Last Friday, we had a brief snowfall that featured pea-sized pellets of snow. Today we are in the midst of a three-day rainfall that has triggered a Special Weather Statement from Environment Canada about the potential for flooding and high winds.
Sunday, April 7, was warm and sunny. We walked the riverside path near the Alumni Stadium on the Western University campus and found wildflowers already in bloom. Below, these violets may be an introduced variety, as are the invasive Lesser Celandine which form a dense mat that prevents the growth of almost every other plant.
American Robins were foraging and Song Sparrows singing.
We were happy to see that Ospreys had occupied the nest platform erected above a set of stadium lights and were successfully catching fish.
April 8th was the day that the path of the total eclipse passed through Southern Ontario. We were fortunate to have friends in St Thomas, just within the path of totality.
Our friends had set up their telescope to project the progress of the moon moving to cover the sun. We had clear skies with only some high haze by the end of the eclipse.
The slight haze obscured the red solar flares that were captured by other photographers.
Although birds in the neighbourhood were active before the darkness descended, they were quiet during the darkest few minutes. As the light increased, a Northern Cardinal began to sing and was answered by a distant cardinal. At that time we also heard a flock of gulls take off noisily and head south toward the lake. Our friends noted that this is their usual behaviour at dusk. Below: Common Grackles, Northern Cardinal, Dark-eyed Junco
Osprey Update
After she arrived on March 25th, our female Osprey at Labatt Stadium stubbornly perched on the new stadium lights at the site of her former nest. She made repeated attempts to place sticks and branches on the lights. She was joined in these efforts by her mate when he arrived on April 2nd. The configuration of the lights did not provide enough support for the sticks which inevitably fell to the ground. The male Osprey seemed to abandon his efforts to build a nest on the lights and began spending more time on the low platform. The female only used the low platform when she consumed fish. For several days, the female remained on the lights while her mate stayed mainly on the platform. It looked for all the world like a marital dispute! We were doubtful whether the pair would agree use the low platform to build a nest.
Finally, on April 9th, the female began to spend more time on the platform and gradually the pair has added more nesting material to it. In recent days, both have been on the platform nest regularly and have rarely spent time perched on the lights. We are now optimistic that the female will soon lay eggs and start the 36- to 42-day incubation process. We’ll see!
Baby Bird Photos from Audubon
Click on screenshot of the Western Grebes to see more photos and commentary!
Songs About Home
I have wanted to present Maria Muldaur for some time. Her debut album has a terrific set of musicians and an eclectic song selection.
Many have recorded the next two songs about death row.
From the Woodstock movie!