Day two started early with us heading to Holiday Beach Conservation Area for the annual Festival of Hawks. The Windsor Essex Tourism site states that "Holiday Beach was identified by Audubon Magazine as one of the top sites in North America for raptor viewing." Every year thousands of Hawks fly over the Holiday Beach Conservation Area. I don't know how many different Hawks were identified, but I recall hearing the bird counters identify Sharp-shinned Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, and some Bald Eagles. Other birds that were there were Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, and some Mute Swans. There were also other small birds passing through. Also the odd butterfly was passing through. At the Festival they have different organizations and vendors with displays. I missed it while I was on the tower, but there were also birds released for the onlookers.
Osprey in flight.
But the highlight of the day and possibly the weekend was the fact that first thing I saw when I got there, was an Osprey sitting in a tree on the other side of the pond. So of course I stopped to take a few pictures. It was a little far away, but it was fantastic just to see it. And as I was taking pictures it few out of that tree, and with complete amazement it flew over to my side of the pond and landed in a tree extremely close to me. I couldn't believe it. The unfortunate part was that it was facing the other direction. Thinking that it would probably fly away, I still had to try and get on the other side of this bird so I could get a shot of the front side of this beautiful creature. Luckily for me, it just stayed in the tree unfazed by my presence or with anyone else.
The Osprey spotted a fish.
It was amazing as it tilted its head around like a bobble head. I wasn't sure at first why it was doing that, then I realized it was looking for a fish to catch. Even from the tree, this bird can see the fish. It left the tree in a heck of a hurry, and hit the water like a cannonball. Unfortunately this attempt had no reward. I took several pictures as it came back to the tree. Hoping for another chance at getting pictures of this large bird catching a fish wasn't meant to be. Or so I thought. As it sat in the tree, it didn't seem interested at making another attempt, so I moved on to see the displays and head to the lookout tower.
Eastern Comma. The Comma gets its name from the comma marking on the underside of their wing.
It's hard work getting up the stairs of the tower. I think they should put in an escalator, or perhaps carry less weight up. It seems every year my camera gear gets heavier. The top of the tower gives you an amazing look over the marsh, pond and Lake Erie. Not too long after I got up there, a Great Blue Heron landed on a No Trespassing sign. Not for long, just long enough for me to get a few pictures. I could also see a Great Egret fishing off in the distance. There were also a few Mute Swans floating about constantly sticking their heads in the water looking for something to eat. Mute Swans aren't known to migrate so they must have been there to enjoy the festival.
Broad-winged Hawk.
I spent a long time in the heat to watch the Hawks fly over. There were several that flew over. Most were too far away to get a picture of, but there were others that were within range. Even if there had not of been any photo opportunities, it was still very cool to see. It was amazing how quickly and easily the bird counters could identify the birds. Something that is difficult for me for a lot of different species, even with a picture and an identification book. It's something that you need to spend a lot of time on.
The Osprey has a fish in its sights.
Osprey in flight with its supper.
Great Blue Heron Fishing.
The Great Blue Heron impersonating a Swan.
I wasn't sure when to leave. I didn't want to leave too early or too late. I didn't want to miss anything. I figured that after the bird counters had left, maybe I should too. My theory was they would know better than I when the birds would stop moving. I was the last one on the tower so after a few more scans of the sky, I decided it was time to head out. I didn't get far when I witnessed and photographed a Great Blue Heron fishing. Strangely after it seemed to miss the fish, it floated around doing an impersonation of a Swan. I had never seem that behavior before. It was very interesting. I took lots of pictures here, then decided to move along and make our way back to the car.
Osprey with its catch in the tree.
Yet again, we didn't get far. Up in the same tree close to the trail was the Osprey. I had already taken many pictures but I didn't know if I'd ever get another chance to be so close to an Osprey again, so I stopped to take several more pictures. What made it better is the Osprey made two more attempts to catch a fish but Unfortunately it was unsuccessful. I was really hoping to see the catching of the fish, but just the attempts were amazing to see. As I was about ready to call it a day, the Osprey headed to the water for a fish again. It's amazing how hard they hit the water. Like a cannonball feet first. And this time, low and behold it came up with a fish as it struggled to get airborne. It seemed to be a struggle to get above to water enough to take flight. I took as many pictures as I could, as the Osprey flew off in the distance with its meal. Thinking that was the end of my day, the Osprey, after going out of sight, returned to the tree it was previously in to have its supper. It took a while for it to start eating the fish, but it started eating it in very small bites. I got some more pictures and also took a short video. After watching this incredible display, it was time to call it a day.
Osprey pulling the fish out of the water.
Off to the car we went, punched in our new destination into the GPS, and headed to Leamington for the night. Once we got in our room, we headed out for supper. We wanted to go to the same restaurant as we did last year called Gilligan's. Unfortunately we couldn't find it. But what we did find was the same restaurant just with a new name. It was called The Crave. Another recommended restaurant. Great food, with great service, and a selection of craft beer from the area. We finished our meals and walked back to our room on a beautiful night. We sure lucked out with the weather.
I won't mention the name of the place we stayed at because we won't be going back. With all the noise above, and the lock not working properly on the door, and some random dude walking into our room, and not getting an answer at the front desk, there was no way we were going to stay a second night. We originally thought that was going to be our plan, but no way that was going to happen after those events. It worked out for the better as we discovered a great place the next day. I will talk about that in the Day 3 of our 2nd Annual Migration Adventure.
Till next time,