Ospreys moving on...

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

It's getting harder to spot Osprey around these parts as the autumn equinox approaches.  This first year youngster is quite able to feed itself, as it hangs about the south end of Lake Simcoe at the mouth of the Holland River.   The bottom photo shows what appears to be the remains of a very large fish providing a hardy meal.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Wild Turkeys

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Young Wild Turkey predation

I took this photo a female Wild Turkey a  couple of days ago.   She was wandering along one the roadsides near my home and was being accompanied by a single young turkey.   I know that Wild Turkeys normally lay 10 to 12 eggs over a two-week period.   I have never before seen a female Wild Turkey with just one half-grown chick wandering about.   Were all her other chicks preyed upon?   Curious.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

   

Butterflies in British Columbia - by Dave Kemp

Photos by Dave Kemp

Common Blue Morpho

Malachite Spiroeta stelenes

Neotropical Mosaic Colebura

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Richmond Hill Millpond...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Sleepy Ducks

Huge willows have fallen into the west side of the Richmond Hill Millpond

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Rumble Park Road in Richmond Hill...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Double-crested Cormorant

(Phalacrocorax aurifus)

This fine-looking Double-crested Cormorant has the pond at Rumble Park Road on the east side of Bathurst Street in Richmond Hill all to itself in early September.   This cormorant is common and widespread on inland lakes, ponds and rivers in the interior of Southern Ontario.   Breeding populations here have greatly increased in the past four decades.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Osprey disappearing on Ravenshoe Road?

Photos

 by BarrytheBirder

Where have they gone?

The photo above shows what I believe to be a first-year  Osprey about to take flight above the Ravenshoe Sideroad, west of the Holland River, just before in dumps into the southern end of Lake Simcoe.   I am used to seeing many Ospreys each year in this area, just below Keswick and it is a favourite spot of mine to take Osprey photos.   

Alas, this year there is a substantial reduction in the number of Osprey to be seen in this area.   Nesting disturbance may be the culprit.   The only nest I couldn't get close to is quite a distance north on a trail that is a continuance of Yonge Street which ends at the Ravenshoe Sideroad.   However my 82-year-old legs failed me and could not get close enough to confirm a sighting.   

The picture below shows a trail heading north towards the bottom of Lake Simcoe.   A pole which has been an Osprey nesting site for many years can be seen in the distance.  Whether it was a nesting site this year I cannot say.   I shall return in the spring of next year to try my luck.   If you have a comment, please leave it here.

 Good birding friends.

BarrytheBirder

When do hummingbirds head south?

Photo by BarrytheBirder

"According to Hummingbird Canada, adult male hummingbirds leave Southern Ontario first in late July with the adult females following next.   Immature hummingbirds are the last to leave in September.   It is rare for hummingbirds to linger in Ontario after the beginning of October".   

But with climate change...?

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Cathartes Aura in British Columbia

 

Photo by Dave Kemp

Turkey Vulture

Vancouver Island

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Mourning Doves nest at Delmanor front door...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

A pair of Mourning Doves has welcomed youngsters to their nest above the front door at Delmanor Retirement Residence on Yonge Street in Aurora, much to the delight of residents and visitors.   A parent bird is seen here with one of the young birds peeking over the edge of the nest.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder