Since Thursday I have been out every day trying to add new species of birds and mammals to my list. I try to take pics of everything I encounter, some better than others.
Samuel Smith ParkFinally got some pics of this guy. He doesn't make it easy as he always keeps his distance..at least from me :wink:
Frenchman's Bay:While looking for the Ring-Necked Ducks all over Frenchman's Bay I ran across this Great Blue Heron...never seen them in this rather graceful pose
Shortly after that it got dark so I returned on another day and explored Frenchman's Bay a bit more. On my way to the west beach, I encountered a bunch of these guys. Also heard the Bohemians but could not locate them:
Well I finally got my Ring-Necked Duck pics at Frenchman's Bay but they were so distant that they were only good for ID purposes...nothing to be proud of. It was ironic that after this ordeal, I would find Ring-Necked Ducks in nearly every pond I would go to: Downsview, Old Finch & Morningside, Lord Ross Park.
Old Finch & MorningsideSpeaking of Old Finch & Morningside...this amazing little wetland habitat is home to a wide variety of bird species:
Saw this guy soar above me the whole time I was there on Friday...but wasn't there on Saturday when I returned to get a better glimpse of the Bohemians I spotted (verified via sound and pic ..albeit poor pic)
In the distance I also spotted a couple of Red Tails duking it out for territory presumably. Got an awesome shot of one dive-bombing the other (both appeared fine after the altercation):
This guy was there too as were some mergansers (Common & Hooded) as well as a few Mallards & Canada Geese. Plus Grackles, RWBB and a couple of Mockingbirds
DownsviewOn to Downsview (these are from various days)
I found this pic came out quite contemplative.
Curious formation:
Had a tough birding day on Sunday looking for the Wood Duck in Lord Ross Park (wasn't my first time wasting my day at that park) and so when I came across this guy at the Downsview pond, I was elated. What a small, cute and absolutely stunningly beautiful Duck the Green Teal is. He sure managed to cheer me up and make me forget about that Wood Duck
High Park & Sunnyside BeachYesterday I decided that enough was enough with this Wood Duck drama and headed down to High Park where I spotted 3 of them. Sure are beautiful Ducks but they do look cold
While down there I thought I'd try my luck at Sunnyside Beach for the Double-Crested Cormorant. While this bird may be old hat to many of you, to me it was a new bird and a kind of new group of bird species altogether. These aren't ducks, mergansers, loons, grebes or even pelicans...but perhaps a bit of all of them all mixed up. I will try to get better pics...
Sorry for the long post but hopefully you got a kick out of some of the images
