A Stroll Through Huron Street Woods Was Just What The Doctor Ordered

Over the past couple of weeks, I have not been doing much birding thanks to a case of shingles. Surprisingly, I have found the pain tolerable, and the rash has not bothered me too much either. Based on the horror stories of others I know who have had shingles I feared the worst when my doctor gave me the diagnosis. What has given me the most trouble is the lack of energy and becoming easily fatigued. As a result, I have not been out walking as much and trying to heed the advice I received to take it easy. Feeling a bit better and seriously missing nature, I decided to take my camera and go for a short walk at Huron Street Woods.   

Parking at the North London Athletic Fields, I was greeted by a gusty southwest wind. Whenever birding in breezy conditions, I always look for protected areas as this is where I find most birds trying to avoid the moving air. Fortunately, Huron Street Woods is well protected by a large hill to the west, so I headed south along the trail in the direction of this sheltered area. As I approached, I could not hear anything in the way of bird sounds which did not bode well. In fact, the only thing I could hear was the rope of the Canadian flag on top of St. Peter’s Seminary making a dinging sound as it slammed against the flag pole in the strong wind. I made my way down a narrow path to the Thames River. A small creek, which I believe is essentially runoff from King’s College and the neighbouring streets enters the Thames here and is where I found a Belted Kingfisher. After snapping a few photos I went back up to the main path and continued south.

A little further along I could hear the calls of several House Finches. From the sound of things, this was quite a large flock. Looking up I could see the birds, both males and females, sitting in the top of a small tree. I never did an exact count on all the birds, but I estimate the flock to be between two and three dozen. Also present in this area were several cardinals, chickadees, and juncos. 

Making my way back north I could hear two Carolina Wrens calling back and forth in a swampy area beside the trail. Stopping to see if I could locate the birds for a photo, a Song Sparrow came into view. Finally, one of the Carolina Wrens appeared where I could capture an unobstructed photo.

As I tracked these two birds with my camera while they flitted around one of the Carolina Wrens chased a Winter Wren from the fallen logs. To my surprise, the Winter Wren landed about six feet from where I was standing. As I tried to quickly flip my lens’ focus limiter switch the wren flew a short distance away. Fortunately, this bird landed not too far away allowing me to capture a few photos. 

Hearing the chur chur chur call of a Red-bellied Woodpecker I scanned the trees and located this male bird. Raising my camera and pressing the shutter I captured several images of my favourite bird. With the late afternoon light now fading and the snow starting to fall, I made my way back to the car. I was glad I worked up the energy to leave the house and do some birding. Surrounding myself with birds and breathing in the fresh air certainly had me feeling better proving that a stroll through Huron Street Woods was just what the doctor ordered. 

Good birding,
Paul