Borden Wetlands

The months of January and February have been bitterly cold in Kitchener. The last areas of free-running water were confined to the faster-moving water flowing from the Wetlands. Shallow areas that attracted song sparrows to plodge in the small trickling streams as they searched for fallen seeds. And then came the cold!  With the ground completely covered in snow and the water frozen song sparrows were left to feed on what seeds they could find on the remaining flowering stems of plants that had long withered away. American tree sparrows, with their rusty crest and bicolored bill, were also on the search for seeds. They were seen briefly, flitting from branch to branch. Redpolls appeared utterly oblivious to the freezing conditions. A female redpoll is pictured below feeding on the seeds of a goldenrod plant. When the goldenrod seeds were exhausted, the redpoll's main food source was still in good supply. The seeds of Alder trees are available only to those with a specific skillset....

The first signs of frost in the mornings heralded a change of colours in the trees and bushes.  The sun no longer burned but provided a pleasant warmth, and thank goodness, there were next to no mosquitoes. I have to say that fall is undoubtedly my favourite time of the year. Warblers had been making their return journey south for their winter. Feeding on the insects that were plentiful on the sunbathed bushes that edge the Wetlands. And that is where this common yellowthroat was found. I also came across a blue-headed vireo that did not seem perturbed at all by what it had found.  A stinkbug! A female magnolia warbler. And a yellow-rumped warbler of which there were many. They tended to congregate with these white-throated sparrows. Warblers are currently still moving southward through Ontario. This is a black-throated blue warbler from a few days ago. Golden-crowned kinglets were also working through the woodland. Passing through the Wetlands was a new bird for me. This is a...