Migration ~ on the wing

OOh to be single-minded, unperplexed, like migratory birds.OOOO

~ ~ after Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) The Duino Elegies

White-throated Sparrow photo by BarrytheBirder

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB.

Rainy day goats

Six days of rain seems not to have dampened the appetites of these free-range goats, on a farm just south of King City.   On the other hand, I suppose it's what they do best, so more power to them.   And despite the shepard's separation of sheep from goats and the Bible's eternal damnation in hell, for goats and all things goat-like, William Blake reminds us that: "The lust of the goat is the bounty of God".          (BarrytheBirder photo)

Today's warbler is...

wwwINDIGO BUNTINGw  

Passerina cyanea

I apologize for this picture - it's a little small, a bit dark, and the bunting is a little obscured.   There were two of them in the backyard today and they did not cooperate at all.    Oh well, it's not as though I was paying them to pose.   Even in heavy overcast and on-again, off-again rain, the vibrant blue of the Indigo Bunting is a head-turner, and while I was waiting for my opportunity to get their picture, there were plenty of opportunities to get new photographs of the usual suspects, hanging about at this time of year.

Pine Siskin

Pine Siskins, while common, are not regulars in my backyard.   I can't remember the last time I had one show up, before today.   Here's how the legendary Ken Kaufman describes the Pine Siskin: "Although it is patterned like a sparrow, its shape, actions, and call notes all reveal that this bird is really a goldfinch in disguise".   Well, this female Siskin was with about 50 goldfinches at our Nyjer feeders today.   Siskins, together, are often frisky and noisy, but this one was quite subdued by the many goldfinches.
    

                 

Please comment if you wish.                                                                                Photos by BarrytheBirder

BtheB

And the warbler of the day is...

BarrytheBirder photos

MMMMagnolia WarblerMMM

Dendroica magnolia

Magnolia Warblers usually forage at the top, and in the centre, of the tree canopy, so they're often hard to spot, but this fellow was low in my backyard cedar hedge.   This is my answer to the occasional observer who asks: "Why don't you chop down that huge messy hedge?".   Harrumphh!   Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Orioles also like nectar

Photo by BarrytheBirder

MMMBaltimore OrioleMMM

Icterus galbula

I don't have an oriole feeder, so this Baltimore Oriole had to try and make do with the hummingbird feeder.   He wasn't around very long (just long enough to have his picture taken) and then sought greener pastures.   The constant rain has the trees and shrubs full of birds and they are singing their heads off.   I tried desperately to get pictures of an Indigo Bunting and a leucistic Grackle but was too slow - maybe Monday morning.   That's the beauty of birding, of course...there's always tomorrow.   I should add, while I think of it, that the Baltimore Oriole received its name, according to Google, from the fact that the male's

colours resemble those on the coat-of-arms (at left) of Lord Baltimore, a 1600s Maryland and Newfoundland colonist.   A newer and more modest connection, to Canada, is the fact that our oldest navy vessel, which is still in use as a sailing training vessel on our west Coast, is called the Oriole.   The Oriole is a 102' ketch built in the early 1920s and is the oldest commissioned vessel and longest-serving commissioned vessel in the Canadian navy. The ship's badge is pictured is at right, and is very expressive in its image and its brilliant colour.   The same can be said for her spinnaker sail, underway at right.   The navy's Oriole can be seen plying the waters near Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt  at Victoria, British Columbia.   The Marconi-rigged ship was originally built for the commodore of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, George H Gooderham.   Yes the same Gooderhams as those who built the Gooderham and Worts Distillery in Toronto, and which I blogged about  two weeks ago on April 30.   Like the HMCS Oriole, the Baltimore Oriole also crosses oceans and occasionally shows up in western Europe!   Did I mention it's the state bird of Maryland?    Well, I have certainly digressed here.   Please comment if you wish, whether it's about birds or boats.
BtheB

Wet Grosbeak drops in

It was quite wet  most of this Saturday and many birds were brought to ground.   Our cedar hedges were full of birds and their spring songs.   Pictured above and below is a slightly soggy, female Rose-breasted Grosbeak, which my wife, Linda spotted.   The grosbeak was very timid around even the smallest of the other birds, but eventually  got her share  of seeds.   (BarrytheBirder photos)                               

The photo at left, from the Chipper Woods Bird Observatory in Indianapolis, shows the distinctive (but not usually seen) yellow underwing of the female Red-breasted Grosbeak.   The male's underwing is a rosy-red.   The photo below shows the red underwings of a male that unfortunately was a victim of a collision with a window.   This photo was taken by my friend, Bill Salter, of King Township.   I posted this picture previously last September when the incident took place at Bill's home.   Please comment if you wish.     

BtheB           

The 'mountains' of King

Call it what you will: the King Ridge, the Green Lane, the Moraine or the Mountains of King (as early explorers exclaimed).   It is home to a constant but ever-changing environment that allows one to bring home a different sensation after each visit.   Today the woods were full of chipmunks, robins and blue jays.   I missed seeing but did hear many warblers and thrushes, however.   I saw, but missed photos of Pileated Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers and Turkey Vultures.   I looked down also and was glad I did, as spring sprang from the earth, beneath my feet.   I photographed what I I thought was a very large Trout Lily (see below), then decided it was something else.   It was a Bellwort.   It is bigger than a Trout Lily, but has no red tinges or fishy-looking leaves, and shares the same habitat as Trilliums, often as abundantly.

