International Day of Peace...

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BarrytheBirder

Birds accompany cattle...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

It's that time of year when starlings (like the one above) and cowbirds get up close and personal with cattle in the fields.   The cattle stir up all kinds of insects for the birds to gorge on.   It's a very symbiotic relationship and lasts throughout the day.   Occasionally the birds land on the backs of the cattle to forage but the cows' tails are constantly whipping across their backs, so the birds have to be quick to catch insects there.

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BarrytheBirder

Bittersweet feelings about fall migration...

 

Photos by Barry Wallace

The hummingbirds departed last week.    It was right around Sept. 11, the usual time they depart for warmer and more southern climes.   I'd be quite content to see them 365 days of the year because I am fascinated by the tiny creatures.   However, I do the get excited as I anticipate their return in the new year.   Safe journey my wee friends.

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BarrytheBirder

Mackenzie Marsh in Aurora...

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Pied-billed Grebe

(Podilymbus podiceps)

The Pied-billed Grebe (pictured above and below) is the most common grebe in eastern North America, so spotting one in nearby Aurora is to be expected.  When alarmed, it sinks below the surface of the water, surfacing again much further away or out of sight amongst reeds.   The behaviour has earned it the nickname "Hell-diver", plus "Dabchick" and "Water Witch.

Nearby to the Grebe, was a Midland Painted Turtle (above) and green Heron (left).   A few days earlier in the Mackenzie Marsh, and pictured in this space were a pair of Great Egrets, a first in the Aurora area for some people.

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BarrytheBirder

 

European Starling

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

"Ready for your close-up sir..."

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BarrytheBirder

Two Great Egrets in Aurora's MacKenzie Marsh

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

My older daughter, Allison, who lives in Aurora, spotted what she thought were Trumpeter Swans while passing the Mackenzie Marsh on the St. John's Sideroad, last week. I went to check it out and was able to stop the car, get out, and get a couple of photos of what turned out be Great Egrets, not Trumpeter Swans.   Great Egrets have steadily been expanding their American and Canadian ranges but it is only in the last ten to fifteen years that they have gathered anywhere in southern Ontario at other than the Luther Marsh, west of Orangeville and Shelburne.   A lot of people would associate a bird like this with the southern United States.   But in the middle of Aurora?   Wonderful!   I also got a couple shots of one of two Green Herons at the same spot at the Great Egrets (see bottom photo).      

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BarrytheBirder

Sparrows in my backyard...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

House Sparrow

Passer domesticus

This is the sparrow found throughout North America, Eurasia and North Africa and it has been introduced on all continents and many islands.   The North American population descends from a handful of birds released in New York's Central Park in the mid-1850s.   They spread very quickly by occupying the same places that humans did.   Their success often occurred at the expense of other small, native birds.   They consume insects and weed seeds and can do damage to agricultural crops.   A few live in my backyard.

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BarrytheBirder 

Sparrows in my backyard...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Fox Sparrow

Passerella iliaca

The Fox Sparrow is bigger and heavier than other sparrows, and is boldly striped with a rich rufous colour.  It is almost unmistakable.   It is found in a broad range from Alaska's Aleutian Islands to New Brunswick.   They have a rich, melodious sound and quite noisy as they scratch in leaves for food.   Western 'Foxes' are more dusky brown or slaty than the "fox-coloured birds of the east.

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BarrytheBirder 

Sparrows in my backyard...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

White-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia leucophrys

This sparrow is similar to yesterday's White-throated Sparrow but is more slender, without a white throat and more erect posture.   Like the White-throated Sparrow is present in Ontario for a few weeks during spring migration and again during fall migration.   These slender beauties are mainly ground feeders and are not as numerous a White-throated Sparrows.   They are often found in larger flocks of White-throated Sparrows but are not as numerous.

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BarrytheBirder

Sparrows in my backyard...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

White-throated Sparrow

Zonotrichia albicollis

For many people one of the descriptions of this sparrow's call is: Sweet Sweet Canada, Canada, Canada.   It visits my garden in the spring for a few weeks, before heading north, and then returns to my garden for a few weeks in the fall.   It is a ground-feeder and a don't remember ever seeing one perched on a feeder, atop a pole.   Its distinctive head colours and markings make it very identifiable.

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BarrytheBirder 

Sparrows in my backyard...

 

Photo by BarrytheBird

Song Sparrow

Melospiza melodia

Arguably the best known of our native sparrows, it is commonly found everywhere in North America, including my back yard.   Its vast range contributes to a great geographical variation to appearance.   In the continental northwest, they are large, dark and long-billed, quite a contrast to the familiar eastern birds I am familiar with.

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BarrytheBirder

Sparrows in my backyard...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Chipping Sparrow

Spizella passerina

The Chipping Sparrow has a habit of lining its nest with hair, which has earned it the nickname 'Hairbird'.   With the decline of farm horses, Chipping Sparrows will use any hair they can find, even strands from sleeping dogs.  Their food in my backyard in winter is mainly seeds, on the ground.   Their voice is a thin musical trill, on one note.

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BarrytheBirder

Sparrows in my backyard...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

American Tree Sparrow

Spizella arborea

This is a winter visitor to my backyard and appears more often if the winter is a hard one.   They are feeder birds but are less numerous in mild winters, more numerous in harsh winters.  The Tree Sparrow is hardy and quite used to Canada's northern reaches, but they do roam snow-covered Ontario in flocks singing sweet tinkling songs and visiting feeders.

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BarrytheBirder

Where are the nuts and seeds?

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Hummingbird feeder

confuses Downy Woodpecker

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BarrytheBirder

Where did summer go?

Photo by Barry Wallace

 Hummers will be gone in a week

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BarrytheBirder

 

Rumble Pond Park - RichmondHill

 

Memorial Plaque

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BarrytheBirder

Waterfowl at Richmond Hill Mill Pond Park...

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

The Mill Pond

Mill Road

Mute Swan

Hybrid Duck

Mallard Ducks

Cormorants

Canada Geese

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BarrytheBirder

An eye on everything...

 

                                                                                                     Photo by BarrytheBirder

"...the blue jay looks askance at me"

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BarrytheBirder

Grooming time...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Male Mallards makeover moment

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BarrytheBirder

Regulars at Richmond Hill's Mill Street Pond

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Mute Swan

Double-crested Cormorant

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BarrytheBirder

My Covid 19 masks all have birds on them...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

I didn't realize until I saw the photo above of this Covid mask, just how scary I might appear to certain people...such as small children.  My eyes don't look very friendly, even though I was smiling when the photo was taken.   I have a few bird-themed masks now, and I can't just throw them away.  The one above has a Secretary Bird on it...appropriate for someone with the nickname: BarrytheBirder.  My two owl masks are a wee bit fearsome, but the hummingbird mask and the Great Blue Heron mask, as well as the group shot of a bunch of toucans are kind of charming.   C'est la vie.

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BarrytheBirder   

Blue Jay mange...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Feather mange is bad enough on the birds that don't have spectacularly coloured feather displays, but it seem to be especially sad on birds like the Blue Jay (above) or Cardinals or Baltimore Orioles.   Thanks goodness they do grow back in.

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BarrytheBirder

Juvenile Starlings are moulting...

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

Juvenile European Starlings have lost their smooth, mouse grey/pale brown colouring which they have displayed between May and August and are taking on their juvenile moulting look (above left photo) which starts the darker, speckled look they show in the July to September period.   They then move on to the adulting breeding look (above right photo) between December and August.   There are two other plumages: one being the juvenile (May to August) and the adult non-breeding (September to February).   All of these phases have overlapping time periods with all other Starlings depending on the actual egg-laying and hatches dates.

Moulting Juvenile look

Adult Breeding look

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BarrytheBirder