BrianMorin

1548 uploads

Total photos: 1548
Total videos: 0
Species photographed: 321
Most photographed species: Snowy Owl (See all)
Countries visited: 2
Western Grebe (32)
adult, outside normal range
Port Credit - This bird has put in an annual appearance for four years. It usually sticks around for a few weeks then moves about Lake Ontario and eventually heads to the Prairies. I went to see it last year but it was 150 metres out in the lake. Needless to say the speck in the middle of the shot was not very convincing. I spent the entire morning hoping for a close approach and had success a couple of times as it moved from far out to shore. It was always on the move and usually that was underwater. It can easily swim beneath the waves for several minutes and cover a great distance. It prefers underwater to flight or even swimming. It never flew.
Mar 30
adult, outside normal range
Gatineau - This was my second trip to see this northern species and it turned out better than my previous visit. The bird showed better this time.
Mar 10
Mar 3 2023
female, adult
Beaver Lake - I spotted this bird sitting on the gravel right beside the Trans Canada Highway so I turned around and parked across the road. It popped up onto the snowbank offering a perfect eye-level setting before flying across the road.
Mar 4
Feb 13 2023
female, adult, outside normal range
Ottawa- There have been a few owls reported this winter but they have been extremely difficult to observe. They only become active after sunset and during the day they roost in evergreens like spruce, making them difficult to detect. This shot was taken once it had moved from its roost when the light was failing rapidly. The shots were at a very high ISO at a very low shutter speed on tripod. Even then I barely managed to keep it in focus. The bird was in a wooded area within the suburbs. I made multiple attempts for owls before finally locating this one.
Feb 14
female, adult, outside normal range
Ottawa - There have been a few northern woodpeckers showing up in the region this winter.
Feb 13
Feb 8 2023
male, adult
Kingston - Wolfe Island - I had 7 owls of a probable 8-10 birds there this winter. Most did not present very well and adult males are notoriously skittish making shots like this a challenge. Their caution is for good reason because females always chase them away and wouldn't hesitate to have one for dinner. This is a very poor year for Snowy Owls, with most remaining in the Arctic. The area had the North American high for Christmas bird counts this year (8 birds). To show the potential, I think the all-time record was 80+ birds some years ago. I had 53 in 2014. When there is a bumper crop of voles in the area coinciding with plenty of owls heading south we can get results like that. This is the third consecutive year with low numbers in all of Southern Canada.
Feb 9
adult
Ingleside - I didn't have far to go for these birds which was nice for a change. This was my first good opportunity to work with the waxwings this winter.
Jan 31