...now been publishing this birding blog for 18 years.

I am about to receive the 1.4 millionth hit on my BarrytheBirder blogsite.  Thanks for the response folks.  

I recently celebrated my 83rd birthday and I no longer have a drivers license, so I'm not getting out and about as much as I used to.   But I look forward to continuing to publish bird pictures and remarks about them.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

First Hummingbird - last year...

This Macauley Library photo of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird is by Brian Kulvete

My partner Pat Cromie has informed me that the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird she recorded last year arrived on May 20 and the last 'hummer' was seen on September 5th.   It was Pat's reminder to me to get our two 3rd-floor balcony feeders ready for this springs' hummingbirds -- duly noted. 

 Early spring migrants in Ontario...

Red-winged Blackbird

I was asked this past week what the first birds were to arrive back in Ontario in the spring.  In fact, the inquirer thought maybe the Red-winged Blackbird was of the first.   Well, she was right.   The Red-winged Blackbird is one of the first.

By early to mid-march, in southern Ontario, one will also likely spot Robins, Tree Swallows, Killdeers, Song Sparrows, Grackles, Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Meadowlarks and even Great Blue Herons.

Great Blue Heron

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comment 

if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Interesting shot of a White-breasted Nuthatch...

 

                                                    Photo by Deborach Bifulco / Macauley Library

I was on the Cornell Lab website recently and spotted this photo above.   I'd never seen this bird in a pose such as this before, and was rather surprised at its much different appearance.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

 Macauley Library ~ Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Sunbittern

(Eurypyga helias)

Photo by Dave Curtis

I was visiting the Macauley Library website recently and was struck by this stunning photo by Dave Curtis of a Sunbittern.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Bradenton, Florida Birds by Janis Parker

 

Northern Shoveler

The pictures here were taken by Florida photographer Janis Parker, using a Nikon 180-600 telephoto lens in Bradenton, Florida.   Bradenton is located in a large marshy area of Florida which is a perfect habitat for birds such as those pictured here.

Anhinga

Great Egret

Pelican

(with a lure and hook caught in its bill)

Red-shouldered Hawk

Night Heron

Purple Gallinule (Juvenile)

Green Heron

Boat-tailed Grackle

Male Breeding Anhinga

Roseate Spoonbill

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Photos by Dave Kemp

Snow Geese on Vancouver Island

My online acquaintance Dave Kemp sent along these photos he took of Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens) on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.   The shot was likely taken while these birds were on spring or fall migration.   Normally, these big birds range from Northeast Siberia to arctic America, but they winter in northern Mexico and on the Gulf Coast.

Adult Dark Morph

Juvenile Dark Morph

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder 

 

 Point Pelee warblers on my life list...

                                                   Photo - Point Pelee Provincial Park website

I updated my birding life list in this space a couple of days ago and mentioned many of the places I had seen species over the years.   I particularly mentioned Caribbean islands, Mexico, Arizona, Florida and other southern climes.

One place I did not mention was Point Pelee on the north shore of Lake Erie in southern Ontario.   This Canadian birding hotspot is a great spot to see warblers during the migration.   My life list includes just over 24 warbler species, which can all be found at Pelee.

Pictured below are some of my warbler photographs.

Canada Warbler

Wilsons Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder   

Snow Buntings - winter acrobats...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) are sparrow-sized and acrobatically swirl over snowy winter fields in small or large flocks.   No other songbird, except McKay's Bunting, shows so much white in its feathering.   In summer, in the arctic, the male has a black back, contrasting with its white head and underparts.   

It is a common, hardy breeder of far northern tundras in Alaska and Canada.  In winter its ranges through Canada and the central United States, south to the Carolinas and Oregon.

For me, they can be a joyful sight in any sunny winter setting.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Natural hot spots for many species...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

I have just written, a day or so ago, about updating my birding life list to 4,150 species.   The photos pictured here, which I took several years ago on Cozumel, off the east coast of Mexico, show just how many species of birds can occur in one spot at any given time.   In this case many species of wading birds, in particular, occured together in one place at the same time, adding substantially to my life list.

