The people in our local weather office are saying that our temperatures are back to their seasonal norm today. It is 14 degrees C, not 31 C! The sky is grey, it feels damp but no rain is forecast.
It seems that yesterday was the perfect day for a walk at the Fort Whyte Nature Centre. There are Canada Geese and Cackling Geese all over the grounds – on the paths, in the water, even peering into the Interpretative Centre.
The trees are bursting with fall colours.
It was simply a glorious day. You could ‘smell’ autumn.
The nest boxes are all empty waiting for spring to arrive next year.
This little female Mallard was hiding along the shore in the trees away from all the ones that were dabbling on the other side of the pond.
There was certainly a lot of dabbling going on.
I love how this one uses the orange paddles to turn them around in the water. It was amazing to watch.
As late afternoon approached, there were six American White Pelicans that flew in along with a myriad of geese. By evening all of the ponds and fields will be covered.
Despite the fact that a beautiful fall day is a reminder of winter to come, it remains my favourite season. The colours of the leaves are just stunning.
Incoming.
The geese will continue to arrive until the third week in October when most will have migrated south for the winter. Today, Blackbirds are filling in the ponds of the City (or so I am told and from pictures I have seen). There are meeting or marshalling points where the birds wait for the others to arrive before migrating in mass.
With the change in weather, there will be more birds moving through our City on the way to warmer climates. Migration is a huge challenge – finding safe places to stop, water, a good food source – it is not easy for the birds to take on these thousands and thousands of kilometres. We hope that each arrives safely at their destination.
Thank you for joining me. Have a wonderful Friday.
My Hibiscus and the Vermillionaires for the hummingbirds continue to think it is summer. And why wouldn’t they with blue skies, sun, and 24 degrees C. The only things that seem to be on track for autumn are the trees and Virginia Creepers that are changing colour daily.
Today was a bit of an outing. Located about 20 km north of Winnipeg, the Oak Hammock Marsh is home to an Interpretative Centre, third floor viewing area, a marsh boardwalk and several trails through the marshes. Oak Hammock Marsh is a joint project between the Province of Manitoba and Ducks Unlimited Canada. The marsh covers a 3600 hectare restored wetland area in the Interlake (between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba) area of our province. The marsh supports 300 species of birds as well as a myriad of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects. My interest is, of course, in the birds.
There are daily tours of the grounds, special education programmes for schools, early bird breakfast and migration fests, and a Goose Flight dinner which is completely sold out.
It was a wonderful day – short sleeve weather with plenty of birds and lots of places to stop and catch your breath along the trails.
Tip: If you were going to visit Oak Hammock Marsh and you just want to walk the trails and not go inside the building, you do not pay the entrance fee.
One of the things that I like about Oak Hammock is that at each trail there is information on the wildlife that you ‘might’ see there. Of course, there are no promises that the Yellow-headed or Red Winged Blackbirds will be there when you are but, in general, these are areas where certain birds congregate if at the marsh.
These are a great help to me – I am a raptor person who is just beginning to learn about waterfowl and shorebirds! I would have loved having Ferris Akel with me telling me which was the Greater Yellow Legs and which was the Spotted Sandpiper. There are a stack of books open surrounding me right now and the images are disappointing. That said, let’s give it a try and see if some of these bird identifications work – and if you spot an error, tell me! Do not be shy about it.
The images are not great. This beautiful raptor soared for so long in the warm thermals coming off the prairie landscape. She was obviously hunting. She would come down and bank and then go so high she was like a speck of dirt. You wanted to rub the lens of your camera to see if she was real. This is an adult female Northern Harrier. Notice how slim the body is with the long tapered wings and tail.
In the image below she is gliding – holding her wing tips higher than the body. Northern Harriers is one of the easiest members of the hawk family to identify because they glide so close to the ground. They have excellent vision but are known to also hunt by sound
She has soared above the marsh and glided down for a closer look for her prey. In the image below she was banking but also pulling up. You can see that distinct white upper covert.
It was simply mesmerizing watching her hunt and then go back to soaring in the thermals of a beautiful fall day.
Did you know that Northern Harriers were once called Marsh Hawks? In Europe they are often called Hen Hawks. This marsh is a perfect place for our Northern Harrier female to have her nest. She will build it on the ground usually in long grasses or cattails. These hawks line their nest with cattails – and all over the marsh were cattails and other soft prairie grass.
It was quite difficult to actually hear any of the other bird voices (or calls). The Canada Geese were flying overhead, landing on the ponds, and in the fields surround the marsh.
This adult male Yellow Headed Blackbird paid no attention to me. He was foraging for insects, seeds, beetles, on the ground. They apparently also eat dragonflies and there were a lot of those on my walk today. Here he is with his distinctive yellow head and chest with white patches on his black wings. He has a black bill.
There is an understanding that if Yellow-headed Blackbirds are in the same area as Red-winged Blackbirds then the Yellow-heads will be dominant. I do not know if that is the case at Oak Hammock Marsh because the numbers of Red-winged Blackbirds seem to really outnumber the Yellows.
It’s a male Red-winged Blackbird, below. I think it is a juvenile male because the red patch above the yellow is faint. They are covered by thousands of the most beautiful ebony feathers. Their black eye and beak disappear in all the dark plumage.
The Red-winged Blackbirds also have their nests on the ground which they line with dried cattail leaves, reeds, and grasses. The marsh is a perfect place for them to nest, too, with all those cattails!
This Greater Yellowlegs was quite busy foraging in the mud. Because of its streaked neck, this should be a juvenile. The Greater Yellowlegs is larger than the Lesser and has a longer bill with longer legs and noticeable knees. These birds also nest on the ground near water making Oak Hammock Marsh a perfect nesting area.
It looked so small walking along the soft mud of the marsh.
Two female Blue-winged Teals. We have Blue-winged teals throughout our province but they prefer, like so many of these birds, the marshes. Sadly, many marshes have been drained for farming over the past 60 years and then turned into housing estates leaving the Teals to have to adapt to living in ditches and dugout ponds. Their dark beaks are quite wide and flat. The females are a mottled brown.
Aren’t they gorgeous?
A pair of American coots diving and dabbling like ducks in the waters of the marsh today. American Coots can forage for food on land as well. Some people call them ‘Mud Hens.’ They eat insects, worms, tadpoles and fish as well as land and water plants. Their white bill with the black plumage helps to identify them.
As I was leaving, more and more Canada Geese were arriving in their typical ‘V’ formation. The fields were filling up and so were the ponds. It was 15:00. Must go back out closer to dusk! There is something energizing about seeing all of those geese flying in – and the only sound being heard was not the noise of the city but the honk of the goose. Just lovely.
Thank you so much for joining me today. I know that most of my readers live in places around the world far away from Manitoba. Please do check out your local nature centres. There are wonderful surprises awaiting you. Take care everyone. See you soon.
It was another beautiful day on the Canadian prairies yesterday. Tomorrow many of the migration events as birds move through out province from north to south. The Sandhill Cranes have covered the farmer’s fields in the south already and a friend noted that the nuthatches and chickadees were all over her feeders yesterday.
There are birds coming and going at one of the local parks but the Wood Ducks remain, waiting for the juveniles to be ready. The Canada Geese were there, too, and a few people were feeding the ducks and geese grain and corn. I will say it again – all the signs put up to say no bread or salted popcorn, etc. have worked. The pond is much cleaner and while the birds might be acting like they are starving they are healthier for the effort.
Female Wood Duck. 31 August 2021
This little female Wood Duck was such a sweetie.
I am a big softie for our Canada Geese. There were about 200 of them around the pond and several hundred more on the playing fields eating grass.
These male Wood Ducks are in various phases of molt. Some, like this one, are almost finished while others remain in the eclipse phase, halfway finished. By the time they fly the males will be there colourful selves!
