02 August 2021
Hillside Park, Waterloo, ON
After a COVID-imposed hiatus of almost a year, we finally were able to enjoy a Tuesday walk. Mary, Judy and Franc were unable to join us, for one reason or another, but Jim, Francine and Carol met Miriam and me for a pleasant stroll through Hillside Park in uptown Waterloo.
The breeding season is complete for many species and it was encouraging to see this recently independent Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) exploring its world.
To the extent that we were able to judge, it was doing well.
Berry-bearing shrubs and trees seem to have had a bountiful year, and Guelder-Rose (Viburnum opulus) was laden with fruit.
These berries are mildly toxic to humans and are capable of inducing vomiting and diarrhea, but birds such as Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) and American Robin (Turdus migratorius) eat them with impunity.
A male Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) was catching the sun, highlighting the iridescence in its plumage.
A female House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) was drab by comparison. She seemed to be taking full advantage of the prolific berry crop of Eastern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis).
Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) are ubiquitous and very pleasing, akin to an old friend you never tire of seeing.
A Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus) teased us a little, coming into view for a second or two, then disappearing behind the trunk of the tree on which it was foraging.
It was never in good light and seemed to have perfected its timing - disappear the moment the camera begins to focus!
We had commented to each other that we had not seen a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) all year at Hillside Park, a location generally reliable for an overwintering male, when we spotted this individual perched above the creek.
It's not the greatest picture, unfortunately, but sometimes you have to take what you can get.
Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus) was in full bloom, glorious in the morning sun.
A Leafcutter Bee (Megachilidae) wasted no opportunity to probe for nectar.
A Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) had the same idea.
Our only Tyrant Flycatcher of the morning was an Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) who put in an appearance just before the end of our walk.
It was good to get together again!
How absolutely wonderful - for you and for the other ramblers too. And for us too of course.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope that COVID does not force us to go into lockdown again.
DeleteSo nice that you can get together with your birdfriends again, David. Here the Covid spreads a lot again. It seems like it's no end to it.
ReplyDeleteThe Woodland Sunflower looks great!
Wonderful you could go out for a walk to see the birds, they are looking good and soon be reading themselves for autumn.
ReplyDeleteNice yellow flower.
Take care.
What a marvellous walk! Both for the critters, and the humans you were able to see!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely excursion. The spiked feathers atop the kingfisher remind me of a teenager with spiked hair. A bit of a rebel I suspect. Love those birds and the Song Sparrow too. I always photograph the sparrows. Such beautiful singers!
ReplyDeleteHello, David
ReplyDeleteI am glad your group could get out together for a bird walk. The woodland sunflower is lovely. Wonderful sightings and photos. Have a happy day and week ahead.
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteHoorah, getting some regularity back is always good - and this is an excellent 'starter post' !!! YAM xx
Hi David, beautiful serie photos of your walk. Here it is quiet with birds at the moment.
ReplyDeleteIt WAS good to get together again! To see the birds, the flowers, but especially to enjoy each other's company.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Carol.
DeleteI so wish I had my maternal grandmother seated next to me when I scroll through all your photos. Well, maybe she is:-)
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful it is that you are now able to resume 'Tuesday Rambles with David', David. I suspect that your companions have missed these sessions, under your excellent leadership, even more than you have! You've got to love a Belted Kingfisher - they look like a bird with attitude. Best wishes to you both - - - Richard
ReplyDeleteNature is in full spectacle of flora and fauna.
ReplyDeleteHow great that you are able to resume these walks. It's such a comfort to be able to return to something approaching normal life, although it looks like that will be a ways off for the cautious of us here in Texas.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how happy you all were to be able to walk together and observe the beautiful wildlife. You always find so many lovely birds, bees etc. Hope you will now be able to regularly walk together again. Hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteIt's great when we can get a little bit of normality into our lives once more. Not many birds to be found here at the moment though a few waders are coming through on their return migration.
ReplyDeleteHello Both,
ReplyDeleteso pleasing for you to be able to resume your walks, and resume to something akin to normal, we unfortunately are still getting numerous daily cases. as normal Miriam has come up with superior images for you. a good and varied post,
Our best wishes,
John.
Always great to see all your birds and flowers on your wanderings. Pictures you think aren't that great look a hundred times better than what I can get on my cell phone. I can only enlarge so much and am shooting pics through glass and or screen--LOL! Must hurt your eyes to look at mine--LOL! Have a great day. :)
ReplyDeleteOh very wonderfulphotos
ReplyDeleteI love it the photos
xx
I'm so glad you could get out with good friends and do something you all love. That Guelder rose is beautiful, what pretty berries. It must have been a wonderful feeling for you all. And good sightings, too!
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased that things are beginning to feel more normal for you all. Getting everyone double vaccinated has been such a time consuming job for everyone involved. I heard today that 4 out of 5 adults here are now double vaccinated, and that next month they will be starting on us again. A third vaccination being a booster for the winter months.
ReplyDeleteThat Eastern Kingbird is a very handsome little bird.
Thank you. How I hope life is on again.
ReplyDeleteGood to get out and about with friends.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that you can get together with your bird buddies again, David.
ReplyDeleteIncredible photography as always.
Lindos pájaros. Te mando un beso
ReplyDeleteIt must be so good for the soul to return to your usual outings with your friends to see the birds- and the bees. Long may they continue.
ReplyDeleteSo wonderful to be able to get together again. Wonderful photos of birds, flowers and insects. Restriction are slowly being relaxed here for those fully vaccinated but the infected cases is still very high. Many eateries and customers are not comfortable with dine-in even though they can because they do not feel safe.
ReplyDeleteHi David.
ReplyDeleteLove the birds you show.
I really like the Woodpecker.
Greetings from Patricia.
Hi David - I bet it was so good the few of you were able to meet for this first outing, and here's to many more with a full contingent. Lovely photos - the Belted Kingfisher is handsome with his floppy mane ... the great outdoors is always great. Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteIt's good to hear you were able to enjoy an outing again! You certainly had some wonderful sightings!
ReplyDeleteAn interesting tidbit. With one exception (Song Sparrow), all of the birds in your post also breed in Florida. We are all connected in more ways then we may think.
A few early migratory warblers and an Eastern Wood-Pewee have shown up here in the past couple of days. Now, if they would just bring a cool breeze with them .....
We hope your new week is going well!
Woodpeckers and kingfishers both seem reluctant to strike a nice pose for me. Did see my first of season BEKI this week. Only one other report in county for August so far.
ReplyDelete...Guelder-Rose is a new name for Viburnum opulus. I know it as European Cranberry Viburnum. I prefer Viburnum trilobum, American Cranberry Viburnum, it doesn't seem to attract aphids as much as opulus does.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's why we have scientific names!
DeleteHola David, echaba de menos disfrutar de vuestro maravilloso trabajo. Me alegra ver que el paseo resulto estupendo y con avistamientos maravillosos, me encanta el Martin pescador con sus plumas alborotadas. Las fotos son espectaculares. Un enorme abrazo para ti y para Miriam.
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased that you are once again able to have your get-togethers and rambles.
ReplyDeleteLovely photographs.
All the best Jan
I love the belted kingfisher's mohawk. I was so happy to be outside for a bit with the dogs early this evening to see and hear a small, brown bird twittering as he jumped around inside my neighbor's hedge.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I checked the date and saw that you weren't out waking in this heat.
ReplyDeleteI imagine it was great to do this again.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful morning you had together. May these now continue unabated.
ReplyDeleteI like the belted kingfisher as it looks like a punk rocker - something akin to Rod Steward. The red bellied woodpecker did not seem to have a red belly but the berries look enticing. I guess that's what is dangerous being in a foreign country and seeing such berries and not knowing they toxic. The Wester Honeybee sits well in the colourful stamens of the flower.
ReplyDeleteMost young birds take months, or in the case of large raptors, years to acquire adult plumage. The red belly on a Red-bellied Woodpecker is not especially prominent anyway, more of a smudge!
DeleteHere's a tidbit that may amuse you. Leafcutter bees are happy to set up housekeeping on boats. More than a few times I've watched them carrying their bits of leaf into small clamshell vent covers that provide protection from wind, rain, and most predators. Most boat owners don't know they're around; if they do constrict air flow, it's not by so much that it's noticeable.
ReplyDeleteAnd no doubt they sometimes get to take a cruise!
DeleteA beautiful collection of birds.....and nice that you were able to enjoy the walk with friends.
ReplyDeleteYes, those birds seem to fly away quickly, and it seems that as soon as we're ready to take a picture, they take flight haha. But you got some good photos of the birds on your walk. Those Woodpeckers are funny to watch, and we have the Red-headed Woodpeckers that I see a lot here. The Woodland Sunflower is so lovely, and even prettier with a bee hovering over it. It's always nice to get together with friends. Glad you got to do just that.
ReplyDelete~Sheri
Red-headed Woodpecker is a spectacular bird. It is pretty rare here.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the get together. Beautiful photos.
ReplyDeleteGood Thursday. Its wonderful you were able to enjoy walking again.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your lovely photos
Much❤love
Dear David,
ReplyDeleteso nice you could finally go out again for your tuesday walk. Also at our side of the world life is slowly going back to normal.
Nice pictures of this very young woodpecker.
Best regards, Corrie
Isn’t it funny how you comment to each other, we haven’t seen a (fill in the blank) all day and then one appears? Happens to us often. It’s great you can get together for your hikes once again.
ReplyDeleteYour walk was a bounty of beauty. The birds look like they are all healthy and doing well. All of the shots are beautiful. What a nice day out. As to your comment on my blog. Yes, the West is on fire and the rain has lost it's way to other parts of the country. We are tinder dry here. Have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteMust have been wonderful to be able to enjoy the walk with good friends, David. The woodland sunflower was beautiful with and without the bees.
ReplyDeleteDavid - hooray! I can only imagine how delightful it was to re-connect with your fellow birders! I enjoyed this collection of photos!
ReplyDeleteSeeing friends again is wonderful and I hope we will never have another lockdown.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you saw so many birds together :-)
Nada mejor que volver a estar con los amigos y pasar un buen día en la naturaleza.
ReplyDeleteCuidaros.
Un abrazo.
Hi david,
ReplyDeleteNature is extraordinary. I especially loved the photos of the flowers with the insects.
It's really nice to be able to get back to being with friends and family.
Greetings and all the best
Hi David! :) Oh the photo of the Grackle is beautiful! The feathers on the wing almost look golden! Oh the Kingfisher!!! I don't ever see those here, I hope I do one day!!! The Eastern Kingbird has such a sweet face! Lovely photos!!!
ReplyDeleteFue un precioso paseo y vistes lindos pájaros. Besos y abrazos.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful 😍
ReplyDeleteHi David!!! Beautiful pictures!!! Happy weekend from hot Spain...
ReplyDeleteHello David!
ReplyDeleteI was amazed by all the birds and Helianthus divaricatus.
The sunflower is beautiful. I've never met him in nature.
Have a nice, relaxing weekend.
So nice to get out with friends again. We are at last allowed to have friends visit though we do still have many restrictions in place.
ReplyDeleteGreat set of photos and I love the woodpecker. Hope all is well, Diane
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteOf course Covid-19 has provided us all kinds of limitations, but when you are careful enough it is not hard to deal with them. With us the influence of the virus in our daily life is not very strong, although the disease is still far from being under control. Anyway, a walk in nature is always relaxing, especially when yoy did not get the chance as much as you wanted to for some time.
Greetings, Kees