goes through each side of the grassland- it sort of looks like it's an island- but it's still connected to main-land and a big bridge at the front of the start has many Cliff Swallow nests.

Wilson Flats

We arrived and walked down the hill and saw a bunch of Cliff Swallows flying around, coming in and out of their nests. Cliff, Barn and other Swallows like them have an interesting way of building their nests. They have sort of dome shaped nests. Both swallows will gather mud with their beaks from puddles, rivers, streams and large bodies of water and bring it back to their nest. They will then make an oval shaped piece of mud and attach it to their nest, connecting it to other oval shaped pieces of mud. When the mud dries there will be a hard wall of mud. There will usually be about a thousand of those mud pieces to form their nest.

With so many cities and towns, today Cliff or Barn Swallows will usually nest under bridges, barns or sort of lean-to structures, but their natural breeding spots are on, you guessed it; cliffs. They will build their nest usually in a corner of a bridge, barn, or cliff tucked in tightly, and there is a small entrance so predators like hawks, mammals, owls or snakes will have trouble getting to the eggs or young.

Cliff Swallow nests

Cliff Swallow- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

There was a Pigeon's nest (you can't really see the nest in the photo- this was just a record shot) with two babies in it, on the foundation of the bridge. After a few minutes of looking for anything different in the group of Cliff Swallows one or two Northern Rough-winged Swallows were found. As we walked down the river looking at the Swallows we saw about three Bank Swallows, a couple of Tree Swallows and of course many more Cliff Swallows flying and swooping around. There was also an Osprey perched up in a dead tree.

Feral Pigeon- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Tree Swallow- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Bank Swallow- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Osprey- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Then we walked more into the grassland habitat, but still close the two rivers beside the little grassland (though they were both the same rivers; the Grand River). We flushed two Greater Yellowlegs and then followed them to an opening. As we walked along we could see a few Mallards, the Yellow-legs and a Muskrat swimming up river.

Greater Yellowlegs- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Muskrat- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Mallard- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

When we were heading back to the car we saw some more of the swallows and an Eastern Kingbird (which was a year bird for us) on a branch overhanging the grassland. Not too far from the car we spotted a singing Eastern Meadowlark right at the golden hour (meaning this was the most perfect time of the day in terms of lighting, providing excellent views and photos). When we got to the bridge we went to the other side, walked down it for a minute or two then headed to the hill, where I got some photos of three more species of birds; Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird and a Mourning Dove.

Eastern Kingbird- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Eastern Meadowlark- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Red-winged Blackbird- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Common Grackle- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Mourning Dove- Wilsons Flats, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Then we set off, though we were not about to go home yet. We went to a little pond to check it out. We saw nothing but two Great-blue Herons roosting in a tree.

Great Blue Heron

Next we headed to Fergus hoping to find some Chimney Swifts. In front of the Fergus Library we spotted a Great-blue Heron at the Grand River and some Northern Rough-winged Swallows flying around. We drove down more, still beside the river, and my dad was talking about looking for cigar shaped things flying around (that's the usual description for Chimney Swifts) when all of a sudden I did see cigarette shaped things flying around. I told my dad to stop and we snapped a few pics, stared at them for a few minutes and we moved on.

Chimney Swift- Fergus, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Rock (or Feral) Pigeon- Fergus, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

Before we got back home we stopped at another spot at the Grand River close to the Belwood Dam, scoped the river out and headed home.

Northern Cardinal- Grand River, Wellington, Ontario- May 1, 2020

***

Rail Beauty

On May second I went for a morning walk, which turned out to be a very productive walk.

Right before our field becomes forest, I heard a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet singing it's happy note. There were birds singing all around me giving the message that spring has come.

As I got to the back pond, I heard something turning up the leaves, and the first thought that came into my mind that it was a Fox Sparrow, since we've been seeing them a lot lately at that particular spot. But my spotting revealed that it was not a Fox Sparrow, but a female Eastern Towhee. Even though I had seen one the day before I still thought of it as a treat.

Eastern Towhee- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 2, 2020

On with the walk.

At the back loop there were some Song Sparrows, the pair of Eastern Bluebirds, Mallards and Canada Geese and so on. Though when I got back to the back pond there were two more interesting birds in store for me.

