Spring arrivals today...

 Above and at left are a male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Below are three male Baltimore Orioles.
Below them is a Scarlet Tanager and at bottom, a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird.   There were also 12 more  species at the feeders today.   It was our best ever spring migrant day in the backyard! 

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BarrytheBirder

International Garden Photographer of the Year competition...

Photo: Alan Price

Black & White Photo Project 2019

Alan Price's photograph of a Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) in Criccieth, Wales, was a finalist in this year's competition.   The Blue Tit is a European bird that is common and widespread throughout the British Isles.

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BarrytheBirder

Big prize for a big gull...

HERRING GULL

(Larus argentatus)

This Herring Gull photograph, taken by Steve Young, won the top prize at the British Wildlife Photography Awards in 2010.

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BarrytheBirder

Cassowary kills Florida man...

Photo: Christian Ziegler

This Cassowary was photographed in north-east Queensland, Australia, in 2012, by Christian Ziegler for National Geographic.   In Florida, this past week, a large Cassowary killed its 75-year-old owner, who fell to the ground and was set upon by the huge bird.

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BarrytheBirder

Canada Goose nests at entrance to Pierre Berton Library

 Photo by BarrytheBirder

A pair of Canada Geese have taken up residence at the entrance to the Pierre Berton Resource Library, just south of Kleinburg, on the south side of Rutherford Road.   Their nest is in one of the large round planters near the front entrance and is cordoned off with bright yellow hazard tape.   Library patrons and dozens of school students  walk right by the geese throughout the day.   The geese are not totally oblivious to the traffic about them, but seem at complete ease with the situation.

The gander is never far from his mate's nest in the planter and both male and female will even sleep at the same time, despite human traffic passing them by at all times.   It seems a good example of necessity being the mother of invention.

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if you wish.

Barry

the Birder

Rose-breasted Grosbeak appears...

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

(Phuecticus ludovicianus)

The first Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the spring season showed up on Saturday.   It didn't stay long at the feeders because of the numerous and pesky starlings.  It was a very welcome sight however, especially in flight with its flashing black and white wings.

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BarrytheBirder

First White-crowned Sparrow of the spring arrives...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

A White-crowned Sparrow showed up in the backyard on Saturday, May 4th, approximately 2 weeks after the first White-throated Sparrow arrived.   This is normal but both species seemed to be a bit later than usual.   No surprise however, given the cold, wet spring we have had here in southern Ontario this year.
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BarrytheBirder

A diving seabird of the family Phalacrocorax...

Photo: Costfoto / Barcroft Images

A large, all black cormorant, looking magnificent, but daunting and menacing at the same time is seen taking off in Yichun, Heilongjiang, China.  The province of Heilongjiang is a northernmost, hinterland province of China and  is surrounded by other provinces, plus Mongolia, Russia, Japan and North Korea.
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BarrytheBirder

Grey Heron triumphant...

Photos: Martial Trezzini / EPA / AP

A successful Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) catches and holds onto a carp which it has found in Geneva, Switzerland.   My guess is that this is the maximum size of fish this heron can swallow.

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BarrytheBirder

Albatross, the film: ode to a victim of the plastic soup...

Photo: Plastic Soup Foundation

Amsterdam, 18 April 2018 - Halfway through the film, the image suddenly stops.   A close-up of an albatross feeding its chick.   The albatross parent regurgitates food and slips it into the throat of of the hungry chick.  The image stops at the point that a blue piece of plastic glides into the chick's throat.   The American filmmaker, Chris Jordan, has worked on Albatross - a love story for our time from the heart of the Pacific for years.   The film is about the largest colony of albatrosses in the world on Midway, a remote archipelago in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, and the devastation that the plastic soup is bringing to the colony.

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BarrytheBirder

Two new White Eye species...

Photo: Sean Kelly

Researchers from Ireland and Indonesia and the conservation group Operation Wallacea have described two new species of White Eyes, a widespread family of 140 passerine bird species from Africa, Asia and Australasia.   The new species occur on islands offshore of Sulawesi, a large Indonesian island known for its weird and wonderful plants and animals.

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BarrytheBirder

"Einstein of the Bird World"...

                                                                                                   Photo: Nathan Emery

AFRICAN GREY PARROT

(Psittacus erithacus)

A recent item in The Guardian says that African Grey Parrots are known for their ability to mimic human speech.  However, this has placed them in grave danger.  The parrots are being pushed toward extinction in the wild to feed the pet trade.   Wikipedia states that this bird is not just a top talker, but is also known for incredible intelligence, which gives it the nickname "Einstein of the Bird World".

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BarrytheBirder

Lookout parrot seized by police...

Photo: Mike Pitts / BBC

Brazilian drug dealers train parrot

The Guardian reports that a parrot has been taken into custody in Brazil following a police raid which targeted crack dealers.   Brazilian press said the bird had been taught to alert criminals to police operations by shouting: "Mum, the police".   The parrot was seized when officers swooped on a drug den run by a local couple.   Police said as soon as they got close, the parrot started shouting.   A journalist who came face-to-face with the imprisoned bird, said it had clammed up and hasn't said a word after its arrest.   The parrot is now in a zoo.

