Chipping Sparrow / Spizella passerina
Colours and textures
American Tree Sparrow
European Starling / Sturnus vulgaris
A blast from the past
Merlin removing dragonfly's wings
Bees, bees, and more bees
Great Horned Owl - posting just for the record
A distant Northern Pygmy-owl
A watchful eye
Great Horned Owl male
Time for an afternoon nap
Pine Grosbeak in winter sunshine
Yesterday's treat
Gray Jay - Canada's new National bird
Gray Jay
Same tiny Northern Pygmy-owl
Way, way up
Northern Pygmy-owl
Ferocious hunter, but looking cute
Great Horned Owl
Sleepy Great Horned Owl
The size of a popcan
Yesterday's treat
Northern Hawk Owl from 2016
Two of a family of three
A backward glance
Northern Hawk Owl
Winner with its prey
Peacefully waiting
Such a beautiful owl
Perch with a good view
Northern Hawk Owl
Meadow Vole for a late lunch
Northern Pygmy-owl
False eyes and real eyes
Blue-gray Tanager / Thraupis episcopus, Tobago
Shiny Cowbird / Molothrus bonariensis, Tobago
Trinidad Motmot / Momotus bahamensis, Tobago
Green Heron, Tobago, Day 2
Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Tobago, Day 2
Green Heron, Tobago, Day 2
Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Tobago, Day 2
Purple Honeycreeper / Cyanerpes caeruleus, Asa Wri…
Masked Cardinal / Paroaria nigrogenis, Trinidad, D…
Green Honeycreeper male, Asa Wright Nature Centre,…
White-necked Jacobin, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Tr…
Blue-gray Tanager, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trini…
Green Honeycreeper female, Asa Wright Nature Centr…
Crested Oropendola / Psarocolius decumanus, Asa Wr…
Guianan Trogon, Asa Wright Nature Centre
Collared Trogon / Trogon collaris, Asa Wright, Bel…
Copper-rumped Hummingbird / Amazilia tobac, Trinid…
Blue-gray Tanager /Thraupis episcopus, Asa Wright,…
American Robin / Turdus migratorius, Carburn Park
Green Honeycreeper, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trin…
White-necked Jacobin female, Asa Wright Nature Cen…
Cacao tree (chocolate!), on way to Brasso Seco, Tr…
Green Honeycreeper male, Asa Wright Nature Centre,…
White-necked Jacobin, Asa Wright Nature Centre
White-necked Jacobin immature, Trinidad
Yellow-headed Caracara, Nariva Swamp afternoon, Tr…
Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Nariva Swamp afternoon
Merlin on the hunt
Merlin
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
House Wren at the Ellis Bird Farm
Western Kingbird
Little mystery bird - juvenile Yellow-rumped Warbl…
Brown-headed Cowbird juvenile
Hawk in Fish Creek Park - juvenile Northern Goshaw…
Lazuli Bunting - just for the record
Willow Flycatcher
Flycatcher sp. - Willow or Alder Flycatcher
Yellow Warbler male
Clay-colored Sparrow / Spizella pallida
Great Horned Owl owlet, Ellis Bird Farm
Collecting food for his babies
White-crowned Sparrow / Zonotrichia leucophrys
American Goldfinch male
One of a pair
Busy parent
Close-up of bee colony
The art of preening for a young owl
Large Bee colony
Always a good mother
A Tree Swallow's iridescence
Golden-breasted Starling / Lamprotornis regius
One of a crowd
Mixed pair of Red-tailed Hawks
Northern Shrike / Lanius excubitor
Varied Thrush
Branch treasures
Blowing in the wind
A local Great Horned Owl
01 Varied Thrush / Ixoreus naevius
Pine Grosbeak enjoying the sun
Watchful eye
Beautiful bird, but grainy and blurry photo : (
Northern Pygmy-owl, one year ago
Focused, listening, watching
Clark's Nutcracker
Varied Thrush
Male beauty
Varied Thrush - a lifer
A quick glance
Pine Grosbeak / Pinicola enucleator
A photographer's nightmare
One year ago
Dainty little Common Redpoll
An unusually pale American Robin
Pretty good camouflage
Pine Grosbeak
Much better than a utility pole
Beware those icy fingers
Vole brains for her afternoon snack
Pine Grosbeak / Pinicola enucleator
Clark's Nutcracker
Clark's Nutcracker / Nucifraga columbiana
Pine Grosbeak
Triple treat
A tiny owl from the past
Pine Grosbeak in pretty light
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Merlin eating a dragonfly
![Merlin eating a dragonfly Merlin eating a dragonfly](https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/21/38/43382138.2e5adb10.640.jpg?r2)
![](https://s.ipernity.com/T/L/z.gif)
The sun is shining this morning, 11 October 2016, after three grey, gloomy days of snow and a bit of fog. Unfortunately, this was the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, too. Feels so good to see some blue sky today. The temperature is -1C (windchill -6C).
