Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario
This was the first time that I had ever seen a May-Apple in blossom so despite the rain this was a treat for me to photograph. The flower has a waxy texture to it and is hidden by the large over-arching leaves. Rondeau was one of my stops on a circular tour that took me from my home near Ottawa, Ontario first to the Bruce Peninsula and then south to Pt. Pelee before heading home east along the north shore of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
Pileated Woodpecker: A large (15″) woodpecker with a red crest and a black back. When this woodpecker decides to hammer into a tree looking for an insect you really see the wood chips fly. The Pileated Woodpecker leaves behind large oblong holes in the trees that it has targeted for its insect hunt.
I was walking through some burned out forest area with some birders when we began to hear the distant thumping sound of this Pileated Woodpecker hammering away. Couldn’t see him though, until someone spotted some chips flying form a log on the ground. Eventually, after everyone else had had a look with their binoculars, I began my quest. Took a shot, moved forward a bit, took another shot, etc. Carried on like this for about 150 yards until I was almost at the minimum focusing distance of my 75-300mm lens. Couldn’t believe that this bird would let me get this close all the while hammering away at the downed log in search of insects.
About 60 Prothonotary Warblers are known to migrate into Canada each year. This is one of them in Rondeau Provincial Park.
Yellow=rumped Warbler: Previously known by the names Myrtle Warbler (Eastern Canada) and Audubon’s Warbler (Western Canada). For some reason I liked the name “Myrtle Warbler” for this warbler.
This big turkey was wandering across the road in a small town on the way to Rondeau Provincial Park.
