Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Tuesday Rambles with David - RIM Park, Waterloo, ON

16 July 2019

     By 08h:00 it was already quite hot, and the forecast was for a scorcher of a day, with thunderstorms in the afternoon. But the morning was great for a walk, and Miriam and I were joined by Franc and Carol, and Jim and Francine.
     A Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was standing at the water's edge in the strangest pose, and initially we wondered whether it was injured.


     Soon enough, however, it folded its wings back into their normal position, and looked like any Great Blue Heron you are likely to encounter.


     As if to prove the point that all was well, it began stalking for prey, in that slow, deliberate manner of herons.


     In the parking lot at RIM Park there are two active nests of Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), quite close together actually, atop the tall light standards that illuminate the parking areas at night.


     At least one nest had young and periodically they would stretch above the rim of the nest, but we were never quick enough to get a picture.
     It is interesting to note that these pairs tolerate each other and we have never witnessed any hostility between them. I suppose it speaks to the fact that the biomass of fish in the Grand River is adequate for both pairs to secure food without conflict. 
     Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) is a species that appears to have extended its range in recent years, and we encountered both males and females carrying food, and one fledged juvenile.


     The grassland areas were lush and full of insect prey, and the orioles and other species were taking advantage of a ready source of food. A female Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) was carrying food to hungry mouths.


     A newly fledged Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) waited patiently for dedicated adults to bring food.


     Male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) are noted for their fierce defence of territory and no doubt this individual had no intention of letting rivals enter his space.


     The City of Waterloo has located a number of nest boxes throughout the area and House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) appear to have had a banner nesting season, for we witnessed evidence of breeding in three different boxes.


     This recently fledged youngster had found it convenient to occupy the roof of the nest box and wait for devoted parents to bring food.


     In addition to the birds we so eagerly sought, the park was alive with wildflowers of many hues. 
     Tiger Lilies (Lilium lancifolium) nodded in the wind in extravagant splendour.



     This species was introduced from Asia as a garden plant but quickly became established in the wild. In fact several similar species are commonly referred to as Tiger Lily and are ubiquitous through many regions of the province.
     We saw a few Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) but always back-lit, or in deep shade. 


     This frugivorous species, which nests quite late, is now busy with the serious business of nest construction and egg-laying, and the breeding season will command each pair's attention for several weeks yet.
     As we left to return home an Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) was singing lustily from an overhead wire. We are not sure whether it was a fond goodbye or a cry of good riddance!


     It was a very pleasant morning, and weather permitting we will do it again next week.
David M. Gascoigne,
David M. Gascoigne,

I'm a life long birder. My interests are birds, nature, reading, books, outdoors, travel, food and wine.

76 comments:

  1. Perhaps a heron does that more often than we realize.

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  2. That is quite a modelling job that heron is sharing with you guys. Beautiful tiger lily shots.

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  3. Hi David.

    Beautiful birds and the wild flowers are also very beautiful.

    Greeting from Patricia.

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  4. I've certainly never seen our Grey Herons striking a pose like that, maybe just enjoying the warmth of the sun. At this time of year when there are no migrants passing through, the trees are in full leaf and lots of birds are hiding away while moulting, many people seem to lose interest in birdwatching even though there is still plenty to see as you have shown here. There must be money in making nest-boxes; more and more seem to appear every year.

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  5. Thank you so much for taking us with you on this totally delightful walk.

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  6. Lovely lilies, they are always good to see.
    Each bird does it's own thing of course, they are interesting to watch.

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  7. Que esplendido paseo amigo David, ¡así cualquiera! De tener cerca esos parajes daría paseos a diario. ¡Qué maravillosa naturaleza! Gran suerte la tuya amigo mío.
    Un fuerte y caluroso abrazo de tu amigo y compadre Juan desde Alicante.

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  8. Beautiful birds, David!
    Wishing you a nice day!

    Ida

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  9. Hari OM
    a wonderful ramble - thanks David and Miriam! YAM xx

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  10. Hello, Wonderful outing and sightings. I love the Eastern Meadowlark , they are becoming harder to find here. Most likely less sightings due to a loss of habitat. The Orchard Oriole is a beauty too. The Tiger Lilies are lovely. Beautiful photos. Happy Thursday, enjoy your day! Have a happy weekend ahead.

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  11. A good morning walk (and good to get out before it's too hot!). I wonder if the Heron was just sunning itself, an odd position for sure though?! As always it's good to see the evidence of successful breeding.

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  12. I've been without an internet connection for three days: a reminder of just how dependent on our technology we've become. But now I'm back in business,and catching up. This was an especially fun first post to come to, since your great blue heron's pose is quite a common sight down here. It's a way of cooling, and it made clear just how hot your day was! I'll occasionally see the great blues bathing, too. The first time I saw that, I thought the bird might have been injured, never having seen one almost completely submerged. Then, it started splashing, and I knew all was well.

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    1. I am sure you are correct, Linda, that the wingspread stance is a cooling mechanism. It is interesting that I cannot find any reference of this behaviour in the literature, or a picture of a bird adopting this posture.

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    2. Here you are. It's a very nice photo, too. I used 'blue heron wing spread for cooling' as my search term.

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  13. Beautiful photos of different birds.

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  14. David, you had such a wonderful trip! Great Blue Heron is amazing and it wash't injured at all. A female Red-winged Blackbird is incredible and so colorful! I am looking everywhere for Eastern Kingbird, but no luck so far.
    It's getting very hot also after 8:00 am here. I hope it will be cooler when you have your next trip.

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  15. Hello David, your photos of these birds remind me the visit tj the forest river where I've seen a heron. It's a strange bird!
    I also love Tiger lilies, so bright and their shape is unusual.
    Hugs!

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  16. Looks like an excellent walk with great results. I had to laugh at the heron in the top photo. It looks like it had just woken up and was doing its early morning stretch routine before setting off to look for food. Hope all is well and best wishes to you both, Diane

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  17. Den blå hägern ser ut som en staty där den poserar för er, fina bilder. Jag skulle så gärna vilja få en bild av en häger, här finns vad jag vet endast grå häger och häromdagen besökte jag ett vattendrag i en from förhoppning att få lite fina bilder. Där satt den- hägern så majestetiskt mitt i vattnet på en sten. Men tyvärr, den upptäckte mig och flög iväg. Tålamod, tid och tur, i nämnd ordning är vad som krävs för att fånga den ståtliga hägern på bild.

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  18. Beautiful photos, David. The Blue Heron is very pretty. Around here we see early in spring Ardea cinerea. I guess they are in the same family?
    The Tiger lilies are very pretty.

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  19. Beautiful birds, David. Thank you for sharing.

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  20. I really like your bird photos as lot. I had to look closely at the first image of the Great Blue Heron, it's an odd pose. Yesterday I was very lucky to watch quite some Green Herons at our lake. I usually don't get there that early since I often walk with my friend who is not a morning person at all; but yesterday I went early before 8:00 and was rewarded with lots of birds. It's always so enjoyable.

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  21. The nest boxes sure are a great idea! We need more of those here in the areas I hike. Love seeing the beautiful Blue Heron! We had a little bit of a cool down last night and a rain shower so we hiked this morning. 76 degrees...not bad! Enjoy your afternoon!

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    1. I'm back! I got to see a Meadowlark today and thought of you! It was a rare treat to hear him singing his beautiful song! Enjoy your evening!

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  22. First time I saw a blue heron I was maybe 6. I could not believe it was real. So elegant.

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    1. David! Just had the most amazing experience! Looked out at black iron railing and there was a California State Bird, which looks like a harlequin quail. It walked along the railing for 15 minutes, maybe more, peering all around. So exciting. Was it searching for a mate? Was it watching for predators before letting his trail of babies scurry along?

      this was crazy great! Just needed to let you know!

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  23. Wonderful capture of the House Wren coming out of the nest box!

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  24. What a lovely morning hike tuned with nature! A heron always looks in contemplation. I understand how you felt when seeing its unusual posing. The stark contrast of a tiger lily and lush green made me feel dazzling. Plan ahead nicely for your next year’s travel.

    Yoko

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  25. On PEI, I had the joy of seeing osprey, hummingbirds, and blue cranes.
    When viewing the osprey, a local resident got into conversation with us and explained how the eagles try to rob the nest and that the crows are a nuisance to both.

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  26. Hi Both,
    Appears to be a wonderful reserve to visit and you managed to arrive with the weather and away prior to the rain.
    The Great Blue Heron in its unusual pose is a new one on me but obviously in the ned playing to the crowd.
    The Ospreys are a long way behind ours as the bulk of the nests the young have all fledged all but for a few.
    All the best,
    John

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  27. Me ha encantado tu paseo David. Un abrazo.

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  28. De nuevo por aquí. El pajarillo pronto levantará el vuelo David y la Tigridias está preciosa. Ha sido un gran paseo.
    Buen fin de semana.
    Un abrazo.

