Sunday morning in the Holland Marsh...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

 8 Great Blue Herons and 11 nests spotted

I was delighted this past Sunday morning to spot 8 Great Blue Herons  and 11 nests on the edges of the Holland Marsh swamp north of Highway 9 and west of the West Canal Bank Road.   In the two hours I was in the area I also spotted three Red-tailed hawks, a Wild Turkey, a Pileated Woodpecker, a pair of Common Mergansers, and a pair of Killdeers.  

Killdeer

Red-tailed Hawk

Male and female Common Merganser

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if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds should appear in early May

Photo by Barry Wallace

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds travel an average of 1,500 miles on their way to a summer home.   The first to arrive just north of Toronto should be spotted in early May, depending on the weather.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

 

It's not spring until the Goldfinch is completely yellow...

   Photos by BarrytheBirder

It's not spring until the American Goldfinch is completely yellow (see photos above and at right).   It's my own personal rule after being an avid birdwatcher for the last thirty years.

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BarrytheBirder

Birds in the garden don't always have to be real...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Garden bird facsimilies, of all shapes, sizes and colours are de rigueur these days.   I spotted the example above at Black Forest Garden Centre on Keele Street north of King City.   It was one of many bird choices there, new and available, for this spring.   This one was as tall as me.   Be still my sprouting heart.

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BarrytheBirder

Carrying Place Golf & Country Club...

 

                                                                                                     Photos by BarrytheBirder

The eleven Trumpeter Swans (above) that over-wintered at the Carrying Place Golf & Country on Weston Road have finally departed for breeding grounds further north.   It was a delight to chronicle their stay in this space for many weeks.  Now the two resident Mute Swans (below) at Carrying Place have  taken over the big Pond and they seem very content.  One wonders with great anticipation what next winter will bring.

Bottoms up!

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if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

20 eagles a day in Calgary...

 

Photo by Dave Kemp

CBC News' Hannah Kost quotes naturalist Brian Keating saying he saw upward of a half-dozen Bald Eagles on any given walk, in Calgary, during this past winter, while some folks have reported 20 more more sightings per day.   The Calgary sightings may be due to more people out walking during the Covid crisis and it may be that there is a surplus of duck, the Bald Eagle's favourite cold-weather treat.   Calgary had more ducks than ever this past winter.

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BarrytheBirder

At the feeder...

                                                                                          Photos by BarrytheBirder

WET GRACKLE

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BarrytheBirder

Back to December 31, 2006...

Photo by Barry Wallace

It was raining yesterday so I didn't get a picture for today's BarrytheBirder blog.  Instead, I went back to the first BarrytheBirder blog I ever wrote, on December 31, 2006, almost 15 years ago.   The photo was taken in late 2005.   The blog contained the following limerick:

I walk and look up

Counting a thousand blackbirds

I fall to the ground

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BarrytheBirder

Main Street backyard ~ Schomberg

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Another birdhouse with pretensions

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BarrytheBirder

Rarest bird in the world?

Photo by Ciro Albano/American Bird Conservancy

Blue-eyed Ground Dove

(Claravis pretiosa)

This bird is found only in the Botumirim area of eastern Brazil, where the American Bird Conservancy partner SAVE Brazil has recorded 25 Blue-eyed Ground Dove individuals in spring 2020 - the highest count yet for one of the world's rarest birds, if not the rarest.   This bird was re-discovered in 2015.  The latest count of 25 Blue-eyed Ground Doves is four more than 2019.   Careful monitoring has identified four nests, three of which had eggs.   Expectations are that more nests and birds will be discovered.

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BarrytheBirder

Finch with a bloodthirsty name...

 Illustration: HBW

VAMPIRE GROUND-FINCH

Pictured above is a Vampire Blood-finch (Geospiza Septentrionalis).   It is the only one of 10,989 species in the HBW and Birdlife International checklist with 'Vampire' in its name.   It is found on just two of the Galapagos Islands off the west coast of South America.    It has the rather ghoulish feeding habit of pecking for insects on the feather roots skin of larger birds, such as boobies, until a wound opens and it can drink its victims' blood.   It is thought that its taste for blood is to compensate for resources on the arid Galapagos Islands of Wolf and Darwin.   They are few in number and classified as Critically Endangered.

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BarrytheBirder

On the Glenville Road ~ east of Dufferin Street

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

When a regular bird feeder

just won't do...

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BarrytheBirder

Wild Turkey finds a morsel...

 

...and then departs

Wildlife Habitat Canada ~ Competition Winner...

2021 On Golden Pond ~ Common Goldeneye

Artist : John Sluiter

Pigeon Lake, Ontario

The Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp (CWHC) is a symbol of original Canadian art that serves to provide funds for conservation and draw attention to the importance of wildlife and their habitats.   The image on the stamp is selected each year through an art competition.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

White Doves - Easter Monday

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Spotted over Dufferin Street and the King/Vaughan Line

- south of King City

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BarrytheBirder

Early morning on the King Ridge...

Photo by Barry Wallace

Daydreaming Goose

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Barrythebirder

Snively Reserve ~ Oak Ridges

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

The Snively Reserve is a largish wetland in the north-west part of Oak Ridges, in Richmond Hill.   It is virtually inaccessible by human foot traffic, but is a treasure for wildlife.  Some access is available on the south side of Paradelle Drive.

Canada Geese exist in peaceful isolation

Song Sparrows like to be near water

The presence of beaver is quite evident along certain portions of the Snively Reserve's edges, as seen in these photos.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Early Ring-necked Ducks in Aurora...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Ring-necked Duck

(Aythya collaris)

This pair of early-migrating Ring-necked Ducks appeared on the McKenzie Marsh, in Aurora, at the end of March.   Except for a pair of migrating Trumpeter Swans, the 'Ring-neckeds' had the biggest of the marsh ponds all to themselves.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Richmond Hill Millpond

There used to be 

two beautiful 

Mute Swans on 

the Richmond Hill 

Mill Pond.

Now, sadly, 

there is but one. 

Please 

comment 

if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Two more photos of local Great Horned Owls...

Photos by Cameron McNab

Here are two more pictures of the Great Horned Owl nest featured in yesterdays' blog.  These two photos were taken by Holland Landing resident Cameron McNab.  The top photo is one of two adult owls and the lower photo shows one of two owlets.   My thanks to birder Doreen Hiltz for alerting to me to sighting.  

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if you wish.

BarrytheBirder 

Great Horned Owl in Newmarket...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

...early morning snooze

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BarrytheBirder

                                                                                                         

This solitary Mute Swan is on the Mill Pond In Richmond Hill.   

Last year there were two of them.

They had been together for a few years.

This year there seems but one        

Mixed feelings are a tasteless dish.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

                                               

                                                Photos by BarrytheBIrder