Wildlife at Home, the Wetlands and Lakeside Park

A beautifully sunny morning started with a meet-up with my photographer friend from yesterday. I remember leaving him with another photographer, both on the trail of the pileated woodpeckers. He had no photos of the pileated woodpeckers, but he did show me a photo of a sharp-shinned hawk that he took yesterday at Lakeside Park. No sooner had he showed me the photo than a Cooper's hawk flew in, landing high up in the trees. We both scrambled for the best position, but the hawk did not have enough patience to wait for us to get our feet set. It took off to the far side of the lake. My friend wished me good luck and we parted company. I set off on my usual route, wondering what the day would bring. I didn't hold much hope of seeing the hawk again and decided to just enjoy the fresh air and the walk. That walk was soon interrupted though by some familiar bird of prey calls. Looking up into the sunlight amongst the silhouettes of branches, I saw a pair of Cooper's ha...

This spring weather is being fickle. Three days ago at Lakeside Park the swans and ducks were feeding bottoms up on the aquatic plants in the lake, and today it is snowing as if it means not to stop. I shall cast my mind back a day, to Sunday morning, and some cold but sunny weather that once again saw the majority of the lake frozen. I do realize that the title of this post mentions the word pileated and that this bird is a Cooper's hawk that has yet to gain its adult plumage. This Cooper's hawk did have a part to play in the morning's proceedings though. It flew overhead moments before I located the pileated woodpeckers and gave out a fairly weak, "eek... eek" as it passed by. I do like to try to emulate bird calls and so I responded with my own desperate sounding, "eek... eek" as I fired off a few photos, trying to capture the hawk's flight. Surprisingly, the Cooper's hawk glanced down, diverted its flight and landed close by. I continue...

When you consider the density of wildlife present at Lakeside Park, it is not surprising that the park also attracts lots of predators. Aerial predators are energy conscious and can oftentimes be hard to locate, as they are hidden from sight, watching and waiting for an opportunity that will not be a wasted effort. Sometimes, the lack of activity from the squirrels and birds is a giveaway; other times it is the overactivity, the noisy complaints targetted at the predator that gives away its location. It was the cawing of crows that made me look up as they mobbed this red-tailed hawk, forcing it to circle up and away from the park. Hearing, I find at times to be much more useful than sight when it comes to birdwatching. I know; it does seem to be a contradiction, but I was led to my next predator by listening to the complaints of chickadees. I was fortunate that the bright morning sunlight lit up the chest feathers of this Cooper's hawk, making it fairly easy to locate amo...