American Pipit (Anthus rubescens)

                                  (Photo by Mason Maron - Cornell Lab/Macauley Library)

Question: Can bird call recordings that identify bird                              species be added to life lists?

Answer:    Officially, YES.

I was recently sitting on the 3rd floor balcony of my partner Pat Cromie while she was identifying birds passing by on her cell phone.   She mentioned a few birds such a American Robin, Goldfinch, etc, etc, and then said American Pipit.   I was very surprised.   I have never seen, or identified an American Pipit in my many years of birding.

I immediately wondered if this kind of identification would allow me to add American Pipit to my 'life list'.    I have gone online and have discovered the answer is YES.

I recently sold my car and being 82 years old, I don't get around as much as I used to.   I convinced myself recently that my life list was pretty much complete.   Then along came this Pipit identification.

I have a cellphone which I don't use anymore and it doesn't record and identify birds bird species by their calls.   But now I'm wondering if I shouldn't

get a new cellphone that does record and identify bird species calls.

My current life list now sits at 428 species,  including the American Pipit.

We shall see what we shall see...or make that 'what we hear'.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Red-winged Blackbirds have arrived in southern Ontario...

                                                                     Photo by BarrytheBirder

Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoenicues) are one of the first birds to migrate north into southern Ontario in the spring.   As seen in one of my file photos above, taken just north of Toronto, above Lake Ontario, they will use winter/spring bird feeders to fill themselves up.   They will also forage in surrounding moist fields, orchards and parks.   Its song is a liquid, gurgling 'konk-la-reee' ending in a trill...not particularly melodious, but distinctive.

Please comment if you wish. 

BarrytheBirder 

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds to arrive soon...

                                   

The first Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the 2025 season should arrive soon here in Aurora, Ontario.   It will arrive at one of the two feeders (photo below) on the 3rd floor balcony of my close friend Pat Cromie, at the Delmanor Retirement Residence. 

The 'Ruby-throated' is the only 'hummer' that breeds east of the Mississippi River.   To reach their eastern nesting grounds each spring, many individual birds take a direct but hazardous route across the Gulf of Mexico, flying non-stop over more than 500 miles of open water.

Pictured above is Pat taking down last year's hummingbird feeders in September, in Aurora, Ontario.   During last year, at the height  of the season, 'hummers' showed up 60 to 70 times a day, staying anywhere from 15 seconds to 2 minutes per visit.   The season last year was about 112 days.  We can hardly wait for this years arrivals.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Easter tradition underway...

 

                                                                Photo by BarrytheBirder

This photo is a bit of departure for me in this space, but it is about birds, albeit chickens.   This little chick was in an incubator in the  Delmanor Retirement Residence where I live in Aurora, Ontario.   Residents watched for several days leading up to easter, as the 7 eggs hatched and the chicks appeared - much to the delight of all observers.   So much joy from such a simple source.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Baltimore Orioles will arrive in Southern Ontario soon...

                                                                         Photos by BarrytheBirder

 Females (above and below)

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

One of my favourite Northern Harrier photos...

                                                                                            Photo by BarrytheBirder

Above is a photo of a male Northern Harrier I took many years ago.   The Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) is also known as the American Harrier, Hen Harrier and Marsh Hawk.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Dave Kemp photos...onboard ship to Aruba!

 

                                                            MASKED BOOBY 

BROWN BOOBY

 Vancouver Island photographer Dave Kemp appears to have taken these photos while on a cruise to Aruba.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Local spots in King Township to find spring warblers...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Canada Warbler

East Humber River spots to see Warblers

1. Along the  north side of the East Humber River in the park on the east side of Keele Street, in King City, north of the Presbyterian Church.   Follow the trail beside  the river as far as Kingcross Drive to the north, and Norman Drive to the south.

2. In the hamlet of Laskay where the East Humber River crosses Weston Road.   A short street called Laskay Lane runs east on the north side of the river. Search each side of Laskay Lane for a shorth distance.

3. In the hamlet of King Creek on Mill Road between the 7th and 8th Concessions of King, where the East Humber River flows under the Mill Road Bridge.   Take the trail here westward into the adjoining park.

4. Another good spot is on the King/Vaughan Townline where it crosses over the East Humber River, west of Hwy. 27, south of Nobleton.

Good birding and have fun.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Many American Robins have been back in Southern Ontario for a month...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Many American Robins that went south last winter are now back in southern Ontario.   They arrive as early as the 2nd or 3rd week of March, which means that some of them have probably been here a month already.   Finding something to eat must be a challenge on occasion.   We have had many days in the last month where snow was still falling and not quickly melting.   This robin is a large heavy-bodied thrush that would suggest it is a hardy and a likely survivor wherever it migrates to.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

More Dave Kemp photos from Vancouver Island...