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  29. Thank you very much for visiting and leaving a comment.
    I love nature. I watch the birds with admiration, but I can not photograph them as beautifully as you are!
    I am enchanted by the blue heron. I had no idea it existed. Fantastic photos. You are a great photographer.
    Have a nice weekend.
    Greetings.
    Lucja

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  30. what a great outing david!! you were luck to see so many beautiful birds and a few newbies, it is that time of year!! i was photographing osprey just yesterday, there were young ones in the nest!!

    could it be the heron was wet/soaked and trying to dry its wings?? the tiger lily is gorgeous!!!

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  31. Hi David,
    Here we see blue herons regularly in this strange pose;-)
    So it is quite normal;-) Drying, heating up and ventilating ...
    I enjoyed the beautiful pictures of the birds but also the beautiful lilies!
    Regards and happy weekend,
    Maria

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  32. Hello David,
    at hot summerdays the early mornings mostly are wonderful.
    You saw a lot of birds; but I love the tiger lillies. Beautiful pictures.

    Best regards, Corrie

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  33. Hi David,
    In this park you clearly can encounter quite a lot of interesting birds. But the flowers are beautiful aswell. Anyway, a great to make a nature stroll.
    Greetings, Kees

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  34. Beautiful Tiger lilies and loved the nesting boxes to help the birds breed.
    Great photos David, have a lovely weekend.

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  35. Wow! You got some very interesting captures.

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  36. Hello David, great outing and beautiful bird photos. The Tiger lilies are lovely too. Happy birding. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your day and weekend. PS, thank you for the visit and comment on my blog.

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  37. I enjoyed your summer hike — from the air conditioning. It’s just too hot here to do anything outside. Once a week we bird our favorite coastal preserve from the comfort of the car. Between the heat and bugs, you can do nothing else. Remember the bald cardinal I emailed you about a coupie weeks ago? He still doesn’t have a feather on his poor little bald head. So, i guess it’s mites then, right? We’ve been seeing him this way for almost 4 weeks.

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  38. Beautiful birds, and, the flowers, absolutely stunnings.

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  39. Wonderful, beautiful photos!
    I have seen Great Blue Herons stand like that, but did not know why. Trying to cool off makes sense. (It is exactly the way I stand in front of the air conditioner when I come inside to escape the heat!)
    Hope you are having a great weekend!

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  40. The heron with open wings is in a strange pose indeed.

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  41. What a lovely post, fascinating to see the heron and that pose.

    Wishing you a happy weekend.

    All the best Jan

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  42. Productive summer outing, it is seen that you observed many beautiful birds typical of the warm season, in addition to beautiful and colorful flowers; here we are enjoying what you see in the cold season that is not so diverse or colorful but has its charm.
    Congratulations.

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  43. You are right: a very good morning!

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  44. I love your nature photo relations!
    I am always happy to see new birds on your blog!
    Greetings

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  45. Beautiful post David...its a sad situation of how we are treating our wild friends, and our natural areas...thank you for keeping the spotlight on the issues.

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  46. I really enjoy knowing all the species that you show, like that blue heron of the first photos and also how good it is to put nest boxes for the birds.
    I really liked this walk through Waterloo.
    A big hug.

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  47. lovely birds...
    Youngster looks so cute...

    -------------------------------------------------------

    Almost no place without natural disastrous in America:
    - East coast and southern parts are attacked by hurricanes frequently
    - Middle part is hit by tornadoes every years
    - West coast is hit by earthquakes and fires, often

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  48. I almost volunteered to monitor Osprey nests in addition to my Eagles, but at the last minute, I changed my mind. Your photos are gorgeous and those Tiger Lilies were beyond beautiful!!!...:)jp

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  49. I would say its a very fruitful walk. You managed to see and take photos of so many types of birds and stunning tiger lilies.

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  50. Looks like a great park for a bird walk! And flowers too. Thanks for the great pictures ... it’s always as if I’ve been along on the walk. ... I’ve tried hard to get decent pics of baby ospreys( in Florida we have many nests nearby and we see their little heads peeking out often, but never for very long) ....just like with “our” eagles, nesting season is earlier there.

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  51. Who can blame that heron for soaking up the sun? Seems like your spring has sprung David. It's good that your city has nest boxes but I wonder if they have asked for expert advice? Such schemes often fail to appreciate that boxes should be cleaned out after each season. Not to mention all the extra information that might be gained by recording information of the nest success or failure. And of course, ringing any youngsters therein so as to give the precise place of birth and age of the inhabitants.

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    1. I am sure that expert advice was never sought, or if it was, it was not heeded. Many of the boxes are falling into disrepair, and some of them are certainly located too low to the ground with no predator protection at all. I may just have a word with the city. I am sure I could get some volunteers to clean out the nest boxes at the end of the season. At SpruceHaven we do this religiously.

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  52. Fantastic assortment of bird photos. And I love the Tiger Lilies. They were at their peak bloom about two weeks ago, here in Connecticut, USA. I, too, saw a Great Blue Heron with his wings in an odd position, during the heat wave. I don't know if you saw that post: it was the one before my Great Egret post. I thought maybe he was trying to dry his wings, like Cormorants do, but I've never seen a Heron (or Egret) do that before. He stood there for awhile with his wings partially opened, not moving, then he folded them back in, to resume the normal stance we're used to seeing them in.

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  53. yes. the position in the first shot really looks crazy. :) Glad it was not injured. Loved to see hummers and the wren :) .

    Love

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  54. Thank you for sharing your beuatiful photos. Love also the flowers. But the red-winged... what is it a beautiful blackbird.

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  55. Extraordinary series of photos, they are all fantastic. Beautiful birds and lovely and colorful Tiger Lilies.
    Have a nice week
    Maria

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  56. We have a preserve called https//:bosquedelapache just two hours north of here. My happy place. It is seasonally full of Blue Herons and from a distance they look very similar to the Sandhill Crane. I asked the ranger for an easy way to ID the heron and he said they are solitary birds and the sandhills are usually in groups of at least two or more. I found that interesting because Blue Herons nest in group style called a Heronry (trees mostly but not all) and the daytime social Sandhill Cranes nest in a solitary place - but they sleep standing in water. You know all this don't you!! Just nice to talk bird stuff.

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    1. Hi Julie:
      Many years ago I visited Bosque del Apache during the winter and there were huge concentrations of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese - among other things, of course. In fact, if I am not mistaken, I saw my first Cinnamon Teal ever there. Great memories! And I certainly had my first (and only) green chili cheeseburger in NM.

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  57. Hello David, you are so lucky to see two nests of Ospreys so close together. Would love to see that as Ospreys are one of my favorite birds. So the weather is also that hot in your part of the world. This week will be terrible hot in our region 40 celcius is expected. And maby maby some rain at the end of the week. For a second summer now we are suffering from drought. Small streams have no water in it and ponds and small lakes are dry. Insects, fish and other animals are suffering because of this.
    Regards,
    Roos

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  58. David - glad you didn't let the weather get the best of you, and we are certainly the beneficiaries with these lovely photos. I especially appreciate the meadowlark - what a handsome bird!

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  59. Hi David - all just wonderful to see ... such a pleasure seeing clear photos, as well as having the identification notes. Love the wren - but why on earth it was called a troglodyte I cannot imagine - but no doubt Latin features somewhere ... I'm attempting to catch up - cheers Hilary

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  60. Hi David, a nice post with great photo's too! Funny, this pose of the heron but it is quite normal.
    Good to read that both pairs of Osprey are doing fine!
    The tiger lillies are lovely and the wrens very cute.
    I again enjoyed your nice report. Hope the weather is good in Canada, we're suffering from a heatwave in approx 37 degrees celsius. So exept for the job, I stay inside.
    Kind regards,
    Marianne

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    1. Hi Maryanne: Good to hear from you. Yes, from what I have been reading the heat in Europe is really oppressive. We have had a couple of hot steamy days here, but overall not too bad. Yesterday when we left home around 7:30 it was 13.5 degrees and by mid afternoon was 25, so very pleasant. We had lunch and dinner in the patio in the back yard. Stay cool! David xo

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  61. What a wonderful outing you had! Very nice diversity of birds with many young ones out and about. I've never found anyone to definitively tell me why the Great Blue Heron adopts that strange-looking pose, but we do see it often.

    Thank you for sharing the results of this trip!

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    1. Following comments above, Wally, and a little research I can confirm that it is a heat avoidance strategy.

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  62. Hello, David! This looks like a great spot for birding. A wonderful variety of birds and pretty flowers. Great collection of photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend! PS, thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog.

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  63. I've never seen Harry the Heron in that pose -- interesting. Or, for that matter, hummingbird that wasn't flapping! Nice shots, all!

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