American Robin (78)

Turdus migratorius

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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.

Bohemian Waxwing (21)

Bombycilla garrulus

Chris

Canada (British Columbia)

Date taken: Jan 26 2022

Winter weather is always unpredictable. With only a few minutes before sunset, a fog bank cleared and allowed some golden light through. Boundary Bay, BC.

Date uploaded: Jan 30 2022

Comments (2):
BrianMorin: Great late day light. We haven't had any visitors this winter because there's a good mountain-ash crop in the North.
Chris: Got lucky with the cloud / sunset this time.

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.

Snowy Owl (218)

Nyctea scandiaca

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

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Date taken: Jan 4 2022

Details: female, adult

Kingston (Wolfe Island)- We were very surprised that the bird didn't take off as we drove by, especially being an adult female. The pink sky was an interesting background.

Date uploaded: Jan 26 2022

Comments (4):
Ahmad Shah: It is always nice to see this magnificent bird. Great shot.
BrianMorin: She was a beauty. There were a number of birds but most were at a distance.