Eastern Ontario - This is not a local bird. It is a subspecies from the North, A Snyder's Great Horned Owl, which sometimes migrates south in the winter, especially when snowshoe hares have a low population. It is a rare occurrence. This subspecies lacks the rich browns of southern birds, having an overall grayer appearance. It is also less intimidated by humans, more like a Barred Owl. Our local Great Horned Owls are very skittish.
Ottawa - One or two birds traditionally winter in Ottawa. I waited a while for this bird to swim close enough for a decent shot. This coastal species is an annual rarity in Ontario, with normally only a few reports each winter.
Presqu'ile Provincial Park - Lake Ontario usually has a few of these coastal birds show up before heading to the Atlantic for the winter. They are often quite approachable. This is the last of the migrant shorebirds for another season.
Ottawa - Very rare locally. The last record for this seafaring pirate was 1973. It pesters gulls until they disgorge their catch. The species shows up on Lake Ontario near Hamilton every few years.
1000 Islands - This is a poor quality record shot of a wayward visitor to Ontario and New York. The remnants of Hurricane Laura were expected to bring the odd southern bird along for the ride. While the storm passed well below Canada, some birds would have been pushed along by the perimeter winds and continued north, stopping when they reached the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. This young Brown Pelican, an occasional visitor to Canada, spent about a week in the area, moving back and forth between the US and Canada.
Now for the photo. The pelican could really only be viewed with a scope, which I had, and even that was pushing it. I thought I'd at least try for a record shot for the fun of it. I lay the camera/500mm lens across the car roof (more stable than even my heavy tripod) and used a remote to minimize shake. I had to shift to manual focus because the lens couldn't pick up the distant subject. This is about a 50% crop so at least you can see the bird with its hefty bill and compare it to the smaller cormorants. When I returned home, I checked the distance using satellite view online with the distance measure. The bird was 3.4 km out but still identifiable. That was a record, record shot. :) Other birds that showed up along the lower Great Lakes included Laughing Gulls, Brown Booby and Magnificent Frigatebird.
Near Luther Marsh - This striking bird has been around since at least July 23. I made the lengthy trip into southcentral Ontario and wasn't disappointed. Most are seeing it at a distance, often quite far so having it fly overhead, even briefly, was a real treat and worth the trip.
Ottawa - Winter Wren is not a new bird but this was my first in winter, as shown with this snow white background. In Southern Ontario a few stick around but further north they are rare in winter. I made four attempts to see this little guy over the last 6 weeks (not travelling specifically for it) and finally got lucky.
Ingleside - This bird was spotted about 10 days ago and has been tough to see but after successive trips I finally had luck today. While some migrate through Northwestern Ontario, only a very few make it further east and south each year. This was our first local bird.
Canada (Ontario)
