Southern Ontario’s Fowl Weather

Waterfowl have long held a special place in my heart, and late winter has long been my favourite time of year to observe them. The birds are in prime shape, the drakes are sporting their brightest plumage of the year, and here in the lower Great Lakes, you have the opportunity to see a lot of ducks that winter on the lakes and aren’t normally on your checklist.

I decided to take a wander down to the west end of Lake Ontario one warmish afternoon in late February. A blast of warm weather offered a welcome respite from the cold temperatures we’d been experiencing, and allowed the ice to clear from some nearshore areas. The first stop was a shallow bay that’s normally full of mallards and other assorted puddle ducks. Even though the bay was still mostly caked in ice with just a few open patches, the birds were there soaking up the afternoon sunshine. There were a large number of mallards, several black ducks, and Canada geese.

I’m always amused to watch ducks and geese land on ice. Even walking on it can be a bit of a problem for the birds, and somewhat amusing for bird watchers. Slips and falls were common.

I was surprised to see a drake wood duck in its spring finery. Beautiful bird, and downright feisty, continually nipping at one particular mallard hen. Naughty thing!

I also enjoyed seeing several gulls and, as I made my way along the path to more open water, some mute swans.

Continuing along the shoreline path, I walked toward another small bay and came across a large group of trumpeter swans – virtually all of them banded and tagged. It’s nice to see that Lake Ontario’s swan population appears to be recovering quite nicely.

The bay was open water, with a wide variety of diving ducks enjoying the sun. Closest to shore were some common mergansers …

… and some common goldeneyes.

A group of scoters were also feeding near shore. I believe these are white-winged scoters, but I’m not entirely sure.

Buffleheads paddled about a little farther offshore.

A playful group of Old Squaws were also enjoying the warmth.

As the sun began to sink in the sky, I was surprised to see bald eagles appear, both mature and immature birds. I saw at least four of them … they were a very long way off and very difficult to capture with the camera. But I did manage to get a few shots of an immature bird that passed by a good bit closer than the others had.

A few days later Laura and I were out for a walk along the lake and we came across a huge snowy owl. Unfortunately I didn’t have the camera with me, but I’m hoping to see it and the eagles again over the coming weeks. They’re hanging out on the shoreline for the same reason I am – we’re all drawn by the ducks. I know we’re not yet done with winter, but even so the next few weeks should be a lot of fun as more and more ducks begin arriving on their northward migration. I’m looking forward to seeing who shows up next.