Brandon Holden Photography
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Articles and Notes
Various notes and articles I have written that deal with either my photography or natural history related topics - notes are less serious
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Articles:
June 2008 - Hawk Migration Through Sarnia-Lambton Click Here to read. My experiences with the excellent spring hawk migration through this area in 2007.
June 2008 - The Peregrine Falcons of Niagara Falls Click Here to read. A photography article about how to photograph these amazing birds.
April 2008 - New California Gull? Pictures to the Rescue Click Here to read. An article about using pictures to notice differences in rare birds.
March 2008 - Finding a Barn Owl Feather Click Here to read. A short article on my first steps in trying to find a Barn Owl in Ontario!
January 2008 - Variation in the Plumages of Pine Grosbeaks Click Here to read. A photo Salon, with comments from Peter Pyle.
July 2007 - What to do with all of those digital pictures? Click Here to read. A note about the storage system I use, to deal with the thousands of pictures that I (or a new photographer) will accumulate.
Notes:
Spring/Summer 2007- There have been many occasions while out and about, that I have noticed something that I would want to share with others who are interested in Natural History in Ontario. I have decided to make a "notes" section to share anything interesting. Some examples would include locations of shorebird habitat, a strange goose nest location, theories about bird migration/vagrants and even why I have a Laughing Gull in my freezer. Birding highlights will also be added.
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April 10th- The first Swallow of the year, in our backyard, was flying around this afternoon. We have Tree Swallow nesting boxes, but I was rather shocked to see it was my first Rough-winged Swallow of the year! No Tree Swallows at the boxes yet, but hopefully soon.
January 5th - A backyard life bird... While we don't usually get very many Common Redpolls at the feeder, I was very happy to count 17 birds feeding around our nyger feeder. One showed most features of a young male or female Hoary Redpoll including the "pushed in" face, limited breast streaking, a mostly white rump, limited undertail streaking and an overall paler appearance. This is the only time I can remember getting a life bird in the backyard! (but hopefully not the last). Throughout the day, we saw a flock of over 100 birds zooming around the backyard, but only 15-20 ever stopped (at once) at the feeders and I didn't spot the Hoary (or any others) again. Since the warm weather, virtually no birds visit the feeders (and no Redpolls at all).
January 2008- Feeding a Mockingbird... We often have a mockingbird that eats holly berries in our front yard during the winter months. For the first time however, he/she has been making trips to the backyard to poke at suet and eat peanuts. I decided to try to put out some food, considering he/she is probably having a harder time getting through the cold winter than many of the cardinals, jays and chickadees we feed all winter long. I tried a few different fruits, but the one that really seemed to work was pomegranates! I was happy to be able to provide some food, but I soon realized I shouldn't have put the fruit near the other feeders. I looked outside the next day to see the Mockingbird actively chasing all the other birds away from the seed feeders! (as mockingbirds defend their winter food supply, but the fruit was too close to the seeds!)... All I had to do was move the fruit 20-30 feet away, and everyone gets along again.
December 15th- feeder birds! I've often told people that my yard bird feeders aren't the most exciting around. In fact, most of our best winter sightings usually involve a Redpoll (or two), and maybe a brave Brown-headed Cowbird. Living out in a fairly open area, we get low numbers of woodland species (if any at all), and there isn't much to replace them. Latley however, our yard has really brought us some new birds to look through. Today (dec 15) it was almost like the birds knew a big snowstorm was comming, as the feeders were very active all day. Below is a few highlights in the past few weeks:
White-crowned Sparrow - a young bird stayed for a few days (dec 7). We've only had this species a handfull of times (even during migration).
Red-bellied Woodpecker- A female comes every few days for some suet and seed.
Cooper's Hawk - an adult male keeps the Mourning Doves and House Sparrows jumpy
Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches - usually we dont get these species, but we've had one of each making frequent visits.
Common Redpoll- at least two visit infrequently. A species we've never seen in numbers around our home
Northern Mockingbird - one bird, which recently has been visiting the seed feeders and poking at the suet. I've tried Orange slices to feed him/her, but not much luck (as they freeze solid)..... has anyone ever had any luck feeding this species in winter?
It's still not much compared to many Ontario backyard feed stations, but pretty exciting for us! We'll see if this big snowstorm moves any other birds in for some food!
December 8th- Pine Grosbeaks in Guelph! - while out birding, I found a huge group of Pine Grosbeaks that are feeding heavily on the berry trees near the Ontario Vetrinary College (Guelph University Campus area). The whole area south of the intersections of Gordon st. and College ave... I would highly reccomend going to see the birds, as they are very tame and wonderful to watch. Twice, the group I was photographing took flight and I counted more than 100 birds. They usually break into smaller groups and feed on the many trees that are around most parking lots in the area. (and even in front of some buildings). Lots of trees, but also lots of birds. How long will the food supply last? Hopefully for a while longer!
While photographing the birds, I talked to a woman about them, where they come from, why they're here etc. As she said thanks and started walking down the sidewalk, a bird took flight and then landed on her head! The only thing that seems to spook the birds is big trucks, or an American Kestrel in the area. I actually saw this Kestrel eating a frozen grosbeak near the top of a spruce tree!
December 1st- While the cold weather scared me indoors, I decided to keep track of the birds I see for the winter birding season. I managed a modest 22 species from my yard, but its a start! Click here to see the list as it grows!
November 29th- While scanning the thousands and thousands of ducks off of Winona Rd. in Grimsby yesterday, I had a Double-crested Cormorant flying out over the lake. It looked strange, but it wasn't until it landed on the water that I realised it had a 12 inch antenna sticking out of its back!
