Boreal Owl (10)

Aegolius funereus

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Feb 22 2025

Details: adult

Ottawa - Well hidden in cedars, I finally saw this bird that I had missed earlier in the week. There have been a number of Boreal Owls in southwestern Quebec and this one in Eastern Ontario, part of a minor irruption along with Great Gray Owls. The bird was very difficult to shoot because of branches. My shot window was no more than 6" wide and 2" high before branches compromised the shot. I used a monopod otherwise precision would have been impossible. It was also very dark and very late on a cloudy day. I shot at 1/10 second at 8,000 ISO.

Date uploaded: Feb 23

Barred Owl (25)

Strix varia

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Feb 20 2025

Details: adult

Ottawa - The bird was still actively hunting 90 minutes after sunrise. The frosty look to its face is actual frost.

Date uploaded: Feb 21

Comments (2):
Ahmad Shah: Fantastic capture.
Brian Morin: A very cooperative bird in nice early light. This makes up for a midday shot of another one in bright sunlight that I got a few weeks ago. I couldn't do much with the conditions and that bird was squinting.

Northern Shrike (23)

Lanius excubitor

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Feb 14 2025

Details: adult

Kingston (Wolfe Island) - A pleasant surprise at the end of the day.

Date uploaded: Feb 15

Comments (2):
Ahmad Shah: Fantastic capture.
Brian Morin: It was the best capture of the day. Very few subjects to work with on that outing.

Eastern Screech Owl (23)

Otus asio

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Feb 12 2025

Details: adult

Ormond - I waited an hour for it to open its eyes at sundown. I am in my car on the other side of the road.

Date uploaded: Feb 13

Northern Saw-whet Owl (12)

Aegolius acadicus

Chris

Canada (British Columbia)

Date taken: Feb 9 2025

Seen on the east dyke at Reifel Sanctuary, Delta, BC

Date uploaded: Feb 10

Comments (4):
Brian Morin: Nice one. I don't tire of these birds.
Chris: Very lucky yesterday. Also had 2 Great-horned in the same sanctuary but about 60 feet in a dense conifer

Northern Hawk-Owl (23)

Surnia ulula

Chris

Canada (British Columbia)

Date taken: Feb 9 2025

Outside Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta, BC

Date uploaded: Feb 10

Comments (3):
Brian Morin: A winter favourite. I'm hoping for one closer to home this year.
Chris: This guy was making all sorts of sounds, head rolls/bobs, and moving from perch to perch. He ended up landing on a boat mast in the harbour and I couldn’t manage anything better than this.

Short-eared Owl (22)

Asio flammeus

Chris

Canada (British Columbia)

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Date taken: Jan 5 2025

Details: inflight

At YVR/Vancouver Airport.

Date uploaded: Feb 10

Comments (3):
Brian Morin: Great capture, one of the famous Vancouver airport Shorties.
Chris: A little more to add: while looking for a Brambling, we saw what I thought was a Harrier from far away. Completely unconcerned about us, this bird actually approached us, did a few circles above, close enough to woo our 4-year old who has never seen anything of this nature before.

Pine Grosbeak (13)

Pinicola enucleator

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Jan 19 2025

Details: male, adult

Matachewan - Beautiful male coming to a feeder. We have none down south this winter so seeing these birds was a treat.

Date uploaded: Feb 5

Comments (2):
Chris: A dream shot. Super result
Brian Morin: You are right. I dreamed of getting a shot like this with an adult male for years and when the scene unfolded I clicked away. Everything worked. I've had some luck closer to home in the past with males, which are never very numerous here (more females and immature males) but with nowhere near the result.

Gray-crowned Rosy Finch (10)

Leucosticte tephrocotis

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Jan 19 2025

Details: adult, outside normal range

Matachewan - Well out of its Western mountain range. A new bird for me and one I had long wanted to see.

Date uploaded: Jan 23

Comments (5):
Ahmad Shah: Excellent find.
Brian Morin: This was a long haul in very cold conditions but the trip's success made it all worthwhile.

Willow Ptarmigan (7)

Lagopus lagopus

Brian Morin

Canada (Québec)

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Date taken: Jan 20 2025

Details: adult, outside normal range

North of Amos - I made a special trip just for these birds which are experiencing another irruption winter. There may be more than the 2021 irruption. I had 22 birds over the course of a full day but despite extensive tracks in the region the birds were hard to spot.

Date uploaded: Jan 23

Comments (4):
Ahmad Shah: Fantastic capture.
Brian Morin: This has become one of my favourite shots of these great birds. I fell in love with them in 2021 and was happy to get back to see another irruption. There are hundreds in the region based on the tracks that I saw although finding more than a dozen in a full day is an undertaking.