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comment

if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

   

Updating my birding life list...

 

Photo by Pat Cromie

Life list now at 4,150 species

I have recently counted the number of bird species I have seen, over the years, in my 32-year old copy of A World Checklist of Birds by Burt L. Monroe Jr. and Charles G Sibley.   It is the first time I have updated this list in decades.

My number of species is now 4,150.   This is quite a change from the number normally seen at the the top of this blog each day.   That low number dates back to the last time I did a count back in the early 1990s.   Now, if I could just figure out how to change that number on my computer!   One of my talented daughters will do that for me maybe.

I did notice as I was counting those 4,150 species, that the oldest bird sighting I recorded in the checklist was a Bald Eagle, which I sighted in Vancouver in July, 1961.   That occurred while I was hitchhiking from Ontario in central Canada to British Columbia on the Pacific coast, and back again.

My copy of Monroe and Sibley's A World Checklist of Birds was first published in 1990 and revised in 1993.   It lists a total 9,702 species.  Remarkably in this day and age, most checklists list double that many species.   

At 83 years age, and not be as mobile as I once was, and no longer having a  car driver's license, I don't see me adding to my life list much more.  Moreover, my days of vacationing and birdwatching in dozens of Caribbean islands and Mexican spots like the Yucatan and Cozumel, as well as American states likes like Florida and Arizona won't be repeated.

My last entry is my checklist was for a western American Swainson's Hawk, seen nearby last summer and again this winter.   At this time of year, this bird would normally have migrated to South America!

With a life list now at 4,150 species officially, I'm going to finally describe myself as a 'Birder', not a birdwatcher.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry the Birder

Cornell Cornell Lab 2025 Great Backyard Bird Count underway...

 

Photo courtesy of Cornell Lab of Ornitholgy

The photo above shows a Costa's Hummingbird, one of the 7,305 species identified in the first two days of the worldwide Cornell Lab of Ornithology 2025 Great Backyard Bird Count.   700,000 birding enthusiasts worldwide are halfway through the 4-day event.  The Costa's Hummingbird breeds in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirde

Snowy Owl photo...

This wonderful photo showing the amazing wingspan (49 to 51") of the Snowy Owl is to be found introducing the online SnowyOwls.ca website.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

2024 Canadian Wildlife Federation Photo Contest...

Focus On Fauna Category

"Gannet delight"

2024 Winner Marie- Josee D'Amour

Longueuil, Quebec

To see all 25 of the 2024 category winning photos, visit

https://blog.cwf-fcf.org/index.php/en/winners-of-the2024

-reflections-of-nature-photo-contest/

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

 

Message to TRUMP...

 

United States

of  CANADA

...OVER MY DEAD BODY!

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Trumpeter Swans on Vancouver Island...

Photos of Trumpeter Swans taken by Dave Kemp

 near Comox on the east side of Vancouver Island.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Screech Owl (Megaqscops asio) in Aurora backyard...

 

                                                                Photo by Lissa Dwyer

The photo above of a Screech Owl was taken in the Aurora, Ontario, backyard of the daughter of my good friend and co-resident Patricia at Delmanor Retirement Residence, also in Aurora.   The wee 10" owl, with its eyes closed, was perched above a backyard winter birdfeeder.   It did fly off a short distance into a hedge after getting its picture taken.   

Screech Owls, like even smaller 7" Saw-whet Owls, are fearless in defense of their nests and will often strike humans on the head passing by at night.  During the day, they often freeze in an upright position, depending on their coloration to escape being detected.   Amazingly, they can sometimes even be touched gently when motionless and closed-eyed, although this is never recommended.

Screech Owls occur in two main color phases, either rufous or gray, and sometimes in brownish phases.   The two main color phases vary in proportion geographically, and are not based on sex, age or season.   They are found along the southern Canadian border, parts of coastal British Columbia and throughout the United States (excluding Alaska).

