Keele Street ~ Near Kettleby...

 

                                                                                                          Photo by BarrytheBirder

Red-tailed Hawk

(Buteo jamaicensis)

One has to be lucky or quick to get a close photograph of a Red-tailed Hawk...I think I was both with this one.   Red-tailed Hawks usually have 12 red tail feathers, with black and white tips, as seen above.

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BarrytheBirder

Early day sunlight at Aurora's McKenzie Marsh...

 

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BarrytheBirder

More Dave Kemp photos from Richmond B.C.

 

Photos By Dave Kemp

Snow Geese ~ Garry Park Point

Snow Goose juvenile ~ dark morph

Snow Goose adult ~ dark morph

Fresh snowfall on local mountains

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BarrytheBirder

Bird sculptures at Lake Wilcox Park...

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

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BarrytheBirder

Hairy Woodpecker has a good grip...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

I chose these two photos to show the Hairy Woodpecker's excellent gripping abilities on the perches of the seed feeders in the backyard.   

 

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BarrytheBirder

Great Blue Heron still around in early November...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

This Great Blue Heron is seen in the Holland River, in King Township, at the end of the first week of November.  Still water had started to freeze over on a couple nights recently but thawed the following mornings, and now almost a week of warm weather is forecast, so the few remaining herons will be around for a while yet.

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BarrytheBirder 

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in Holland Marsh

                                                                                                     Photos by BarrytheBirder

Pictured above is a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk gliding over the Holland Marsh in search of prey.   Below it spots something in long grasses on the ground and prepares to dive on the creature.   In the third picture it is in its dive which takes it into the long grasses where it has spotted a rodent.   The bottom photo shows the hawk with the rodent in its talons as it lifts off to find a suitable perch for consuming the little creature.

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BarrytheBirder

Keele Street & 18th Sideroad...

                                                                                           Photos by BarrytheBirder 

Canada Goose Bath Time

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comment

if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Range-free peacock at Lloydtown...

 

                                                                                              Photos by BarrytheBirder

I was out looking for fall migrants last weekend, but instead of spotting the last few warblers, I came across this big blue beauty on the 19th Sideroad of King, at the west end of Lloydtown.   It posed quite nicely for me at the side of the road.   I decided this was the highlight of my outing and headed back to The Roost in King City for a cappuccino.

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BarrytheBirder

British Columbia birds by Dave Kemp...

 

Photos by Dave Kemp

My British Columbia birding friend, Dave Kemp, has sent me more of his photos from the Terra Nova area of lower B.C.  His photo above shows a Great Blue Heron with a large flounder in its beak.   Dave says the flounder was so large that it took the heron 45 minutes to swallow the fish!   The Heron then captured another fish (photo below).   No wonder this heron looks to be somewhat chunky. 

Two more of Dave's neat photos show the wonderful wings of a male Northern Harrier (above), while below is a neat shot of the sometimes secretive Sora in a favourite marshy habitat.

Above Dave has photographed Snow Geese, while below is a cloud-shrouded Vancouver Island.

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BarrytheBirder

Interesting behaviour on King's 12th Concession ...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

These very attractive geese on the edge of a 12th concession farm pond in King Township were very patient about posing for me, but eventually they all slipped into the pond and followed a small jet-black duck along the edge of the pond.    I was frustrated in that the dark duck kept camouflaging itself amongst the dark, pond-side plants and I never did get a photo of it.

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BarrytheBirder

Just so you know...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

The Schomberg sewage lagoon is now known as the:

York Region

  Schomberg Water Resource 

Recovery Facility

...or 'YRSWRRF ' for short

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Barry Wallace

There must be an explanation for eating upside-down...

 

Photos by Barry Wallace

I've never decided why the American Goldfinches at the feeders choose to hang upside-down when eating seeds, when they could just as easily, even more so, perch upright to eat seeds (see photos).   The feeder was designed to accommodate both eating methods, but even so...???   

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BarrytheBirder

Oak Ridges wetlands...almost remote

Photo by BarrytheBirder

In addition to many Canada Geese and some Mallard Ducks, I spotted a pair of Great Egrets foraging.

There were many signs of beaver also, including large dens, trees chewed down, and wet foraging trails between different ponds and marshes (see below).

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comment

if you wish.

Barry

theBirder

Dufferin Marsh ~ Schomberg

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

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BarrytheBirder