Vancouver Island Wild Turkeys ... by B.C. photographer Dave Kemp

Photo by Dave Kemp

Wild Turkeys

(Meleagris gallopavo)

Largest game bird in North America.   They are slightly smaller and more slender than the domesticated bird.   Once hunted out of many regions, it has made a significant comeback and has been introduced into places beyond its original range.   They are huge, with naked heads and long wide tails.

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BarrytheBirder   

Canada Goose wingspan...

 Photo by BarrytheBirder

Maximum wingspan of the Canada Goose

is just over 6 feet (73") or 185 cm.

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Barry the Birder

Orca Whales off Vancouver Island...

Photos by Dave Kemp

Dave Kemp of Vancouver Island has captured Orca Whales off the east coast of Vancouver Island in these black and white photos.  Sightings like this always create a bit of a stir in British Columbia.   Dave is a regular contributor to this space with his excellent bird photos, but can't resist opportunities to capture amazing sea creatures also.

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BarrytheBirder

Great Blue Heron in Holland Marsh Canal

 

                                                                         Photos by BarrytheBirder

Big Bird ~ Big Wings ~ Big Beak

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BarrytheBirder

Aurora Arboretum - large pond

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Great Blue Heron

2 Trumpeter Swans return

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BarrytheBirder

Marbled Murrelet chasing Needlefish...

Photos by Dave Kemp

Marbeled Murrelet

(Brachyramphus marmoratus)

Photographer and naturalist Dave Kemp from Vancouver Island has passed along some interesting pictures of a Marbled Murrelet that has come upon a school of small Needlefish.

Needlefish can grow more than 3 ft. long and are serious predators; so much so, that the Murrelet pictured above could have been attacked itself.

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BarrytheBirder

Halifax, Nova Scotia...

 

Photo by Diane Wallace

Backyard Raptor Carving

My sister Diane photographed this marvelous bird carving in Halifax, Scotia.   She came upon it during a stroll near to where she lives.   The old tree had to be taken down but a neighbor of the owner's property offered to create the carving from the remaining trunk...with spectacular results!

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BarrytheBirder 

Chipmunks love bird seed...

                                                          Photos by BarrytheBirder

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if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Birdhouses...

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Simple and rustic

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BarrytheBirder

Birdhouses for very small birds...

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

These small birdhouses are to be found on my brother Bob's garage in Parry Sound, Ontario.   They are for small birds, with small star-shaped openings which allow small birds access but not large birds.   Clever and artistic.

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BarrytheBirder

Plenty of room...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Birdhouse condominium

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BarrytheBirder

Late summer hummer...

                                                                                                                  Photo by BarrytheBirder

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

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BarrytheBirder

Marsh dweller...

                                                                                                                   Photo by BarrytheBirder

The Red-Winged Blackbird

by Maude Gue Goodrich

Over where the bog is greening

And the willow waves her bloom,

There in bridal black quite proper

Does he love to preen and plume;

Breath of new green things is drifting,

O'er the sedges with the breeze,

Mingled with his love-song ringing,

Voicing liquid notes like these:

Conk-err-lee-e! Conk-err-lee-e!

Sweetheart see, sweetheart see!

The world was made 

For you and me!

Dignified beside the water

Walks he as a landed squire:

Spreads his wings and ruffs his feathers,

Smooths his shoulder caps of fire;

Then the blue sky bending over,

Or the hint of green on hill,

Fills his lover-heart with rapture

and again we hear him thrill:

Conk-err-lee-e! Conk-err-lee-e!

Sweetheart see, sweetheart see!

The world was made

For you and me!

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BarrytheBirder

Vancouver Island's Dave Kemp photos...

 

Photos by Dave Kemp

BONAPARTE'S GULL

(Larus philadelphia)

First winter

The Bonaparte's Gull is a two-year gull and  breeds in central and western Canada, including Yukon and Northwest Territories.   It winters on the west and east coasts of the U.S. and on the Great Lakes.   The breeding Bonaparte's has a black head, but in winter shows a white head with a dark smudge behind the eye.

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BarrytheBirder

McKenzie Marsh, Aurora

                                                                                            Photo by BarrytheBirder

Killdeer

(Charadrius vociferus)

This Killdeer is seen getting wet feet at  the local McKenzie Marsh in Aurora, but  commonly is found in grassy fields and shores.   It nests on open ground, usually on gravel, even on rooftops.

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BarrytheBirder

Range includes central Canada and upper U.S.

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Palm Warbler

(Dendroica palmarum)

According to Audubon Society Eastern Region Field Guide to North American Birds, the Palm Warbler is one of the first warblers to arrive in the spring, and at this season is commonly found feeding quietly on the ground.  It is unusual among warblers of the genus Dendroica in nesting on the ground; the rare Kirtland's Warbler is the only other species that does this.

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    BarrytheBirder

Two easily identified common sparrows...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

White-crowned Sparrow / left above

and White-throated Sparrow / right above

White-crowned Sparrow

(Zonotrichia leucophrys)

It nests in stunted trees and thickets; winters in woodland, brushlands, and hedgerows.   Generally uncommon in much of eastern Canada and northern America states but much more numerous farther west.

 White-throated Sparrow

(Zonotrichia albicollis)

Common in eastern Canada and U.S.   Nests in brushy coniferous  and mixed woodlands.   Winters in woodland undergrowth, brush and gardens.

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Barry Wallace

Sexual dimorphism...

Photos by Barry Wallace

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

(Pheucticus ludovicianus)

(female above ~ male below)

I came across some photos I had taken of a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak (see above) several years ago and then realized I barely remember taking them.   I do however remember taking many pictures of male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (below).  It made me think of innumerable bird species that show dramatic visual differences in the plumages between the sexes.  The phenomenon is called sexual dimorphism.   The muted colours of so many avian species females certainly make identification more challenging and interesting.

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BarrytheBirder

Pigeon Guillemot ~ new bird for me...

 

Photos by Dave Kemp

Pigeon Guillemot

(Cepphus columba)

My Vancouver Island friend Dave Kemp has passed along some photos of a juvenile Pigeon Guillemot taken on the east coast of Vancouver Island.   This is a new bird for me.   It is about the size of a crow with a long, black bill; fairly long, slender neck and swims with its head held high.   The breeding adult is black overall, usually with a white upperwing patch marked by a black triangle.   It is found on the western coast of North America, between Mexico and Alaska.  Thanks for passing along the above photos, Dave.

Breeding Male

Photo by Paul Kusmin/Audubon Photography Awards

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BarrytheBirder

They're the same size, but...

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Although Mute Swans (above  and at right below) are basically the same size as Trumpeter Swans, it is the aggressive Mute Swan that invariably dominates in confrontations, as seen  above.

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BarrytheBirder