On 26 September 2016, I had planned to join a group of friends for a birding walk at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park. By the time I had had breakfast, I was feeling somewhat queasy and thought I had better not go on the walk after all. Felt a bit better later in the morning and decided to go to the Park after all, getting there about noon. Met a delightful young man standing on the bridge over the creek, pointing out to me a perched bird of prey. My first thought was Merlin, but it seemed to be too big to be a Merlin. It took a while to decide just what it was - helped by excellent birder, Nimali, who happened to come along the path. We decided it was a Cooper's Hawk ('C' for curved edge of tail tip and 'C' for Cooper's). Looking at my photos later that evening, I was still not sure that we had made the right decision. Lol, even the best of birders (which definitely does not include me!) sometimes make mistakes : )
This bird stayed around for ages and gave some nice opportunities for photos, including of it 'mantling' (spreading out its wings to form a cloak) when it captured a large dragonfly and returned to the same branch. When two of us were first standing on the bridge, this bird flew down right over our heads two or three times - maybe because we were attracting insects around us? We noticed a second similar bird, too, and we wondered if they were maybe juveniles, especially as the main one was very comfortable with us standing nearby. Made my day : ) Later: really appreciate everyone's help with identifying this bird as a Merlin!
"Merlins are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds and shorebirds. They are powerful fliers, but you can tell them from larger falcons by their rapid wingbeats and overall dark tones. Medieval falconers called them “lady hawks,” and noblewomen used them to hunt Sky Larks. Merlin populations have largely recovered from twentieth-century declines, thanks to a ban on the pesticide DDT and their ability to adapt to life around towns and cities." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Merlin/id
I even spotted several mushrooms earlier in my walk, which was a surprise. Can't believe I was out in the park for about five hours! A very enjoyable walk - glad to have your company, Nimali, and that of the very knowledgeable young man we had just met.
On 26 September 2016, I had planned to join a group of friends for a birding walk at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park. By the time I had had breakfast, I was feeling somewhat queasy and thought I had better not go on the walk after all. Felt a bit better later in the morning and decided to go to the Park after all, getting there about noon. Met a delightful young man standing on the bridge over the creek, pointing out to me a perched bird of prey. My first thought was Merlin, but it seemed to be too big to be a Merlin. It took a while to decide just what it was - helped by excellent birder, Nimali, who happened to come along the path. We decided it was a Cooper's Hawk ('C' for curved edge of tail tip and 'C' for Cooper's). Looking at my photos later that evening, I was still not sure that we had made the right decision. Lol, even the best of birders (which definitely does not include me!) sometimes make mistakes : )
This bird stayed around for ages and gave some nice opportunities for photos, including of it 'mantling' (spreading out its wings to form a cloak) when it captured a large dragonfly and returned to the same branch. When two of us were first standing on the bridge, this bird flew down right over our heads two or three times - maybe because we were attracting insects around us? We noticed a second similar bird, too, and we wondered if they were maybe juveniles, especially as the main one was very comfortable with us standing nearby. Made my day : ) Later: really appreciate everyone's help with identifying this bird as a Merlin!
"Merlins are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds and shorebirds. They are powerful fliers, but you can tell them from larger falcons by their rapid wingbeats and overall dark tones. Medieval falconers called them “lady hawks,” and noblewomen used them to hunt Sky Larks. Merlin populations have largely recovered from twentieth-century declines, thanks to a ban on the pesticide DDT and their ability to adapt to life around towns and cities." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Merlin/id
I even spotted several mushrooms earlier in my walk, which was a surprise. Can't believe I was out in the park for about five hours! A very enjoyable walk - glad to have your company, Nimali, and that of the very knowledgeable young man we had just met.
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