Outdoor Ontario
Photography => Ontario Birds => Topic started by: Shortsighted on August 03, 2025, 04:59:17 PM
-
A 5:30 a.m. departure on a Saturday morning allowed me to reach Cranberry Marsh (in Whitby) in no time at all. That can’t be right. No time at all would require teleportation. I’m not into that. Well, it seemed like no time at all. There was little traffic and no accidents to muck-up the #401. When I reached the foot of Hall’s Rd. there were already four cars parked. That can’t be good. Hoofing it to the beach revealed it as deserted. Great! I located the only remaining puddle of water and hunkered down next to a shrub, made myself comfortable with short tripod, mat to sit on, and camo net over the lens and tripod and hopefully part of me too.
The light was meagre so I cranked the ISO to 3000 ... that can’t be good. There was a lot of Marsh wren activity orchestrated by at least three wrens chasing each other around. More than once a wren was perched in the reeds to my left and thus too close to photograph. There must have been a half dozen Swamp sparrows demonstrating their busy lifestyle and also a minority of Song sparrows keen to emulate their behaviour.
This puddle in front of me has reeds on either side that funnel to a narrow isthmus that reveals a carpet of marsh cabbage over mud that extends to the horizon. The sparrows have business on both sides of the puddle and the transit traffic is terrific because each side of the puddle has something to offer. It strikes me as a metaphor for what the Canada / US border used to be. Sometimes the sparrows squabble, acting agitated, hopping up and down, wings a flutter, which looks to me like a hissy fit.
Eventually a few photographers showed up. It was inevitable really, and act of purest optimism to have expected otherwise. They were quick to get shots of the Marsh wrens and a Northern waterthrush that showed up ... bee-you-dy, myte. There was also a snapping turtle mostly submerged in the puddle, lifting it head once in a while to check the weather. I think the big glass arrived for the Virginia rail seen the day before. The photographers didn’t stay long, collapsed their gear and departed. Was it something I didn’t say?
A few minutes later a Virginia Rail appeared. Too bad they missed it ... he,he,he. An hour or so later they returned in time to catch a Sora. The rail never reappeared. There may have been two sora because I saw one on the left side of the puddle and then minutes later another one on the right side. In the distance a GB heron flew by, as did a Great egret and a Green heron. There was also a Giant swallowtail butterfly near the isthmus.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-v4t2pMV/0/MKhNSJ8T3nrZMPXpB9dP6njQdBX7gSXcL5HXhnKvH/L/Wren%2Creeds%2C3rd%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-v4t2pMV/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-fjhK8RG/0/KRGpKxWLX2pzvJZwJBfK6W8DPL9bL5FqgZHP9W5dh/L/Wren%2Creeds%2C2%2C3rd%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-fjhK8RG/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-Fq6nHq8/0/Km7n65RFkKVmW3hzpTfVqXrfVvKjgwnMJSk5bzFXj/L/Wren%2Creeds%2C3%2C3rd%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-Fq6nHq8/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-kCJSng9/0/KZFFbS8fnJsrGZqJK6w7DC4LLF4hV8wrxghzXPts8/L/Wren%2Chead%20sht%2C3rd%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-kCJSng9/A)
Marsh wren
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-xVJR6QB/0/KWnVS2tk6trXB5djRpqRSGpw8X73Vjj3NL5qSXw4g/L/Rail%2Cvert%2C3rd%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-xVJR6QB/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-w9kg5bz/0/L68GWh4ZWJ4r8J6ftG4GQCZLRGGnBG2mFvHdMrhDh/L/Rail%2Cwalk%2C3rd%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-w9kg5bz/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-NFMcvNJ/0/LCxBPctGxC3RKrnhJpS2bXttprb66P8V9m6dbrMXg/L/Rail%2Cdrinking%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-NFMcvNJ/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-gjLb5vT/0/LHsnwz82JMzW3NDfvVVBQhn7zCF76QGrm6h8RFMS8/L/Rail%2Chead%20turned%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-gjLb5vT/A)
Virginia rail
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-7PPp8G2/0/K587nGv4rC7BG4P39jb4sZ27mqwJwTVz2L6CHQqFG/L/Swamp%20sparrow%2C3rd%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-7PPp8G2/A)
Swamp sparrow
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-2xn4M3w/0/KwRCgTGGdX87z9x993wHtSgVPkDxm75pRnxd4tswf/L/Sora%2Cvert%2C2%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-2xn4M3w/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-4XZx54M/0/KJvf7mjN9MXh2QM5QLQm5qmz7JkkWwMZzBqKwtwsv/L/Sora%2C3rd%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-4XZx54M/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-3gQ8D2z/0/NRHXR7Z7vcQXzpjjm3JD2KbbpnL49vXgxrM34394d/L/Sora%20in%20bush%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-3gQ8D2z/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-WxRdxpB/0/MNpZvDxLswz5NWwdRjgbfFXpsns5TkzWkfdBrS8nL/L/Sora%2Chead%20shot%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-WxRdxpB/A)
Sora
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-FwVRMBB/0/MBVqQwQG8VjkWLNqXmVHk74VwNtD5Qj8kCxGPRNhw/L/WT%2Cclose%2Ccropped%20copy-L.jpg) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-FwVRMBB/A)
Northern waterthrush
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-kq36Cx3/0/Kszs5KghKwWXnfzqHX7vgTWXbBZJFcd83Q9m5nknr/L/Snapper%2Cnose%2C3rd%2Ccropped-L.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-kq36Cx3/A)
Snapping turtle
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-jkZKZkx/0/KG4CMhxX6qrsJrDqqB35TGPFTTkbXkRkDPssm8pkg/XL/Swallowtail%2Ccropped-XL.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-jkZKZkx/A)
Giant swallowtail