A Few More Wood Ducks.

These shots were taken on October 9 at East Jordan. I like these partly because the water has the colour of the changing leaves on the maple trees in the background on some of the shots.

Northern Parula

There was one lone Northern Parula flitting around between the rocks at the end of West Head on October 8. There was a Common Yellowthroat in the same area on the same day which as it turned out was the first day of the outside duck hunting season.

Northern Harrier

The first two shots were taken on September 27, the bottom one on October 4 at the same location near Matthew's Lake. Although there were at least two individuals in the area it may be the same bird in all the shots. The eye colour would seem to indicate a juvenile male. I watched the pair dive-bomb what turned out to be a Peregrine Falcon although I wasn't aware of it while it was happening. Later as I was photographing the Falcon in a tree one dive-bombed it although I failed to capture the moment adequately. Later one dive-bombed a pair of juvenile Great Blue Herons in a tree but too far away for a decent picture.

Stilt and Pectoral Sandpipers

Two Stilt and one lone Pectoral Sandpiper were sharing the same pond with a few Yellowlegs and peep on September 27 near Matthew's Lake. They were oddly the most approachable I've seen them this year especially given the fact that there were two Harriers, a Merlin and a Peregrine Falcon in the area at the same time. Maybe they realized their biggest threats were in the air,

Wood Ducks

It's interesting to see the various stages of moult these birds go through. The bird in the top photograph is still lacking the white and black feather edges on it's sides that are evident in the bird in the third photo. I'm still seeing some juvenile males that lack most of the colouring of the adults but the throat patch is still apparent. September 25, East Jordan.

Sanderling

I don't often find this species in East Jordan, there are not many sandy beaches here which is their preferred habitat. The rocky shore makes for an interesting back drop. This was one of two birds mixed in with a flock of Semipalmated Plovers. September 25.

Solitary Sandpipers

 There are still some Solitary Sandpipers arriving at the pond in East Jordan. Although these shots were taken on September 25, the water has receded enough since the rains of last week to provide some feeding areas around the edges. I saw my first in a few days the day of this blog post.

Common Merganser

One or two individuals in a flock of several mergansers at the Breakwater Road in East Jordan on September 20.

Northern Gannet

On September 20th when I took these shots there were dozens of Gannets passing by West Head and feeding fairly close to shore. I was hoping to get a photo of one diving at close range but didn't have any luck. There still seem to be many migrating past and I suspect that will continue through the Fall.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

This was another raptor with an eye for the Solitary Sandpipers in our pond. I was actually photographing a sandpiper when this bird tried to take it. Unfortunately I didn't capture that moment but fortunately for the sandpiper it escaped unharmed. September 5, East Jordan.

Palm Warbler

For a few days in early September there were large numbers of Palm Warblers passing through our area. I haven't been out enough in recent days to know whether there are still many around. September 5, East Jordan.

Solitary Sandpiper

One of the sandpipers being stalked by the Northern Harrier in the previous photos. September 2, East Jordan.

Northern Harrier

This bird was sitting on the edge of the pond eyeing two Solitary Sandpipers feeding not more than about twenty feet away. I don't usually take bird photos with back lighting but in some cases it works, particularly with flight shots where the wing and tail edges are lit from behind and also in the top photo from below. September 2, East Jordan.