Townsend's Solitaire (8)

Myadestes townsendi

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

  📍 Map

Date taken: Feb 24 2022

Details: adult, outside normal range

Washago - Feeding on crab apples. Every year one or two make it into Ontario from their BC range.

Date uploaded: Mar 1 2022

Comments (2):
Sue Bishop: Another rarity. Beautiful.
BrianMorin: I have missed several in recent years so it was great to finally come across this one.

Pine Grosbeak (14)

Pinicola enucleator

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

  📍 Map

Date taken: Feb 24 2022

Details: male, adult

Algonquin Park - It has been a good winter for Pine Grosbeaks with adult males part of many flocks. This large, attractive winter finch is not as aggressive as Evening Grosbeaks and will often hang back while the 'greedies' feed. I was very happy with recent shots in a tree but I was hoping for an opportunity to capture them on the snow to show off the colour. This setting was perfect and sitting in my car allowed close approach.

Date uploaded: Feb 25 2022

Comments (6):
Chris: Great low angle lighting also makes it picture-perfect! Great job all around!
BrianMorin: Low angle, late day. It was a plan that came together because in this case I thought outside the box (my car) and it worked :)

American Robin (78)

Turdus migratorius

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

  📍 Map

Date taken: Feb 16 2022

Details: male, adult

Ottawa - This shot begs for a caption. A couple that come to mind are 'sushi on the menu tonight' and 'ice fishing is for the birds'. Overwintering Robins were taking advantage of a small pool of open water with an abundant supply of minnows. They were very good at it but I only saw it happen twice. Others have seen it at this location for a few weeks. Protein is in short supply these days and you'd get tired of frozen fruit too.

Date uploaded: Feb 17 2022

Comments (4):
Chris: Now that’s not something you see everyday! ⭐️
BrianMorin: It was a first for me and very few birders have ever seen that activity. It was worth the wait.

Snowy Owl (218)

Nyctea scandiaca

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

  📍 Map

Date taken: Feb 10 2022

Details: female, adult

Cornwall - I found two birds only a few minutes from home in an industrial sector. A large open undeveloped weedy area undoubtedly has plenty of meadow voles to keep them going. This bird was perched on a pole and headed down to attempt a capture. It wasn't successful but rather than returning immediately it stayed for five minutes. Because it wasn't that far out from the car I got some nice shots.

Date uploaded: Feb 11 2022

Comments (4):
Chris: That’s great to witness and capture. I can’t recall seeing a Snowy hunting…except one strange nighttime observation after leaving work at the airport.
BrianMorin: In this case the bird hovered over a spot for about 10 seconds before realizing that it didn't have a target. I rarely see that type of action because it usually makes contact.

Grey Partridge (11)

Perdix perdix

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

  📍 Map

Date taken: Feb 9 2022

Details: male, adult

Navan - We spotted a pair at a farm found the day before. They are uncommon in the region. Many birders go one or more years between sightings. The birds were not very close but good enough to record the experience.

Date uploaded: Feb 10 2022

Comments (2):
Chris: Exactly. Many years in between sightings. Nice to see him running ⭐️
BrianMorin: Running is its preferred mode of mobility and boy are they fast when they pour it on.

Pine Grosbeak (14)

Pinicola enucleator

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

  📍 Map

Details: female, adult

St. Andrews West - While it doesn't have bright colour like the male, it is still an attractive bird.

Date uploaded: Feb 8 2022

Comments (4):
Ahmad Shah: Beautifully captured. I haven't seen one this year,
BrianMorin: There are a few around but not many and often they are focused on ornamental crab apples.

Pine Grosbeak (14)

Pinicola enucleator

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

  📍 Map

Details: male, adult

St. Andrews West - Finally, after several years without seeing an adult male and following three failed attempts at this location in the last week to see any grosbeaks I had success.

Date uploaded: Feb 8 2022

Comments (2):
Chris: Yes you certainly did. One of my favourite colours on our species.
BrianMorin: The colour and feather pattern are very attractive.

Northern Hawk-Owl (23)

Surnia ulula

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

  📍 Map

Date taken: Feb 4 2022

Details: adult

Ottawa - I returned to watch this bird for a few hours. It was hunting off and on but didn't come up with a vole so when it got hungry, it went to one of its caches and had a frozen dinner. :)

Date uploaded: Feb 5 2022

Comments (6):
Ahmad Shah: Great capture.
BrianMorin: I spent three hours watching but it only moved to a good perch once.

Purple Finch (35)

Carpodacus purpureus

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

  📍 Map

Date taken: Feb 1 2022

Details: male, adult

St. Andrews West

Date uploaded: Feb 2 2022

Comments (4):
Chris: Fabulous colouring; I like the backlighting
BrianMorin: I was very surprised because I didn't think I had a good angle on the bird but it worked pretty well. It had the head feathers raised most of the time I watched it. Purples have recently moved back into Canada after a few months further south.

Rough-legged Hawk (34)

Buteo lagopus

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

Date taken: Jan 4 2022

Details: adult

Kingston - Wolfe Island - We saw quite a number of them with most being light morph birds like this.

Date uploaded: Jan 29 2022

Comments (2):
Chris: Very nicely done - and nice markings on the bird.
BrianMorin: This was a very tough one. I had five seconds to bang off a sequence as it flew and thankfully had preset the exposure with a couple of f-stops over so the bird wouldn't expose too dark. It was a question of shoot first, asked questions later. The hawk was also very close as it flew so the focus was sharp.