Brown Booby - A very amazing find - Florida Jan 2013

A boat trip would not be complete without a rare bird spotting. Captain Jeanette was heading back to the dock when she goes oh my Brown Booby. We all go WHAT - she backs up the boat and we got an amazing view of a juvenile Brown Booby who probably got off course on one of the storms. What a bird, blue bill and a striking blue eye. Thank you Captain. I will post information on the boat cruise with the web site. A wonderful way to spend three hours in Cocca Beach.

Brown Pelican - Juvenile - Florida Jan 2013

Juvenile Brown Pelican - we had one little pelican following the boat up and down the channel. So cute. I was so busy watching him that I had no idea right beside me on the post was another one. When Donna told me that the birds were everywhere she was RIGHT. Wonderful

Brown Pelican - Adult Florida Jan 2013

As the boat left the dock Captain Jeanette told us she had seen some pelicans in the channel. Oh yes she was so right. Brown and White Pelicans. Adults and Juveniles. A selection of the adult Brown pelican

Laughing Gull - adult and juvenile

On the beach Laughing Gulls were seen.

Anhinga - Amazing colours Florida

I couldn't get over this bird. It looked like a snake when in the water and swimming around. But when you saw it on the tree spreading its wings the colours were amazing.

Dolphins in Cocca Beach Florida january 2013

Florida: Oh you will see so many posts over the next few weeks - first trip to bird in Florida. Thanks Donna. Amazing trip with many amazing sightings. It will take some time to go through them all. We took a boat cruise in Cocca Beach with Captain Jeanette and the number of birds and mammals we saw were incredible. I am not sure how many dolphins we saw but here are a couple shots of them. Enjoy

Harris Sparrow at the Bobcaygeon area, Kawartha Field Naturalist CBC Dec 2012

Lifer Bird for me Harris Sparrow. Thanks to the sharp eyes of Steve who pointed it out to me. Make sure you enlarge the photo and check out the beak, feet and the chest on the bird. A large sparrow but simply stunning. Thanks.

With Permission of the Bobcaygeon area, Kawartha Field Naturalist CBC.

Red-tailed Hawk - rescue but no release Jan 2013

Red-tailed Hawk juvenile - This is to remind people to not turn your backs on a sick or injured animals or birds. Make the call to help save them. Photo Credit: Frank Butson and Cori Campbell.

As many of you know I am a volunteer at the Toronto wildlife Centre. They do fantastic work and I am very proud to support and volunteer for them. In the past few years I have told you about all the successful releases back in the wild. Not every bird or animal is that lucky. But thanks to TWC they have a chance.

On Friday I was called by a friend Frank saying they had an injured Red-tailed Hawk. I was already on my way home and very close to location. I went directly to location and parked my car and saw a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk sitting just off the ground. To the eye it looked fine but after talking to Frank and Cori I realized it was in trouble. I called Andrew (head rescue staff TWC) told him the situation and he gave me detailed information on how to proceed. Went toward the hawk and a sure sign of a problem is the hawk didn't move. He watched me carefully but just sat there. Once again talked to Andrew and started up the hill with a box.

The hill and the ground was very muddy. Slid down a couple times but the whole time the hawk's yellow eyes watched me. Thanks to a couple of young men who came to help and using their feet created a climbing step for me to climb on. I was able to get to the hawk gently put him in the box (and he didn't even try to get away) and Cori and Frank rushed him to Toronto Wildlife Centre. The hawk made it through the night. He was a very sick hawk and totally emaciated (which means starving to death). When I picked up the bird on Friday it weighed nothing. In the photo it is deceiving because it looks fine. But the behaviour of the hawk told a different story. It wasn't able to fly properly and fell over on landing. Today I received a call saying the hawk had not survived. Thank you to Frank and Cori who noticed the hawk was in trouble and did something about it, the two young men who stopped to help and I know it would have taken a lot longer to get to the sick hawk, and most important is the Toronto Wildlife Centre. Without you there would be no place to take sick or wounded animals or birds. I wish it had a diffent ending but it is great to know that people are watching and making that call to TWC.

From the Toronto Wildlife Centre web site: Wildlife situations: If you have found a wild animal in need of help, information that may help you could be available on this website. If you are unable to find the help you need on this website, or if you have encountered a wildlife emergency, please call 416-631-0662, follow the voice prompts, and leave a detailed message. A wildlife specialist will return your call as quickly as possible. Because of the extremely high volume of calls that TWC receives every day, calls must be answered in order of urgency. If you are calling about a sick, injured or orphaned wild animal, TWC’s wildlife experts will try to return your call within one hour of receiving your message during business hours (9:00 AM to 6:00 PM daily), or first thing the following morning after business hours. Please note: During peak seasons (April – October), TWC is receiving up to 200 calls per day, and busy Wildlife Hotline staff are returning calls as quickly as they possibly can – your patience is appreciated. Donations: If you would like to make a donation or have a donation-related inquiry, please contact us at 416-631-0662 ext. 3207or by email.

White Winged Scooters - Male and Female Jan 12, 2013

The highlight for me was the White-winged Scooters eating mussels in the water. The question was when he ate them shell and all? Donna Pam and I wondered how did they get digest them?

Female in flight