Surprisingly, neither Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) or Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) are listed as species having bred in Frontenac Provincial Park. This may be an unintended omission in my source material as suitable habitat exists on many of the larger perimeter and interior lakes. Both species were found tending nests this morning on a small rocky island with a few large eastern white pines. There were enough nesting pairs to label this a colony. I only had time for a quick paddle by this morning but will return soon to accurately census the colony. I must remember to bring some sort of decoy to avoid getting hit by marauding Herring Gulls. I’m not too keen on the idea of capsizing the canoe in a cold lake that is 73 metres deep!

The raven is a personal favourite of mine. Steeped in lore amongst cultures around the globe, they are perhaps the most intelligent of all bird species and their remarkable behaviours can be witnessed throughout the year. A group of recently fledged Common Ravens (Corvus corax) were discovered in a stand of pine on the west side of Clearwater Lake last week. There was no sign of a nest in the treetops but there was a steep cliff on the opposite side of the lake, which may have supported a nesting pair. The youngsters were quite entertaining to watch and they allowed my approach for some decent photos and a better view. In between bouts of raucous calls and chatter to its siblings, this one concentrated on deftly breaking off and strutting around with twigs.

This one seemed the youngest of the three. Here you can clearly see the fleshy gape at the base of the bill, a characteristic of nestlings and their hyper extended maws. Also, this juvenile has the gray eye colour of a very young raven, which will turn chestnut brown as the bird ages.

Finally, an image of one of several Wood Thrush nests in progress this spring. I snapped this photo of the nest with the adult on security detail. For several minutes It perched motionless and just stared at me. It had a certain look in its eyes that seemed to say ‘can I help with you with something?’. I quietly left it to its important work.
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