Greenway Park in London, Ontario is where my photographic journey began. Since purchasing my first DSLR, I find myself returning to this park regularly because of the abundance of birds and wildlife present.
After a recent warmup in the city and sunny skies, I was chomping at the bit to return to one of my favorite locations for a morning of birding. Following three days of mild temperatures and southwest winds I was curious to see if any early spring migrants had returned and thought the chances of seeing my first Red-winged Blackbird of the year were pretty good.
Arriving at the park around 9 a.m. Mother Nature greeted me with a spring-like feel. The sky was blue and the temperature a balmy 7 degrees Celcius. This was the first day in a while I did not need to wear a toque, leaving it and my gloves in the car. Birds could be heard singing loudly as if announcing their excitement with the beautiful weather.
Making my way along the Thames River, the yank, yank, yank, call of White-breasted Nuthatches could be heard while a large flock of Blue Jays tried to drown them out with loud calls of their own. Blue Jays do overwinter in our area, but many migrate south, and I couldn’t help but think this vocal group was one that had recently returned with the favourable winds.
It is not uncommon to see American Robins at Greenway Park during the winter months, but on this day their numbers were obviously increased. Like the jays, my guess is these birds were also recent returnees to the area. Further up the river, I did in fact see my first Red-winged Blackbird of the year after being alerted by its signature call.
Greenway Park is a great place to observe birds of prey including the Red-tailed Hawk. On this visit, I located and was treated to great views of an immature bird. Closer to Woodland Cemetery, several White-tailed Deer were observed along the top of the ridge overlooking the park.
While at the park, I decided to film another installment of my new video blog which I have since published on YouTube. I have included that vlog below which is filled with video footage of the aforementioned wildlife. If you enjoy my vlog, be sure to subscribe on YouTube, so you don’t miss out on new episodes.
With more spring-like weather and southwest winds in the forecast this week, I’m sure we will see more early migrants returning to the area. With an imminent change of season fast approaching, it’s an exciting time to get out birding. If you have time later this week, I highly recommend a walk through Greenway Park as there is always a nice variety of birds to see.
Good birding,
Paul