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BarrytheBirder

Changing the colour despite the weather...

                                                                                                        Photo by BarrytheBirder

American Goldfinch

Carduelis tristis

Well, the male American Goldfinches have turned bright yellow and black, but here in southern Ontario it is still very chilly weather.   Nevertheless, we do have lots of these delightful small birds and they are very well fed.  They are often referred to as the "Wild Canary".   The Audubon Society says their food is mostly seeds and that nesting does not begin until midsummer or late summer when seeds are available.   This allows them to stay in flocks until well past the time when other species have formed pairs and are nesting.   Because they breed so late, only a single set of eggs is raised each summer.  Their bright call "per-chick-o-ree" is delivered in flight and coincides with each undulation.

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BarrytheBirder

Three Bald Eagles raising three eaglets...

Photo:

A rare trio of Bald Eagles is raising eaglets together on the upper Mississippi River near, Fulton, Illinois, U.S.A.  The two male birds, named Valor I and Valor II plus one female, Starr, are raising three eaglets which hatched in the spring of this year.   It is only the fourth time such an event has ever been recorded in US. birding history.  Both males were observed mating with Starr, prior to her nesting.

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BarrytheBirder

Making ends meet in Al-Hasaken, Syria...

Photo: Delil Souleiman / AFP / Getty Images

A woman displaced from Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province is seen with a hen in al-Hol camp for displaced people, in Al-Hasakeh, Syria.   Presumably, the chicken's future is based on two choices: eggs or the pot.

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BarrytheBirder

Hoopoe charm in China...

                                                                                   Photos: Costfoto / Barcroft Images

A Hoopoe, or Upupa epop, carries an insect in Yichun, China.   Hoopoes have come to symbolize peace and happiness.  In the photo below, it would appear that a male is offering food to a female, perhaps as a prelude to mating.

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BarrytheBirder

Symbiosis...

Photo: Chaideer Mahyuddin / AFP / Getty Images

Egrets perch on water buffaloes in the Manggamut River, southern Aceh province, Indonesian.   It is a symbiotic relationship involving insects as pests and food.

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BarrytheBirder

Odd bedfellows...

                                                                                                    Photo by Laurie Wolf

I'm guessing we have an Eastern Screech Owl and a very young Wood Duck in the photo.   Anyone else have a guess?   How they came to be together, I've no idea ... but they sure are cute.
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BarrytheBirder

World's fattest parrot has record breeding season, but...

Photo: Don Merton / AFP / Getty Images

Kakapo is still critically endangered 

The Guardian newspaper reports that the world's fattest species of parrot has had a record-breaking breeding season in New Zealand.   Which is good because there are only 147 adult Kakapo alive today.   A far cry from when they were one of New Zealand's most common birds.  The culprits?  Hunting to the brink of extinction, killing by introduced pests and being displaced by farming.   The birds are vulnerably flightless, nocturnal, known for their charismatic charm and owl-like faces.  They are subject to one of the world's most intensive management programs and this year 76 chicks have hatched and 60 are expected to reach adulthood. 49 out of 50 breeding females laid eggs this year.   In the last two seasons, fruit has not been so plentiful in 50 years.  Feeding and breeding has started early and some Kakapo are nesting twice.   The chicks are being raised on two predator-free islands off the New Zealand coast.  The population would have to reach "at least 500" for scientists to think about backing off.   They were thought to be extinct until some were found in the 1970s.   They had reached their lowest number in 1977 at 18 birds.
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BarrytheBirder

Prize-winning photograph...

Photo: Alan Fieldus

This photo of an Eliot's Storm Petrel (Oceanites gracilis) was the first prize winner in the BIRDSEYE APPS 2018 / 2019 Tropical Bird Photo Contest.   It was photographed at Las Bachas  Beach, on Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.   This bird is normally a sooty, dark-coloured bird, but I feel the sun, perhaps near the horizon, may have enhanced its colouring.  In fact, the reflection in the water is probably a more accurate colour representation.   Indeed, a most interesting photograph.
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BarrytheBirder

Love nest sits upon garbage and debris...

Photo: Yui Mok / PA

Grebes prepare for the spring imperative on a nest partially constructed from trash and debris, on the the south quay at the Isle of Dogs, east London.

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BarrytheBirder

Great Britain's national bird...

Photo: John Gilbey

A Robin (Great Britain's national bird) sings to defend its territory in a mixed, deciduous forest along the River Teifi, near Cilgerran in Wales.

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BarrytheBirder

The colours of drought...

Photo: Jeffery Arguedas / EPA

A Nicaraguan Grackle (Quiscalus nicaraguensis) looks for water in a lagoon at La Sabana Metropolitan Park, in San Jose, Costa Rica, which has been affected by the droughts produced by El Nino.   This medium-sized bird is found only in Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica.
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BarrytheBirder

A most distinctive and attractive bird...

                                                                           Photo: Joseph Eid / AFP / Getty Images

A Hoopoe (Upupa epops) is seen in a field in the village of Damour in central Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, just south of Beirut.   This bird is found across Afro-Eurasia and is notable for its 'crown' of feathers.  Once listed as a single species, there are actually four versions of this bird.
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BarrytheBirder

On the China / North Korea border...