                                                                         Photos by Dave Kemp

 Singing Sands Road - Little River, British Columbia

                                                                    Red-breasted Merganser

                                                                                Herring Gull

                                                                           Common Goldeneye

       

                                                                             Little River Pond

                                                                         Little River Pond

                                                                                 Spider's Web

                                                                            Homynym's Lichen

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Long-tailed Duck - Vancouver Island

 Photos by Dave Kemp

British Columbia wildlife photographer Dave Kemp captures a Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) posing in the waters off the east coast of Vancouver Island, before it decides to take an underwater plunge. 

   Please comment if you wish.

   BarrytheBirder

First warblers to arrive should be...

(Photos by BarrytheBirder)

                                               YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER  

The first warblers to arrive in southern Ontario should be the Yellow-rumped Warbler, followed by the Palm Warbler and then the Pine Warbler.

PINE WARBLER

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Time to get the Hummingbird feeders up...

                Photo Brian Kulvete - Macauley Library           

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Male

Photo by German Garcia - Macauley Libray

Female

I'll be putting up two hummingbird feeders in the next few days, on the balcony of my lady friend Pat, at Delmanor Retirement Residence in Aurora, Ontario.  We had feeders on her balcony last year and were treated to 'hummers' close up for several months.  What a treat they are!

Please comment if you wish. 

BarrytheBirder

Blue Jay at the feeder...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

BLUE JAY

Cyanocitta cristata

"Known to mimic the call of the Red-shouldered Hawk"

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Bird photos miscellany...

                                                                      Photos by BarrytheBirder

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Cedar Waxwings

                                                       Photo by Deborah Bifulco

Promoting an online Joy of Birdwatching course at the Cornel Lab Bird Academy Macauley Library.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Red Crossbills on Vancouver Island...

Photos by Dave Kemp

Red Crossbill (male)

(Loxia curvirostra))

Red Crossbill (female)

Naturalist and photographer Dave Kemp has photographed a male and female Red Crossbill on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia.   This bird species is found in a narrow band of territory right across Canada, but is particularly widespread in British Columbia and Alberta.   All Crossbills are plump, have long tails and large heads, crossed bill tips and notched tails.

Red Crossbills are also found south in parts of the United States depending on the time of year.   They inhabit coniferous woods and are highly irregular in their wanderings, and very dependent upon cone crops.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Winning photo

 

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

2005 BirdSpotter Photo Contest Winner

GRAND PRIZE

 California Quail by Gavin Howard

(Chosen from over 43,000 votes cast)

"I never thought I would be a birder but after a work contract as a wildlife biologist, I was hooked.   I oved watching birds, listening to them, and learning their unique behaviours.   Photography came soon after as I found it was equally rewarding capturing them".  -- Gavin Howard

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Turkey Vultures show up in late March...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

They're back.   I spotted 5 Turkeys Vultures overhead during the last week ofMarch, above the Oak Ridges Moraine, north of Toronto.   

I remember many years ago seeing Turkey Vultures in Ontario only during the summer months.   These days I'm seeing them throughout the spring, summer and fall.   They seem to be appearing as soon as the snow melts in late winter and don't disappear until the first snow falls in early winter.

I have mixed feelings about these big birds.   I have no interest at all in seeing them eat dead carcasses on the sides of nearby roads.   But when they are on the wing, I am fascinated by amazing soaring abilities (see photo below).

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Warbler life list stands at 26 species ...

                                                                                          All Photos by BarrytheBirder

Yellow-rumped Warbler

My personal warbler life list stands at 26 species, and includes:

1. Tennessee Warbler                                    14. Yellow-throated Warbler

2. Orange-crowned Warbler                          15. Adelaide's Warbler

3. Nashville Warbler                                       16. Prairie Warbler

4. Northern Parula                                          17. Palm Warbler

5. Yellow Warbler                                            18. Bay-breasted Warbler

6. Chestnut-sided Warbler                             19. Blackpoll Warbler

7. Magnolia Warbler                                        20. Black-and-white Warbler

8. Cape May Warbler                                       21. American Redstart

9. Black-throated Blue Warbler                      22. Ovenbird

10. Yellow-rumped Warbler                            23. Louisiana Waterthrush

11. Black-throated Grey Warbler                   24. Common Yellowthroat

12. Black-throated Green Warbler                 25. Wilson's Warbler

13. Blackburnian Warbler                               26. Canada Warbler

A found all of these warblers in Ontario, with the exception of two which I spotted in St. Lucia and Cozumel.   Several of the others I found in the world-famous hotspot of Pt. Pelee, on Lake Erie, in Ontario.

Wilson's Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Pine Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

American Redstart

Common Yellowthroat

Canada Warbler

Spring is just around the corner and I can hardly wait to see more of these beauties.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder