In the Holland Marsh...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Red-tailed Hawk

(Buteo jamaicensis)

I was in the Holland Marsh, the day after Boxing Day, looking for Snowy Owls but could not find a one.   I did find this Red-tailed Hawk however and got its picture at the moment of take-off.   It was big and beautiful.

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BarrytheBirder

On the eastern shore of James Bay...

 

                                                                                                    Photo by April Dawn Georgekish-Gull

Pictured above is my neice, April Dawn Georgekish-Gull.  She is the daughter of my younger sister Denise.   Mother and daughter live side-by-side on the Quebec side of James Bay in the Cree village of Wimindji.   April is a nature nut, so it's no surprise to see her with a Gray Jay on top of her head.   There are three subspecies of Gray Jay in Canada and the ones living in Quebec are known as Perisoreus canadensis.   Nice shot April.   Well done.

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BarrytheBirder

European Starling

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

"Getting a grip"

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BarrytheBirder

On Christmas Eve morning...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

It was Christmas Eve morning, December 24th, at 11 a.m. when I looked at the backyard bird feeders and saw over 50 Pine Siskins busily cleaning up as much spilled seed as they could.   They were the first of the winter and came out of nowhere.   Suddenly a small flock of Starlings arrrived on the scene and the Pine Siskins were gone in a flash.   What a disappointment.   Oh well, hopefully they will return in due course.

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BarrytheBirder

Eastern Screech Owl

I just had to share this charming photo that I saw recently on the Discover Southern Ontario website.   It is an Eastern Screech Owl which drank from a backyard birdbath until chased away by Robins.

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BarrytheBirder

Winter backyard bird bathing binge...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

 

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Barry the Birder

Lake Wilcox frozen over...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Male mallards muse on frozen lake

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BarrytheBirder

Feeding upside down...it's a cinch if you're a finch

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

The American Goldfinchs at the backyard feeders continue to hang upside down from the perches, to get at the Black Niger seeds.   It seems to be the females of the species that feed this way, rather than the males.   It seems the males intimidate the females at the perches where both sexes could feed in an upright position.   This makes the females drop down to bottom perches were they hang upside down to feed.

It's as if the males would never condescend to be seen in such an undignified position (prima donnas)!

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if you wish.

Barry The Birder

World's most beautiful birds....

 What Ontario backyard

birds consistently show up on the 

'World's most beautiful birds lists?'

Blue Jay?  ~  Cardinal?

Northern Oriole?  

Answer: all of them!

Photos by BarrytheBirder

I happened to look at a 'World's Most Beautiful Birds' list on the internet recently and noted that the Blue Jay was on the particular list I was checking out.   I was a bit surprised and out of curiosity checked out some other World's Most Beautiful Birds lists.   Amazingly, the Blue Jay was included in many lists: Top 10, Top Dozen, Top 20, Top 25, etc., etc., etc.   I was surprised.   Then I started to notice that the Northern Cardinal and Baltimore Oriole  were frequently making these lists.  And these were all birds right here in King City. Considering there are about 11,000+ species in the world, I guess all those Blue Jays and Cardinals in my backyard are a good thing.

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if you wish.

Barry

theBirder

.

10' high beaver dam at Cawthra Mulock Nature Reserve...

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

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BarrytheBirder

Whooping Crane surveys cancelled...

Photo: Parks Canada / Klaus Nige

The COVID-19 pandemic has cancelled the 2020 Summer Whooping Crane surveys at Wood Buffalo National Park, according to Rhona Kindopp, the Resource Conservation Manager.   It is hoped both the nest and fledgling surveys will be resumed in 2021.

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BarrytheBirder

Snow Buntings should show up soon...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Snow Buntings ~ a.k.a. 'Snowflakes'

I haven't seen any yet but I'm hoping they show up soon.   I've said in the past they are one of my favourite winter birds.  They have been described as "perching birds that wear snowshoes"   They stay on the ground most of the winter and have a large rear toe (hallux) which along with their other toes keeps them from sinking into the snow.   It's an adaptation to harsh environments.   They're continually searching for seeds through the winter.   A flock of these pretty, mostly white birds is called "A drift of Snow Buntings".   I hope to have new photos soon.

