For obvious reasons, this spring has been much different than what I would have expected. Work on the farm doesn't stop for a pandemic, but I've taken advantage of available free time to check out local locations and exploring the natural areas available on our own property.
I've had the binoculars out more than the camera, but here's a few shots from some of my outings.
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| Tree Swallow |
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| Yellow-Rumped Warbler |
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| Pine Warbler |
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| American Pipit |
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| Vesper Sparrow |
Not bird related, but the recent beaver dammed ditch at the back of the property has proven a good site to check out on my walks and it has been very popular with warblers in particular.
During this strange time, one tends to think more about times in the past when it was normal to go out and about and associate more freely with other nature oriented folks. I was looking through past photos and found some shots from my visit last May to the Sprucehaven banding centre not far from me in St. Agatha. The banding takes place on private property, but the landowner gave me permission to visit when I contacted him. It was an interesting morning watching the various projects taking place there. Along with banding, there were also programs monitoring salamanders in the nearby woodlot and barn swallows in the shed. I was given a tour of the property and its goings on by local birder David Gascoigne. He also writes a very informative blog on his adventures including updates from Sprucehaven which can be found
here Since there are still numerous warblers and other migrants that I haven't caught up with yet this year, I'll conclude with a few photos from my visit.
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| American Redstart |
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| Black-Throated Blue Warbler |
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| Magnolia Warbler |
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| American Redstart |
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| Chestnut-Sided Warbler |
