Ferns in the forest
Horizontal rain in the pastures, shelter from the winds in the forests “cathedrals of sanctuary” to quote a friend.
Prothonotary Warbler
The Prothonotary Warbler is an endangered bird in Canada, it is a real treat to find one let alone get a few photos of one.
Roseate Spoonbill
This is a Florida bird from earlier in the spring. They look prehistoric to me, I am somewhat infatuated with them and would love to search out a wild flock to photograph. This single bird was at a popular state park known for birding. Spoonbills have a large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side trading small aquatic creatures inside… info from my iBird ap.
Singing House Wren
I admit at first I was thrilled these little birds moved into the yard, all was peaceful until the flying lessons started. Junior wasn’t ready to leave the box, father was adamant … he chirped all day from dawn to dusk, like a raging hockey parent. 
Great Crested Flycatcher abandoned eggs
Sadly these eggs seem to have been abandoned, I noticed a lack of activity at the box for a while, upon opening the box the eggs were stone cold. I candled them, did the float test, and as a last resort opened one egg. No luck. I was looking forward to the fledglings, but more importantly, I wonder what became of the female as the male is seen on occasion. It’s a hard life being a bird. The nest was made up with animal fur, different feathers, a bit of what might have been snake skin that Emma put on the fence, grasses… all nice and soft.
Osprey at nest site near Guelph
Seems a little late in the year however maybe it is a second brood or they could be young Osprey returning to the nest just because there is no place like home. These two were busy building or repairing a nest as the gathered nearby branches and stuff just east of Guelph on my way home from the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, a nice break in the drive for a few minutes. I included a photo of the leg band, if you know someone involved with studying the Ontario Osprey, please share it with them, I did do an entry on the banding page however it came back that they are too busy to look into most notifications regarding bands, oh well. 
This leg band appears to be from a study as it is not common for Osprey to be banded.
Mountain Bluebird
These spectacular Bluebirds were a bird I was really hoping to see when I was in Alberta, you could just imagine my smile when I realized the ranch I was visiting has many many brightly coloured boxes throughout the ranch. At one time the numbers were very depleted, they have made a comeback because of ranchers like the Halladay’s who took time to build and maintain many boxes.
Snowy Plover
Why the fake bird? Biologists are trying to establish the population on Sarasota Beach, unfortunately the local crows enjoy the eggs so a girl goes out each morning and places these decoys and eggs. The idea is that the crows eat the decoy eggs which are actually some other birds eggs. These decoy eggs have been injected with a substance that will cause the crow to vomit and not like plover eggs. hmmmm
Webster Falls near Hamilton
Tews Falls
So, this was beautiful yet upsetting … people were running everywhere, do they not see that we were on the edge of a cliff? It seems that every week someone falls off the edge goofing around or taking a selfie, it’s quite the mob scene at these Hamilton area waterfalls, it make Grey County water falls seem peaceful! I did not get the shots I was hoping to, I now realize the spectacular shots I see were done be trespassing and walking past signs saying not to, so I didn’t. This is what you see if you go there.
Red-shouldered Hawk
I was out in a canoe photographing a Beaver, when this beautiful hawk darted across the sky and into the forest, just west of Algonquin Park. I.D. by M. Wiercinski
A Pair of Loons and a little surprise!
Fox Kits playing in an old ruin
I drive past these playful little guys daily, it’s fun to watch them grow up. Not wanting them to become familiar with people stopping, I only paused once for a couple of photos and carried on. Best left alone even when they choose homes at the road side.
House Wren claiming an old swallow house as his
House Wren
Mockingbirds
A musical bird with a vast variety of sharp calls. It’s monochromatic colouring is made up for by it’s song, at times it is hard to believe that this small bird can be so loud! a group of mockingbirds is known as a “ridicule”
Great Crested Flycatcher
Phoebe
I couldn’t figure this one out, a friend helped ID it and although it’s brown, it is a Phoebe. This one was perched on a bobbing log at Epping bridge.
Fun fact: the Eastern Phoebe was the first bird to be banded by John Audubon in 1804, at the time a silver thread was used so he would know when the bird returned each spring.
Bluebirds growing up
Getting brighter feathers and flying more and more, father is still perched on the dish watching over the young ones.
Phoebe on the farm fence
These fly eating birds have been residents here at the farm for many years, they were already here when we arrived in 1996. They live in nests similar to swallows in the barn beams, in the horse stalls with the Barn Swallows.
Purple Martins
This was a very successful Martin house with more than 50 in the colony, they actually opened the house at night and counted the sleeping birds, done by the Audibon Bird Society volunteers.
urple Martins