November catch up and Santa Claus Parade.

 

November 9th, J.J. Ruggers taught a beginners Rug Hooking Class at Waterford Agricultural Museum. Pam, Heather, Linda, Pat and I taught 12 students to make a 5" by 5" mat.

Each student was provided with a hoop, hook and pattern along with some handouts. Heather spoke about the history of rug hooking and we all shared information about some of the hooked pieces we had bought along to show them.

They picked out the colours they wanted to use to make a log cabin pattern. My monochromatic sample is in this photo. The wool was donated by J.J. Ruggers members.

We worked in an area surrounded by displays depicting the history of the area with a focus on agriculture, in a building that had once been a pickle factory.

Looking for a different place to walk, Rick and I went to the little park near Selkirk that we had walked back in the days of Covid. Iffy looking weather

but it didn't actually rain.

We watched a Bald Eagle fly into a tree and then realized that there were 2 there.

Back at home, all that splashing

is another feeding frenzy on the lake.

Rick and I watched, literally, thousands of birds fly in. Streaming "Vs" of ducks and swooping gulls. All feeding before heading south.

Janis had the idea to use the tetrahedrons (that we use for the start/finish line when racing) in the Santa Claus parade. So this week we worked out how to change them in to Tetra Claus.

We worked in Janis and Brian's garage which is also where the Sailing School float was decorated. Then they were transported to the start of the parade route.

All the floats waited near the harbourside condos for Santa to arrive by fishing tug, escorted by the Coast Guard.

The L.P.Bay Y. C. are in the marina where Spellbound is docked.

They won Best Christmas Themed Float. That's a Tetra Claus coming to congratulate them.

The PDYC Race Division has had the walking boats in the parade for over 10 years now but this year only one walked.

We are all getting older, so this year

most of them became sitting boats,

on a trailer with waves along the sides.

Won Best Non-Commercial Float.

I didn't get to see Santa arrive but suddenly we were moving out.

Someone suggested that the Tetras should be one at the front and one at the back of the race division float representing the start and the finish lines.

So that's what we did. I pulled mine up to the front (photo by Rick)

and Janice had hers at the back. The Sailing School followed us. (Photo by Rick)

 We went up the hill, through downtown, left on Nelson, back down George St and deposited Santa at the Lighthouse Theatre for kids to go and visit. The streets were lined with people, waving, calling "Merry Christmas" at times. Candy was given out. The bag that Rick was using broke and he said there was a childrens "feeding frenzy" when the candy spilled out. The younger kids seemed to love the Tetra Santas but older ones didn't know what to make of them and as we were rolling away, after the end, a woman asked what they were. She had thought they were some kind of blow up pizza.

Back in the truck, he doesn't look too happy that his time in the spotlight is over. He will be deflated, returned to storage and next summer its back to the weekly grind (get blown up, transported out into the lake, anchored in a spot, see the boats go by, one, two, sometimes 3 times, get pulled back in a boat, deflated, put back in the shed until next race)

We stopped to pet the Belgiums that had pulled Santa in the parade and then dove up to Simcoe and watched the documentary about the Port Dover Commercial Fishery, "Netting the Waters". It was excellent. Followed by dinner at The Barrel. Altogether a wonderful day.

Didn't intend to go birding at Turkey Point

 The day after seeing the owls Rick and I went for a walk at Turkey Point Provincial Park.

Not a long walk,

Lookout Bluff Trail is just over 2km,

mostly sandy footing but I regularly managed to trip over tree roots

hidden below the thick covering of crunchy leaves.

You can usually count on Turkey Point being calm but the wind was from the East and the waves were rolling in.

After our walk we drove down the hill to the community of Turkey Point.

Risk's family had a cottage there so it is his old "stomping grounds" and we like to see the continuing process of knocking down the old, small cottages and building monsters. Constantly amazed that they will risk the fact that they are only inches above lake level. 

I was driving and Rick suddenly announced that a Bald Eagle was flying directly above us.

He landed in a nearby tree and I pulled over to take pictures.

He flew off and we followed him, driving, so occasionally losing sight of him. He lit in first one tree then another and we parked down by the beach hopeful that we could catch sight of him again.

We thought we had lost him

and then noticed him out over the lake.

He was definitely hunting and

a couple of opportunistic gulls were staying close.

In this shot you can see his talons extended

and in this, the head of the fish he caught.

