Duck Time

‘Duck Lookin’ Earl Plato

We travel the Niagara Parkway quite often because it is a beautiful drive. This year we saw the colourful Harlequin male duck and his mate neqr Nicholl’s Marina in south Fort Erie. Actually we were looking for the Bald eagle. In winter ime Elaine and saw the majestic bird perched in a giant river willow near Black Creek. This late April day we headed north along the Parkway. It was an Bald eagle watch. As we approached the Black Creek bridge we saw it. A large bird was perched in a willow. Slow down! Then I recognized the bird - a Black-crowned night heron. Hey, this was mid-morning. As its name implies it is mainly nocturnal. Other ones I have seen in daylight on Miller’s Creek are in the reed beds or roosting in nearby trees. Its a good sized bird - medium sized compared to the Great blue. It has a rather short neck and of course a black crown.
Wait until dusk or night and listen. I had grandson, Luke O’Brien, describe the bird he had seen up north. Luke mimicked the bird’s call. I knew what it was - the Black-crowned night heron. I showed him a Peterson profile and played the bitd’s call. “That’s it, grandpa!”
Listen to the harsh, barking quawk! Approach their sites at nesting time and you will hear a great deal of croaking, barking and screaning calls. Unforgettable and they live locally.
I am patrolling this Spring the Welland River in Wainfleet at dusk. Will I hear the Black-crowned?
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Saw a pair of Ospreys and their nest on Beaver Lake on this past Victoria weekend. Where? North of Napanee off Highway 41. I have observed the Osprey over the years throughout Ontario. While at Irwin Lodge, Stony Lake we saw the platform nests and the wonderful flight of these masked birds with their swept-backed wings like that of the Peregrine falcon. We watched as one zoomed down to the lake’s surface and clutch a fish with ease. You know the story. This expert bird is well adapted for capturing fish which makes up its total diet. Hence the nickname “Fish hawk.”