Birds Large and Small

American Redstart

Two days in a row we were woken up by a light tapping noise moving up and down the side of our van. At first we thought of a woodpecker but the tapping was very light. We finally caught a glimpse of a pair of very small birds, one black with some orange on his shoulders and tail, and white underbelly and one more light colored with yellow in the fantail. They moved very quickly but eventually we were able to get a picture to help us identify it. Cheryl went to work on her two birding apps and Google to discover they were a pair of American Redstarts. The white underbelly and the fantail is what distinguishes the Redstarts from the Baltimore Oriole. The birds became a little bolder on the second day, sat on the wing mirror, looked at themselves and started pecking at our window screen that had captured some insects. We think the tapping noise was our van being ‘de-bugged’.

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Bald Eagle Nest

On our way off Manitoulin Island, we were taken to see a Bald Eagle nest on privately owned land. The location has been kept secret; this pair of Bald Eagles has been nesting here for seven years. The nest was only visible from over 200 yards away to see over smaller trees that surrounded it. Light direction and distance were difficult but Colin was able to capture some photos to share.

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