Author: Richard Lee

The following photos show some of the birds we saw on our travels in Western North America in August and September.

Say’s phoebe (Vancouver Island)

California quail (California north coast)

American kestrel (California)

American avocet (San Francisco Bay)

Snowy egret (San Francisco Bay)

Northern harrier (San Francisco Bay)

Black phoebe (San Francisco Bay)

Least sandpiper (San Francisco Bay)

Northern shovelers in flight (San Francisco Bay)

Anna’s hummingbird (Sant Clara) 

Great horned owl. Didn’t know the bird was there- we saw one fly off earlier, but there were three in the same general area (Klamath Basin, California)

Red shouldered hawk  (Klamath Basin – California)

Forster’s tern (Klamath Basin- California)

White-faced ibis (Klamath Basin – California)

American white pelicans (Klamath Lake Oregon)

Clark’s nutcracker ( Crater Lake Oregon)

Black- billed magpie (Montana)

In September, we drove to Portland from Mount Shasta, avoiding Interstate I-5. This took us through some spectacular country, including the Klamath Basin, Crater Lake and Smith Rock. It is a trip we would gladly do again!

Smith Rock State Park

Crater Lake

Klamath Basin

Earlier this month, I spent a week, coho salmon fishing in the vicinity of Cordova, Alaska.  The fishing was good, and the weather was exceptionally warm and sunny.  On each and every day of fishing, we encountered bears: brown (grizzly) and black.  On one day we encountered four bears and on two occasions we had to leave our fishing spot as brown bears moved in.  I was fortunate to be able to take a number of photographs, and I was able to watch the bears fishing…………very successfully!  According to locals, the number of bears on this particular stream was high due to a poor berry crop this year, a very small pink salmon run earlier in the summer and a relatively small coho run.  Some of my photos are attached.

In late July we left Ontario, headed for the West Cost.  It has been an enjoyable trip, but we have certainly had two surprises.  The first is the haze from forest fires, which we have seen since North Dakota (but also experienced in Montana, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.  The second has been constantly warm temperatures. The peak temperatures (42 degrees Celsius or 106 degrees Fahrenheit) were encountered in Southern Saskatchewan near Grasslands National Park. Sadly, warmer temperatures and forest fires have become more and more common.  We depart shortly for Vancouver Island, but have been warned that air quality there is also a problem due to the fires. We have enjoyed the beauty of nature on this trip and highlights have included moose, bison, a burrowing owl, a black bear and pronghorn, all seen on the Prairies and in the Foothills.  A few photos from the trip follow:

Bison bulls, establishing supremacy

Bull moose, Cypress Hills

Cedar Waxwing, Waterton Lakes NP

American white pelican, Waterton Lakes NP

Rock formations, T. Roosevelt NP, North Dakota

Grasslands National Park, SK

Bison bull

Rock formations, T. Roosevelt, NP, North Unit

Western grebe, Medicine Lake, Montana

Common nighthawk, Grasslands NP, SK

Prairie dog, Grasslands NP

Swainson’s hawk, Grasslands NP, SK

Western meadowlark, Grasslands NP, SK

Milbert’s tortoiseshell

Empidonax flycatcher  (Willow?), Cypress Hills

Monarch butterfly

In downtown Kitchener, there is a family of peregrine falcons, that is being tracked by several nature clubs.  The mother has returned year after year.  The father, was found in a driveway a month ago with a broken wing. He was taken to the University of Guelph, where surgery was performed on his wing. He is doing well and will hopefully be able to return to the wild.  Of the four chicks, three have fledged successfully over the last week. The fourth disappeared from the nest area and is believed to have been picked off by another predator, perhaps a great horned owl.  The chicks are acquiring flying skills and remain fairly close to the nest. They are being fed by their mother, who at this point is transferring what she catches to the chicks, in the air.  This sequence has been caught in the following photos.

Mother peregrine carrying gull to the chicks.

Chick approaching mother to receive the gull.