MMMPhotos by  BarrytheBirderMMM

A somewhat muted, but pleasing palette of fungal colours (above) was a singular surprise along the 3 kilometres of rambling I did today.   Unfortunately, there was a reminder (below) that more people encroaching upon natural settings, both public and private, can lead to denial of access for what nature has to offer.   After years of nothing but an ancient and tumbled-down stone fence line, a new fence, with three strands of barbed-wire atop it, and threatening signs every few feet, has sprung up along a significant portion of the verdant path I took today.   There is no substitute for treating nature and public property with respect.

 Please comment if you wish.

BtheB  

Spring at Seneca

Seneca College's pair of  resident Ospreys are back in their nest atop the parking lot light standard, much to the delight of local raptor watchers.   They've been in this spot, in King Township, for almost ten years now.   Prior to that they occupied a more natural nest in a large pine tree at the edge of nearby Lake Jonda.   My Thurdsday saunter also produced the Yellow Warbler (below right) and the Song or Swamp sparrow (below left).   Someone please give me a correct identification - I'm hopeless with sparrows.

I love the stark but pleasing colour contrast of black and bright green in spring willow trees.   They're a symbol of summer's promise.  Meanwhile, a Tree Swallow and  a Canada Goose (below) stand sentinel over their nestings sites.   Below them are spring flowers that have already turned to seed in early May.                                                                   

    Please comment if you wish.                                                                               Photos by BarrytheBirder

    BtheB

Milady in her garden

Photo by BarrytheBirder

The tulips and daffodils are out, the hummingbirds have returned, and the cats have shed their winter incivility.   Therefore, it must be spring.   Mmmmmmm, and well worth the wait.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

First 'Hummer' + small and big sparrows

The first Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, a male and a female, arrived at the feeders today, on exactly the same day (May 10) as they arrived last year.   The differance was that last year I had the feeders out very early because of warm weather.   This year, because of cold and wet weather, I had only filled the feeders for the first time at 10 a.m. this morning, and two hours later the Hummers were knocking at the door.   The female is pictured above hovering at the feeder for a quick sip, this makes herself comfortable on the perch, followed by a good long swig, at her leisure.   I also noticed the pair of White-crowned Sparrows and several Chipping Sparrows that arrived last week and thought about the difference in their sizes.   I'm sure the ordinary person would think a sparrow is a sparrow is a sparrow...or a LBJ (little brown jobby).   The smallest sparrows (such as the Savannah and Grasshopper) are about 11.5 cm (4.5").   The largest sparrows (such as the Fox, Harris's and White-crowned) are 19 cm (7.5).   That's a difference of just over 65%.   In the case of the Chipping Sparrow and White-crowned Sparrows, pictured below, The White-crowned can weight up to 150% more than Chipping!   And yet, despite the differences in size, markings, songs, behaviours, etc., some people (like me) have a devil-of-a-time sorting their sparrows.   

Chipping Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Please comment if you wish.                                                                                     Photos by BarrytheBirder

BtheB 

Southern Yellow-bellied Hornbill by Mpho Phiri

 

This a photograph taken by Mpho Phiri of South Africa, who became a follower of my blog last week.   I have also become a follower of his blog.   if you are interested in African bird photos and anecdotes of African birds, this blog may be very enjoyable and enlightening.   With Mpho's permission, I hope to show more of his work, in this space, from time to time.   See a photo of Mpho Phiri in the blog below.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Our birds stare in wonder at us

Mpho Phiri is a naturalist, photographer and blogger at Mahikeng in north-west South Africa.   He came across my blog, of May 4th, entitled 'Oil sands ~ dirty money'.   I wrote "We no longer live just to survive the day, but rather to consume the earth, cheat death and live forever".   Mpho replied: "And we watch helplessly as our trees come down to give way to business developments and our birds stare in wonder at us".   That last phrase stirred something in me.   I don't think I'll ever look a bird in the eye again without feeling, in a very new way, the responsibilty I share for the state of environment in which all birds, and we humans, try to survive.   Mpho has added himself to my list of followers.   I am flattered.   I am about to add my name to his list of followers.   His African birding photos are wonderful.   I highly recommend having a look.   Google him at Mafikeng Birding  Blog.  He has travelled in seven African countries and he is president of the Mafikeng Bird Club.   I look forward to contacting this gentleman very soon, particularly to ask him if I may use some of his photos in this space.  

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Spring flowers ~ nature's annual inauguration

                                                                                                   BarrytheBirder Photo and Haiku

Daffodils later

by a month over last year 

but well worth the wait

After the rain

BarrytheBirder Photo

mmmSundown at Pottageville, Ontariommm

Oil sands ~ dirty money

      Photo by Jiri Rezac ~ Greenpeace

We no longer live just to survive the day,

but rather to consume the earth,

cheat death and live forever.

   Please comment if you wish.

   BtheB

Rain horses

Here's another example of King Township horses and their early-alert bodyguards: in this case, a burro, on the King-Vaughan townline, south of King City.  I've seen goats, llamas, dogs and ponies filling the same role around and about the sideroads.   There are many of them, so presumably they earn there keep.   Below are a pair of lookalikes, near Schomberg, that apparently have to wear different-coloured bridles to assist in telling them apart.   I'm sure their owner has no problem telling them apart, up close, but the coloured bridles would serve a useful finction when the horses are separated and/or at a distance.

BarrytheBirder Photos

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Red-winged Blackbird in the rain

BarrytheBirder photo

Blackbirds are the cellos of the deep farms.

~~ Anne Stevenson, English Poet, 1933-

...or perhaps you may like...

I do not know which to prefer,

The beauty of inflections or the beauty of innuendos,

The blackbird whistling or just after.

~ ~ Wallace Stevens, American Poet, 1879-1955

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Wet May day

   

    Getting wet while you're feeding is one thing...



 ( BarrytheBirder photos )

    Keeping eggs dry and warm is another...

...spread your wings and hunker down.