Red-winged (first summer) Blackbirds ~ Agelaius phoeniceus

Photos by BarrytheBirder

These are the first photos I have ever taken of a young male Red-winged Blackbird.   In fact, it's the first one I've ever seen.   There were three of them at the backyard feeders for the first time ever, that I know of.   I've had both male and female adult 'Red-wingeds' many times before, but this sighting was a bit of a thrill.   Most noticeable, of course, is the feathers of the head, back, and secondary coverts edged with brown to buff.

The photo below shows one of the young blackbirds standing next to a European Starling, beneath the feeders.   The starlings tried to chase-off the blackbirds, but they stood their ground and continued to get their share of seeds.

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BarrytheBirder

Juncos should arrive in our backyard this week...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

I took the photo above in our King City backyard five years ago, on Monday, October 13, 2014.   The Dark-eyed Juncos usually show up each fall around the same time each year.   To me, their arrival is what I like to call the ''unofficial first day" of fall.   So, any day now...

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BarrytheBirder   

Manteling by Sharp-shinned hawk

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

Pictured here is a Sharp-shinned Hawk, in my backyard, after it caught a Mourning Dove which was on the ground beneath one of the bird feeders.  In the top photo, the hawk is seen holding its prey down and mantling, or spreading its tail and wing feathers to hide the prey from any other bird of prey that might try to steal the dove from the 'Sharpie'.   None did, so the 'Sharpie' had a complete meal (below).

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BarrytheBirder

Bald Eagle photos by Dave Kemp in British Columbia...

A neighbour of mine, here in King City, Ontario, was lamenting to me recently that he had missed getting close-up photos of two Bald Eagles, while driving along the north shore of Lake Ontario.   I was able to sympathize because I have seen Bald Eagles, but have never got a photo of one.   It reminded me of four photos in my bird files that were taken by a birding acquaintance and e-mail friend of mine from British Columbia.   His name is Dave Kemp and he is a very accomplished photographer.   The eagle photos shown here are his and I never get tired of scanning them.   I hope you, dear reader, are similarly impressed.

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BarrytheBirder

Peregrine Falcon almost became the Duck Hawk...

John James Audubon

A longtime acquaintance of mine made a gift to me, several years ago, of a bird book he acquired at an auction sale.   It was entitled 'Bird Homes' by A.R. Dugmore and was published 119 years ago in 1900.   Dugmore was a renowned birder, known world-wide, and his books were widely published.   In Bird Homes, He lists the Duck Hawk, and sub-titles it the Peregrine Falcon.   He goes on to say: "Few people associate the name Duck Hawk with the Peregrine Falcon of history, yet this is the bird that was used when falconry was the fashionable pastime; at the time almost any price was paid for a well-trained tercel, as the male bird was called; now that falconry has almost died out, the name of peregrine will probably go, and the more common name of duck hawk will be the only name by which this bird will be known".

Well, 119 years later, the name Peregrine Falcon name has not disappeared and the name Duck Hawk is merely a historical footnote.   Three of my newer field guides, Sibley, Stokes and National Geographic, make no mention of the name Duck Hawk.   Moreover, Dugmore lists a raptor known as the Pigeon Hawk, and does not use the name Merlin at all.

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BarrytheBirder   

Big birds passing through...

Photos by Barry Wallace

Trumpeter Swans

(Cygnus buccinator)

I spotted two adult Trumpeter Swans (pictured above) in a small pond on Dufferin Street, opposite Seneca College, a few days ago.  Trumpeters have become noticed more and more in York Region as the species continues to respond to their re-introduction to eastern Canada in recent years through captive breeding efforts.   Magnificent is the word to describe this bird, which at 60" in length is one of the largest birds in Canada.   If one is lucky enough to be quite near these huge creatures when they take off and call at the same time, the moment is never to be forgotten.

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BarrytheBirder 

We must share this planet because we are so alike...

                                                                                                     Photo by BarrytheBirder

A great little bird book

There are folks who think the only living creatures who must survive world calamities are humans.   Then there are those who believe all creatures on earth will survive together as we are vitally connected.   This little book is already being enjoyed by animal lovers, tree huggers, and planet protectors.  Hopefully people of all persuasions will come across it and embrace it.  It moved me forward in my thinking about our one world being saved for all living species.   It is a quick but moving read; with all the more impact because of its lucidity.

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BarrytheBirder   

Young woodpecker learning the ropes...

                                                                                         Photos by BarrytheBirder

A young male Downy Woodpecker has to be forgiven for thinking perhaps this oriole nectar feeder can provide him with some nourishment.   Sadly, he was mistaken, but he moved on to find rewards elsewhere in the backyard.

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BarrytheBirder

The upside-down world of nuthatches...

