Female Mountain Bluebird at Halls Road, Whitby, Ontario, on 30 November 2015. Digiscoped.

2015 Index

December

Adult Thayer's Gull in winter plumage in Barrie, Ontario on 28 December 2015 - 4 more photos

 

Two Second cycle  Kumlien's Gulls at Bluffers Park on Lake Ontario in Toronto, ON on 27 December 2015 - close to study plumage

 

Juvenile and adult Thayer's Gulls in Barrie on 26 December 2015.

 

Adult Kumlien's Gull missing lower part of leg. Minet's Point in Barrie on 26 December 2015

 

Yellow Warbler at Bluffers Park in Toronto on 24 December, found by Ron Pittaway

 

Two Sandhill Cranes near Keswick, Ontario on 22 December 2015

 

Snowy Owls in and around Toronto in November - December 2015

 

Male Wood Duck at Ashbridges Wastewater Treatment Plant. Toronto Christmas Bird Count 20 December 2015.

 

First cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull at Ashbridges Bay Waste Water Treatment Plant in Toronto on Christmas Bird Count 20 December 2015

 

Thayer's Gull, adult in winter plumage at Heritage Park in Barrie on 17 & 18 December 2015

 

Pale Iceland Gull on Lake Ontario shoreline at Bluffers Park in Toronto. 14 Dec 2015

 

Barrie Gulls page 3. 9-12 December 2015: Thayer's, Lesser Black-backed, Herring, Great Black-backed Gull

 

Barrie Gulls page 2. 9-12 December 2015: Little Gull

 

Four new videos of gulls feeding on abundant minnows on Lake Simcoe in Barrie, Ontario

 

Purple Sandpiper, Dunlin and more at the James Bay Shorebird Project Reunion hosted by Doug McRae at Presqu'ile Provincial Park. 6 December 2015

 

Northern Mockingbird at Bluffers Park in Toronto on 3 December 2015

 

Second winter Kumlien's Gull at Bluffers Park in Toronto on 3 December 2015

 

Female King Eider at Bluffers Park in Toronto on 2 December 2015

 

November

Female Mountain Bluebird at Halls Road near Cranberry Marsh in Whitby, Ontario on 20 November 2015

 

Barred Owl resting with eyes closed at Cranberry Marsh in Whitby on 25 November 2015

 

Juvenile Red-throated Loon at Bluffers Park in Toronto on 24 November 2015

 

Gulls swirling on Niagara River below Niagara Falls on 22 November 2015 - video and photos

 

Red Phalarope in first winter plumage at Bronte near Toronto on 21 November 2015 - photos and video

 

Cave Swallows in Oakville near Toronto, 21 November 2015, a rare opportunity to study and appreciate.

 

Barrie Gulls page 1. Six species of gulls in Barrie, Ontario on 15 November 2015 - Little, Lesser Black-backed, Great Black-backed, Bonaparte's, Herring and Ring-billed.

 

Around Durham Region's Waterfront on 11 November 2015 - Coyote, Deer, Gray Catbird, Fox Sparrow, Red-throated Loon and Northern Herring Gull

 

Male Barrow's Goldeneye on Leslie Street Spit (Tommy Thompson Park) on 8 November 2015

 

October

Gulls in Peru - six species at Pantanos de Villa - Belchers, Kelp, Franklin's, Gray-hooded, Gray and Andean Gulls.- on 18 October 2015

 

Peru 2015 with Quest Nature Tours. 17-29 October 2015. Please see 7 pages of photos.

 

Immature Bald Eagle at Ajax near Toronto, Ontario, on 12 October 2015

 

Cackling Geese at Cranberry Marsh on 7 October 2015

 

Shorebirds at Blenheim Lagoons near Chatham and Rondeau on 30 September and 5 October

 

Laughing, Sabine's, Little, & More on the OFO Convention weekend at Point Pelee, 1 to 4 October 2015.