Photo: Costfoto / Barcroft Images

Rare egrets and herons are regularly seen during the breeding season in Dandong, Liaoning province, in north-east China, on the western shore of the Yalu River, across from North Korea, on the eastern shore.

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Barrythe Birder

Spring's first White-throated Sparrow arrives in backyard...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

White-throated Sparrow

Our first White-throated Sparrow of the spring showed up in the backyard last Friday afternoon.   The White-throated Sparrow is one of the species believed to be particularly at risk from building strikes, which scientists estimate kill up to a billion birds a year in the United States.

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BarrytheBirder

   

These birds are found around the world...

Photo: Tony Margiocci / Barcroft Images

A pair of Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus) go through their courtship ritual, where the female is offered weed from the bottom of a lake.  Their mating dance is one of the bird world's most fascinating.

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BarrytheBirder

Highly attractive game birds...

Photo: 

Two Reeve's Pheasants (Syrmaticus reevesii) look for food on a mountain slope in Guangshui, central, China.  These striking creatures are endemic to China, and unlike other game birds, their call is a musical warble.

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BarrytheBirder

Peacock in India...

Photo: Money Sharma / AFP / Getty Images

If you can only photograph a part of a peacock, it might as well be its magnificent tail.   This peacock is showing off its splendid tail feathers behind a wall, in a village on the outskirts of Faridabad, in the northern Indian state of Haryana.

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BarrytheBirder

Native of eastern Asia...

Photo: Costfoto / Barcroft Images

A pair of Scaly-sided Mergansers (Mergus squamatus) a.k.a. Chinese Merganser, return to Yichun, Southern China.

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BarrytheBirder

Pelicans over Juon...

Photo: Joseph Eid /AFP / Getty Images

A massive flock of migrating pelicans flies over the seven hills surrounding the village of Juon, south of Beirut, in the Chouf district of Mount Lebanon.
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BarrytheBirder

Goshawk in Moscow, Russia...

Photo: Alexander Nemenov / AFP / Getty Images

Alexoi Vlasov, a falconer of the Kremlin Ornithological Service, holds Alpha, a 20-year-old female Goshawk, while on patrol in Moscow.

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BarrytheBirder

Abundant year-round resident in southern Ontario...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

European Starling

(Sturnus vulgaris)

Sometimes described as gregarious and aggressive, this bird loves to flock with its own kind on the ground, or in the air, including those fabulous soaring and swooping murmurations of hundreds or thousands of them in perfect, agile precision.   But get two of them at a feeder and all hell can break loose as they squabble mightily for the best perches, as the two pictured above are demonstrating in my backyard.

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BarrytheBirder

Well-dressed bird lover...

                                                                                         Painting by Lizzie Riches

E-mailed to me by a former neighbour and friend, Zoreh, now living in Ohio, who remembers me as a birder.   Charming piece of art...

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BarrytheBirder 

Oops!

                                                                           Photo: Gerlinde Beyer, Barcroft Images

This frog surely was surprised with the reaction it got to jumping on the back of a Pekin duck in Frankfurt, Germany.   A duck can eat a frog the size of the duck's head.

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BarrytheBirder

Critically endangered...

Photos: Zoo Victoria

Zookeepers in Victoria, Australia, hatch nine critically endangered Plains Wanderer chicks.   They are endemic to Australia but has been placed on the 2018 IUCN Red List.   The species poor flying ability, and the tendency to run rather than fly from predators, makes it easy prey for the introduced fox.
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BarrytheBirder

Love is in the air - or the water ...

Photo: Andi Edwards / Alamy

Three male Peking Ducks are in serious competition to mate with a single female.

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BarrytheBirder

Sprucing up the nest...

Photo: Armando Babini / EPA

A stork passes over the zoo in Frankfurt, Germany, in what appears to be a mission to find nest-building material.   Its aerodynamics are very impressive.

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BarrytheBirder

This is the mess today ... and what about tomorrow?

Photo: Rodrigo Buendia / AFP / Getty Images

A flightless cormorant sits on her nest surrounded by garbage on the shore of Isabela Island in the Galapagos Archipeligo.

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BarrytheBirder

Pollution has tripled flamingo population in Mumbai...

Photo: The Guardian

The flamingo population of India's largest city has tripled.  The birds have been congregating in huge numbers.   A count at the start of the year recorded 120,000 flamingos in Mumbai, three times their highest population in decades.  The flamingos found in India are the Greater Flamingo and the Lesser Flamingo.   Mumbai sewage promotes biological growth of blue-green algae, which is food for flamingos.   But the flamingos are moving on as the city transitions to an environment where wetlands have given way to a new airport, while a 22 km sea bridge cuts across mangroves and mudflats, and a clearance has been given for India's first bullet train to cut through the Thane Creek protected flamingo sanctuary.   It appears that continued sewage and waste dumping is exacerbating a situation that will eventually drive the flamingos out.   Too much of a good thing is spoiling a spectacle for birdwatchers.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder