Thursday, May 24
7:00 am Kingston, Ontario
It is +15 °C, with a high forecast of +26 °C.
From the Environment Canada website:
Today Sunny. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud near noon. Fog patches dissipating early this morning. High 26 except 21 near Lake Ontario. UV index 8 or very high.
Tonight Partly cloudy. Wind becoming south 30 km/h late this evening. Low 16.
11:00 AM Birding
This morning we went birding at the start of the Rideau Trail. We saw the following birds, in the order first seen:
- Warbling Vireo (first for 2012)
- Baltimore Oriole
- Black-capped Chickadee
- American Robin
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Double-crested Cormorant (first for 2012)
- Song Sparrow (first for 2012)
- Yellow Warbler
- Mute Swan (first for 2012) (first for Ontario and for Canada)
The Mute Swan was the surprise this morning. We assumed it was either the Trumpeter Swan or the Tundra Swan, but the photo revealed a yellow bill, and hence the 2 swans were both Mute Swans. A check of my data base indicated we had seen this bird once before, in 2006 in the USA (in Illinois).
Warbling Vireo
4:00 PM Birding
In the afternoon we drove to Wilton Creek, west of Kingston. This time we saw the following:
- Savannah Sparrow (first for 2012)
- Bobolink (first for 2012)
- Eastern Kingbird
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Killdeer
- Great Blue Heron (first for 2012)
- Turkey Vulture (first for 2012)
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak (first for 2012)
- Eastern Meadowlark (first for 2012)
Bobolink
Savannah Sparrow
Spotted Sandpiper
Great Blue Heron
5:00 PM Literature
While at Costco, I bought 2 new books:
- Bringing Up the Bodies (2012) by Hilary Mantel
- I bought her earlier historical novel, "Wolf Hall" and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is the sequel as we follow the life of Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to Henry VIII.
- A Secret Kept (2009) by Tatiana de Rosnay
- Her earlier book, "Sarah's Key", has been highly recommended. Now to read them both.