It's not spring 'til the Goldfinch returns...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Goldfinch grasps his branch

Perched above, his melody

enchants mere mortals

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BarrytheBirder

How many Western hemisphere warblers?

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Canada Warbler

(Wilsonia Canadensis)

There are approximately 115 to 120  species of New World warblers  (wood warblers) in the family Parulidae. These small, migratory birds are found exclusively in the Western Hemisphere, primarily north, Central and South America.   About half of the numerous species occur in in North America.

While they span the Americas, the highest diversity is found in Central America.  Most warbler species are medium to long-distance migrants, breeding in North America and wintering in the Neotropics.  

The Neotropics covers all of South America, Central America, the Caribbean Islands and south North America - specifically southern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula and southern Florida.   The whole region is one of the earth's eight major biogeographic realms, defined by unique plant and animal species.

Wilsons Warbler

Wilsonia pusilla

Orange-crowned Warbler

Vermivora celata

Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

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BarrytheBirder

Finally...a Snowy Owl

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Finally, after waiting the entire winter to see a Snowy Owl, one passed by this morning over Aurora, Ontario, north of Toronto, Ontario.   Many have been reported this past winter hereabouts, but not by me.   For the past couple of years I have had luck spotting them in the northern reaches of the Holland Marsh, at the southern end of Lake Simcoe, near Keswick, Ontario, on the Ravenshoe Sideroad. (see photos above and below).

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BarrytheBirder

I've been publishing this blog for 20 years...

 

I began publishing this daily blog in 2006.  Over the course of 20 years, I have had almost 2 million hits on the site -  It's been a wonderful journey but it's more and more of a challenge to keep it up every day of the year, especially since I'm now in my 85th year and no longer drive.

Nevertheless, maybe just a few more weeks...especially since spring is upon us.

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BarrytheBirder   

More Sabiston's Hawk activity...

The Swainson's Hawk pictured above was recently passed along to my partner Pat by a friend of hers in Barrie, Ontario, north of Toronto, Ontario.

This bird has probably just finished a winter migration from perhaps Alaska or Yukon to Argentina and back up again, a trip possibly of 20,000 kms!  Swainson's Hawks are noted for the longest migrations of any raptor in North and South America.

I have spotted them in Aurora, Ontario for the past two years and except to see them again this year.

More to come shortly, I hope...

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BarrytheBirder

Evening Grosbeaks declining...

 

Male / Photo by Bellmare Celine / Macauley Library

Female / Photo by BarrytheBirder

                                                                                                  Image - Birds Canada

Birds Canada has selected the Evening Grosbeak as its 2026 Avian Ambassador.   83% of the Evening Grosbeak population has been declining across its range in lower Canada and the U.S.A. since the 1970s.   Go to Birds Canada for more information.

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BarrytheBirder

Brant Geese heading to northern Canada...

Airforce Beach - Comox, Vancouver Island

Photos by Dave Kemp

Brant Geese  are seen returning to Kye Bay/Airforce Beach, near Comox, Vancouver Island.   The Brants are in search of their favourite foods: eelgrass and sea lettuce.   These geese are heading north to their summer breeding grounds in northern Canada, as well as northern Greenland and Russia.

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BarrytheBirder

American Crow (Corrus Brachyrynchos)

                                                                                                  Photos by BarrytheBirder

There are approximately 40 to 50 known species of crows and ravens in the world, all of which belong to the genus Corvus within the Corvidae family.  The term 'crow' often refers to smaller, black species, but this genus this genus also includes larger, glossy blackbirds known as ravens, rooks and jackdaws, covering more than 45 species overall.

Crows are found worldwide, inhabiting different regions of North America, parts of South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.   They are not found in the high Arctic or Antarctica.

America Crow, Fish Crow, Hooded Crow, Carrion Crow, and Large-billed Crow are common examples of the species.

The American Crow is a large bird L 24" (61cm), with a large head and long heavy bill.   It is common throughout most of its normal range in a broad variety of habitats.   Its normal range is from north-central British Columbia across Canada to Newfoundland. south to California, east Texas and Florida.

Common Crows winter in southern Canada and across most of the U.S.A.

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                                                                                                             BarrytheBirder

Doves and pigeons in North America...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Mourning Dove

There are three pigeons and four doves to be found in lower Canada, the U.S.A, Mexico and central America.   One pigeon and one dove are most notable: the Rock Pigeon and the Mourning Dove.   I have no affection for Rock Doves, but I am very partial to the Mourning Dove, and have been so ever since first becoming aware of them.

