They're back!

I've been very remiss with posting to my blog but I can tell you that the London Osprey nest and Clarke and Fanshawe Roads is occupied again this year.  We choose to still call the residents Lois and Clarke even though we don't know if it's still the original pair.

And there's another nest north of Woodstock on Highway 59!  This pair is Harold and Maude.  This is Harold posing in this photo.

Solar Eclipse Woodstock ON Canada - The view from here

A view of the Solar Eclipse at 2:07 p.m. local time through a bizarre rose coloured double-paned window we have in our office building here in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada.  Very cool!

Serenity on the pond

Part one of a great birding day - we drove past the osprey nest site in London and lo and behold, both Lois and Clarke were close by. Lois is in the first photo next to the nest - I was able to confirm ID by her numbered leg band. Clarke was a short distance south on Clarke Road on the top of a hydro tower. This is gives us hope that they will be back to the nest next spring even though they didn't raise any chicks this year.

The last time we saw this pair was on May 21st so we'd pretty much given up hope of seeing them again this year. This was a nice surprise.

Part two of a great birding day - we spotted five Great White Egrets at the southeast end of the Brick Ponds on Springbank Road here in Woodstock. Beautiful!

Great Blue Heron

Southside Park

Woodstock, ON

August 2, 2016

Osprey nest

We're disappointed to find that after an on-time return to the nest at Clarke and Fanshawe Roads in London, our Osprey friends have gone AWOL.  We're guessing that their eggs weren't viable for some reason and they abandoned the nest for this year.  The other possibility is that one of the pair was killed and the other wasn't able to continue incubating the eggs.  We'll eagerly await spring next year to see if one or both of them return to this site. 

Recent sightings

Goats, because....well, because they're goats, for crying out loud!  Where's your sense of cute?!

Clarke dropping in to visit Lois at the nest. 

American Robin hanging out in our neighbour's tree.

Eastern Kingbird, Veteran's Parkway, London

"I'll check east, you check west.  Try to look nonchalant."

Saturday in the Park

It was a lovely morning for a visit to Southside Park.  I was hoping to see if the pair of swans had set up a nest but there was no visible sign of one.  I was also hoping to see Barn Swallows that nest under the Parkinson Street bridge - and I was in luck.

This little one was giving me a good stare down.

I was lucky enough to see a Belted Kingfisher as well and, unlike most encounters I've had with these birds, it stayed in one place long enough for me to take a few shots.  Here's one -

A good way to start the weekend!

A new lifer!

At least I think it's a Life List bird for me.....

This Brown Headed Cow Bird was on a light standard outside my office window.  Sorry for the grainy shot, but it works for ID purposes.  

Skywatch Friday

This was the view from my office window here in Woodstock, Ontario one afternoon this week. It reminds me of wave patterns left on the sand as the water ebbs out.  Happy Skywatch Friday everyone!

April 17, 2016 Osprey nest visit

Osprey nest 2016 - they're back again

Lois and Clarke, the ospreys, have arrived back at their nest at the corners of Clarke and Fanshawe Roads in London, right on time!  Here's papa checking out the view over the neighbourhood.

The Fine Art of Cory Trepanier

We gave ourselves a treat for Halloween, we took a trip to Cory Trepanier's Studio in the Caledon area, north of Toronto.  Please visit Cory's website for more information about his stunning landscape work, particularly in the Canadian Arctic.

We've seen three of Cory's four documentaries and decided it was time to see his work up close.  What a wonderful visit - thank you Cory and Janet for being so generous with your time.

Cory Trepanier

Geoff and Cory on the path to the Barn Studio

Welcome!

The scale and beauty of this work in progress (left) is breath taking

The peace of a garden in the country

Thanksgiving weekend at Southside Park

I was literally "up with the birds" on Saturday and Sunday morning.  The weather and nature cooperated.

Toulouse Geese

Swan and Canada Geese

'tis the season

Great Blue Heron

Great Egrets on the Brick Pond

Nice views of 4-5 Great Egrets on the Brick Pond tonight.  I got a couple of fleeting shots.

Model sailboat night at Southside Park

Thursday evenings in the summer you can find members of the Woodstock Model Sailing Club at Southside Park racing their fine boats.  You can find their website and information about the upcoming 2015 Victoria Canadian Nationals Regatta here.

Bird banding excitement

This past Sunday we stopped at the osprey nest in London twice - on our way to a movie and on our way home from the movie (The Man from U.N.C.L.E - it was great fun).  I took a few shots each time and was very pleased with this photo, particularly when I realized it was not the adult nesting female but another female, wearing a leg band.  UPDATED INFORMATION 2016 - We now realize that this banded female is Lois.  I hadn't noticed it earlier as I had to look way back in my photos before I realized she's been banded all along.  Most of my photos of her have been taken when she's in the next with the chick and her legs were out of view.

As luck should have it, I follow the nf.birds@googlegroups and easily found the name of a person to contact for help with the banding information.  I emailed Rob Bierregaard (check out his website here) and he advised me on how to report the banding via the North American Bird Banding Program under the general direction of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Canadian Wildlife Service.  When I filed the report I was advised that it could take upwards of 4-6 weeks before I'd hear anything.  That was quite an overestimation as I received the certificate via email last night!

How cool is that?!

Note that, while the sighting was at the corner of Clarke and Fanshawe Roads in London, Ontario the GPS coordinates identify the location as ENE of Fanshawe, Ontario.

All about the birds

A nice surprise - a Cedar Waxwing at the edge of the Zehr's grocery store parking lot.

Mama and one chick having a look around at the Osprey nest.

Canada Geese do a fly 'round at Southside Park.

Evening in and near the Park

Ta-da!

Ta-da!  That's pretty much how I felt when we caught our first glimpse of a chick in the Osprey nest on Friday.  So far we've only seen one so maybe this will be a spoiled only-chick.  Time will tell.

We checked in again on Sunday and spotted Clarke (the papa) getting ready to chow down on lunch.