Richmond Hill Millpond and Allan Bales Creek...

"Alright, follow me"

                                                                                                          Photos by BarrytheBirder

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BarrytheBirder

World's fastest flyer in a dive...

    Photos by Dave Kemp

Peregrine

Falcon

320k/hr. (200 mph.)

Vancouver Island

photographer

and naturalist,

Dave Kemp,

has shared 

these photos

of a

 Peregrine Falcon.

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if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

On the balcony...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Stone Sparrows

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BarrytheBirder

Mill Street ~ Richmond Hill

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Female Mallard Duck

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BarrytheBirder

Early morning pigeon...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Staring in my window at Delmanor Aurora

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BarrytheBirder

'Colaptes auratus'

 

Photos by Dave Kemp

Northern Flicker

The Northern Flicker photos shown here were taken by Dave Kemp on Vancouver Island, who has been kind enough to send me his bird photos for several months.   The photos here show a 'Red-shafted' Northern Flicker, which is commonly found in western Canada.   In eastern Canada, 'Yellow-shafted' Northern Flickers are most common found.   Hybrids of the two types are often found where the two types inter-breed in the middle of the country.  These birds are ground-feeders (ants and beetles) and their lifespans are 8 to 9 years. 

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Barry the Birder

Aurora Arboretum Pond...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Trumpeter Swans

(Cygnus buccinator)

Trumpeter Swans are the rarest and largest swans in the world, with a 3m. (10 ft.) wingspan and a length of 1.8m. (6 ft.).   They are the heaviest living bird native to North America.   At one time they were abundant in North America, but by the early 1900s, they were nearly extinct.   Over the last century they have made a remarkable come-back and are now considered to be of least concern.

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BarrytheBirder

B.C. Bird and bugs...

Photos by Dave Kemp

Great Blue Heron

Naturalist/photographer Dave Kemp has generously shared 

 some recent excellent photos from Vancouver Island.

Leaf Cutter Bee (Diauthidium subparvum)

 Blow Fly (Lucilia Sericata)

Catch of the day

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BarrytheBirder

A favourite bird image...

 Painting by A. Sakhavarz          ~          Photo by Barry the Birder

Black-and-white Warbler

(Mniotilta varia)

I have thousands of bird photographs on my computer but very few bird art prints.  Above is one of the few avian art prints I have hanging on my walls.   The print is 129 of 325 from a favourite painting by A. Dakhavarz of a small attractive bird, of which I am extremely fond.   Its tree-creeping behaviour is very noticeable, much like a Nuthatch.

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BarrytheBirder

Dave Kemp Canada Day photos from Vancouver Island...

Green Swallow

Female Red-wing Blackbird

Blue Darners

Photos by Dave Kemp

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Barry Wallace

Covid precaution...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

I have been caught up in a Covid isolation procedure due to having shared a dining table with a person who had been exposed to a confirmed case of Covid.   I am confined for a least a week to my apartment in Delmanor Retirement Suites.  I am therefore drawing on my old bird photo files for a few days to fill this space.   These photos were taken many years ago on a vacation with my wife Linda to Cozumel, Mexico.

 

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BarrytheBirder

Richmond Hill Millpond...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

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Barry Wallace

More photos of my favourite small birds...

Dark-eyed Juncos

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Several days ago I showed two of my favourite Junco photos and today I am presenting another two photos of this small bird I admire so much.   I'd also like to quote Ken Kaufman from his 'Lives of North American Birds' where he writes of Juncos thusly: "Attractive gray sparrows of open woodlands, juncos usually have white outer tail feathers, conspicuous when they fly up from the ground.   The various kinds are found from northern Canada and Alaska to Panama, but they are mainly birds of cooler climates; toward the south, they live mainly in high mountains.   In many parts of North America, juncos occur only as winter visitors, with little flocks coming to backyard birds feeders".  Occurring only as winter visitors is certainly the case where I live, just north of Toronto, Ontario, despite the presence of late autumn green grass in the photos above.

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BarrytheBirder

3rd Largest woodpecker in the world...

 

Photo by Glenn & Jo McKinnon

Pileated Woodpeckers are what ecologists call a 'Keystone Species'.   So says Ted Cheskey, Naturalist Director of nature Canada.What is a keystone species?   Mr. Cheskey says a keystone species is an organism that has a significant influence on the ecosystem it occupies that is disproportionately large compared to its abundance or biomass.

How do 'Pileateds' contribute to their ecosystem?   It's their nest sites that contribute.   There are 27 other species of birds and creatures that re-use Pileated Woodpecker nest sites (list below)to reproduce: a secure and safe place to have their babies and nurture them through the most vulnerable part of their lives.

The species indebted to the Pileated Woodpeckers are:

Wood Duck                           Hairy Woodpecker

Hooded Merganser              Northern Flicker

Common Merganser            Brown Creeper

Barrow's Golden Eye           Northern Flying Squirrel

Common Golden Eye          Red Squirrel

Bufflehead                            Douglas Squirrel

American Kestrel                 Bushy-tailed Woodrat    

Flammulated Owl                 American Marten

Western Screech Owl          Ringtail

Northern Pygmy Owl           Fisher

Northern Saw-whet Owl      Little Brown Myotis

Boreal Owl                            Big Brown Myotis

Vaux's Swift                          Silver-haired Bat

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BarrytheBirder

Found in half of Northern America and all of South America...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

    

The House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) can be found from northern Alberta to Tierra Del Fuego, as well as southern Ontario where I live.   It nests in many places, from regular bird boxes to abandoned old boots.   It weighs about as much as two 25-cent pieces, but packs a big punch when defending itself against many similarly sized birds.   It has a few short-comings, but its voice is an off-setting exuberant out-pouring of burbling whistled notes.

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BarrytheBirder

Falco sparverius...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

American Kestrel

Smallest of the falcons, the Kestrel is also the most familiar and widespread in North America.   It is one of 35 species worldwide.   In the countryside, it feeds on insects, small birds and rodents, capturing prey on the ground rather than in the air.   At one time, this species was called the "Sparrow Hawk", because of its fondness for House Sparrows as prey.   In my experience, I usually see these birds perched on hydro or telephone wires, peering at the ground below for possible prey. 

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BarrytheBirder

Ospreys galore on Ravenshoe Sideroad

Photos by BarrytheBirder

10 Ospreys on Ravenshoe Sideroad

There are 10 full-size Ospreys to be found at two nest sites on the Ravenshoe Sideroad, west of Leslie Street, near the south end of Lake Simcoe, where the Holland River empties into the lake.   It appears there are two pair of adult Ospreys at each nest site, with three other Ospreys circling above each of the nest sites or perching nearby.   One site is at the top of a tall light standard on the edge of a baseball diamond, at West  Park on the Ravenshoe Sideroad, about a kilometre west of Leslie Street.   The other large nest is about another kilometre further west and sits atop the end of a huge mobile water-spraying machine.   Two Ospreys can be found at the nest while three other large Ospreys occupy several spots further along the water-spraying equipment.   The problem for birders looking for the second nest is that the water-spraying equipment is very mobile and transverses a very large area, which sometimes is hard to see in the distance, from the road.

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comment 

if you wish.

Barry

theBirder