Photos

by 

Barry

the

Birder

 Red-breasted Nuthatch      ~      White-breasted Nuthatch

I dare say when it comes to nuthatches at our backyard feeders, they spend more time looking and facin g downward than they do looking upwards.   It has to do, of course, with footholds and the feeding port openings.  Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers sometimes try to imitate the nuthatches, but look like awkward amateurs by comparison.   We also see the nuthatches occasionally foraging for insects in or under tree bark, along branches or trunks.   The behaviour has earned them the nickname "Upside-down Bird", in many places by many birdwatchers.

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BarrytheBirder

Cardinals mate for life and may have three or four broods per mating season

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

NORTHERN CARDINAL

(Cardinalis cardinalis)

The Northern Cardinal is a bird we have in our backyard 12 months of the year ... usually one pair.   The one pair is always very territorial when it come to other cardinal interlopers.  But this year we have two pairs of adults cardinals and they have been prolific.   Both pairs appear to have raised two broods this year and one of the pairs seems to be feeding a third brood (photo below).   I have only just learned that male cardinals will take over the feeding of young fledglings while a female cardinal sits on a nest where she may have as many as four broods in a mating season.  Cardinals mate for life and I'm thinking that our backyard, in the village of King City, Ontario, may now have a lot more of these beautiful red birds around than ever before.   What a delightful possibility.   Cardinals are found in south-eastern Canada, the eastern USA and down into Mexico, Guatemala and Belize.   They are not native to Hawaii but were introduced there many decades ago, as were many other especially attractive birds.

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BarrytheBirder

Grackles think they own our garden and its birdbaths...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

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BarrytheBirder

Last hummingbird left my backyard on September 20

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Expert birder and author, Ken Kaufman, in his 1996 Lives of North American Birds, addresses Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and states that 'Almost all leave north America in the fall, wintering from Mexico to Costa Rica or Panama.   Some may cross Gulf of Mexico but apparently most go around Gulf, concentrating along Texas coast.

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BarrytheBirder

The Kingbird

Photo by BarrytheBirder

KINGBIRD

(Tyrannus tyrannus)

The Kingbird, whose scientific name is the latin 'Tyrannus tyrannus', meaning tyrant, is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as being of 'Least Concern' but adds its population trend is 'Decreasing' (insecticides, perhaps?)   It eats large insects during migration and on the breeding grounds, but in winter in South America it eats mainly fruit.   I have a certain affinity for Kingbirds, I suppose, because I live in the village of King City, in the municipality of King Township, in Ontario, Canada, and Kingbirds are nearby and common here in the summer.   I am particularly fond of them because they are so nattily-attired and are fearless at defending their territory against much bigger birds such as hawks or crows.
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BarrytheBirder

Young Hairy Woodpecker gets the hang of it...

                                                                                                     Photo by BarrytheBirder

It's taken this young Hairy Woodpecker a couple of weeks to get the hang of this feeder (pictured above).  Actually, the feeder is meant for birds smaller than this 9 1/2" woodpecker, but big birds can get the seeds if they hang low enough on the screen, bend sideways and push their beaks into the reduced opening.   As they say, where there's a will, there's a way.

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BarrytheBirder 

Different, but maybe not very attractive...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

This female House Sparrow is displaying what appears to be an over-production of melanin, a dark brown or black pigment which occurs at random in its feathers.  It seems however to be quite at home with the other normally-coloured House Sparrows at our backyard feeders.

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BarrytheBirder

One-legged juvenile European Starling copes quite well...

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

The juvenile starling pictured above does not appear unusual at first glance.   It does not, however, have a right leg.   It's been around at the feeders in the backyard, for most of the summer.   Apart from missing the entire right leg, it seems healthy and well fed; plus it is an excellent flyer.   It eats with a number of other juvenile starlings but defers to them if a squabble over food breaks out.   It's definitely a triumph over adversity.

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BarrytheBirder

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks do not hang around...

                                                                                                              Photos by BarrytheBirder

Pictured above is a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak and at right is a female.   The pair showed up this spring in the backyard and then disappeared.  This happens every year and we are always disappointed.  Grosbeaks are common in wooded habitats and our suburban backyard just doesn't seem to be what the grosbeaks are looking for.  Pity.

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if you wish.

BarrytheBirder 

Menacing black beady-eyed birds...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

GRACKLES JUST HAVE THAT LOOK!

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BarrytheBirder

Feathered friends in our backyard garden...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Goldfinch picnic...

...followed by a sip or two

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BarrytheBirder

Not seeing as many Purple Finches...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Purple Finch

(Carpodacus purpureus)

We have seen fewer and fewer Purple Finches at our feeders during the last several years.   I've read that House Sparrows and House Finches have pushed the Purple Finches out into the countryside and woodlands more and more.   We still get a few but not like what we used to get.

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BarrytheBirder