Brown-headed Cowbird- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 2, 2020

Song Sparrow- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 2, 2020

Eastern Bluebird- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 2, 2020

Heading to the back pond I was walking on the path when a movement in the pond caught my eye. I put my bins up and saw that it was a sandpiper and a remember literally two nights ago my dad telling me "At this back pond I've seen a Solitary Sandpiper twice in it, so when you're doing your morning walk, keep an eye out for them. Also in the pond out front I've seen a Spotted Sandpiper there, too," (the Spotted Sandpiper part would come to play later in the week.) I figured that it was a Solitary Sandpiper, since it was certainly not a Spotted Sandpiper, and anyways, Dad saw the Spotted Sandpiper in the front pond. I was very excited since we had not seen one yet this year.

Solitary Sandpiper- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 2, 2020

After a few minutes of watching and taking pictures, for some reason I looked up in the sky and saw a Common Loon flying over, which we don't get a lot.

Common Loon- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 2, 2020

As I watched the Solitary Sandpiper feeding, I was absorbed into watching it feed and walking across the pond gracefully and the whole world around me seemed to calm down. That's one of the parts I love about being in and studying nature, your problems seem to melt away, the whole forest, marsh, grassland or any other habitat wraps around you, and you feel calm- with the birds singing, the crickets chirping, the wind brushing against the trees and grass.

Solitary Sandpiper- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 2, 2020

Although I wanted to stay there watching the Sandpiper, I knew I should be heading back.

The rest of the day went smoothly along, spending time outside, reading and observing (nature, of course.)

My Dad got home, we ate our dinner, and then Dad and I went to a spot not too far away where you can count on getting getting a large amount of blackbirds and waterfowl, and if you're lucky you might get a Sora or a Virginia Rail and even Bitterns. Tonight, we would be going for Virginia Rails and Sora's.

We got there at dusk when the Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles would be getting ready to roost, calling along the way. A Belted King Fisher flew above, calling in the sky. We sat on the top of my dad's car listening for the distinctive call of the Virginia Rail or the call of the Sora. One of the calls of the Sora sounds very close to the call of a Spring Peeper. We sat there for a few more minutes listing intently when we heard a call... that of a Virginia Rail! All of our attention turned to where we had heard the Rail, where after a few seconds we saw a disturbance in the grass and after a minute or so the bird appeared. To me at first it looked like a brown object bolting out of the grass, making it look sort of like a rodent, but when it stopped I could see the beauty.

Virginia Rail- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 2, 2020

I would have been super happy just to hear the bird and get a decent recording. That's because usually rails and bitterns tend to be very secretive and hard to find and you would be lucky to hear it. But it looks like I've got luck when it comes to seeing secretive birds, because just the year before Dad and I got to see a King Rail not too far from Rondeau Provincial Park .

King Rail

But anyways, here I was looking at the Rail, which was pretty close to me foraging along the side of the reeds. Every once in a while it would call and I was was just thinking "Wow, I'm lucky" while taking photos. Eventually, though, it wandered back into the reeds.

Virginia Rail- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 2, 2020

We stayed there, hoping that it would come out again, and after a few minutes of waiting it did, though something was different. After a few moments we heard it call again, but then all of a sudden, we realized that that was not the bird that we were looking at, but a second one! Now that was just amazing! One was terrific but now two?! Well...I can't describe the feeling.

First Virginia Rail- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 2, 2020

Second Virginia Rail- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 2, 2020

The second one was not as calm with us and it usually stayed in the reeds, but we still got a decent view of it.

It was time to head home and with one last look back at the spot where we had seen the Rails, we left.

***

Goodies

Ahh... day three of the first week of May, and like the last two days, I went on a morning walk.

The walk wasn't too exiting, with some Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, four Canada Geese out in the field, Black-throated Green Warbler, Swamp Sparrows singing on a perches and so on. The highlights were some Bobolinks calling, an Eastern Meadowlark, Savanah Sparrow, six singing Northern Waterthrush and one more, which would be the best one.

Canada Goose- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 3, 2020

Swamp Sparrow- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 3, 2020

Savanah Sparrow- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 3, 2020

I had actually got a lifer that day and I didn't even know it! When I was looking back on the photos of that day I saw that I got a picture of a sparrow that turned out to be a Lincoln's Sparrow!

Lincoln's Sparrow- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 3, 2020

When I got back home I went around the pond and turning the bend I saw... a Spotted Sandpiper on our new dock. That was just what my dad had said a few days ago to be looking out for them near the pond!

