Dufferin Marsh ~ Schomberg

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

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BarrytheBirder

No real bird today...but an attractive facsimile...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

King Road and Patton Street ~ King City

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BarrytheBirder

One Great Egret still at McKenzie Marsh in Aurora

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Great Egret

This lingering Great Eagle was in Aurora's McKenzie Marsh, on the south side of the St. John's Sideroad, east of Yonge Street on this past Wednesday.   A few Canada Geese were keeping it company and a duck or two were passing under the sideroad visiting the north and south sections of the Marsh.

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Slim pickin's for birdwatchings at local lake...

 

                                                                                                        Photos by BarrytheBirder

I went birdwatching today at nearby Lake Wilcox and was rewarded with one gull sitting on a post.   It was cold and windy but sunny and I should have done better.   I decided to shoot a couple of pictures of lakeside features (see below).

Above: Glass and metal tree sculpture

Below: Along the water promenade

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BarrytheBirder

There is more than one kind of Junco...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

DARK-EYED JUNCO

(Junco hyemalis)

Pictured above is what I think of when I hear the name Dark-eyed Junco, an easily recognized bird which I thought looked the same all over North America.   I have now learned that there are perhaps three to twelve species and subspecies of Junco (and maybe even a thirteenth) in Canada, the USA and Mexico.  One of those species even has yellow eyes - not dark eyes.  The Junco is one of my favourites but I seem to have taken it for granted for many years.   I have since learned much more about these lovely little creatures and am glad of it.

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BarrytheBirder

Juvenile Hairy Woodpecker can't solve feeder...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

A first-year Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) tries to figure out how the feeder works, but is reduced to hanging upside down to find a solution.  Even advice from a nearby Chickadee wasn't helpful.   

It eventually gave up and moved to other feeders in the backyard.

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BarrytheBirder

October slips away...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Birdbath to hibernate

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BarrytheBirder

Dave Kemp's British Columbia Birds...

Photos by Dave Kemp

SNOW GEESE 

(Above)

Here are some photos from my west-coast friend Dave Kemp.   Dave captured these shots at Garry Point Park, a large waterfront park located at the tip of Richmond, B.C., close to historic Steveston Village, looking out over grand vistas of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

Golden-crowned Sparrow

(Zonotrichia atricapilla)

Found along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico

Juvenile Cedar Waxwings

Pine Siskins

B.C. birds or boats ~ take your pick

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BarrytheBirder

Biggest eagles in the world...

  

The biggest eagle in the world is the Harpy Sea Eagle (see Wikipedia photo at right), closely followed by the Harpy's Eagle and the Philippine Eagle.   These three raptors are extremely close in size.  My conclusion of the largest one is basely simply on the totality of their disparate bodily measurements, i.e. length + weight + wingspan.   There are far- reaching differences of opinion on this matter, with no real definitive answer.   North America's Golden Eagle and Bald Eagle are big, but the three above are a bit bigger.

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Barrythe Birder  

Local ponds and parks...

Temperanceville Pond ~ King Road

Bottoms up!

Prescient  words from 226 years ago

Richmond Hill Millpond

Dufferin Street ~ south of Temperanceville

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Roger Tory Peterson quote:

Black and White Warbler photo by Barry the Birder

"Birds are an ecological litmus paper"

Wikipedia has just reported that "Out of approximately 11,154 known bird species 159 (1.4%) have become extinct, 226 (2%) are critically endangered, 461 (4.1) are endangered, 800 (7.2%) are vulnerable and 108 (9.1%) are near threatened".  There is a general consensus among scientists who study the trends that if human impact on the environment continues as it has, one-third of all bird species and an even greater proportion of bird populations will be gone by the end of this century".

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BarrytheBirder

Dufferin Marsh, Dr. Kay Drive ~ Schomberg

                                                                                                              Photos by BarrytheBirder

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BarrytheBirder

Unofficial mascot of Seneca College?

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Canada Geese are to be found everywhere, including nearby Seneca College on the outskirts of my village of King City.  I've decided to feature them in today's blog because I've had so many chores to do...so herewith:

Have you ever seen a skinny or unhealthy looking Canada Goose?   No?   

Me neither.

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BarrytheBirder

Free-ranging fowl in the Holland Marsh...

     Photos by BarrytheBirder

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BarrytheBirder