But the fish was heavy, he had a hard time lifting it

and the gulls, harassing him, were persistent, so he ended up dropping it

and flyng back to the beach

where he could sit in a tree and contemplate his bad luck and the rudeness of gulls.

He flew off, inland, and we lost sight of him soaring along the bluffs towards Port Dover. It had been an invigorating period of time, buffeted by the wind on the beach and entranced by the antics of the birds.

Birding at Long Point

 Rick and I headed to Long Point, still trying to get a regular walk in. The Causeway had a cluster of birders so we stopped to take a look.

Sandhill Cranes over head

but landing too far away

to get a good photo.

On the other side of the road, a flock of

Dunlin, wading and digging in the shallow water and mud banks.

A Wilson's Snipe, camouflaged in the rushes.

A Killdeer and

a Great Blue Heron rounded out the sightings for that spot.

Next we took the walk around the marsh, just off the causeway. This Heron was at the start

but not much to be seen after that. Swans, Canada Geese and ducks that were too far away to identify.

We did see lots of these...Woolly Bear Caterpillars.

Rust-and-black banded woolly bears are the larvae of Isabella tiger moths. They’re born completely black. Their orange-brown middle sections appear as they get older and grow longer (up to 5 cm).

So how do these caterpillars foresee the future? Allegedly, a caterpillar with a wide rust-coloured midsection and narrow black bands at either end of its body forecasts a mild winter; a caterpillar with the opposite colouration predicts a long, harsh winter. In reality, the thickness of the caterpillar’s rust or black bands has to do with its age and growth rate. Each time a woolly bear moults, the rust-coloured portion of its body gets longer.

Woolly bears are most noticeable in fall, around the time that we’re hit with the first frosts. Look for them inching across roads and driveways, on their way to find a spot to overwinter in the leaf litter or under rocks and rotting logs. Look, but don’t touch—unless you’re willing to risk a rash. Woolly bears may appear fluffy, but their coats have tiny barbs at the tips that can break off and irritate your skin. from cottagelife.com

Next we walked the trail on the north side of Erie Ave. A couple of Mourning Doves and more Woolly Bears but not much else. We were surprised how little water there was in the marsh. It was a wet summer but has been a very dry fall.

Walked the trail at the banding station

and discovered they were banding owls that night.

So , home for supper, and then drove back to see the owls being banded. Its touch and go with owl banding. I have gone with George, the kids, Cyndy and sometimes you stand around, cold, listening to the tape of owl calls playing and get to see nothing as the owls aren't buying it.

It was a clear night, no wind, and we marveled at the night sky while waiting for the first 'net run" (I saw 2 shooting stars). They came back with 2 bags....2 owls. It was our lucky night.

First bag....a Saw-Whet Owl. Then my camera battery died and all the rest of the photos are taken with Rick's phone which struggled with the low light levels that are used to protect the Owls night vision.

She flapped her wings a few times

but generally stayed very still and "co-operative" while being examined, banded and weighed.

 The northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus) is a species of small owl in the family Strigidae. The species is native to North America. Saw-whet owls of the genus Aegolius are some of the smallest owl species in North America. They can be found in dense thickets, often at eye level, although they can also be found some 20 ft (6.1 m) up. Saw-whets are often in danger of being preyed upon by larger birds of prey. The northern saw-whet owl is a migratory bird without any strict pattern. From Wikipedia

This shows how dim it was and also the Live Stream TV. One of the staff said that locals use the Livestream on Youtube to see if there is any action before deciding to come down and see the banding.

The next bird out of a bag was a Screech Owl

 

They were not trying to attract a Screech Owl, Saw-Whet calls were being played. But he came in to try and catch the smaller Saw-Whet. Instead he got caught in the net and banded.
 

Bigger and fluffier and

 

with feather tufts on his head (These aren't ears. Their ears are slits behind their eyes, hidden by feathers)

The first two owls were put back in bags and put in a dark area so their eyes could adjust and then they were released. Soon after, another Saw-whet was netted and bought in to be measured

examined (age is determined by the colours of the feathers)

assessed

and then held for the cameras before being kept in the dark and released.

We were very lucky. Saw 2 Saw-whets and 1 Screech Owl in a short period of time. When they are banding they do it for a 4hr period but if they keep catching owls they keep going and one night banded until 2:30am. They have caught over 50 on a good night but can have nights where they catch none.