Tuesday Rambles with David - Mountsberg Conservation Area

08 November 2016

     Mounstberg C.A. lies southwest of Milton, ON and was the location chosen for this week's Ramble with David, our regular Tuesday outing. 

     I had not been there previously so Mary Voisin who is quite familiar with this location graciously scouted it out before the day of the hike, and her diligence contributed in no small measure to the enjoyment of a very fine day together.

     The day was quite overcast and visibility across Mountsberg Lake was not especially good, but the lake harboured a wide variety of waterfowl, and other species were spotted by checking the trees along the shore.

   Despite the poor light Franc was able to capture this remarkable shot of a Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis plunging into the water.

     The combination of distance and gloomy light was challenging but the following images will at least give an idea of the variety of waterfowl present, as well as the prolific number of some species. 

     There was a very large congregation of America Coot Fulica americana, a species not always easy to find in southern Ontario. We were very pleased when we first saw a few of this species but as we scanned around the lake we realized there were many more.

     Not to be outdone American Wigeon Anas americana had a substantial presence also.

     If you look carefully at the picture above you can see a female Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris swimming between a male and female American Wigeon.

     There were many Hooded Mergansers Lophodytes cucullatus, alas none was close enough to obtain terrific pictures, but the following shot at least gives an idea of the sheer numbers of this very handsome species.

     Far out across the lake, on the opposite shore an adult Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus was perched majestically, surveying his (her) realm. Bald Eagles feed primarily on fish, but as part of the lake ices over they will readily turn their attention to the waterfowl present. An injured Mallard Anas platyrynchos quickly becomes a fine meal for a hungry Bald Eagle.

     We first heard and then saw this Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus hammering away at a tree.

     Dark-eyed Juncos Junco hyemalis were quite common and Franc captured this image of an individual in a tree, just before it took off like a missile hurtling through the air.

     Based purely on my own observations Cedar Waxwings Bombycilla cedrorum have had a very good breeding season this year and we saw lots of juvenile birds feeding on the abundant berry crops. The sheer volume of berries of various kinds seems to auger well for a winter with ample food for this resident species.

     An American Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus seemed to be doing his stretching exercises.

     Mountsberg C.A. is a large area comprised of several different habitats, all enjoyable, and I will look forward to returning at different times of the year to observe the seasonality of the bird life.

     This Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias was stalking its prey in an offshoot of the lake which formed a kind of discrete wetland.

     Carol was perched at one of the openings in the blind to get as good a view as possible.

     In this shot Mary seems to be explaining something to the others - some of them are even paying attention!

     Look at this fine group of women - great birding companions all; fine company under any circumstances, in fact.

Carol, Mary, Miriam, Francine

     One of the very important missions of Mountsberg C.A. is the rescue, rehabilitation and care of injured raptors.

     Birds that have been injured due to various causes - collisions with vehicles, errant bullets from careless hunters, etc. are nursed back to health, and if possible released back into the wild. For those birds for whom this is not possible, they are housed in spacious enclosures and cared for for the rest of their lives. They can be used for captive breeding purposes and some are used as educational birds also. While all of us would prefer for the birds to be wild and free, I applaud this effort to care for them and to have them educate the public, especially children, thereby engendering a new respect for, and empathy with, birds of prey.

     The following images by Miriam and Franc show just some of the species housed at Mountsberg. It is really quite fabulous to be able to observe these birds at close range.

Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl

Snowy Owl

Barn Owl

Golden Eagle

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Peregrine Falcon

Gyrfalcon

Gyrfalcon

Merlin

Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture

     As always it was a superb way to spend the day with great birding and great companions. I think this little "gang of eight" may be doing this forever!

The Peregrine by J.A. Baker

The Peregrine

by

J.A. Baker

    In August 2004 while poking through the dusty shelves of a second hand bookstore (surely one of life's greatest pleasures) I came across a volume unfamiliar to me, as was the name of the author. The book dealt with the Peregrine Falcon and the price was reasonable, and in this manner I acquired it.

    Subsequent attempts to learn more about the author have turned up virtually nothing. He seems to have been a single-minded recluse, (although he dedicates the book to his wife), whose life became absorbed by the falcon, which he followed on his bicycle around his native county of Essex. I say reclusive for he never hints at friends or family and even the dedication to his wife is barren of emotion. It says simply, "To my wife;" not a name nor an expression of affection is included.

    What sets this book apart from all others that I have read is the unrivalled command of language. It could easily take its place among the greatest works of literature and not suffer by comparison. The sheer mastery of English, and an ability to use every phrase to its most magnificent advantage, is staggering. I have no hesitation in saying that this is the finest nature work of its kind that I have ever read. It stands alone at the highest pinnacle of excellence.

    This short dissertation is not intended to be a book review (indeed I would feel ill-equipped to write one), it is simply meant to express my admiration of the work and to try to convey the impact it has had on me. One must remember that this story has no plot. Every chapter is a continuation of the daily round of the peregrine but one cannot help but continue to read and experience regret when the book is finished.

    I am citing below some of the wonderful prose to be found, in no particular order. Indeed one might pick up the book and discover other pearls on every page.

    Wherever he goes this winter, I will follow him. I will share the fear, and the exaltation and the boredom, of the hunting life. I will follow him till my predatory human shape no longer darkens in terror the shaken kaleidoscope of colour that stains the deep fovea of his brilliant eye. My pagan head shall sink into the winter land, and there be purified.

    The sun bronzed the splendid stubble-coloured brown and yellow hawk, and gleamed his clenched feet to sudden gold.

    I remember those winter days, those frozen fields ablaze with warring hawks...it is sad that it should be so no longer. The ancient eyries are dying.

    Morning was hooded and seeled with deep grey cloud and mist. (How wonderfully allegorical to the mantle of a captive falcon, hooded and seeled [its eyes sewn shut]).

    In ten seconds the hawk was down, and the whole splendid fabric, the arched reredos and immense fan-vaulting of his flight, was consumed and lost  in the fiery maelstrom of the sky.

    Evanescent as a flame, peregrines sear across the cold sky and are gone, leaving no sign in the blue haze above. But in the lower air a wake of birds tails back, and rises upward through the white helix of the gulls.

    We live, in these days in the open, the same ecstatic fearful life. We shun men. We hate their suddenly uplifted arms, the insanity of their flailing gestures, their erratic scissoring gait, their aimless stumbling ways, the tombstone whiteness of their faces.

    Snipe shuddering from the dykes. White glinting water welling in, mouthing the stones of the sea-wall. Moored boats pecking at the water. Dark red glasswort shining like drowned blood.

    These vivid images shrink into a rainbow of crushed colour, and set below the horizon of their memory. Other images arise, as yet like mirages distorted, to be made clear in the long whiteness of the continental coast, in far islands now in darkness, in cliffs and mountains sailing out from the night.

     Perhaps you too will share my enthusiasm for this passionate canonical prose. If you can find a copy of this book I can recommend no more worthy an addition to your bookshelf.