Spotted Sandpiper- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 3, 2020

It pumped its tail up and down as it walked across the dock. Knowing that it might flush if it saw me I crouched down and observed while taking photos for the next few minutes. I was starting to get uncomfortable, so I move just a bit, but that had got the Sandpipers attention and it flew off.

Shortly after breakfast we decided to go on a walk at the Hurkman Track, a trail very close to us.

When we got there we started the walk right away. We got to the really shady part of the forest with lots of leaves and we stopped and had a snack break. Then I explored the place a bit, finding a Lucia Azure and a Common Eastern Bumblebee that wasn't moving much.

Lucia Azure- Hurkman Track, Wellington, Ontario- May 3, 2020

Common Eastern Bumblebee- Hurkman Track, Wellington, Ontario- May 3, 2020

We started walking again and in about a half hour or so we stopped at a really sandy spot and started exploring it. There was a really load buzzing sound from what I thought was strange looking bees flying around, but when I followed one it landed, and I could see that this was not a bee but a beetle. After a better look I realized that this was the beetle that I tried to catch a week or so ago at our house and I was excited when I saw the beetle again because this was my second chance to catch one.

We had three peanut butter jars with holes in the lid that we brought for catching insects. I got two jars and gave one to my brother, Jackson, and then we started looking for some. This was more difficult than I had expected, because when I got close enough I would unscrew the lid and as I put the jar on top of it it was a lot faster than I had anticipated and it flew off. After many failed attempts I finally had caught one.

With delight I unscrewed the lid to take some photographs.

I almost got a hold of it, but, sadly it flew away. I was frustrated but not let down because now I had faith that I could catch one.

After a few minutes me and my brother had gathered four and I had managed to get pictures of two of them before they flew off. We kept the other two, and we would bring them back home. After my dad got back home after work he would get see them, too.

Bumble Flower Beetle- Hurkman Track, Wellington, Ontario- May 3, 2020

We then got out of the sandy spot and headed back home.

***

When we got back home we stayed outside, and went on another walk, but at our house.

The walk wasn't as exciting as my previous one but I did find a strange big water beetle in the middle of the trail. This water beetle was dead and looked like it had been eaten by some sort of bird, possibly a Fly-catcher. It had only one wing and the head- the rest of it's body was not to be seen.

It could have been a Great Diving Beetle but without the rest of it's body you could not be sure.

Genus Dytiscus- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 3, 2020

When we got back from the walk, I decided to walk around the pond, hoping to find some interesting bugs, or possibly the first dragonfly of the year.

There were many Colt's Foot flowers blooming and I caught (after a few minutes of trying) a Greater Bee Fly. I didn't get any pictures of that one, but got some pictures of a different one going to the Colt's Foot.

Greater Bee Fly- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 3, 2020

After that I had been walking around the pond some more when I saw two Green Darners mating!

Common Green Darners mating

Sweet

***

Oriole

Today was not as interesting as the other days before of the first week of May, though it did have one perk.

My morning walk had the birds that you could expect and no surprises except a turkey in a tree.

Later in the day I saw two Mourning Doves gathering twigs (hopefully for nest building), a Broad-winged Hawk flying over a tree (we had already seen a good number of them that year) but shortly after lunch I got my surprise of the day.

Mourning Dove collecting twig- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 4, 2020

I was sitting down on the couch inside by the bird feeder while reading a book. Every two minutes I would glance up at the feeder and have a quick look.

On one of these glances toward the feeder I saw in the corner of my eye a colourful bird on our small lamppost. As I focused on it I realized that I was watching my first Oriole of the year!

Unfortunately it flew off as I got my camera out. Though after a few minutes it came back and perched in our Blue Spruce behind the feeder, where I got pictures of it.

Baltimore Oriole- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 4, 2020

It eventually went on to the feeder where it stayed there for a while, while I was watching it.

***

Just A Phalarope

Well, we're half way through the week and today would be my personal favourite one.

I did my morning walk as usually, saw a Field Sparrow in the front tree by the feeders, but did not have any more luck on the walk.

Field Sparrow- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 5, 2020

Other then a few soaring Rough-legged Hawks, the day went smoothly along.

Broad-winged Hawk- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 5, 2020

But when dad got home the action started. He said that he had found a Wilsons Phalarope in Wellington!

