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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
09-17-2023, 09:05 AM
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First time we have ever had a Northern Flicker (no, not Flickr!) in our back yard. Not that they are uncommon, but they are a bit shy.
 Northern Flicker by Steven, on Flickr
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
11-02-2019, 10:01 AM
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Here we have black-legged ticks that pass on Lyme disease - a major problem that doesn't seem to have entered the collective consciousness yet.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
08-01-2019, 08:36 AM
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Thanks jabobby - I still have that DA 55-300mm lens as a backup, It holds up pretty well in good light, but I normally use the DA*300mm now.
The male RWBs are so brash and noisy they grab all the attention. The females tend to lurk in the background!
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-29-2019, 05:23 AM
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Sorry to be late with this one jabobby. Actually some female Red-winged Blackbirds do have a bit of red in the shoulder.
 Female Red-Winged Blackbird by Steve, on Flickr
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
05-10-2019, 05:18 AM
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I have to go a lot further than my yard to get shots like that!
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
05-04-2019, 05:02 PM
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We are headed to the hot spots on the north shore of Lake Erie (Rondeau, Pelee) for a few days tomorrow, and hope to have some nice images to post in a few days' time
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
05-04-2019, 02:54 PM
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Pleased to help jabobby. I've been pleased to contribute some of my own images to that site. Of course Cornell University's "Merlin" bird identification app is always another option.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
05-04-2019, 09:55 AM
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I agree with the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, but I think the first one is a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Both are very active and hard to photograph - congrats!
You can find some more pics of the Kinglet here - in fact this is a great site for photos of northeastern N. American birds.
http://www.ofo.ca/gallery/checklist/family/50/species/356 |
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
11-21-2018, 12:51 PM
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Really nice to see those grosbeaks. No winter finches on my feeder yet. I have to refill the sunflower seed feeder every day for a big flock of house sparrows and a couple of chickadees. Even the Goldfinches have gone.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
10-12-2018, 11:47 AM
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I would say a Swainson's Thrush. The Wood Thrush is much redder in colour. Still a nice bird to get.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
10-12-2018, 05:48 AM
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Lots of white-throated sparrows passing through at the moment - there's usually one pecking around under our thistle feeder.
 IMGP4972 by Steve, on Flickr
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
09-21-2018, 02:16 PM
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In Canada they think I'm pure Brit but in UK they think I "talk like a yank", so I guess I'm floundering somewhere in mid-Atlantic.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
09-21-2018, 09:42 AM
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And speaking of Alligators, their range doesn't quite extend to the frozen north (otherwise we would have a lot fewer beavers) but it's the name given to a type of tug used in logging that can haul itself overland.
Alligators of Algonquin Park
Should have mentioned that Ron's book is referenced in the finch forecast.
Now I'll go back to primping my plaid shirts for the winter ahead.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
09-21-2018, 07:35 AM
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No, but Ron Tozer's book says there are very few grackles in your neighbourhood during the winter months so they should be gone before too long.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
09-21-2018, 07:12 AM
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Those of you in NE USA and eastern Canada might be interested in this winter's "finch forecast" from the Ontario Field Ornithologists. Apparently we are in for an "irruption year" with birds like Redpolls and Siskins sweeping south due to low cone and tree seed crops up north.
Winter Finch Forecast 2018-2019
OFO also has a great website with lots of information and bird photos.
While these birds show up more often further north where Norm lives it's a long time since I had them on my feeders here in Toronto. In fact I don't have any shots of them from my own back yard, so here's a Redpoll shot from a friend's place up north.
 _IGP0628 by Steve, on Flickr
Edit - I discovered this January 2009 shot of a Redpoll, Siskin and Goldfinch, taken in my yard with my old K100D and DA 55-300m lens.
 _IGP1814B by Steve, on Flickr
You might want to think about stocking up on sunflower and nyjer seed, cleaning up those old feeders and getting ready to enjoy some winter finch action.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
09-17-2018, 06:18 AM
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We have had a few birds lately in southern Ontario that belong in Mexico (Great Kiskadee), on the Gulf coast (Reddish Egret) or southern US (Snowy Egret). Maybe the hurricanes have something to do with it. Newfoundland is the place to be if you want European vagrants. They attract birders from miles around, but it's a matter of opinion as to whether they are "rare and exotic" or "lost and confused"!
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
08-29-2018, 06:37 AM
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A pleasant surprise this morning - an Eastern Wood-Pewee flycatching from one of the cables across our garden. A first for our yard. Also one of a small "charm" of Goldfinches that's still hanging around.
 IMGP4404 by Steve, on Flickr
 IMGP4395 by Steve, on Flickr
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
12-25-2017, 08:44 AM
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I'm cheating a little bit here - this Painted Bunting was in the "yard" at the Visitor Centre of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Florida. I thought something colourful might be appropriate today. Now I'm back in Toronto and I have to go out and clear some snow. Best of the season to everyone!
 IMGP2112 by Steve, on Flickr
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-29-2017, 07:39 AM
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Both parents were back and forth with dragonflies etc every minute or so - must take quite a toll on the local insect population! They were all gone the following morning - hope they are OK and that some predator didn't get them. By the way my DA*300mm was too tight for this situation so I used the Tamron 90mm with the 1.4x TC (with off-camera flash) then cropped. Guess I need an in between lens!
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-29-2017, 07:15 AM
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Not my yard, but this Eastern Phoebe family was under the eaves of a cottage where we were staying.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
03-28-2017, 12:47 PM
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Two Red-breasted Nuthatches visiting our peanut feeder today. I wanted to capture them both together but they were taking it in turns.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
03-12-2017, 09:20 AM
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Winter is coming back with a vengeance (-13C this morning, snowstorm coming in Monday night) but we are getting a longer window of sunlight on our backyard feeders.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
03-02-2017, 02:41 PM
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And just when you think you've got it straight, the taxonomists find some new DNA and the pack gets shuffled again. Great for the people who produce new editions of field guides but confusing for the rest of us. The ironic thing is that the birds themselves don't have a clue what their names are and really don't care.
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