{"id":9320,"date":"2022-09-13T17:28:19","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T21:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/?p=9320"},"modified":"2022-09-13T17:28:19","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T21:28:19","slug":"fishing-birds-southern-ontario","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/fishing-birds-southern-ontario\/","title":{"rendered":"Fishing Birds in Southern Ontario"},"content":{"rendered":"

I spent some time looking at shorebirds recently where Grindstone Creek joins Lake Ontario. Before I left, I also looked at the birds around the “pond” nearer to the Royal Botanical Gardens park. I’d guess there must be a healthy number of fish and other prety in the area judging by the numbers of fishing birds perched there.<\/p>\n

Osprey Entertain Photographers Near Valley Inn Road Bridge<\/h2>\n

There were at least three Osprey in the area. A group of photographers enjoyed getting “action shots” as the birds dove for fish.<\/p>\n

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Bald Eagle Bully<\/h2>\n

This young Bald Eagle chased an Osprey around for several minutes trying to get the fish the Osprey had caught.<\/p>\n

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Above is the chase, below is a close up of the Osprey carrying the fish.<\/p>\n

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The Bald Eagle eventually gave up.<\/p>\n

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Belted Kingfisher Prefers Perch to Prey<\/h2>\n

I watched the Kingfisher patrolling the area hunting for food. She preferred to perch often. At the same time, two Osprey, one Cormorant and the Kingfisher were all perched in the same dead tree. You can see how small a Kingfisher is relative to an Osprey:<\/p>\n

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Double-crested Cormorant Dries Off<\/h2>\n

Cormorants were fishing and sunning around the pond. They have to dry their wings unlike the other diving birds.<\/p>\n

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Caspian Tern Turns<\/h2>\n

This Tern was heading into the photo when I clicked but you can see I was too slow.<\/p>\n

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Great Blue Heron Goes Grey<\/h2>\n

I saw four Great Blue Herons over with the shorebirds and this fifth one later back near the pond. It’s very grey. I suspect it hatched this year, but I’m not sure.<\/p>\n

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Great Egret Stands Out<\/h2>\n

It wasn’t difficult to spot this bright white Great Egret.<\/p>\n

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I hope to get another chance to visit the area soon. Even a short visit like today’s can be full of great fishing birds!<\/p>\n

Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n