Outdoor Ontario
Photography => Ontario Birds => Topic started by: Rotarran on April 05, 2013, 12:11:00 AM
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Finally got some decent pics of Bohemian Waxwings. They were a bit high up with some branches obstructing the focus but hey beggars can't be choosers. This was around 12pm at the NE corner of Major Mac & Woodbine
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_2607_zps96fbb7ee.jpg)
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_2614_zpsfe5fcfe3.jpg)
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_2628_zps81460f59.jpg)
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_2636_zps7b486551.jpg)
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_2652_zps96e5c5be.jpg)
And a Cedar was around too:
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_2666_zps65c67650.jpg)
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Glad your patience paid off for you -- great pics.
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Great shots Rotarren... Congrats! Especially shooting up into the midday sun, you even got a blue sky... Excellent! Thanks for the tip as well.
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Very nice but it usually takes a few minutes before the pictures show up from Photobucket. Does anyone else have this problem?
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great captures I've only been able to see the Cedar Waxwings and these pretty much show the difference in between the 2 species
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Very nice but it usually takes a few minutes before the pictures show up from Photobucket. Does anyone else have this problem?
No I was not aware of this. Have you tried different browsers...might make a difference.
great captures I've only been able to see the Cedar Waxwings
It is my impression that sightings of Bohemians are becoming slightly more frequent. Not just by me but other birders I know as well. For me, each sighting was on a sunny day around the noon hour and each time it was close to a small body of water (ponds) that had berries growing nearby. So they appear to like sunshine, the middle part of the day and pond-like habitats. And of course the berries ;)
Although that is anecdotal evidence and could have been nothing more than a coincidence.
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great captures I've only been able to see the Cedar Waxwings
Hi cosmo3667. Me too, have only ever sighted Cedar Waxwings.
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You seem to have luck seeing those Bohemians, I haven't seem them in Ontario yet.
/Thomas
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Great pictures, I have only seen the cedar waxwings out in the Oshawa/Whitby area, but I will keep looking.
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There was a large flock of bohemians in the neighbourhood a few weeks ago but only for one day so I assume they were just passing through! It was a dull overcast day and I could only identify them by overexposing and looking at the shots on camera. I counted seventy in one shot so there were probably close to a hundred altogether.
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I've only had 3 encounters with them myself. The first was at the Frenchman's Bay park on the west side of the bay. I only saw (and photographed) Cedars but I could distinctly make out the Bohemian calls so I know they were there. There were about 20 Cedars on that occasion and my guesstimate is that there were only a few Bohemians...5 at the most.
The 2nd time was at the Old Finch & Morningside pond. They were in a berry bush and, not knowing they were there at first, I must have startled them and they flew up, towards me, and then away into the distance. No more than 15 or 20. I snapped a couple of in-flight pics and I could only tell they were waxwings from the pics but how I know they were Bohemians was again because of their distinct song.
The third time was where I snapped the pics above. But I only saw 2 of them...I could hear more but they're good at hiding. So I think there may have been as many as 10 in the vicinity. And there were a handful of Cedars as well. What's interesting about the 2 I photographed is that they had no problem with me taking pics. They were at the very top of the tree with Grackles and RWBB below them...and they loosely flew together in the same flock it seemed. Or at least that's how they all arrived at that tree. First the Grackles & RWBB, followed immediately by the Bohemians.
All I can say is go to quiet wetland habitats that have berry bushes and just keep an eye out.
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Beautiful captures!
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Had the most amazing luck yesterday looking for what's new at the Charles Sauriol park. Only had a few minutes to spare and was lucky enough to photograph the Groundhog which I posted in the wildlife section. But then I saw this huge flock (at least 100) of Bohemian Waxwings and I could not believe my eyes. I took lots of pics of course and here's a small sampling of that.
Saw the original flock of about 30 Waxwings on this tree:
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_3037_zps73b007cd.jpg)
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_3039_zps2b714c4f.jpg)
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_3040_zps678db845.jpg)
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_3047_zps0ef74065.jpg)
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_3049_zps6f94e5e5.jpg)
The original flock above was joined by a bigger flock of about 70 in mid-air and together they all landed on this tree:
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_3053_zps543d6e28.jpg)
Then they flew up...
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_3064_zpsa9e68a0a.jpg)
...and away
(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y469/Rotarren/IMG_3069_zps5bdbb122.jpg)
Quite amazing actually, my first time observing a flock of this size so closely.
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Wow, you must have a Bohemian magnet or something :shock:
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Before I could not buy a Bohemian Waxwing and now it's like they're stalking me lol. To be fair there have been quite a few reports of them in this area for a couple of months including on the Donway (east) as well as on Underhill, both of which are about 10 minutes away on foot. Where I saw them is basically Lawrence & DVP. But yeah, still a crazy coincidence.
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I was checking e-Bird for observations of Bohemian Waxwing near Toronto this year.
Toronto: 1 report (Mar 25, near Don Valley Pkwy)
Southern York region: about 10-15 report (several in Markham in mid-March, several at Lake Wilcox in Jan/Feb, 1 Royal Orchard Apr 6, 1 King City Mar 26)
Durham region: about 20 reports in Oshawa and north of the cities.
Brampton: 1 report Apr 3
Mississauga: 1 report Apr 7
Obviously there are a lot of flocks around that don't get reported, but they aren't seen very often around here, even a big invasion year like this one.
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Yeah I don't just rely on ebird, I also check here and also just follow my gut sometimes. I don't expect every sighting to be reported...but it's still a good tool.
I don't report on ebird myself because I already report everything on here. Or at least of consequence.
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I know, but there are at least 1000 checklists from Toronto this year and only 1 observation of Bohemian Waxwing, which is a good indication of how rarely they are seen.
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I know, but there are at least 1000 checklists from Toronto this year and only 1 observation of Bohemian Waxwing, which is a good indication of how rarely they are seen.
Yeah I know what you're saying. I think that sometimes people rely a bit too much on the birding hotspots such as Leslie Spit, Col. Smith etc. Each of my encounters were in somewhat lesser known parks. In fact my first good encounter was at a tiny pond at an unknown (for birding) intersection. It was also the same place where I spotted a GB Heron and that Sharp-Shinned Hawk. But I go to these places because of necessity sometimes (close to work so I can fit in 30 minutes of birding during lunch).
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Wow... It's like a Hitchcock movie! Congrats. I hope they stalk me too. ;)
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Yeah I don't just rely on ebird, I also check here and also just follow my gut sometimes. I don't expect every sighting to be reported...but it's still a good tool.
I don't report on eBird myself because I already report everything on here. Or at least of consequence.
You are of course free to report however much or little you want, but reporting on eBird is vastly more helpful to other birders than posting on this forum. Most birders do not check this forum or all the other little forums, discussion groups and blogs around to discover sightings. eBird puts it all in one place and makes it very easy to access information. If I come back in 2 years and want to know where Bohemian Waxwings have been seen in Ontario, I'm not going to find this thread but eBird will give me all the information I want.