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Snow Bunting (26)

Plectrophenax nivalis

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Dec 7 2023

St. Andrew's West - It's that time of year. We had a large flock of up to 600 buntings feasting on spilled corn beside a farm. I managed to find a single Horned Lark in their midst.

Date uploaded: Dec 10 2023

Comments (2):
Sue Bishop: Gorgeous,Brian!
Brian Morin: Getting one alone out of a flock was the tough part as I'm sure you know.

Fieldfare (1)

Turdus pilaris

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Nov 30 2023

Details: outside normal range

Sturgeon Falls - This bird has been high on my wish list for decades but being a Eurasian species the chances of seeing one here were slim. The last one to appear in Ontario was 42 years ago. After our success we almost added a second bird the next day in far eastern Quebec while watching a wayward Painted Bunting at a feeder. We didn't know that a bird showed up nearby the day before and we were told that it had been seen that morning a few hundred metres away from where we were. We missed it by an hour. It was not seen again unfortunately so we missed seeing two birds in two days in two months in two provinces. What are the odds of that? Both individuals likely came over from Iceland.

Date uploaded: Dec 3 2023

Comments (4):
Sue Bishop: Wow! Fantastic! You got a beautiful photo as well!
Ahmad Shah: Wow ! That is an amazing find, well captured, I have seen this bird in Germany, but I couldn't expect to see it here. Well done.

Rough-legged Hawk (34)

Buteo lagopus

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Embrun- A dark morph, my first of the season.

Date uploaded: Nov 24 2023

Comments (5):
Sue Bishop: Great capture Brian! Impressive!
Brian Morin: What we even better was the light was just right.

Purple Gallinule (15)

Porphyrio martinica

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Details: immature, outside normal range

Ingleside - This out of range Florida bird has been around for weeks and with leaves gone it has been easier to find. Last night we had a hard freeze which had the bird not in its usual area. You won't see many shots of this species enjoying a Canadian winter. It is very healthy at this time and can fly no problem. It is feeding on dead fish, a frog (when it was warmer) aquatic vegetation and wild grapes. Those huge feet allow it to move very easily on the ice. Attempts by others to retrieve the bird so it can overwinter in a rehabilitation facility failed today. It is still too healthy and eluded its captors.

Date uploaded: Nov 21 2023

Comments (1):
Chris: Hope he makes it. I remember a Common Moorhen tried to overwinter in Dorval, and was eating popcorn at a movie theatre into December.

Purple Sandpiper (8)

Calidris maritima

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

Date taken: Nov 16 2023

Details: juvenile

Erieau - I had tried a number of times this fall to find the species in various areas but failed until this day. Living up to its reputation, the bird was wonderfully cooperative. I did not approach it, the bird was simply very close when I found it, almost stumbling over it in a dark corner of a breakwater. Thankfully it later went into the light.

Date uploaded: Nov 20 2023

Comments (1):
Chris: Still have yet to see this species. You seem to have luck with him!

Fox Sparrow (30)

Passerella iliaca

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Date taken: Nov 10 2023

Cornwall - I had another encounter with a Fox Sparrow locally. This large, attractive species is a treat to observe.

Date uploaded: Nov 13 2023

Comments (5):
Ahmad Shah: Fantastic capture.
Brian Morin: I waited very patiently for the bird to move to a nice perch or clearing on the ground. This one was a perfect site.

Black Scoter (5)

Melanitta nigra

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Date taken: Nov 10 2023

Details: female

Long Sault - This is an uncommon fall migrant. She swam very close to a bridge and thankfully there was a pull off on the bridge. I was able to safely crouch down and wait until she swam closer.

Date uploaded: Nov 11 2023

Comments (2):
Sue Bishop: Great find and capture,Brian!
Brian Morin: What was exceptionally good was the distance. She was as close as I could have hoped for.

Hudsonian Godwit (12)

Limosa haemastica

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Date taken: Nov 2 2023

Details: juvenile

Ottawa - Only a few of these large shorebirds show up in the area in the fall. It is amazing to watch it feeding, often sticking its head far into the water and into soft mud, probing for invertebrates and small worms.

Date uploaded: Nov 3 2023

Comments (3):
Ahmad Shah: Excellent find.
Brian Morin: I had heard about the bird and figured it should offer some good views. It did better than that. I sat on a rock by the shore, which had a 40 foot-deep mudflat and at times it wandered less than five metres away.