East coast of Vancouver Island...

Photo by Dave Kemp

 BUFFLEHEAD (female)

(Bucephala albeola)

Smallest duck in North America - often called the "butterball"

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Early January thaw...

Photo by Barry Wallace

The new year of 2023 is starting off with mild weather.  Temperatures are above freezing and snow is mostly melted.  Bird baths have melted and offer a short interval of rest and relief for feathered creatures.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Trumpeter Swans...

Photos by Barry Wallace

Trumpeter Swan

(Cygnus buccinator)

The Trumpeter Swan is the largest native species in Northern America.   With a wingspan of more than 7 feet and a height of 4 feet, snow-white Trumpeters present a truly spectacular sight.   

The Trumpeter Swan's long neck and feet allow it to easily uproot plants in water up to 4 feet deep.   Depending on the minerals in the water in which they forage, Trumpeters can often take on a rusty iron coloration, as in the photo above.   These big birds were once fairly common throughout a large part of the northern United States and Canada, but market hunting and the millinery trade depleted nesting populations during the 19th century.   Huge numbers of swan skins ended up in Europe to make ladies' powder puffs, while the feathers adorned fashionable hats.    Though decimated over the decades, enough swans survived to become the salvation of the many, many birds that we see today in numerous U.S. and Canadian locations.

Above, mature cygnets and a parent

All photos shown 

here were taken 

in York Region.

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comment

if you wish.

Barry the Birder

Cozumel Birds - Mexico

Photos by Barry Wallace

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comment

if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Chickadee and suet...

                                                                                                                      Photo by Barry Wallace

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Snowy Owls spotted on Ravenshoe Sideroad...

Photo by Barrythe Birder

My friend and field naturalist Doreen Hiltz in Holland Landing has reported to me that she and her grandson spotted a pair of Snowy Owls on the Ravenshoe Sideroad in south Keswick this week.  This is perennially a favourite spot for birders to see these wonderful birds.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Frosty forager...

                                                                                                    Photos by BarrytheBirder

Black-capped chickadee

(Parus atricapillus)

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BarrytheBirder

Birds Canada greeting...

                                                                                                        Photo by Maureen Hills-Urbat

Clark's Nutcracker

(Nucifraga columbiana)

This photo illustrated the 2022 holiday message from Patrick Nadeau,

President & CEO of Birds Canada

The Clark's Nutcracker is a large attractive bird (30-33 cm.) with a light gray body and large white patches in its black wings and tail.   It is very distinctive in the mountains of southwest Canada, western U.S.A. and northern Mexico.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Snow Bunting...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

SNOW BUNTING

(Plectrophenax nivalis)

Breeds in northern Canada and Alaska and winters south to Ontario and the Carolinas.   Feeds on ground in open country and flocks with other buntings, Horned Larks and Longspurs in winter.   Calls include a sweet tew or tew-eee; a short trill; and a raspy wreent.   Black-and-white wings are conspicuous in flight in both sexes year-round.

Photo: Birds Canada

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BarrytheBirder

Comox, British Columbia...

Photos by Dave Kemp

Trumpeter Swans

Potato Fields ~Knight Road

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Art of the carver...

                                                                                                                     Photo by BarrytheBirder

     Western Grebe ~ by Liza Chin

     1987                                                                               Northern Loon - Ron Sadler

                                                                                              1983

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BarrytheBirder

Pine Siskin ( Carduelis pinus)

Photos by Barry Wallace

The Pine Siskin is one of the northern finches whose winter visits to southern Ontario occur mainly in years when the seed crop has failed in the boreal forest.  Their principal foods are the seeds of hemlocks, alders, birches, and cedars.   They are also fond of salt, and can be found along highways salted to melt snow.   

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Dave Kemp in the Galapagos...

 

Photos by Dave Kemp

Magnificent Frigatebird

(Fregata magnificens)

The male Magnificent Frigatebird has a brilliant red throat pouch in the breeding season and inflates it to a huge size during courtship.   Females have white breasts while the young have white heads and underparts.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Hawk Owl - Schomberg, Ontario

 

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Hawk Owl

gets

lots

of

attention

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BarrytheBirder

Vancouver Island...

Photo by Dave Kemp

sSNOW GEESEs

Chen caerulescens

Breeds on high Arctic tundra - seen in winter in grasslands,

grainfields and coastal wetlands

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BarrytheBirder

Close Hawk encounter...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

A Cooper's Hawk flies in a harassing manner just above a much larger Red-tailed Hawk; a common occurrence when a larger bird gets too close to the nesting sight of a smaller bird.

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BarrytheBirder

Downey Woodpecker

Photos by BarrytheBirder

This is the smallest, tamest and most abundant of the eastern North American woodpeckers.   It shows up often at suet racks in suburban yards and is frequently seen in parks and roadside trees and shrubbery.   It is a familiar bird along with nuthatches, creepers, juncos and chickadees that gather during fall migration.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

The Killdeer

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Killdeer

(Charadrius vociferus)

The call of the Killdeer is instantly recognizable: it is loud, piercing, kill-dee or dee-dee-dee!   It nests on open ground, often gravel, and its other notable characteristic is it will feign a broken wing to lead intruders away from its nest.

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comment

if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Vancouver Island Rufous Hummingbird...

Photo by Dave Kemp

 Rufous Hummingbird

Dave Kemp has passed along this snowy photo of a Rufous Hummingbird on Vancouver Island.   I'm sure this pretty 'hummer' will be heading down the western coast of the U.S.A. to spend the summer in warmer climes.

Thanks for this photo Dave.

BarrytheBirder

How many Hummingbird Species?

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird

                                                                                                        Photo by BarrytheBirder

There are 5 regularly seen species of hummingbirds in Canada:

   RUBY-THROATED Hummingbird 

ANNA'S Hummingbird

 RUFOUS Hummingbird

CALLIOPE Hummingbird

 BLACK-CHINNED Hummingbird

                                          + 5 more rarely seen species

There are 15 regularly seen species of hummingbirds seen in the U.S.A. plus 5 more rarely seen.

Total hummingbirds seen in all of the Americas 

is 365 species.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder