Mid - February Birding - 2026

I have been birding at the Coves and Greenway Park most of February.  There are a nice variety of ducks at the river. We have had lots of snow through February and some very cold days. Right now (Feb 23/26) the river is very high and fast moving as we had a few mild days and rain/freezing rain.  Here are some of my photos I took recently.

 

Canvasback

Common Goldeneye - female

Bufflehead

Great Blue Heron

Greater Scaup

Redheads

Frigid Cold Days in January 2026

Frigid Cold - Most of January, we've had frigid, cold temperatures feeling like -25c, -27c.  We've had lots of snow, too.  I have been birding out in these temperatures, mainly along the Thames River.  

The last couple of days, I saw Redheads which are not common, Greater Scaups, not common and a female Harlequin Duck (rare).  I've seen lots of Hooded Mergansers, Common Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes and Bufflehead.  A Pied-billed Grebe has been hanging around for awhile.

Great Blue Herons

Pied-billed Grebe

Bald Eagle

Common Merganser (female)

Redhead

Gadwall 

Common Goldeneye

Greater Scaup

Harlequin Duck

Some Rarities this Week

Fanshawe Lake Area- February 3, 2024, -1c, overcast - Lake was half frozen.  I saw Canada Geese, Mallards, Common Mergansers, Northern Pintails, Bald Eagle, Northern Cardinal, American Robin, Blue Jay, Downy Woodpecker, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Juncos, White-breasted Nuthatches, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Goldfinch, and Pine Siskins.

I don't know what kind of spruce trees these are, they are loaded with pine cones.

Pine Siskin

It was nice to see the Northern Pintails.

Northern Pintail

February 9, 2024 - Record breaking temperatures today.  It was 11c in the morning when I was birding.  The afternoon was a record 14c.   Winters sure have changed from when I was young!  I thought I would check the Thames River along Wonderland Road to see what I can find along the river.  Lots of Canada Geese and Mallards and I also found 4 Northern Shovelers. Beautiful ducks - 2 males and 2 females.  We rarely see them in this area.

Below - Female Northern Shoveler in the middle left and female Mallard to the right.

February 10, 2024 - I went to Kilally ESA to find the Greater Scaup which had been sighted this past week.  I finally found it with a couple of Mallards.  This is another duck rarely seen in our area.

End of February Birding

I have been out birding but have not seen anything different for the past few weeks.  We've had some really cold days in February.

Last week, I went to Greenway Park to see what was around.  It was a little milder today and sunny.  Most of the ducks were along the banks of the river trying to keep warm.  Lots of Canada Geese, Mallards, some Black Ducks, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye,  Hooded Mergansers and Common Mergansers.  

Common Mergansers and Mallards

Common Goldeneye

Common Merganser (female)

Always nice to see a Robin.

One day, I went out to Killarney Ponds, east London.  There were reports that a Redhead and a Greater Scaup were there.  I saw both of them, first of the year for me.

Redhead

Greater Scaup

While I was out the east end of the city, I went to Fanshawe CA.  It was a very cold day, feeling like -14c so I didn't stay too long.  I checked out the Tamarack Trail Area.  There were lots of Dark-eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, White-throated Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Tree Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees, and Red-breasted Nuthatches

White-throated Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Dark-eyed Juncos

Tree Sparrow

Yesterday, I went to Canterbury Park.  I have not been there since the Fall.  The pond is still frozen over.  I saw some Blue Jays, American Robins, Mourning Doves, Northern Cardinals and American Crows.

Red-tailed Hawk

Looking forward to seeing some signs of Spring next week!