One chick moves in to receive the gull from its mother, while another one, which had tried for the gull, flies by.

Chick flies off with the gull, while mother watches.

This week, we spent a very pleasant couple of days on the Bruce Peninsula, a long extension of the Niagara Escarpment that separates Georgian Bay from the rest of Lake Huron.  Our weather was sunny and clear, which enhanced the beauty of the crystal clear waters of the lake.

It was a great time for sightseeing; traveling to Flowerpot Island, seeing underwater shipwrecks, birds and flowers. The variety of wildflowers is impressive, and The Bruce Peninsula National Park has preserved areas where there are a wide variety of wild orchids and carnivorous plants. The area has been designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.  More than a hundred years ago, the naturalist John Muir was attracted to the area, by its diversity.

We had occasion to drive from Ontario to British Columbia earlier this month. Here are a few photos taken en route. We look forward to repeating the trip, taking more time to appreciate nature and the beauty of the country.

Ring-billed gull

Georgian Bay

North of Superior

On the PrairiesBarn swallow

Willet

American white pelican

Alberta Badlands (Dinosaur Provincial Park)

Vesper sparrow

Lark sparrow

Rocky Mountains (Banff)

Steller’s Jay

View from the Roger’s Pass (BC)             

It is that time of year when young birds have fledged, but parents remain active protecting and feeding their offspring. Birdsongs are prevalent but the challenge is spotting and photographing the birds in the dense foliage. A brief trip to Snyder’s Flats yesterday revealed more than 30 species.

Eastern meadowlark

Tree swallow

Recently fledged house wren

Very recently fledged catbird

Distraught catbird parent trying to draw me away from its fledglings

Cedar waxwing

Eastern kingbird

We have passed by the Montezuma NWR in Upstate New York on numerous occasions, travelling to and from Providence RI. With its large accessible wetland, it has looked like an intriguing place to visit. This past Sunday, we finally stopped and took the automobile circle tour.  It is a great wetland, and we saw many birds, including great blue herons, great egrets and a green heron as well as numerous marsh wrens, and duck species.  I hope we will have a chance to visit the reserve during migration season.

Today, we had to be in Hamilton. On the way home, we decided to stop at a number of locations around Burlington Harbour and in the Hendrie Valley.  Despite the fact that these locations are at the edge of the Greater Toronto/ Hamilton Area (population in excess of 7 million), there is a great diversity of nature. It is a credit to those in the area who have worked hard to maintain such a vibrant ecosystem on the edge of one of the most industrialized areas of Canada.

Catbird

Chipmunk

Angry bird (red-eyed vireo), scolding and attacking a blue jay, along with about six nuthatches.

Caspian terns -fishing

Wild iris

Female mallard

Song sparrow

Raccoon

Juvenile trumpeter swan (seen from above on a marsh boardwalk)

One of my favourite summer birds in Ontario is the bobolink, generally found in native grasslands.  Bobolink numbers have decreased substantially over the last fifty years, and it is a bird of special concern to a number of conservation groups. I first heard of the bobolink in my days with Rio Tinto, which has an association with Birdlife International . At the time, I was doing work in Paraguay. The bobolink migrates between Argentina and Paraguay and grasslands of Canada and the northern United States. A farming friend in Kentucky reports that he sees the bobolink on his farm, on migration within one day of the same day, each year.  In 2017, we saw about 200 in a flock on a levee of the Mississippi River in Western Kentucky.  Exactly one year earlier, another observer reported on eBird seeing about the same number at the same location.

 

In late April, we had the chance to travel in south central England (Dorset, Somerset and Hampshire).  While most of the following birds are considered common in England, it was a pleasure to see these species of a different continent.

Grey heron

Black-headed gull

Mallard

Robin

Chaffinch

Bullfinches (female and male)

Great tit 

Gold finch

Coot

Blue tit 

Great-crested grebe

Wren (winter wren)

Tufted ducks (female and male)

Greater black-backed gull

Great spotted woodpecker