November 28th- While it can be a tough time of year for photography, there is always something interesting happening. Today, I watched a Bald Eagle try to take down a Great Blue Heron while scanning Cootes Paradise in Hamilton. The eagle chased the heron around the ice for a few minutes, but the Heron kept the Eagle at bay by trying to peck/stab the eagle when ever it came too close. Evenually the Eagle got the Heron down on the ice, but wasn't able to finish it off. The eagle eventually flew into the tree's. The Heron, after throwing up a fish or two (stressed out maybe?), was able to make its get-away!
August 1st- Unseen flow- I've had several reminders that all sorts of birds (not just shorebirds) are moving long distances away from where they spent the summer. It's easy to concentrate on the shorebirds as the most obvious of bird movements, but the 3 Caspian Terns I had fly around my backyard last night, the Yellow Warblers in my front yard, and a Peregrine Falcon at Jarvis Lagoons today are all examples of other families of birds that are migrating or dispersing this time of year. It's now August first, and with each passing day, there's a better chance that something wild could happen with each passing weather system. Hopefully everyone sent in their predictions (to OFO) for Ontario's next 10 species of birds for the provincial list, and now lets head out and find something!
July 31st- hot humid weather hasn't made for anything too exciting, but hopefully some southern Herons get pushed up by the south winds. I did have my first Barid's Sandpiper of the fall (an adult) at Rock Point today.
July 30th- One of these ducks (two actually) just didnt belong! -- While photographing shorebirds at the Jarvis Lagoons, two very strange waterfowl flew into the area and started circling the ponds. Right away I knew they were something different. I've been keeping my eyes open for Black-bellied Whistling Duck all summer, was this it? Alas, no. It was obvious that these were domestic type waterfowl, and as they flew in front of me, I realised they were Common Shelducks! They acted as wild as the Blue-winged Teal nearby, flushing when I left the area.
July 27th- with lots of rain and thunderstorms, I tried to get out and see what shorebirds had been knocked down. Short-billed Dowitchers seem to have been brought down in good numbers, as I had this species at every location I checked for shorebirds. Townsend Lagoons had limited habitat, but a surprising number of birds and species. A Juv. Black Tern resting on the algae was unusual. Jarvis lagoons were very productive, with 400+ birds highlighted by 2 Stilt Sandpipers and 3 Upland Sandpipers. Insect highlights included Wild Indigo Duskywing and Band-winged Meadowhawk. Shorebirds should be moving almost every night now, however low pressure systems and strong thunderstorms can bring down bigger numbers!
July 17th, 2007- Would Knot let me get close... I had an adult Red Knot at Fish Point this afternoon, flying with a group of Sanderling. Despite my best efforts over 2 hours however, I could not get anywhere near the bird for any pictures. Once the knot left however, most of the 20+ Sanderling came quite close!
July 16th, 2007- migrant adult Bonaparte's Gulls are all over the Island now. In with one group was an adult Little Gull (SE Corner of Island). Sanderling were at Fish Point and the SE Corner in fair numbers. 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (both 1st alt.) were at Lighthouse Point. Few other birds at Lighthouse however, as an adult Bald Eagle scared most birds away.
July 15th, 2007 - shorebird highlights from Pelee Island today were 4 Sanderling and 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper on the SE corner of the island, and 1 Whimbrel at Lighthouse Point (Lake Henrey).
July 14th, 2007- Gull and shorebird report from Pelee Island -
Fish Point had many thousands of gulls covering the entire point. Highlights were three Little Gulls (one 1st Alt. and two 2nd. Alt.) and one Lesser Black-backed Gull (1st alt). Adult Bonaparte's in breeding plumage were around in numbers, which were fall migrants.
I made a quick check of the SE corner of the island, and among some shorebirds there were 2 Short-billed Dowitchers and 4 Sanderling. The Sanderling were the first of the fall for me. Other highlights here was 1 Fox Snake and 1 Watersnake.
July 13th, 2007- Marsh birds in the Marsh... I was able to take a walk around the Hillman Marsh trail, and found the centre of the marsh to have water levels low enough to attract an alright number of Herons. All were Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons, except for one Black-crowned Night-Heron and one Least Bittern. If it stays dry, and water levels continue to drop, it could become more attractive to rare herons in late july/august and could start attracting shorebirds. Other things seen at Hillman include a juvenile Forster's Tern following the adults, a male Lance-tailed Darner, lots of Fragile and Eastern Forktails, 2 Common Buckeye's and a handful of Dion Skippers.
I stopped at Sturgeon Creek (behind the Days in) and was happy to see a number of Herons and some exposed mud. Shorebirds were around, with 3 adult Short-billed Dowitchers being my first of the fall for this species. Rare Herons and especially shorebirds could be around, so keep checking those marshy areas!
July 7th, 2007- Gulls on Pelee Island.. I made my first visit to Pelee Island to visit my girlfriend (who is working at the Winery). We spent some time birding, and found a dead Laughing Gull on the N. Sandbar of Lake Henry (Lighthouse point). It seemed to be a classic case of a bird going to roost with other gulls, and then (for some unknown reason), dying. (I would assume it was sick). Either way, the bird was in good shape and despite the protest of Lauren's nose, is now in a freezer awaiting transfer to the royal ontario museum.
Another unusual and possibly useless fact is that of the dead gulls we found, Great Black-backed Gull was actually the species we found the most. Perhaps the reason some of these GBBG and even the LAGU were at Pelee Island is because they were sick, and eventually succumb to the illness.
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