Lake Ontario Birding Day

Since the Christmas break things have been fairly slow for me in terms of birding and nature outings.  I did have a real treat on my drive home from work yesterday, a Short-eared Owl flying overhead at a field near Elora! An exciting find, and a species that I missed seeing all of last year.

Today I finally decided to head out birding despite the cold, and my first stop was in Oakville to see the reported Painted Bunting.  I waited in the cold for 45 minutes and the bird unfortunately did not turn up.  I wasn't super disappointed.  Something about seeing a rare bird in someones backyard takes a bit of the excitement out of it for me.

I then stopped at a bunch of spots in Burlington and Hamilton to look for ducks.  I had most of the usual suspects but nothing rare.  Here are a few photos from what turned out to be a very pleasant day.

Bronte Harbour

Lasalle Park had most of the typical waterfowl including numerous Trumpeter Swans which are tagged as part of a research program helping to perpetuate this species.

One of my favourite ducks is Long-tailed Duck.  They are so photogenic and so exotic looking!

Adult Male (top) and Female (bottom)

Northern Shoveller