Those red eyes are a certain way to know it is a male Wood Duck.
Did you know that Wood Ducks are a type of perching duck. They like to stand in trees and will, if there is a box available, make their nests high off the ground.
Some of the wood Ducks joined the Mallards and the Northern Shovelers for some wild birdseed a couple were tossing on the ground.
There were about 50 of the little female Wood Ducks out and about trying to get seed.
Ah, they are so sweet. The white teardrop around the eye lets you know this is a Wood Duck.
Isn’t she gorgeous? She looks like she has white goggles on. But that beautiful grey and rusty mottled chest is stunning.
My bird book says this is a female Northern Shoveler. They will dabble on the surface of the water for food but we watched them use their wings and feet to stir up the water to get food from the bottom to rise. This one has decided to try out the wild bird seed the couple are spreading on the ground.
This cute little female Mallard kept looking at me. I wonder if she thought she should charge to have her picture taken? Perhaps a handful of seed?
Mallards are dabbling ducks. They tip themselves so they can feed feed, rooting through shallow water and mud in search of plants and insects. She will also nibble along the surface and yes, she loves it when you feed her seed on land.
This juvenile male Wood Duck was having a great time with an acorn. At first I thought he was going to choke but no, he was playing a game.
He would pick up the acorn and then he would let it roll chasing it down the embankment and then picking it up again.
This little Mallard started imitating the Wood Duck. It was quite hilarious.
There were about 50 ducks coming up to find seed. Can you spot the female Wood Ducks? and the female Mallards?
It was lovely in the park. It was so good to see people feeding the ducks the right food. Those signs really worked. One man came over to talk to me – everyone is always curious when you are out with a camera and a long lens. He thought I had found something super special! He entertained me with Knock-Knock jokes. Then he offered me some advice, ‘You can get bags of wild bird seed at the Dollar Store. I bring two bags every evening.’ What a great guy. ‘Be sure not to throw the seed in the water!’ as he walked to his car. He is absolutely right. Only toss the seed up on the ground away from the shore.
In other bird news: Maya and Blue 33 have migrated from Rutland. Maya on the 30th and Blue 33 on the 31st according to Rutland’s announcement. Everyone has now left the Dyfi Nest with Idris the last to fly out on the 30th. Aran remains at the Glaslyn Nest waiting til the last either because of his wing injury or he is still protecting the nest or both. I have not heard if Z2 (Aeron) at the Pont Croesar nest has left or not. The WBSE continue to do well so everything is alright with them. They are stretching their long necks to see what they will do. There is no news about Iris having left the Hellgate Canyon area of Missoula for her migration. Someone believed they took a snap of her on her favourite tree down on the river this morning. There was still one egg on the Orange Peregrine Falcon nest but there could be another later today.
Take care everyone. I hope to find some pelicans today – are they hiding? And if not, I will go back and feed the ducks at the local park. Thank you for joining me this morning. Stay safe!
White YW delivered the tea time fish – a nice large one – to the Foulshaw Moss Osprey nest in Cumbria. Blue 462 nabbed it first and then guess who pinches it off big sibling! Tiny Little!
Big Sibling 464 on the left and 462 on the right – all waiting for Tiny Little to make a wrong move with that nice fish. Go away both of you!!!!!
Then 462 got it back!
The first round both 462 and 463 struggled with the mouth and eye area. Wonder who is going to get that fish when it is nicely opened.
Ah, White YW cannot stand to hear one of his fledglings call for food. He promptly went out and got another one. Blue 464 got that one. It was such a nice fish that 464 was eating on it an hour later. Tiny Little flew off the nest probably chasing Dad. No one should be worried thought. Tiny Little had a nice crop prior to snagging that fish off 462. None of these chicks are hungry!
Blue 464 is enjoying his nice big fish – alone! No one is around sniffing for some pieces.
Good Night Foulshaw Moss Ospreys!
