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Everywhere you look on the roads, parks, front yards and fields with cows are Cattle Egret. They are adorable little egrets. I have seen a few in Ontario but hundreds in Florida.
This one caught my eye because of the colour - a peach tone. He was busy picking up bugs and wandering around a ranchers field.
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Every cow in the field had a egret pecking off bugs. Cool to watch.
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I am used to seeing Barred Owls in Ontario but was thrilled to see Barred Owls 2 times.
The first time a man who was a volunteer at the centre asked us if we had seen Owl. We had not and he kindly took us there to see the owl. The second time Holly and I found owl by while out walking.
There was some hooting going on but a mate was not seen but was in the woods.
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| This owl was seen just before dusk. Lighting was almost gone. |
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| Was hoping for a pellet. No luck. |
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We were very lucky to see some friends of Holly's taking photos by the road side. A Mom and her babies were in the pond.
A few shots of them. They are well hidden so you may need to look closely.
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| 6 or 7 babies on a mount of dirt. |
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| sleepy babies |
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On one of many walks that Holly and I took we had the thrill of seeing an American Bittern come out of the reeds right in front of us. We also saw 2 flying in at the end of the day.
Love the photo above with the feathers all up. He had just got a small fish.
One of the many great sightings.
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| See his tongue |
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On a visit to Florida one of my true wishes was to see a Swallow tailed kite. Not only did I see one I saw 7.
Thank you Holly for your amazing finds and amazing trip.
This photo was taken on the keys. First trip to keys. More photos to come later.
Lots more of the kites.
This kite has a part of a tail missing. We reported our sighting to the Swallow Tailed Kite reports. With kite missing tail we thought it might be easier if anyone else saw this one.
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The big
birding news of the month has to be the new official Canadian bird: The Grey
Jay, Whiskey Jack, Canada Jay. I’m not saying I would have voted for the Grey
Jay, but let’s see if, when I’m done, you might find yourself thinking this
truly is a bird with a Canadian heart:
Grey
Jays are survivors and have been in Canada for thousands of years. The bird’s
name was derived from both the Cree and Algonquin languages: Wìsakedjàk in Algonquin
or Wīhsakecāhkw in Cree. They are part of the corvid family (Blue Jays, Crows
and Ravens), and they are one of the smartest birds on the planet. One sign of
their intelligence is their opportunistically friendly behaviour, for example if
you put food on your hand, especially cranberries, they will come down
immediately to take advantage of the situation. While some other popular
Canadian birds, looking at you Canadian Geese, abandon us for warmer weather,
the Grey Jay not only winters in Canada but can nest their eggs in -300C!
Add to all of this the fact that Grey Jays are found in every province and
territory and you’ve got yourself a truly Canadian bird.
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Blizzard and they still come out
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| Fluffed up |
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| Such a good choice for Canadian bird. |
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| So lucky to see all the Evening Grosbeaks in Algonquin. Both times the snow was falling so hard but a few shots of male and female. All photos ©Ann Brokelman Photography |
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| Still a few rusty leaves up |
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| Handsome male |
