Trip Report part 2

Like i mentioned before, one of the things i focused on was waterfowl and more specifically waterfowl that is uncommon to Newfoundland. The great lakes abundant supply of Zebra Mussels which are an invasive species seem to provide and excellent food source for the tens of thousands of wintering waterfowl.

Redhead

Hen Common Goldeneye

I had a great time seeing so many ducks that were reasonably approachable. I find that when I'm out shooting as soon as i find a subject to photograph such as a Hooded Merganser it seems that i don't even notice I'm cold anymore because of how focused i am on getting the shot, this happened many times during my trip to Toronto!

Drake Hooded Merganser

Drake Hooded Merganser


Hooded Mergansers are one species of duck that i am determined to get good images of one of these days. Id like to get an image of a drake with his crest all the way up. Maybe next year when i return!

Canada Goose

Trumpeter Swan 

Trumpeter Swan REAL close 

Hen Common Goldeneye

Late one evening as the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon i was very doubtful that i wasn't going to see any owls on my trip. Just as Mark & I got in the car to drive away from the location we both noticed something move to the right of the car about 10ft up.... A Barred Owl!!!

Barred Owl

I really thought that this would be my favourite image from my trip, until about 20 minutes later we stumbled upon this amazingly cute saw-whet owl. Anyone that knows me would know that this was HUGE for me. Each year i build countless boxes for Boreal &Saw-whet owls but have never set eyes on one of them in the wild. What an amazing little owl hey?

Saw-whet Owl

- Trip Report -

  Ontario January 8-15th 2015

For some time now I have been fantisizing about images of sea ducks and owls that residents of Ontario post during the winter months. This year just after Christmas I got a great deal on a flight to Toronto,Ontario. January 8th I was on my way!

Some of my target birds were Saw-whet Owls, Long-tailed Ducks, Cardinals, and just about any other waterfowl that do not occur here in Newfoundland on a regular basis. I'm very happy to say I was able to get great shots of almost every species I wanted to see expect Buffelhead. Those beautiful little ducks have been eluding me for a long time. I am sure eventually I'll get some shots of them.

Id like to thank Mark Peck for taking me out shooting on Friday, Saturday & Sunday as these were my best days shooting. Without knowing the local hotspots i surely  would not have captured half as many images! Our first day shooting we focused on Long-tailed Ducks & song birds. It was a great day shooting but bitterly cold.

Drake Long-tailed Duck

Hen Long-tailed Duck

Long-tailed Duck pair

All my images of Long-tailed Ducks were taken at the Burlington shipping canal. It was amazing to have hundreds of these ducks zipping by in the nice morning light. This is a location that i will surely be re-visiting next winter! Next we headed to a valley near the Botanical Gardens for some Song birds that have been fed by people so they are extremely friendly and tame.

Male Cardinal 

Female Cardinal

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Mourning Dove

White-breasted Nuthatch

Downy Woodpecker

More to come in Part two