Our blog has flown the coup to petalswingsandthings.squarespace.com. Please drop by as the blog is still going and we have some new things like Nature 365 and Wildflower Wednesdays.  Thanks to everyone who has stopped by in 2009 and have a great 2010.

A second exception was participating in the Christmas Bird Count where we spent some quality time with new friends, exploring new areas.

One cruddy Saturday we were downtown, stopped at the five points when we noticed a Merlin flying about.  We parked the car and Nathan captured the following shot.

The feeders on our balcony continued to nourish many birds.  Aside from a couple of Blue Jays we have nothing new to report on the home front.  The following two shots were taken by Nathan from our balcony.

We’d like to thank everyone for their kind support this year.  We hope you all continue to visit our blog in the new year.  Our new blog, Petals, Wings & Things, is being launched tomorrow!  HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE  <3

We continued to take advantage of the abundance of gulls downtown as well.  I made it my personal mission to try and get a great flight shot of a Great Black-backed Gull; a mission I continue to work on.  Nathan, however, has ‘the touch’ when it comes to capturing great flight shots as the two photos below illustrate.

Nathan continued to walk through Sunnidale Park every day on his way to work.  For a two week period he saw many Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglets interspersed amongst the Chickadees and Goldfinches.

In November we saw a drastic increase in the amount of birds at our feeders.  We began to see not only Downy Woodpeckers and Chickadees on our balcony, but also Red and White-breasted Nuthatches, Tree Sparrows and Juncos.  Not too bad for living in an urban jungle!

After spending the day at Algonquin Park, we headed up to Timmins, Ontario to visit with Nathan’s family.  While there it continued to rain keeping us indoors for the most part but we did sneak in a short hike around Hershey Lake and a visit to the cemetery.  Below is a shot of a juvenile White-Crowned Sparrow which Nathan captured while I was having a chat with my ‘Grams’ at the graveyard.

In October we frequented Bear Creek less and less as temperatures began to dip and the fall migrants passing through had all but abandoned our once busy little birding mecca.  Our attention began to turn to Centennial Beach, the Rotary Islands and Minet’s Point were waterfowl began pouring in and the gulls were present in high numbers.  Below is a shot taken in front of the Rotary Islands one Sunday morning.

One of the highlights of our year had to be seeing Snow Geese for the first time at Minet’s Point.

In October, Nathan began to walk to work on a daily basis.  On most days he would leave an hour or two early and walk the park looking for birds.  He was lucky to have spotted a Barred Owl on a regular basis during this time…..

…..as well as Nashville Warblers.

We continued to visit McRae Provincial Park in Orillia.  Below is the winning shot, taken by Nathan, of our first He Saw/She Saw showdown.  Our subject was this curious looking Coral Fungi.

We continued to visit Bear Creek on a daily basis.  Here is a shot taken from the boardwalk at sunrise…….

……and a Clouded Sulfur feeding on Aster.

Waterfowl remained at Bear Creek through much of the month.  Along with the Egret, we were lucky enough to view a pair of Blue Herons on a daily basis.  There were some days where our Blue Heron count would be as high as five!

A group of four Greater Yellowlegs were also viewed on a daily basis for the majority of September.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Day!

In August our niece Jena came to live with us.  One sunny afternoon I took her for a drive out to Tiffin Conservation Area for a stroll.  We were lucky enough to spot and photograph a small group of Winter Wrens.

We also spent one afternoon walking around High Park in Toronto.  There were plenty of ducks and swans around to keep our lens’ happy. 

American Widgeon

For the most part August was all about Bear Creek.  I spent quite a bit of time there, often going twice a day.  Waterfowl was abundant with herons, both green and blue, Sandpipers and Egrets all over the place.  Below is a photo taken of the Egret we were lucky enough to have seen everyday from August 18th on.

Mid-month we visited Luther Marsh with Nathan’s father, Dan.  It was our first time exploring this location and saw a great many species including the Cranes below.  For birder’s interested in searching for waterfowl, this is an excellent spot.

For the most part we stuck around our ‘home turf’ to bird watch.  We made a habit of driving out to the 2nd Concession of Minesing where many species were spotted and photographed.  One afternoon I was lucky enough to capture some pretty great shots of some Eastern Kingbirds.  With a little bit of help from Nathan in post-production, the photo below has become one of our most beloved.

Towards the end of the month we began to stop by Bear Creek Wetlands, here in Barrie on Ferndale Drive, in the mornings before work.  Bear Creek plays host to a variety of wildlife including birds, wildflowers, trees and reptiles.  Below is a shot of a Monarch Butterfly feasting on some Milkweed taken one beautiful July morning.

On July 4th we ventured out to Carden Alvar and witnessed one of the most magical, most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.  While driving down Wylie Road we began to notice a great many Least Skippers along the side of the road.  As we continued on they began to increase in numbers to the point where they were flying inside the car and all around us.  So we stopped and got out of the car and with no word of a lie, there had to be hundreds of thousands of them around us.  I was in such awe that it didn’t even occur to me to take a photo – I just wanted to absorb the moment.  Now, does life get any better than that?  Not for me it doesn’t!

Well that’s it for July, see you in August.

We continued bird watching along the bay at Centennial Beach, up to Tiffin Street.  It was quite cold despite the sun being out, but it didn’t matter – we were having a great time, making it easy to forget about how cold we actually were.  Milligan’s Pond was our next destination.  We spotted this Muskrat along the way.

Bird watching at Milligan’s Pond with Al and Bob was fantastic.  They shared with us a wealth of information about all kinds of things.  We were like sponges, taking it all in.  All the while, we were spotting White-breasted Nuthatches, Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, along with hundreds of Mallards of course.

Our next stop was the Barrie Dump.  Here we spotted a few Red-tailed Hawks, a huge flock of Starlings, some gulls and a few Goldfinches.  Here’s a photo of Al, our fearless leader, taken while we searched for birds at the dump.  What a view!

We then spent the rest of the day driving around the country roads within our designated area.  The highlight of the day, for me anyway, was seeing a flock of about 400 Snow Buntings.

After all was said and done, I think our final species count for the day was approximately 32.  We were all pleasantly surprised at such a high number.  But regardless of the bottom line, both Nathan and I had an experience that we will never forget.  We had an amazing time with Al and Bob and feel blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know them.  We are already looking forward to next year!

We spend quite a bit of time on Wylie Road, just north of Kirkfield.  This is where we captured some Bluebirds at work, rest, and play.

We also visited Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve, which is one of our favorite places to go.  It is picturesque, full of animal and plant life – a smorgasborg of possibilities with the camera.  We saw a great many wildflowers during our June visit such as the Orange Hawkweed below.