The Mourning Dove has a trim body and a long tail that tapers to a point.   It has black spots on the upper-wings wings and a pinkish wash below.   In flight, they show white tips on their outer tail feathers.

The Mourning Dove's call is a mournful 'oowoo - woo - woo - woo', and its wings produce a fluttering whistle as the bird takes flight.

It is a abundant and widespread dove, found in a wide variety of habitats.

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Barry the Birder

Bald Eagles on Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Photos by Dave Kemp

Flowers at Filburg Park, Vancouver Island

Above and below

Snowdrops

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BarrytheBirder

Eagles on Vancouver Island...

 Photos by Dave Kemp

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle Immature

Full B.C. moon

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Barry Wallace

My first Barred Owl photos...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Hereabout then are some of the first photos I ever took of a Barred Owl, near to where I lived in King City, Ontario, just north of Toronto, Ontario.   It was on November 30 of 2018, and I published them shortly thereafter in this blog space.   

Barred Owls (Strix varia) are seen only by those who seek them out in their dark retreats, usually thick groves of trees in lowland forests.   They rest quietly during the day, coming out at night to feed on rodents, birds, frogs, and crayfish.   If disturbed, they will fly easily from one grove of trees to another.

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BarrytheBirder

Tricoloured Heron (Egretta tricolor)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Tricolored Heron

This is a bird I most familiar with in the Yucatan Peninsula area of Mexico.   They have white bellies and forenecks that contrast with mainly dark blue upperparts.   Their bills are long and slender.   The birds in these photos were very accommodating to the dozens of tourist-photographers, like me, surrounding them. 

These birds were formerly known as the Louisiana Heron.  

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BarrytheBirder

Rufous-sided Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

The Rufous-sided Towhee is a long-tailed robin-sized bird, that occurs widely in forest undergrowth, woodland edges and brushy areas.   It usually feeds on ground in underbrush, foraging noisily in leaf litter by kicking backwards with both feet,   It makes low, short flights from cover to cover.

Rufous-sided Towhees breed from southern British Columbia, east to southern Maine and south to California, northern Oklahoma, eastern Louisiana and Florida.   They winter from southern British Columbia and southern Massachusetts, to lower central U.S., primarily Texas.

Males are primarily black above with a black hood, contrasting with chestnut sides and white underparts.  Females are primarily brown above. 

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BarrytheBirder

Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae)

                                                                               Photo: Bird Bliss

The Lyrebird has been described as nature's ultimate impressionist.   It will mimic a multitude of sounds from other birds, to camera shutters, chainsaws and even car alarms, among others.

Lyrebirds are either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds in the genus Menura, and the family Menuridae.

Wikipedia says they are notable for mimicking a variety of of natural and artificial sounds from their environment, and for the striking beauty of the male's huge tail, especially when fanned out in courtship display.

Lyrebirds have unique plumes of subtly coloured tailfeathers and are among Australia's best-known native birds. 

Wikipedia Photo

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BarrytheBirder

Great White Egret (Ardea alba)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

I took the two photos, above and below, at few years ago at the expansive and well-known Luther Marsh, north-west of Orangeville, Ontario, Canada.  The Luther Marsh can be a bit of a hotspot in southern Ontario each year for Great Egrets.   

This elegant wader, with the a heavy yellow bill and black legs, can be found across the extreme lower reaches of Canada in summer and fall, and in eight or nine eastern U.S. states as well as  the eastern coastline of the U.S. from southern Canada, through Florida and down to Mexico, plus the coastlines of three western coast U.S states.

Egrets populations were decimated by hunting for their white feathers back about 1900, when their recovery was due largely thanks to the Audubon Society, a newly formed birding association at the time.

This bird is widely regarded as a form of the Great Blue Heron.

    

In the two photos above and below, A Great Blue Heron and and a Great White Egret encounter each other in a small pond in Aurora, Ontario, but the meeting quickly becomes a dispute.   In this encounter, the Great Blue Heron prevailed.

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BarrytheBirder

Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)

                                                                     Photos by BarrytheBirder

Swainson's Hawks are normally found throughout the west half of the U.S.A., as well as the southern edge of Canada's prairie provinces and the northern edge of Mexico.   The pictures featured here were taken far to the east of that normal range, in southern Ontario on the northern edge of Lake Ontario.   It was second year that the Swainson's were seen in this spot.  The first year, 2024, is was a mated pair that were seen.   In 2025, it was presumably the same mated pair that showed up, and went on to raise four young hawks of their own.     \

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BarrytheBirder