 

I removed this American Bullfrog from centre of busy road outside main entrance to Hillman Marsh on 5 October 2015

 

September

WINTER FINCH FORECAST 2015-2016 by Ron Pittaway

 

Gray-cheeked Thrush eating Pokeweed berries on 28 September 2015

 

Canada's Northwest Passage Expedition: Arctic birds, marine mammals, Arctic flora. 24 August to 5 September 2015

 

August

James Bay Shorebird Surveys at North Point - 6 pages - 31 July to 14 August 2014

 

Adult/second winter Little Gull at North Point on James Bay on 10 August 2015.

 

See 2014 movements of James Bay nano-tagged White-rumped and Semipalmated Sandpipers here: www.motus-wts.org - click on explore data - view tracks. One map is for White-rumped Sandpipers and Semipalmated Sandpipers during their fall migration between James Bay stopover sites and the East Coast, and another is for Red Knots moving from the East Coast to Hudson Bay coast and Nunavut during the spring migration and coming back during the fall migration. See also map of receiver tower locations: http://motus-wts.org/data/receivermap.jsp  Thanks to Stu Mackenzie for this info.

 

Map of 2015 Southern James Bay Shorebird Camps 

 

July

Five Merlins seen together today on 25 July in Brookbanks Ravine, Toronto

 

Southern James Bay Map of Shorebird Camps in summer 2015

 

Active Purple Martin colony near Sutton, Ontario on 23 July 2015

 

Iceland with Quest Nature Tours, 30 June to 10 July 2015

 

Red-necked Phalarope showing lobed toes and webbing on Flatey Island, Iceland, 3 July 2015.

 

Four young Merlins fledge from nest in our Toronto garden. 18 July 2015

 

Common Nighthawk, one of two flying on Wylie Road at mid day, Carden Alvar, 16 July 2015

 

Now four young Merlins in our Toronto garden, 14 and 15 July 2015

 

Three young Merlins hatched from nest in our Toronto garden. 12 and 13 July 2015

 

Semipalmated Sandpipers and Least Sandpiper at Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto on 12 July 2015

 

Short-billed Dowitchers at Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto, Ontario, on 12 July 2015

 

June

Cliff Swallow colony at R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant (water purification) in Toronto on 22 June 2015

 

Merlins Nesting in our back garden in Toronto. 21 June 2015

 

Upland Sandpipers on the Carden Alvar on 19 June 2015

 

Spotted Sandpiper - male - on old mullein stalk at Bluffers Park in Toronto on 18 June 2015

 

Bank Swallow Colony at Bluffers Park in Toronto. 18 June 2015

 

Piping Plovers Update on 16 June 2015 - page 3

 

Piping Plovers are nesting in Toronto I volunteered on 7 and 10 June - page 2

 

Very worn and faded Herring Gull in Toronto on 8 June 2015

 

May

Semipalmated Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover and Dunlins in May - Toronto area

 

Wilson's Plover on Toronto Islands on 27 May 2015

 

Piping Plovers on Toronto Islands on 27 May 2015 - page 1

 

1819 Whimbrels, including, 1 banded sighted at Whimbrel Point in Toronto, 24 May 2015

 

A fallout of Whimbrels at Colonel Sam Smith, Toronto, Ontario on 25 May 2015

 

Whimbrel and CN Tower in Toronto on 21 May 2015

 

Short-billed Dowitchers at Reesor Pond in Markham on 19 May 2015 - subspecies comparison

 

Griseus subspecies of the Short-billed Dowitcher at Reesor Pond in Markham on 19 May 2015

 

Wilson's Phalarope at Reesor Pond in Markham on 19 May 2015

 

May - Point Pelee and Hillman Marsh

Griseus subspecies of the Short-billed Dowitcher near Hillman Marsh on 7 May 2015

 

New shorebird identification sign at Hillman Marsh

 

