Carolina Wren (14)

Thryothorus ludovicianus

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Nov 29 2021

Details: adult

Toronto

Date uploaded: Dec 1 2021

Views: 25

Comments (5):
Chris: Great closeup. Love the colours.
BrianMorin: When opportunity knocks you answer of course. While waiting patiently for the Golden-crowned Sparrow to appear this wren popped onto the scene. I couldn't pass that one up.

Golden-crowned Sparrow (22)

Zonotrichia atricapilla

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Nov 29 2021

Details: immature, outside normal range

Toronto - A second BC bird in one day. This one has found a Toronto park to its liking.

Date uploaded: Nov 30 2021

Views: 21

Comments (5):
Ahmad Shah: Another wonderful finding. Great work.
BrianMorin: This species doesn't show up that often, perhaps every 7-10 years, and was a first for me.

Glaucous-winged Gull (16)

Larus glaucescens

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Nov 29 2021

Details: immature, outside normal range

Barrie - This second year bird, a bit larger than a Herring Gull is well outside its Pacific Coast range. This is only Ontario's second bird, the first being last year.

Date uploaded: Nov 30 2021

Views: 28

Comments (4):
Ahmad Shah: Wow ! That is an amazing find, Brilliant job.
BrianMorin: It had just shown up the day before and being such an unusual species it was worth the trip.

Ring-billed Gull (34)

Larus delawarensis

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Nov 19 2021

Details: adult

Cornwall - One thing is for sure with birds, you always have to be ready for surprises. This is a Ring-billed Gull with excessive melanin in its genes, something that occurs far less frequently in birds than leucism, where there is a deficiency in colours, usually melanin. We know this is an adult because it was reported two years ago in the same area and looked exactly the same at that time. This is the first bird of any kind that I have encountered with such a condition. Leucistic birds (pale or white feathers) are more commonly found.

Date uploaded: Nov 27 2021

Views: 30

Comments (3):
Chris: That’s quite a story. I wonder if the bird has bred and what offspring would look like.
Ahmad Shah: Great capture.

Eastern Screech Owl (23)

Otus asio

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Nov 20 2021

Details: adult

Ottawa - There are very few red morph Screech Owls in the eastern part of the province so when this bird appeared after a one-day showing of another bird last winter it was eagerly welcomed. Looking back at my photos from January, the facial markings are quite different.

Date uploaded: Nov 23 2021

Views: 32

Comments (6):
Ahmad Shah: Magnificent capture.
BrianMorin: The bird is just off a side road and high enough that it doesn't react to visitors. We had to wait quite a while though to see its eyes open. It had just done a head scratch with its foot.

Say's Phoebe (9)

Sayornis saya

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

  📍 Map

Details: adult, outside normal range

Ottawa - A new bird for the region. This little guy gave me a hard time. It was first spotted while I was watching the Red Phalarope a couple of days ago. I I dashed about 10 km to a waiting throng of birders but despite a lengthy search it wasn't seen while I was there. This morning I had the bird all to myself for 90 minutes. It was still very elusive but I had a number of good shooting opportunities.

Date uploaded: Nov 19 2021

Views: 15

Comments (5):
Ahmad Shah: Wow ! Fantastic find, superb shot .
BrianMorin: I had made two additional attempts unsuccessfully in previous days so this was a great bird to finally locate. It has now been seen by dozens of eager observers. Because viewing is only to the south at this site, overcast conditions presented uniform light for me to work with, far better than back light.

Grey Phalarope/Red Phalarope (4)

Phalaropus fulicarius

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Nov 16 2021

Details: immature

Ottawa - I had been hoping to find a Red Phalarope somewhere in the region this fall and had a chance to check out this individual which had just been spotted.

Date uploaded: Nov 17 2021

Views: 14

Comments (6):
Chris: Spectacular find and photo together! Love the backdrop as much as the bird 😮
BrianMorin: This was a little beauty and the light really made a positive difference. The phalarope swan around large boulders along the shore, disappearing for a minute or more, then coming back into view.

Great Blue Heron (179)

Ardea herodias

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Oct 6 2021

Details: adult

Long Sault - The obvious caption here would be 'That's a stretch'.

Date uploaded: Nov 15 2021

Views: 25

Comments (4):
Ahmad Shah: Wonderful capture.
BrianMorin: It's nice when a familiar bird does something different.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (9)

Tyrannus forficatus

Brian Morin

Canada (Québec)

  📍 Map

Details: female, adult, outside normal range

Montreal- After seeing Ahmad's nice photo, I had to give it a try, expecting that the bird could leave any day. I didn't need to look for the bird, just the birders/photographers. The setting is right beside the Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport and the bird spent about 25% of its time working the fence line, occasionally heading further onto airport property. The rest of the time it was high in trees across the road, feeding on berries. Possible female based on tail length.

Date uploaded: Nov 10 2021

Views: 22

Comments (5):
Chris: Really happy you made the trip, and was successful!
BrianMorin: It was a great way to be introduced to the area.

Groove-billed Ani (9)

Crotophaga sulcirostris

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Oct 26 2021

Details: outside normal range

Stratford - Saved me a trip to southern Texas at best or maybe even into the tropics. This anomaly is not a first for the province but is still exceptionally rare. The bird was very approachable but that wasn't necessary because at times it would head towards us as it busily probed the grass in a horse pasture for insects. Before I arrived it had been walking around the feet of observers.

Date uploaded: Oct 29 2021

Views: 33

Comments (3):
Ahmad Shah: Great sighting. Well done.
BrianMorin: This had to be a one-day excursion so a very long day but well worth the trip.