Uplands North Wetland - Green Heron

I spotted a Green Heron recently at the Uplands North Wetland.  Looking through my bins I noticed it caught a frog.  The frog was hanging out of its beak as the heron was preparing to eat it.  It was amazing to watch.  There are videos on Youtube where one can watch herons catching and eating their prey.  This is the first time I've seen it right in front of me.  The photo of the heron swallowing the frog is blurry.

The Coves and Uplands North Wetland - London, Ontario

Last week, I went to the Coves to see what was around.  A nice row of Wood Ducks were on a fallen tree.

Wood Ducks

Double-crested Cormorant

There were 5 Great Blue Herons.

Great Blue Heron

Solitary Sandpiper

I also saw Mallards, American Robins, Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, American Goldfinches, Black-capped Chickadees, and a White-breasted Nuthatch.

I checked out Greenway Park.  It is still hard to see the river from all the trees and bushes but I found one little opening to see a Great Egret.

Great Egret

At Uplands North Wetland, the water is very low.  There is a large mudflat which the Killdeers, Least Sandpipers and Lesser Yellowlegs like.  A lot of Mourning Doves were on the trees.  At one point, they all took flight and I noticed a Cooper's Hawk came flying in.

Cooper's Hark

I have seen up to 14 Great Egrets together in the middle of the swamp.

Great Egrets

Some shorebirds were also around.  Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeers, and Least Sandpipers.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs 

As the morning sun warmed the wetland, Painted Turtles started crawling out of the mucky water.  I counted up to 12 at one time.

Green Heron

Late August Birding

Week of August 23, a very hot and humid week. I went to Kains Woods and Springbank Park this week.  

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron

The Red-tailed Hawk was comfortable on the tree until the black birds started dive-booming it.

Red tailed Hawk

Northern Flicker

This Green Heron was in the middle of the river on a fallen tree far away.  I used my bins to look at the gulls and that's how I spotted the heron.  Just looking without the bins, one would not know it was there.

Green Heron

Double-crested Cormorant

September 1, 2021 - I went to the Uplands North Wetland to see what was there.  The water is very low with some mudflats.  There was a number of sandpiper species - Solitary Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Killdeer, Semipalmated Plovers and Semipalmated Sandpipers.

I saw 2 Great Blue Herons, a Green Heron and 2 Great Egrets.

Green Heron

There were 2 Great Egrets and one Great Blue Heron at one pond.  The two Great Egrets were flying around like chasing each other and landed where the Great Blue Heron was.  The Great Blue Heron chased the Egrets away but they returned and the 3 were chasing each other at one part of the pond.  I don't know if they were just playing and chasing each other or the Heron really didn't like the Egrets near his section of the pond.