Junco thinking about lunch...

                                                                                                                       Photo by BarrytheBirder

                                                      Frozen food?

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BarrytheBirder

Crow and raven side-by-side...

I'm not sure how I came across this picture by a photographer named Garret Lau, but I always thought it showed demonstrably the difference between a crow  and a raven.  The American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is 17.5" (45 cm) long, while the Common Raven (Corvus corax) is almost 6 inches longer than  the crow at 24" (61 cm).   The crow also has a smaller bill than the raven.   Both birds are found in a variety of habitats, but the raven is found farther north and west in North America (including the arctic), but not in the southeast of the United States.   The crow is found throughout the U.S.A. and the lower half of Canada.

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BarrytheBirder

20-year-old coloured sketch retrieved from shredder...

My oldest daughter Allison recently came across this discoloured sketch, of a Northern  Saw-whet Owl, I had done twenty years ago and which I had inadvertently included in some papers destined to be shredded. The sketch was part of my becoming a birdwatcher.   She reclaimed the sketch and put it in a small frame and gifted it to me.   It was a delightful surprise.   This transpired at a time when Allison also had me doing a personal assessment exercise in which I was asked to select a different life career than the one I had lived for decades as a community newspaper marketer.   I told her that I would have liked to have been in the art world - either art creation or art design or perhaps artistic or creative photography.   Her gesture was quite touching and brought back pleasant memories.

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Barry Wallace

Strix nebulosa...

Great

Grey

Owl 

perches

on

girl 

photographer's 

head.

Photo by Beaumon Day

Please comment 

if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Over 18,000 bird species in the world!

Turkey Vulture photo by BarrytheBirder

There are roughly 18,043 bird species in the world, according to a study published in PLOS ONE by the American Museum of Natural History.   This is almost double the previous estimate.   The study focused on "hidden" avian diversity, which includes birds that look similar or were thought to interbreed but are actually different species.

The country in the world with the most species in the world is thought to be the South American country of Columbia, at 1,917, followed by Peru at 1,892 and Brazil at 1,864.   Canada is ranked at 615 species, (5.87%) of the global share.

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BarrytheBirder   

Red-bellied Woodpecker...

 

(Melanerpes carolinus)

Red-bellied Woodpeckers regularly come to feeders, particularly for suet.   Their breeding range has been extending northward but they are rare to Maine and the Maritimes, occuring mostly in the fall and winter.

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BarrytheBirder

Personification of simple nature art...

            (Artist unknown)

                                                                               

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Handfeeding hungry hoverers...

 

Photo - passed along by my sister Diane Wallace in Nova Scotia

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BarrytheBirder

Welcoming each other to winter...

Photo by Barry Wallace

Slate-colored Junco and Goldfinch

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BarrytheBirder

Small and hungry winter birds in Nova Scotia

My sister Diane who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, sent along this great photo of small and hungry winter birds being fed by hand.

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BarrytheBirder

Vancouver Island birds by Dave Kemp...

Immature Black Scoter

Photo by Dave Kemp

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BarrytherBirder

December has arrived...

                                                                       Photo by Barry Wallace

Lake Jonda, Seneca College, Dufferin Street, King Township

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BarrytheBirder

Odd-looking birdfeeders...

 

Photo by Beth O'Kelly

My sister-in-law Beth O'Kelly who lives in London, Ontario, passed along this photo taken in her backyard.   The items in the photo are not hanging, decorative Christmas trees, but rather are snow-covered bird feeders.   Beth says "the birds don't care".

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BarrytheBirder

'Tis the season now...

 

Photos by Barry Wallace

Please

comment 

if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Snowy Owls in York Region...

 Photos by Barry Wallace

My favourite place to see Snowy Owls (Nyctia scandiaca) in York Region is on the Ravenshoe Sideroad, in the Holland Marsh, just below the south end of Lake Simcoe.   I have taken many photos of these spectacular winter visitors perched on fence posts, tops of utility poles and miscellaneous rooftops...and they're always so willing to pose for a photo.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder 

2024 Nature Canada Winning Photo Contest...

                                             Photo By Sara King

...to be featured on the cover of the upcoming 2025 Nature Canada calendar 

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Mourning Doves show off their feathers...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

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BarrytheBirder

Have trouble recognizing a Red-bellied Woodpecker?

I sometimes do.   But a while back, I got the pictures below of a 'Red-bellied' and refer to them every once in a while, as a reminder of what to look for.   I thought I might share them here...

Photos by Barry Wallace

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Canada Geese captured by child photographer...

                     

                                                                         

Photo by Brawley Parekh

                        This photo was taken by my youngest granddaughter 

                         when she was less than 10 years of age.

BarrytheBirder

Canada Geese up close - Richmond Hill Millpond

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder