T.O. Backyard – Autumn… There Go the Birds

Thanksgiving weekend in Canada is just about a thing of the past, and now so is fall migration for 2016.

The last couple weeks the birds have been passing through southern Ontario, heading on their journey south. It’s a treat for us to catch sights of any of these birds because next Spring is a long way off.

Bye bye Ovenird

Au Revoir Pine Warbler

Adios Wood Ducks

Auf Wiedersehen Canada Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler and Gray-cheeked Thrush

We will miss you too, you Black-throated Blues. Or is that two?

Adult male Black-throated Blue Warbler

Hatch year female Black-throated Blue

The Thanksgiving long weekend has had us treated to last views of Golden-crowned Kinglets and White-throated Sparrows in our backyard; mostly it’s been the sounds of them in the conifers with the odd brief sighting. Suddenly we have a large amount of Red-winged Blackbirds about as well. I suspect northern birds passing through. They are our first true sign of Spring. Come March of every year we are so thrilled to see them once again. No shortage of Common Grackles right now either.

A Golden-crowned Kinglet

A female Downy Woodpecker has taken up residence in our backyard, using a couple of the bird houses. It’s neat to watch her go to bed at dusk and rise at the crack of dawn.  Odd that she can’t settle for one though.

We aren’t blessed with as many Northern Cardinals as some other Autumns but things may change as will the weather. It’s like a changing of the guards here as the Cardinal enjoys his last meal for the day while a young Raccoon is looking for his first meal of the night.

It’s been nice to see a steady number of Monarch Butterflies in the first days of October.

Another treat this Autumn is spotting our resident Great Horned Owl. She’s been pretty elusive this year compared to other years. I’ve never seen her past early October or before April. She must go deeper into the woods, or finding thicker pines to roost in as the weather gets colder. Was this our last sight until next Spring? It’s always a blessing to see an Owl in the wild, so I think anyway.

Northern Saw-whet Owls are passing through southern Ontario right now. It’s been a couple years since I last saw one. I’m hoping for a sighting this season.

A Saw-whet we were fortunate to have spend the winter in a nearby park a couple years ago.

A Red-tailed Hawk aided in some pest control recently, catching a rat from a nearby backyard.

Mammal sightings haven’t changed much other than more regular sightings of a couple Virginia Opossums. Soon the Raccoons and Skunks will go into semi-hibernation but the Opossums do not. I always feel bad for them through the winter months as they can get frost bite on the hairless parts of their bodies… the tail, ears, toes and nose.

There is quite the difference in size with our 2 Opossums, and I’ve encountered both at the same time a couple nights. I wish people would learn about these animals and not just see them as scary looking vermin. Opossums eat mice! And ticks! What’s not to love about an animal that does that?

We love our Skunk sightings too. Still seeing at least two some evenings roaming through the backyards or hiding in a hollowed out log we have down back.

The Autumn season is bitter sweet for many people. Don’t be sad our Summer feathered residents have gone, they will be back. Each season offers us something different but it’s up to us to choose to see it.