Brian Morin

1772 uploads

Total photos: 1772
Total videos: 0
Species photographed: 347
Most photographed species: Snowy Owl (See all)
Countries visited: 2

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Red-bellied Woodpecker (36)

Melanerpes carolinus

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Date taken: Dec 31 2024

Details: male, adult, outside normal range

Ottawa - Always nice to see. This is a rare regional species that is easier to find in the winter and will come to feeders.

Date uploaded: Jan 2 2025

Comments (3):
Sue Bishop: Gorgeous capture, Brian!
Chris: Indeed such a nice one to see - fantastic snap as well!

Snowy Owl (217)

Nyctea scandiaca

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Date taken: Dec 15 2024

Details: male, immature

Ottawa - After a disastrous winter in 2023-4 when the lowest number of Snowy Owls in living memory were present in Ontario, or anywhere in Eastern Canada, this winter has seen a modest recovery, closer to normal. Males are uncommon, even in good years. At the height of the peak, from 2012-19, we only saw 1 male for every 20 females.There may be a few more males this winter.

Date uploaded: Dec 16 2024

Comments (4):
Ahmad Shah: Magnificent capture.
Brian Morin: This was a real treat after seeing three others in recent weeks, all so far away you needed to have the bird identified in the photo. :)

Cackling Goose (10)

Branta hutchinsii

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Date taken: Dec 13 2024

Cobourg - A few of the smaller Cackling Geese migrate with Canada Geese in the East but the ratio is about 1-25,000 or even less.

Date uploaded: Dec 15 2024

Comments (2):
Ahmad Shah: Great find.
Brian Morin: This was real work. I spent 40 minutes trying to find a couple in a flock of thousands of Canadas on the water that kept moving around. Then getting a decent shot was the next challenge. That took another 15 minutes but it was worth the effort.

Lapland Longspur (18)

Calcarius lapponicus

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Details: male, adult, winter plummage

St. Rose-de-Prescott

Date uploaded: Dec 8 2024

Comments (4):
Ahmad Shah: Excellent capture.
Brian Morin: Patience and luck both played a hand with this sighting. We don't get many and last year I had none. The bird only had its head up for a split second but very seldom because it was feeding nonstop.

Red-tailed Hawk (72)

Buteo jamaicensis

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Date taken: Dec 2 2024

Details: adult

Kingston (Wolfe Island) - A common raptor but it is hard to get good shots of them, especially an adult. I loved the way it was perched, especially showing the tail. It faced away so I called it to get it to look my way. It worked!

Date uploaded: Dec 3 2024

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Northern Shrike (23)

Lanius excubitor

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Date taken: Dec 2 2024

Details: immature

Kingston (Wolfe Island) The bird landed in the tree almost above my car. I shot from inside.

Date uploaded: Dec 3 2024

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Western Cattle Egret (33)

Ardea ibis

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

Date taken: Nov 13 2024

Details: immature, outside normal range

Brighton - This is the second individual I've seen recently, in this case beside an older calf. It was another late fall with multiple birds showing up in Ontario but fewer than in 2022. Some will remain until it gets too cold or snow covers the ground.

Date uploaded: Nov 14 2024

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Purple Sandpiper (10)

Calidris maritima

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Details: adult, winter plummage

Regular but uncommon species appearing in late fall-early winter, usually along the lower Great Lakes. A small number appear each year. Most birds end up on the Atlantic coast.

Date uploaded: Nov 12 2024

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Western Cattle Egret (33)

Ardea ibis

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Details: outside normal range

Frontenac County - This egret appeared in the same field of cows that a bird was seen a few years ago. There is an influx of single egrets in southern and eastern Ontario in recent days.

Date uploaded: Nov 8 2024

Comments (4):
Ahmad Shah: Fantastic find.
Brian Morin: It has been quite the week for these birds. Seven days ago I tried unsuccessfully to locate a bird at two different locations on my way home after finding the Hudsonian Godwit. This week, new individuals have obligingly appeared at multiple spots across the south and east. The homeowner took me into the field with the cows and we spent time watching and photographing.

Hudsonian Godwit (16)

Limosa haemastica

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

📍 Map

Date taken: Nov 3 2024

Details: immature

Ajax - An early morning shot of our largest uncommon to rare fall shorebird migrant. The bird was very active feeding on mudflats. It will stick its beak and head into mud to as close as a few millimetres below the eye.

Date uploaded: Nov 4 2024

Comments (2):
Sue Bishop: Another great find!
Brian Morin: We had very poor shorebirding this fall due to high water levels in the east all summer. I wanted to check out this bird further southwest, the only one I would see this year. I watched it for over an hour, with both the bird and me in the mud on a fine fall morning.