Weekend Update

So this Saturday, we were over at my parents house and the white-winged crossbills made another appearance (about 7:30ish or so). We were able to get some great pictures this time where you can distinctly make out the their crossed beaks. They are usually at the very tops of the trees eating the cones, but we did see a few of them on the ground pecking at fallen cones too. I told my parents they should post about these birds and set up a coffee stand for birders. I'm sure my dad is plotting away as I write this....


Saturday afternoon we took my mom and the dogs for a hike around the Royal Botannical Gardens in Hamilton. We saw alot of geese, including a snow goose which was a first for us and one from Dave's life list (he's totally beating me at that right now). The snow goose is a bit larger than the Canada Goose and was definitely more agressive and was chasing the others away. Despite the "do not feed the birds" signs, it seems pretty obvious most of the geese are accustomed to people and were hanging out near the parking lot.



Anyway...after Arthur marked every single tree, shrub and large grass pile (I swear, he set a new record), we moved onto another area and came across an aviary that is maintained by volunteers. This was a nice little spot with some birds in outdoor pens for public viewing (no dogs allowed though, so we took turns going in). There were some very beautiful birds there, including peacocks and peahens (I have such a soft spot for the peacock thanks to the good old days while working at Bronte Creek Prov. Park with Percival the Peacock...some great stories).



There was also a golden pheasant and another type, but I'm not sure what it is since there was no listing. There were other birds in an indoor building, but that was closed. Definitely something to check out though and I'm sure it's lovely in the spring/summer when all the community garden lots are full of growth. It would be a great picnic spot to spend an afternoon.



After that, we went to a park near in Oakville on the Lakeshore. There we saw a heron and all kinds of ducks. I'm going to need a refresher from Dave on the types of ducks we saw as he seems to have hidden the list from me.

It was a great day out and about. The sun was shining and spring is definitely in the air! This means in a few short weeks we'll have all kinds of migrating birds coming our way. Very exciting!!