I personally think of this little owl, with the slightly over-sized yellow eyes, as being 'avuncular' (uncle-like) and  wise looking beyond its tiny size.   Although I have seen a Saw-whet Owl, I have never seen s Screech Owl in all my decades as a birdwatcher.   

Great sighting and photo Lissa.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

BLACK VULTURE spotted at Niagara...

Photo - Wikipedia

A report on the Ontario Rare Bird Alert says a Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) was spotted on February 6, 2025, at the Locust Grove Picnic Area at Niagara, Ontario.  The sighting was confirmed by Sid Wood.

This bird is normally found in the mid-south-eastern United States and Mexico as far as the Yucatan Peninsula, but its range is expanding in the northeast and is can be found north casually to Ontario and the Maritimes.

This bird shows large white patches at base of primaries and its tail is shorter than the Turkey Vulture.   It is less efficient also than the Turkey Vulture at spotting carrion.   It often scavenges in garbage dumps.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Eurasian Eagle Owl!

                                                       Photo courtesy of Cornell Lab of Ornitholgy

Here's something a little different for me.   It caught my eye in an email I got from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and was about the Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo).  First of all, I didn't know that there was such as thing as an 'Eagle Owl'.   Well, the Eurasian Eagle Owl is a species of horned owl found in much of Asia and Europe.

It is a large and powerful bird with an amazing wingspan of up to 138-200 cm  and measures 58 to 75 cm long.   I has a strong direct flight.   Females (the larger of the two sexes) weigh up to 4.2 kg (9.4 lbs) and males weigh up to 3.2 kg (7 lbs).   

It feeds mainly on small mammals, but will kill prey up to the size of foxes and young deer, if taken by surprise.

The size, orange eyes, and ear tufts make it distinctive.   It is mainly nocturnal and is found in mountains and forests with rocky areas, usually nesting on cliff ledges.   

Eurasian Eagle Owls live for around 20 years, and can live up to 60 years in captivity.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder 

   

2024 and start of 2025 mildest winters in years...

 

                                                                                                 Photo by BarrytheBirder

A new published report is saying that 1924 and early 2025 are the warmest in the past 50 years, in Canada.   My observation is that this winter so far has produced very little snow here in south-central Ontario, but that early February temperatures are suddenly taking a noticeable dip.   If local birdfeeders are kept well-stocked, our resident winter birds, like the Cardinal, pictured above, will be well-served.   Nevertheless, if you've never put up a bird feeder in the winter before, it's not too late to start, and usually a simple process.   Seed is available for purchase everywhere and a simple hanging feeder can be put out just about anywhere, and ideally near a window for easy viewing inside.   Go on...give it a whirl.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

2024 Birds Canada annual fundraiser...

 

Photo by Tara Hurley

Birds Canada has given a big shout-out to the top fundraiser in its 2004 annual Birdathon,   The top team was David Love and the Lovebirds, from King Township, Ontario, who have been participating in Birdathon for 18 years, particularing in The King Ridge Area of the Oak Ridges Moraine, north of Toronto, Ontario.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry the Birder   

Recumbent Canada Goose...

     Photo by BarrytheBirder

I don't recall photographing this Canada Goose at any time during a February month, but whenever  and wherever it was, this bird certainly looks relaxed.  Canada Geese are found throughout North America.

They have also been introduced to France, the United Kingdom. Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, Argentina and the Falkland Islands.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Discovering the Quaker Parrot...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

I took the photo above of a section of wallpaper in the Raju Dining Room at The Delmanor Retirement Residence on Yonge Street in Aurora, Ontario, where I live.   The bird portrayed intrigued me.   It appeared to be a parrot with colouring I was unfamiliar with, i.e. white and pale blue.   I went looking online and discovered the Quaker Parrot, a predominately green parrot in the wild, but now also a beautiful blue mutation that was developed in the early 2000s.  It seems to be a case of art quickly catching up with evolution.

This parrot is 11 to 12 inches long and is destined to live for 20 to 30 years.  The Quaker Parrot is also known as the Monk Parrot (Myiopsitta monachus).   It is a true parrot in the family Psittacidae.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder