Finally a warm spring sun

Dark-eyed Juncor (Junco hyemalis) - Tiny Marsh, Tiny Township, Ontario - 2015 April 24

We have finally enjoyed some warm weather worthy of spring. Stopping at a favorite hiking location, the trails of Tiny Marsh, I caught this Dark-eyed Junco enjoying the morning sun. The light pink bill and dusky grey colouring are its identifying marks.

Pine Warbler (Setophagus pinus) - Tiny Marsh, Tiny Township, Ontario - 2015 April 24

Further along the forest trail I found my first spring Warblers. Warblers are well known for being very active feeders but with their insect prey still not plentiful they tended to forage at a slower than normal pace. Here is one of several Pine Warblers perched on the branch of a maple scanning his surroundings for signs of insects.

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) - Snyder's Flats, Bloomingdale, Ontario - 2015 April 28

Several days later with the warm weather continuing I was out for a hike at Snyder's Flats along the Grand River. This photograph shows a female Bufflehead.

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) - Snyder's Flats, Bloomingdale, Ontario - 2015 April 28

And here her partener the brightly patterned male swims alongside. These two little ducks would dive for food and then pop back to the surface and swim up river against the gentle current back to where they started.

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) - Snyder's Flats, Bloomingdale, Ontario - 2015 April 28

Near the west side of the flats there are several large ponds which quite regularly host a group of Caspian Terns. This group are all facing into the afternoon breeze. The Caspian Tern is easily identified by its large size, hint of a crest at the back of its head, black legs and bright red-orange bill.

Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) - Brady Park, Garson, Ontario - 2015 April 30

A few days later I was back at home in Garson. Out on a hike at Brady Park I found a Savannah Sparrow hopping along the outfield fence at a baseball diamond. It was readily identified by the yellow eyebrow and central light head stripe. The eyebrow stripe on this species is quite variable, sometimes being almost unseen. This particular bird insisted on staying close to the opposite side of the chain link fence leaving me with a few of these prison like photographs.

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) - Fielding Memorial Park, Sudbury, Ontario - 2015 May 1

The next morning with the nice weather continuing I was hiking at Fielding Park at the west end of Kelly Lake when I happened to meet another sparrow with a yellow eyebrow. This one is a male White-throated Sparrow distinguished by bold yellow, black and white marks on its head and throat. The White-throated Sparrow also has a loud clear song that can be heard from a great distance.

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) - Fielding Memorial Park, Sudbury, Ontario - 2015 May 1

Not far down the trail in a grassy area was this Nortrhern Flicker. This member of the woodpecker family feeds almost exclusively on the ground. A beautiful brown plumage is patterned with black belly spots and back barring. The black bib is found on all Northern Flickers but the other head markings are variable. Here the black mustache marks indicate a male of the eastern variety, in western north america this would be red and is absent on females. The red mark on the back of the neck is also only found on eastern birds both male and female but missing from those in the west. To complicate things the two geographic types interbreed in central parts of the continent and many hybrid colour markings are found. Also just visible here are the yellowish colouration on the undersides of the wings hence the "yellow-shafted" designation of the eastern birds as opposed to the "red-shafted" western variety.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) - Kukagami Lake, Ontario - 2015 May 3

A few days later we were out at Kukagami Lake, and on a forest hike I came across another member of the woodpecker family. Here is a female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. As this woodpecker is most often seen in woodpecker fashion firmly attached to the trunk of a tree its namesake pale yellow belly is rarely seen. Both male and female have a red forehead but the male also has a red throat.

Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) - Kukagami Lake, Ontario - 2015 May 3

Not far away a Ruffed Grouse slowly strutted its way along the forest floor. As the forest has not yet turned green this bird blended in with its surroundings. With such good camouflage the Ruffed Grouse has a tendency to attempt a quiet slow walking exit and will only fly if it feels the threat is too close.