Back to Reality Birding

And reality is covered in snow and cold.  After leaving the humidity of the Osa Peninsula after the chill of the mountains up at Saverge, and the beauty of the gardens at Hotel Bougainvillea, I am home in Toronto and it's back to the northern birds, the first of which was my first American Goldfinch of the year.  A sure sign spring is around the corner.  Of course, with all the snow and the cold temperatures, it sure doesn't feel like spring is coming any time soon.

Prior to heading out to look for Short-eared Owls up in Stony Creek, the other day, I heard that there was a sighting of a female Varied Thrush up at Guelph Lake Conservation Area.  It's not a bird you see every year, and certainly not often in the east.  It is a western bird, and a rare visitor to the east in the winter.  So I headed up for the Thrush and arrived just on time to see it, as it grabbed crab apples and vanished deep into the thicket, only to reappear every 10 minutes or so.

A number of birders were present, including Jean Iron, who got a great photo through her scope.  I shouldn't have left mine in the car, as my photos were not that spectacular.  Though this is the closest look I've had of a Varied Thrush.  I had seen one on two occasions in 2012.  The first was in California, through a scope at about 100 yards, and the second was way up in a tree in Alaska.  This one did give very good binocular views in the time I was there, even if I didn't get a great photo.

I couldn't stay too late, as I had a date with a Short-eared Owl up in Stony Creek.  I had visited the spot a few weeks ago, but didn't see the owls, so I figured I'd give it another go, as it might be my last chance this winter to see one, what with all the travel to Florida coming up.  I got there just before dusk, waited until it was nearly dark and was rewarded with one Short-eared owl flying by and landing on a telephone pole before it was too dark to see it.  As I walked toward it to try and get close enough for the flash to have any kind of effect, a car drove by and the bird flew off into a field and was gone.

Female Varied Thrush, enjoying Crab Apples:

Short-eared Owl Beginning His Evening Hunt: