Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)

 

(Photo by Pat Cromie)

Pictured above is me (BarrytheBirder) wearing a new Snowy Owl t-shirt that I recently purchased from Black Maple Trading in Montreal, Quebec. 

Photo by Wayne Comerford

The Snowy Owl (23" / 58 cm.) was adopted as Quebec's official bird in 1987.

This the only all-white owl in Canada and females and juveniles are similar, but show more dusky barring than males...old males may be pure white.

The Snowy Owl is large with a rounded head and yellow eyes.  They are heavy-bodied and breed on Arctic tundra and winter on grasslands, marshes, coastal beaches, and dunes. 

They are active in daylight and darkness, often perching on the ground or close to it on posts, rocks, dunes, ice, hay bales, or even buildings.

They eat primarily small mammals, particularly voles and lemmings on the breeding grounds, but also fish and some birds.

Winter diet includes both mammals and a variety of birds, including waterfowl.

Males defend nests and and young fearlessly, doing a "crippled bird" routine to lure predators away from nests and young.

They will retreat from the nothern-most parts of range in winter.

When lemming populations drop, they may move south into the northern tier of states, wandering in winter as far south as Oklahoma and Virginia, and sometimes to Gulf Coast states.

These birds are fairly common on the breeding grounds, but casual to rare south of the breeding range.   

Their population is considered stable because of remoteness from human habitation and disturbance.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Canada Goose ( Branta canadensis)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Long ago known mainly as a wilderness bird, the "honker" has adapted to life on golf courses and city parks, extending its year-round range.

Basic pattern is unmistakable, with its white chinstrap on its black head and neck.   Different populations vary noticeably in  size and vary in body colour (from white-chested to very dark).

The smallest forms (no bigger than Mallards) might represent a different species, sometimes called "Cackling Goose".   This goose is a Canadian symbol, but is now found in many parts of the world, including North America (including Alaska), Britain, Europe and New Zealand.

(The photo above by Brawley Parekh)

Please comment if you wish.

Barry the Birder

Northern (Baltimore) Oriole (Icterus galbula)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Where do Baltimore Orioles spend the winter?

Most Northern (Baltimore) Orioles spend the winter in the tropics, such as in shade-grown coffee plantations , forest edges and citrus groves in Central America, southern Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula, and northern South America (such as Columbia and Venezuela).

A small number over-winter along Florida and the Gulf Coast.  Some stragglers even stay in coastal California or even backyard feeders in the eastern U.S.

Orange and black, orange and black,

The Baltimore Oriole is in  fact,

Part of nature's art abstract.

Pleasent if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus)

   Photo by Frontenac Arch Biosphere 

This is a bird named for the sound it makes.  Its song is a loud "Whip-poor-will" (clear and mellow in eastern birds  particularly, with accent on the first and last syllables).

Its overall range is lower eastern Canada and most of the eastern US.  It is uncommon to fairly common, but local and declining in coniferous and mixed woodlands in the east.

Whip-poor-wills are mottled gray/brown overall, wings are rounded, tail long and rounded.

While best located and identified by it distinctive call, it is hard to see because it often sits on the ground or on a long branch.   Its pattern closely resembles the leaf litter of the wood lots it prefers.

These birds have rounded wings which when folded do not reach the tip of the tail.

Males are similar to females, but their their throats are bordered with white and their tail have large white patches.

Obviously, the bird's call is a loud, clear "Whip-Poor-Will". Kenn Kaufman, in his 'Birds of North America', describes the voice as 'a rolling chant:"whip, prrr WEEL"!

Whip-poor-wills have declined in the east in recent decades due to habitat loss caused by forest fragmentation and development.

The species is federally protected in the U.S.A.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Northern Hawk-Owl (Surnia ulula)

Photo by Steven Sachs / Audubon Photography Awards

The Northern Hawk-Owl  (16" - 41 cm.) is a crow-sized hawk-like owl of boreal forests and northern muskegs.   They often perch noticeably at the top of conifers and slowly raise and lower their long, barred, rounded tails in the manner of a kestrel.

They have yellow eyes (like most owls), and no ear tufts or "horns".

Although uncommon to rare and preferring to live remote from human, they often allow close approaches and appear tame.

They are often seen perched high in spruce trees.   They fly close to the ground with rapid flapping and gliding when hunting...sometimes hovering.

The Northern Hawk-Owl eats small mammals up to the size of young snowshoe hares and birds as large as ptarmigans.

They have long tails and falcon-like profiles.   They are easily identified by their black-bordered facial disks.   Underparts are barred with brown.

While rarely seen south of their normal range across the Canadian provinces, they do retreat slightly in winter from the northernmost part of their range.    The photos I have taken  of this owl were taken a few kilometres north of Toronto, above Lake Ontario.

They are monogamous breeders and produce one brood per year.

Because of the closeness one can get to these high-perched birds, they can be very photographable.

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx Californianus)

Photos - Audubon Field Guide

The Greater Roadrunner is a big (l.22" - 58 cm.) cuckoo.   It has a long heavy bill, noticeable bushy crest, and a long, white-edged tail.   Its short, rounded wings show a white crescent on the primaries.

Its song is dove-like cooing, descending in pitch.

It is found round-and-about Texas, parts a few other nearby U.S. states, and northern Mexico.

It is uncommon in its range and eats insects, lizards, snakes, rodents and small birds.

The Roadrunner has a running speed of 20 to 27 mile per hour (32 to 43 kms.) ...much slower than its animated cartoon character.

They do not have a documented flying speed because they rarely fly and can only sustain brief, low altitude glides or short bursts of flight for a few seconds.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrythBirder

Swainson's Hawks heading to Argentina...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Swainson's Hawks that haver spent the summer in Aurora, Ontario, several kilometers north of Toronto on Lake Ontario, have been heading south, although a few stragglers have remained into mid-October.   The long migration south can take all of two months when they journey as far south as central Argentina (a distance of 9,000 kms.)   Other South American wintering destinations include Uruguay, Paraguay and southern Brazil.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Yellow-shafted Flicker (note black moustache)

Red-shafted Flicker (note red moustache)

Northern Flickers (both Yellow-shafted and Red-shafted types) are found from Alaska, across Canada (from British Columbia to Newfoundland), and throughout the eastern U.S., down to Florida.

Notably, Yellow-shafted Flickers have a black moustache stripe, while Red-shafted Flickers have a red moustache stripe.

Flickers are the only brown-backed woodpeckers in the east, and they are the only woodpeckers in North America that commonly feed on the ground, usually searching for ants and beetle larvae.

Red-shafted Flicker (preening)

On the great plains of America, the "Yellow-shafted" and "red-shafted" forms meet, interbreed, hybridize and are considered one species.

Northern birds move south in winter.

No other woodpecker is barred with gray-brown and black, with white rump.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

Photo by Sharif Uddin / Macauley Libray

The Barn Owl is a pale owl with dark eyes in a heart-shaped face.  

It is rusty-brown above and its underparts vary from white to cinnamon.

The darkest birds are always females and the palest birds are males .

They roost and nest in dark spots in cities and farm buildings, plus cliffs and trees.   They fly with shallow, slow wingbeats, often with legs dangling down.

They are found coast to coast in the U.S. and Mexico, but are declining in the East, especially in the upper midwest.

I have never seen one where I live in southern Ontario, north of Toronto.   My National Geographic Field Guide says the Barn Owl "...is now extirpated as a breeder from the northern tier of states and southern Ontario.

Conservation-wise, Barn Owls are listed as threatened in some U.S. states, and the eastern population is listed as endangered in Canada. 

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

More on sparrows...

 On October 6th I wrote in this blogsite about about the House Sparrow (called the the English Sparrow in Britain).

Today, I'd like to write about two of my other favourite sparrow species: the American Tree Sparrow and the Chipping Sparrow.

Photos by BarrytheBirder

The American Tree Sparrow is much different from the House Sparrow.   For starters, It has a much smaller range.   In summer it is found across northern Canada from the Yukon territory across to northern Quebec.

In winter, it resides across the very southernmost parts of Canada and across the upper half of the U.S., with the exception of Oregon and Washington states.

After nesting near frigid tundra regions, flocks of these sparrows migrate south to the central and eastern United States, where they are found to be conspicuous and relatively tame.

They forage on the ground, in foliage and in snow, eating mostly seeds.  Found at bird feeders also, they eat caterpillars and insects in summer, plus some berries and willow catkins.

The Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) is common and widespread across Canada and the U.S. in the breeding season.

I winter, they are found across the southern U.S., from Texas to Florida, and northern Mexico, where they become neotropical migrants.

An extremely tame sparrow, it will accept food from human hands.

Its song is a repetitive series of trilled chip notes: "chip-chip-chip-chip-chip-chip ", all at the same pitch.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

(Photo by BarrytheBirder)

The Eastern Kingbird has a black head, slate gray back and its tail has a broad white terminal band.   Its underparts are white, with a pale gray wash across the breast.   A orange-red crown patch is seldom visible, but is revealed during courtship flights.

It is conspicuous and common in woodland clearings, orchards and farms, and is often seen perched on fences and near water.

Its call is a harsh 'dzeet' note.

Now, it will soon be wintering in South America.

The Kingbird's Latin name means "king of the tyrants" and when defending its nest it will sometimes land on the backs of hawks, crows and vultures pulling and pecking at their feathers.

They are common and widespread and have increased their range  and numbers along with agricultural development.

They are a common cowbird host, but will often damage cowbird eggs.

Eastern Kingbirds hawk insects in the air plus they consume fruits and berries.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrythBirder

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

                                                                                                                                     Male

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Females

WORLD'S MOST WIDESPEAD SONGBIRD

The House Sparrow (sometimes called the English Sparrow) was introduced in New York City from Europe in the 1850s.

It is currently found throughout North and South America, Eurasia, North and South Africa and Australia.

A mere 6" (15 cm.), it inhabits both cities and farms.   By the early 20th century, they were established over most of North America

With the popularity of automobiles, they began to decline; fewer horses meant less undigested grain to be gleaned from horse manure.

House Sparrows are noisy and aggressive; found in pairs in the nesting season, but in family groups and flocks after breeding.   They feed and roost in huge flocks, and will take over nesting cavities of other species.

They forage on the ground, in trees and shrubs in both urban and rural areas, looking for insects, caterpillars, seed, grains and fruit.

Overall, the species appears to be gradually declining.   They out-compete other secondary-cavity nesters, but do lose out to Starlings.

As far I know, they are the national bird of nowhere! 

Please comment if you wish.

Barry theBirder

California Quail (Callipepla californica)

Photo by Nancy Christensen / Macauley Library

Here's an interesting bird, both in appearance and behaviour.   Mt National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America says: "Scientific evidence has recently placed the New World Quail in their own family.   All have chunky bodies and crests or head plumes...in North America most live in the west".

However, unlike other quail, the California Quail is found as far north as southern British Columbia, in Canada.   In North America, most quail live in the west, which explains why I have never seen or photographed one in southern Ontario.

Its curled topknot distinguishes it from other quail in its range, except Gambel's Quail, but its scaly underparts distinguish it from the Gambel's.

The California Quail is often found in suburban areas of the U.S. west coast, feeding on lawns or attending feeders with spilled grain on the ground, around garden pools, birdbaths and lawn sprinklers.

My DK Birds of Canada Field Guide by Fred J. Alsop III says the California Quail adapts well to civilization but is declining in some regions because of habitat loss from overbuilding.

Alsop also notes this quail is 'solitary or paired in the breeding season....in fall, gathers in well-organized coveys of up to 100....  sentinel stands guard from perch while birds feed, at same place regularly, 1-2 hours before and after sunset....mostly vegetarian; eats some insects and spiders'.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis))

Photo by Celine Pollard - Fine Art America

The Gray Jay, a.k.a. the Canada Jay, Whiskey Jack (or Whisky Jack), Camp Robber, Moose Bird, Gorby (gorbie bird), Venison Hawk or Lumberjack also has an indigenous name: Wisakedjak (Algonquin).   The Gray Jay name is also spelled Grey Jay occasionally. 

It has come close to being called the national bird of Canada, but  does not have that official designation yet.

I became richly familiar with the Gray Jay on many canoe trips in southern Ontario, particularly throughout Algonquin Park, as a teenager and young adult.

Painting by Robert Bateman

The Gray Jay is know for its bold behaviour from Alaska, coast to coast in Canada, and on the U.S. north-west coast, plus the mountains of the U.S. mid-west.

They are common to fairly common in conifer and mixed-conifer forests, but declining in some areas due to timber harvesting.  They are vulnerable to habitat loss from logging operations and forest fragmentation.

They will visit feeders with corn, suet and sunflower seeds.   They are voracious beggars for handouts on canoe trips, as mentioned above.

Their voices include a whistled 'wheeo' and a loud 'chuck'.

They are largely resident in their normal range, but can be casual visitors in winter even slightly south of their normal resident range.

I have always had a special place in my heart for the Common Loon to be Canada's national bird, but if is meant for the Gray Jay to be Canada's national bird, it is fine with me.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)

 

Photo by Barry the Barry

I have half a dozen birding field guides that I refer to when writing my 'BarrytheBirder' blogs.

As a Canadian, the one I find I am using more and more is the DK BIRDS OF CANADA FIELD GUIDE  BY Fred J. Alsopp.

It is 575 pages and profiles 524 species of the birds that occur in Canada.   The illustrations are all excellent full-colour photographs.

The guide I am using is the Canadian edition, produced in 2005.  It was priced back then at $30.00...God knows what it might cost today in 2026!

Please comment if you wish.

Barry the Birder

Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)

This plump-bodied warbler has a wider range than any other North American warbler, nesting from Canada to Mexico and from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts.

A habitat generalist, like many warblers, it feeds harmful leaf-eating caterpillars to its nestlings.

Here's the really interesting part about this bird...

When a cowbird invades and lays eggs in this warbler's nest, the female builds a roof over all of the eggs, both hers and the brood parasite's, and often lays a new set on the 'new' nest floor.  As many as six stories have been found in a single nest, each floor containing entombed cowbird eggs...this according to Fred J. Alsopp, in his DK Birds of Canada Field Guide....fascinating!

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Warblers are now heading south...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Canada Warbler (Wilsonia canadensis)

There are 32 species of warblers that reside in Canada.   18 of those species make it as far north as Canada's North West Territories.

Moreover, there are 6 other warbler species in the Parulidae family that are found in Canada. 

They are:

American Redstart

Ovenbird

Northern Waterthrush

Louisiana Waterthrush

(rare in south-eastern Canada)

Common Yellowthroat

Yellow-breasted Chat

(significant decline in much of its eastern range 

of Canadian maritime provinces and Newfoundland 

- Yellowbreasted Chat is also the largest American warbler)

Yellow Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Pine Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Tenessee Warbler

American Redstart

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Hits on this blog about to go over 3 million!

Self-portrait photo in the rear-view mirror of my Jeep 

I have been a birder since my 20s and have publishing this blog since 2006.   The number of hits on this blog are about to go over 3 million.  Never in the past did I ever wonder how many people might stumble upon 'BarrytheBirder'.

I am about to celebrate my 85th birthday and although I don't get around as much as I used to, I am going to continue producing this blog for a while to come.   I have lots of files of bird photos that I have taken over the years and there is a wealth of online info about birds that I can access.

I am as keen about birding as I ever was.

I hope online birders will continue to look me up.

Regards and good birding,

BarrytheBirder 

My favourite sparrows...

 

Photo by Barry the Birder

White-throated Sparrow

Zonotrichia albicollis)

Photo by Barry the Birder

White-crowned Sparrow

(Zonotrichia leucophrys)

I am familiar with many sparrow species but my two favourites are the White-throated Sparrow and the White-crowned Sparrow.   I have seen these two species over several decades whiles living in King Township, on the Oak Ridges Moraine, a few kilometres north of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario.

I particularly like these two species because of their eye-catching appearance with their black and white head markings. 

Both species are commonly found in my part of the world.

The White-throated Sparrow's song is a clear, whistled "Pure Sweet  Canada, Canada, Canada", while the White-crowned Sparrow's song is a series of clear whistles followed by buzzy notes.

The White throated Sparrow's upperparts are streaked, with underparts clear gray.   Its head has black-and-white stripes; sharply defined white throat patch and dark bill.   The White-crowned Sparrow is similar but lacks the white throat patch and is slimmer, with a pink bill.

Both of these largish sparrows are approximately 6 to 7 " (15 to 17 cm.)

Both are well-known across Canada and the U.S.  Generally speaking both species summer in northern Canadian forests and many winter in the lower forests of the U.S., although some White-Crowneds live all-year along the Pacific Coast. 

In the case of the White-Throated Sparrow, two colour morphs are based on head-striping: field studies show that white-striped males tend to mate with tan-striped females, and tan-striped males tend to mate more with white-striped females ( see photo below)...

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)

Photo: Tennessee Wildlife Resources

I regret to say I have never seen an Ovenbird, that I know of, even though I live in the centre of this warbler's North American range.  It is quite a distinctive looking bird with its coloring and markings, however it does not forage in live vegetation but instead walks about on the ground, foraging among leaf litter and twigs, and its singing is usually done from an elevated perch high up in deciduous trees.

They eat insects, caterpillars, snails, slugs, earthworms, small amphibians, seeds, berries, and fruit.

They are more often heard than seen, singing a loud and repetitive "TEAcher-TEAcher-TEAcher" sound, rising and becoming more emphatic.

They are common in mature forests and their plump bodies are usually seen on the ground walking with their tails cocked, rather than hopping.

There have been signifigant population declines in the northeast of their range beginning in the 1970s, but they are now increasing in much of their range.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder 

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

                                                                    Photo by Ryan Sanderson

My DK Birds of Canada Field Guide says the Barn Swallow is "the most wide-ranging swallow in the world...cosmopolitan...found breeding or wintering on almost all continents".

The Barn Swallow is also the swallow I remember most , from my youth, on visits to my maternal grandfather's  farm north of Toronto, in southern Ontario, in the 1950s.

They eat a wide variety of flying insects and follow farm machinery, even riding lawnmowers, to feed on stirred-up insects.

They have adapted to nesting in and on man-made structures, such as my grandfathers farm buildings and sheds.   They are abundant and widespread in open country and agricultural lands, especially near water.

They are widespread across lower Canada, the U.S.A, and Mexico and they interbreed with with both Cliff and Cave Swallows.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder