Nature Canada - March, 2026 - Gadwall

Photo by Daniel Petterson / Macauley Library

Gadwall (Anas Strepera)

Gadwalls are found in southern Canada, across the U.S. and Mexico.   They are fairly common in the west, less common in the east.   Their widespread breeding range appears to be expanding eastward.   Males are mostly gray, with white belly, black tail coverts, pale chestnut on wings.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Common Loon (Gavia immer) should be Canada's officially designated bird

Photo by Christian Hagenlocher / Macauley Library

The Common Loon was adopted as the Official Bird of the Canadian Province of Ontario in 1994.   It was also designated the State Bird of Minnesota in 1961.   In my humble opinion, it should also be the 'Official Bird' of Canada.

It is found across Canada from British to Columbia to Newfoundland and north to parts of some the arctic islands in the breeding season.   It is found across the U.S.A in migration.   It is also found along the western North American coastlines from Alaska to Mexico and on the eastern North American coastlines from Labrador  to Mexico.

It is an extremely attractive and large bird - length 32' (81 cm).

If for no other reason, however, it is the call of the Common Loon that makes it my choice as Canada's national bird.   There is no other wild bird call like the Common Loon's inimitable loud yodel; the call that has mesmerized me, and countless others, on so many canoe trips in Ontario's Algonquin Park and elsewhere.

Their is no current national bird in Canada.   

In 2015, Canadian Geographic magazine announced a project to select a national bird for Canada.   Readers voted in an online poll for their favourite bird.   The top five selections were  the Common Loon and the Canada Jay, Snowy Owl, Canada Goose and Black-capped Chickadee.

The project's announced winner was the small, plain looking Canada Jay, a bird whose territory does not cover as much of Canada as the Common Loon.   Its organizers hoped for the Canadian government to formally recognize the choice, but the Department of Canadian Heritage said no new official symbol proposals were being considered at the time.   Eleven years later, there is still no officially designated Canadian national bird.

Hope springs in my heart eternally for the Common Loon!

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus)

(Photo - Cornell Lab)

Male

Photo - BarrytheBirder)

Female

A day or so ago it was the Rose-breasted Grosbeak; today it is another attractive Grosbeak: The Evening Grosbeak.   Evening Grosbeaks are widely distributed in Canada, occurring as far west as the Pacific Coast, north to the Yukon Border, and east to the Atlantic Coast.

To begin with, the Evening Grosbeak is a finch, and one of the largest in Canada ( 60 gms. in weight and 20 cm. long ... about the same size as a tennis ball).

The male is quite distinctive, having a black head, upper back, tail and chest, blending seamlessly into a bright yellow lower back and underparts. The male also has a wide, bright yellow eyebrow.   Sexually dimorphic, males and females do not look alike.   Females have a somewhat glowing silver body combined with pale yellow on the nape and upper chest and white spotting on the wings and tail.   Both sexes have massive conical bills.

Canada's population of Evening Grosbeaks is roughly two-thirds of the North American population.

They eat a variety of seeds and fruit during winter months including Manitoba Maple keys, Pin Cherries, and vast amponts of sunflower seed, particularly from bird feeders.

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BarrytheBirder

Most numerous birds in Canada?

 
                                                                       Photo by BarrytheBirder

American Robin

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Robin and Red-winged Blackbird are among the most numerous birds in Canada, with populations often exceeding 100 million individuals during the breeding season, according to estimates based on Reddit data.   In terms of specific habitat, the Mallard is the most abundant and widespread duck. 

                                             Mallard

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Snow Bunting 

A circumpolar bird that breeds in northern Canada and northern Alaska, but winters south to Oregon and as far south as the Carolinas.   They area a common, hardy breeder of far northern tundra.   Plumage changes twice a year: once by molt, once by wear.

The breeding male is unmistakable.   Black and white wings are conspicuous in flight in both males and females year-round.   Kenn Kaufman cautions they can be confused with white albinos of other species.   They are gregarious and often flock with Horned Larks and longspurs in winter.   They feed on ground in open country.   