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BarrytheBirder 

STARLING PORTRAITS

Photos by BarrytheBirder 

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Barrythebirder

The Common Starling...with all those spots

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Adult Starlings are normally a glossy black/purple but at this time of year they seem to be covered in hundreds of white spots.   The white spots appear at the start of winter and wear off in the spring and it is the juveniles and non-breeding adults that have these spots.   There are over 200 million of this bird species between Alaska and Mexico.  Migrating starlings can occur in flocks of up to 100,000 birds, while up to 1 million can be found, at night, in communal roosts!

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BarrytheBirder

12th Concession of King...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Giant Bluebird

"...but not a feather to be found"

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BarrytheBirder

North Maple Regional Park on Keele Street

Photos by Barry Wallace

I was driving on the King-Vaughan Road, south of King City, on Monday morning and noticed several large flocks of Canada Geese taking off from the old Fry farm.   The flocks seemed to be heading south-east towards Maple and I guessed so many geese might be heading for the large pond at the North Maple Regional Park, on the east side of Keele Street.   I followed them and sure enough that's where most of them were heading.   When I got there I took the pictures you see here and then made a quick count/estimate of the numbers of birds.   I counted about 400 and there were more still coming.  They made quite a show...and noise.

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BarrytheBirder

 

 

White herons in the Holland Marsh...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Alas, they do not fly.

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BarrytheBirder

Marsh raptors

Photo by BarrytheBirder

The Holland Marsh in mid-December is the place to see Red-tailed Hawks, like the one above, plus Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks, but if local birders are lucky the Holland Marsh will be the place to see Snowy Owls in February.

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BarrytheBirder

Popular visitor last winter in Schomberg...

Photos by Barry Wallace

HAWK OWL

Surnia lula

Pictured here is the Hawk Owl that spent many weeks in the Dufferin Marsh area of Schomberg last winter.   It is a species that is normally found across the northern North American forests, but is sometimes nomadic in winter and can been seen in southern Canada and the northern American states.  This one was observed and photographed by hundreds of birders. 

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BarrytheBirder

Ducks and Geese at Lake Wilcox

 

                                                                                                      Photos by BarrytheBirder

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BarrytheBirder

More British Columbia eagles by Dave Kemp...

Photos by Dave Kemp

My peripatetic bird-watching friend and photographer, Dave Kemp, from British Columbia continues to thrill me with his photographs from Canada's west coast.   This time it's with Bald Eagle photographs.   In his email message to me he points out: "How to to tell the eagles apart is their size...females are usually a third of the size larger than the males".   This is apparent in the photo below.   Many thanks, Dave. 

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BarrytheBirder

A few Redpolls have shown up already...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

I've had very few Redpolls at the winter feeders for the last several years, but a half dozen have shown up already this winter, beginning at the end of November/early December.  They are a small northern bird and irrupt into southern Canada in the winter, when the food supply in the north is not plentiful.  The photograph below, from about 10 years ago, shows a mass of redpolls and sparrows at my backyard feeders.   The scene was like this for most of that winter.   Maybe we're about to have another winter like that one.

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BarrytheBirder

Feeding Chickadees at the Cathraw Mulock Nature Reserve

 

                                                                                                        Photos by BarrytheBirder

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BarrytheBirder

Here are some west coast birds by Dave Kemp...

Photos by Dave Kemp

These two photos were sent to me by my B.C. friend Dave Kemp.   Above is an American Robin at Garry Point Park in south-west B.C., at the mouth of the Fraser River.   In southern Ontario, robins have been long-gone since mid-November.  Below are Snow Geese, in the same location at Garry Point Park.   Snow Geese are now estimated to number 15 million birds in their native North America.

 

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BarrytheBirder