River Ross's and Other Recent Ramblings

As the title references, I finally managed to catch up with the Ross's Goose which has been regularly showing for some at different locations around Stratford.  First stop was the storm water ponds where it had been reported at noon, but it was not to be found here.  It made sense to drive along the river where it was also sometimes reported.


There it was.

Although it may not be as unusual as the Barnacle Goose in Schomberg, it's still a good bird to find locally.


Last Wednesday I attempted to find another lifer by heading to the Ellice Swamp to look for the White-Winged Crossbills which had been reported there.

Although I struck out on the crossbills, it was a nice evening for a walk. 

The swamp usually hosts at least one pair of nesting sandhill cranes and they could be heard trumpeting somewhere in the marsh.

Looking over the marsh.

The swamp feels like a piece of the north here in southern Ontario and it is one of the few areas around here where Ruffed Grouse and Common Raven can be found somewhat regularly.




Last weekend I was down in the Long Point area.  A wide variety of waterfowl provided good views at close range.  A single snowy owl was also found on the dock in Port Rowan.

Sounds like some warmer spring weather is on the way.