My dad had actually found it on May fourth, but he saw it again the next day.

We hurried over to the spot, called Mount Forest and more specifically Murphy's Park. There was a nice river which we followed and stopped at the side of a river. Where we were looking there was a small piece of land in the middle of the river, mainly made for muck.

Around it and on it there were a fair bit of shorebirds.

As you can see in the photos, there were a few Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs and some Killdeer. You can distinguish the Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs by their beaks and size. Greater Yellowlegs are larger and their beaks have a slight curve upward and are longer than their head. The Lesser Yellowlegs on the other hand have a straight bill which is about the same length of its head and is not as large.

Challenge yourself and see what one is which (Lesser or Greater) with the pictures above (hint, one has both species in it.)

Well, soon we found what we were looking for; the Phalarope.

Wilsons Phalarope- Mount Forest--Murphys Park, Wellington, Ontario- May 5, 2020

It was a fair way out and the sun was setting, but we could still see how gorgeous it was. It was a male, with a rusty red neck and a needle like bill. It was just stunning.

Wilsons Phalarope- Mount Forest--Murphys Park, Wellington, Ontario- May 5, 2020

We also saw our first (well my first) goslings with a mother and father.

Goslings- Mount Forest--Murphys Park, Wellington, Ontario- May 5, 2020

I walked down the trail seeing some Yellow Trout Lilly, a beautiful yellow flower.

Yellow Trout Lily- Mount Forest--Murphys Park, Wellington, Ontario- May 5, 2020

It was time to head back and as we neared the car we had a look near the start of the trail and found a Solitaire Sandpiper.

Here are the answers to the my quiz about the Yellowlegs:

Lesser Yellowlegs- Mount Forest--Murphys Park, Wellington, Ontario- May 5, 2020

Lesser (left) and Greater (Right)- Mount Forest--Murphys Park, Wellington, Ontario- May 5, 2020

Lesser Yellowlegs- Mount Forest--Murphys Park, Wellington, Ontario- May 5, 2020

***

Well...

There isn't much to talk about on May 6th, but I'll tell you some things that day.

I went on my morning walk with no surprises, but at about 9:00 AM I saw a Tree Swallow (I had already got amazing view of one) with dull colours, so I suspected this was a female, and there was also a beauty male.

Male Tree Swallow- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 6, 2020

Tree Swallow likely female, though could be juvenile which I don't think it is- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario May 6, 2020

As the day went on I saw a Green Heron at our pond, Osprey flying out back, a Common Yellowthroat and a Chickadee checking a nesting box out.

Black-capped Chickadee- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 6, 2020

Green Heron- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 6, 2020

Osprey- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 6, 2020

All I can say is NOT every day is going to be filled with surprises.

Last Day

On the last day of May my dad was home and we got to go on a walk together.

We saw all the bird species that you can usually count on seeing/hearing, including Canada Geese, the thumping of a Ruffed Grouse, Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows. But we also got some new migrants.

We found a group of birds, which after some pishing, we found some Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped Chickadees but also Nashville Warbler, Black-and-White Warbler and an Blue-head Vireo. The Vireo was an especially tough one to take a picture of, since they're always moving along.

Blue-headed Vireo- Guelph Eramosa, Wellington, Ontario- May 7, 2020

After a well eaten breakfast we went to go on a walk at the Benham Track.

On the way there I got pictures of a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, the first photos I had ever got of that species.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

As we got on the track we heard many birds calling. There were Pine Warblers in treetops with an Ovenbird and so on.

At one point of the walk we were sure that we saw a Tennessee Warbler, but could not get any ideal photos of it. As we walked up the hill that was eroded from the ATV's (because people ignore the fact that no ATV's are allowed) we saw two Turkey Vultures, not soaring but perched quite low. Perhaps they might have been a pair that would breed later on, but we never found out.

Turkey Vultures- Benham Track, Wellington, Ontario- May 7, 2020

We found a few Elf Cups growing on a stick on the way back. They're an interesting fungus that are shaped like, you guessed it.. a cup. It has a beautiful red inside.

Elf Cups- Benham Track, Wellington, Ontario- May 7, 2020

***

As we were driving back we saw a group of blackbirds containing four Rusty Blackbirds! They might seem dull coloured to some people, but I find them very interesting. Sadly, their numbers are dropping.