Point Pelee Birds - May 2015 page 1 - Eared Grebe, Summer Tanager, red morph Eastern Screech-Owl, Pacific Loon, Hooded and Yellow Palm Warbler

 

Point Pelee Birds May 2015 page 2 - Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Common Yellowthroat, Sandhill Crane, Mourning Doves, Veery, Gray Catbird

 

Point Pelee May 2015 page 3 includes Blanding's Turtles, melanistic American Toad, 5-lined Skink, Wild Turkey and White-crowned Sparrow

 

"Yellow Palm" Warbler at Point Pelee on 5 May 2015

 

Willets at Wheatley and American Golden-Plovers at Mersea C

 

Chuck-wills-widow at Point Pelee on 15 May

 

California Gull in second summer plumage at Tip of Point Pelee on 12 May 2015

 

Three Eastern Whip-poor-wills at Point Pelee on 2 and 6 May 2015

 

April

Baird's Sandpipers at Blenheim Lagoons on 30 April 2015 - rare in spring

 

Two Dunlin at Blenheim Lagoons on 30 April 2015

 

Yellow Rail singing at Sedge Wren Marsh on the Carden Alvar on 29 April 2015. See also Birding Guide to the Carden Alvar

 

Unbanded Loggerhead Shrike on the Carden Alvar on 19 April 2015.

 

OFO trip to Algonquin Park on 18 April 2015

 

East Point Bird Sanctuary in east Toronto - a wild gem overlooking Lake Ontario on the Scarborough Bluffs

 

VIDEO: Neotropic Cormorant at Tollgate Pond in Hamilton on 3 April 2015

 

NEW - Shorebirds of Southern Ontario - a photographic guide by Jean Iron. NOW Available

 

OFO Shorebird Viewing at Hillman Marsh: May 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14 and 16

 

Northbound Shorebirds Workshops at Point Pelee National Park in May 2015

 

Paul Nicholson's article in London Free Press about shorebirds at Hillman and Point Pelee April 2015

 

How to See and Hear an American Woodcock - adapted from Ron Pittaway's article first published in OFO News Vol 15 (2): 6. June 1997.

 

March

Orillia Packet reports on my Arctic presentation to Orillia Naturalists. I thank Quest Nature Tours for travel opportunities to Iceland & Greenland. James Bay Shorebird Surveys as a volunteer were with Canadian Wildlife Service, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Royal Ontario Museum.

 

Wildlife of Iceland, Arctic Canada and Greenland in Orillia presentation on 4 March 2015.

 

February

Toronto's Heermann's Gull 14 November 1999 to 16 September 2000. An enquiry from Nancy Barrett prompted me to post photos and article about this super gull from the pre digital era. Posted 10 February 2015.

 

Subspecies of Common and Hoary Redpolls - fully revised January 2015 - UPDATE 7 Feb: Roxane Filion's photos of Hornemann's Hoary from South Porcupine and Matt Walter's photo of a leucistic Common Redpoll from North Bay.

 

Adult male and a female Snowy Owl north of Toronto on 5 February 2015.

 

More Variation in Iceland and Kumlien's Gulls at Bluffers Park in Toronto in January and February 2015. 11 photos.

 

Mink, Ducks and Gulls at Bluffers Park in Toronto on 1 February 2015.

 

January

Pair of Eastern Screech-Owls sunning themselves in Toronto on 31 January 2015

 

Subspecies of Common and Hoary Redpolls - fully revised January 2015

 

Adult Thayer's Gull in winter plumage at Bluffers Park in Toronto on 12 January 2015

 

Lake Ontario Winter Waterfowl Count - Tommy Thompson Park Route in Toronto  on 11 January 2015

 

Redpolls near Keswick, north of Toronto on 6 January 2015

 

Snowy Owl with ear tufts near Keswick, north of Toronto on 6 January 2015

 

Three Kumlien's Gulls at Bluffers Park in Toronto on 3 January 2015

 

First winter Cape May Warbler in Markham, Ontario on 1 January 2015