During winter and in migration, they are found on shores, especially sand dunes and beaches, in weedy fields, and grain stubble, along roadsides, often in large flocks with Lapland Longspurs and Horned Larks.

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BarrytheBirder

Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis)

 
Photo By Kemp Kemp

Long-tailed Ducks - Vancouver Island

The Long-tailed Duck ( formerly known as the Oldsquaw), is normally found in the low Arctic, in summer, and along Canada's west and east coasts (sometimes on the Great Lakes) in winter.

The ducks pictured above in Dave Kemp's photo, from Vancouver Island, are in winter plumage, but I'm not exactly sure whether they are male or female.  Long-tailed Ducks have very different summer and winter plumages.

'Long-Taileds' are unique ducks of cold waters, hence their normal summer habitat is in the far north of Canada.

Breeding males are blackish with white cheeks, flanks and rear ends.   In all plumages, males are recognizable by extremely long central tail feathers.

Dave Kemp is a British Columbia birder, stationed on Vancouver Island who occasionally shares his birding photos with me, which I sometimes use in my BarrytheBirder blogs.   Many thanks Dave.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Early spring on Vancouver Island?

                                                                              Photos by Dave Kemp

                                                                               Trumpeter Swans

                  Sunny Day on Comox Glacier 

               Belted Kingfisher

   Fresh snow on local mountain

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Barry Wallace

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

                                                                                                Photo by Ken Thomas

Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Cranes are very large, long-legged gray wading birds of open country and freshwater marshes.   They travel in large, noisy flocks with their melodious calls carrying for more than a mile.

They breed from northern Alaska and across Canada to Hudson's Bay.   They also migrate to the Rocky Mountains and Great Lakes region.   They winter in central California and throughout the southwest to Texas, plus they are also resident in southern Florida.

My Audubon Handbook of Eastern Birds says they give a long, hollow, rattling 'garooooooooooooooo'.   Apparently, flocks often call in flight, with a guturral crowing rattle.

Sandhills adults are gray overall, with a bare red patch on crown.   They are highly social and may occur quite localized, but be absent elsewhere.

Populations nesting in wetlands with iron-rich mud may appear reddish-brown in spring from oxidization of mud on feathers.

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BarrytheBirder

Birds Canada 2026 Calendar

Photo by Sarah Gardner

Tufted Titmouse (Parus bicolor)

The Tufted Titmouse pictured above is from the Birds Canada 2026 Calendar.   It is the featured bird for January, 2026.

Titmice are small hardy birds with short bills, short wings and drab plumage.  They are active and agile, often hanging upside down from twigs to feed, and they flock together when not nesting.

They are found around the southern Great Lakes, across the eastern U.S.A. and parts of eastern Mexico. 

They are common in deciduous woodlands, mesquite, parklands, and suburban areas where they are often found at feeders, where they are active and noisy.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Red-breasted Nuthatches are found across lower Canada and throughout the U.S.   They favour dense conifers in the north  and the high mountains in summer, but are also found in other trees, especially in fall migration.

They are frequently quiet and tame.   In some years, large numbers move south and into lowlands in fall.

They have a typical head-down nuthatch behaviour, with a black eye stripe and white eyebrow.   They are buffy orange below and have blue-gray backs.

No backyard winter bird feeder is complete without friendly 'Red-breasteds'.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

Photo by David M.A. O'Neill / Birds Canada

The White-Breasted Nuthatch (L 5 3/4" (15 cm) is a winter warrior found across lower Canada and The U.S.A.   In winter, it often travels in flocks with Chickadees and other birds, and is frequent visitor to bird feeders for sunflower seeds and suet.

All white face and chest, set off by a narrow black (or dark gray) crown stripe. It is stubby and slender-billed and crawls upside down and sideways on tree trunks and branches, searching for insects in bark crevices.

They range and are residents from British Columbia east to New Brunswick, south to central Texas and central Florida.   They are common and found in deciduous and mixed  woods.

Photo by BarrytheBirder

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BarrytheBirder

Still no Snowy Owls on the Ravenshoe Sideroad...

 
Photos by BarrytheBirder

My partner Pat and I took another recent trip up to the south end of Lake Simcoe, looking for Snowy Owls, on the Ravenshoe Sideroad in the northern reaches of the Holland Marsh.   It was the third such trip early this year, so far, and no luck so far.   The Ravenshoe Sideroad is normally a reliable spotting site.

Reports of Snowy Owl sightings are regularly popping-up, further south, in the Greater Metropolitan Toronto area, including the Toronto waterfront on Lake Ontario.

Nevertheless, Patricia and I shall keep our ears and eyes open for the next several weeks....hopefully new photos to come.

 

Photos by Barry Wallace

Please comment if you wish.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)

Male

Female

Photos by BarrytheBirder

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak breeds from Alberta east to Nova Scotia and south to Oklahoma, northern New Jersey and in mountains to northern Georgia.   It winters from Mexico to South America, and occasionally in the southwest U.S.

This striking 8" heavy-billed grosbeak, with s very large triangular bill, is a black-and-white bird, with a musical song. It is common in summer in leafy eastern forests as well as thickets and suburbs with adequate cover.   They move rather deliberately among tree foliage and sometimes come to ground of bird feeders.

Breeding males have black heads and upperparts, white bellies, white wing patches and bars.   Their breasts have a splash of bright red.   In flight, it shows red wing linings and a white rump.   Females are dark brown above and striped below.

It song is rich and clear like a robin's, but faster.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Cornell Lab / Macaulay Library 2025 photos of the year...

Spotted Towhee and Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly 

 Photo by Laura Macky

One of Cornell University Macaulay Library's Photos of the Year

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes atratus)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Turkey Vultures are very large with long wings, long tail and small head.  They soar with wings held in a shallow V (called a dihedral).  When taking off, wingbeats are deep and ponderous and they rock from side to side in flight.

They are very common in warmer climates, soaring all day over open country, forests and deserts.   They are found across lower Canada, all of the U.S.A. and Mexico.

Many may roost together in migration, or to feed on carcasses.   Many birds may gather at road kills.

Turkey vultures have a red head and white bill and they commonly feed on carrion and refuse. 

Please comment if you wish. BarrytheBirder

20th year of publishing this 'BarrytheBirder' blog...

 

Self-portrait photo by BarrytheBirder

I am now into my 20th year of publishing this daily birding blog.    I began on October 30, 2011, and I'm now about to go over 7,000 entries.   It's been a wonderful journey, but I'm now into my 85th year.

I no longer have an automobile or a driver's licence, and the old body is not as spry as it once was.   Fortunately my partner Pat, although slightly older than me, does still own a car and drives it quite well.   She kindly drives me around and I occasionally take bird photographs.

I think I may have a another 5 years in me, maybe even more, so I plan to keep plugging away at this blog for the foreseeable future.   Thanks for joining me on this birding journey over the years.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

                                                                                                 Photo by BarrytheBirder

    

  First American Robin of 2016

My sister Diane, who lives in Nova Scotia just posted that the first American Robin of 2016, arrived where she lives in Nova Scotia on February 18.   This is certainly much earlier than I am used to here in southern Ontario.

I am used to seeing Robins show up in March/April, here in Aurora, Ontario.

Robins are found in winter in California, Texas and Florida and northern Mexico.   In summer they are found across the U.S.A.   They are found from Alaska and across Canada in the summer breeding season and into the fall.

American Robins are extremely common and considered the most abundant land-bird in North America, with a population somewhere between 370 and 380 million birds.

They are widespread across the continent, doing well in urban, suburban, and rural environments. The Robin population is stable to slightly increasing, and they are not regarded as a species of high conservation concern.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Number of individuals birds in the world?

 400 billion individual birds in the world?

No, there are not 400 billion individual birds worldwide.  Current scientific estimates suggest there are approximately 50 billion individual birds globally across all species.   The number represents total bird populations, not species diversity and was established through comprehensive studies published in 2021.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)

Photo: Macauley Library

Yesterday's blog was about the Eastern Towhee: today it's the Spotted Towhee.   The Spotted Towhee is distinguished from the similar Eastern Towhee by the white spotting on its back and scapulars; as well as the tips of the median and greater coverts, which form white wing bars.

It is found on the American Great Plains and casually in eastern North America.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

 

(Photo by BarrytheBirder)

Tree Swallows are one of the most prolific swallow soecies in North America.   They are common and widespread in summer, nesting in holes in trees or in birdhouses (especially bluebird boxes).   They are common in wooded habitat near water, also nest in fence posts and barn eaves.

Tree Swallows are distinctly bicoloured, dark glossy blue or greenish above and very white below.   Their dark caps go down level of the eyes.

They migrate in huge flocks, going north earlier in spring and linger farther north in fall than other swallows. 

They form huge flocks in the fall and unlike most swallows, they winter regularly in southern United States, feeding on berries when insects are scarce.

Tree Swallows breed from Alaska to Labrador and south to southern California and Maryland, as well as occasionally to the Gulf Coast.   They winter from central California south, along the Gulf Coast, sparingly on the Atlantic coast, and also in Central America.  

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Osprey photograph in a recent Macauley Library email...

Photo by Matt Gillfedder

Is there anything as intense as an Osprey's stare?

Photos by BarrytheBirder

The photo at top, taken by Matt Gillfadder, appeared recently in a Macauley Library email which I received.   It immediately caught my eye because of the intent and penetrating look of the Osprey.  To my mind, no other raptor has the look of the Osprey's orange piercing eyes.   It's also the black, arching eyebrows that give it that inimitable fierce gaze. 

I have dozens of Osprey photos that I have taken over the years, in my photo files.  The one pictured below, of Osprey nest at the top of a light standard, was taken at a baseball diamond on the Ravenshoe Sideroad, southwest of Keswick, Ontario, , near the northern reaches of the Holland Marsh, just south of Lake Simcoe.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry the Birder

American Goldfinch (Carduelis Tristis)

 
Photo: Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust

A recent e-mail to me from the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust included the American Goldfinch photo seen above and a brief description of this bird's fall and winter behaviours.

The e-mail commented that American Goldfinches undergo a fall molt staring in September, lasting 6 to 8 weeks.   This seasonal feather makeover replaces their vibrant breeding plumage with a more muted palette.   Males trade their sunny yellow and black caps for olive or brown tones, while females shift to a softer olive yellow.   The subtle winter looks help them to blend into bare bare trees and open fields.

Their habits change also.   In Ontario's colder months, goldfinches feast mainly on thistle seeds, along with aster, sunflower, and coneflower seeds, especially at feeders  Unlike summer, when insects are on the menu, winter is all about seeds - critical fuel for surviving the chill.   

Come spring, goldfinches go through another molt to regain their dazzling yellow plumage, signaling the start of the breeding season (see photos below).

Male

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Female

Goldfinches breed from north-central British Columbia east to Nova Scotia, south to the Great Lakes region  and northern New England, in mountains to central United States.   In winter thy can migrate south to all of the United States and a small part of northeast Mexico.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder 

Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Male

Females

The Northern Harrier, formerly called the Marsh Hawk, is a long-winged and long-tailed hawks that hunts by flying low over open fields and marshes, looking and listening for prey.

They take many rodents and also some birds.   They perch low or on open ground, seldom on tall poles or trees; usually flying low except when migrating.   

They are best known by their shape and by their slow, low flight, with wings angled up in a shallow V. Contrasting white rump (see top two photos) is conspicuous.

Please comment f you wish.

BarrytheBirder