Every winter I see a few bird species that really should be much further south at this time of year. There was a Green-winged Teal at Lambton during our visit on January 15. I’ve also seen a Golden-crowned KInglet, a Hermit Thrush and an Eastern Phoebe this winter. Very rarely I will encounter a Song Sparrow in the middle of winter and we did this morning on this -18 with a wind chill of -35 morning.

I’m certain that it gambled on having a regular food source at Lambton because many people leave food for the birds.

Here are some of our other birds:

It was also a thrill to hear my first singing House Finch of the season.

Species list: Canada goose, mallard, American black duck, common goldeneye, mourning dove, red-bellied woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, blue jay, American crow, black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, American robin, house sparrow, northern cardinal, house finch, dark-eyed junco, white-throated sparrow, song sparrow. (19 species)

This morning’s warmly-dressed group:

a little botany:

and some scenes from the park:

NATURE HUMOUR

Miles Hearn