In Wisconsin, Malin is busy self-feeding on a piece of a fish that Dad delivered. What captivates me today are the wing feathers. They are looking so good. There is a condensation mark but if you look to the right that one dangling feather from earlier in the month is now ‘crossing over’ the way that it should. The other wing feather scallops are lined up perfectly. Oh, Malin, you are growing up!
The nests are so big and every streaming cam distorts the images (or so it seems). It is difficult to try and determine how big Malin actually is.
There is no time code on the Collins Marsh camera. I believe that there was another delivery by Collins to Malin – this time another piece of a fish. That is really helpful for Malin to work on its self-feeding and not get caught up with the bony mouths and eyes. Eventually Malin will need to do that. Right now one of the wonderful things is Malin’s anticipation of the food drop and his excitement and mantling on its arrival.
In the imager below, Malin sees Collins flying into the nest. Look at his eyes. He has also dropped his wings in anticipation of mantling that fish.
Malin pivots. Wings stretched down and out for mantling with beak forward to grab the fish from Collins’s talons.
Get out of the way Collins! Malin has secured the food.
Ah. Over. I notice also that Collins’s crop is nicely full. He has eaten the head and perhaps part of the fish before the delivery.
These two food drops for Malin to self-feed come after the aggressive manner that Malin approached the fish yesterday with Marsha. We are moving on to the next phase: no more feedings by mom? Let’s watch and see.
Is this the tail of a little Bullhead?
It is a beautiful day on the Canadian Prairies. For the first time in ever so long we can see blue sky, not sky filled with smoke. It is 21 degrees C. That is 69.8 F. Just lovely for a trip to the one of our local parks.
It was a delight to walk up to the duck pond and discover that our Parks Department has put up signs to educate people on why they should not feed the ducks bread. Last year the local birding group had a big campaign to get this practice stopped. Today, the signs are up. They are large and prominently placed at strategic entrances and exits. No one was feeding the ducks, they were just enjoying them! Well done Parks Department!!!!!!
Thanks to the recent rains many of the geese were out on the fields where people play soccer or cricket eating green grass.
A male juvenile Mallard enjoying the water fountain at the rocks.
There was real discussion on the identification of the duck above and the one below. The discussion ended when the little duck below showed us her feeding behaviour. She is a dabbler so she is a female Mallard – not a female Blue Winged-teal.
Mallards come to Manitoba to breed. They arrive in the spring and leave in the fall. Here the little female is mottled brown with a whitish tail, and orange feet.
When feeding, she tips up and dabbles in the shallow waters of the duck pond for pondweeds and aquatic invertebrates. They also feed on larval amphibians and fish eggs.
The female Wood Duck and her ducklings. You can tell the Wood Duck by its white tear-eyed eye patch. Her breast is a mottled brown and white.
Wood Ducks are migratory birds in Manitoba. They arrive in the spring, normally April, and will head south in October. They are cavity nesters. They will lay their eggs in a tree cavity or specially built enclosed wood boxes. The ducklings are ready to bounce from the nest when they are 24 hours old. Precocial animals and birds hatch/born with all their feathers, skin, etc. and are able to see, hear, and move about.
The little Wood Duck and her ducklings mingled with the Canada Geese. Only once did I see a goose get aggressive towards one of the little ones.
Malin’s initial feather issues have caused me to spend more time looking at the back and wings of birds than I ever would have thought possible. Each individual feather is simply beautiful – taken together they are like a wonderful musical symphony – each performing their own task to help this Canada goose swim, walk, and fly.
The tail and wing feathers of a non-breeding male Mallard.
As we were leaving, a Juvenile Bald Eagle was soaring above us.
Then the Northern Goshawk beats its large wings. The Northern Goshawk lives in Manitoba all year round except for the southern part where they can be seen only in the summer or in the winter if food supplies in the North fall.
It was a good day! The skies are turning grey and the wind is picking up a little and maybe, just maybe, we will have some more rain. Wishing and hoping.
Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I grab my screen shots: the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest and the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest.
