An aCROWbat in my backyard last week......ok, I'll show myself out now! #birds #birding #Bobsbackyard #Ancaster #HamOnt

Lots of grebes have arrived in the past week or more - here are two Horned Grebes and a Red-necked Grebe. #birds #birding

Last week I saw this American Crow collecting nesting materials. Spring is in the air! #birds #birding

#Bobsbackyard Pine Siskins are now up to about 20. One of these days there will be none when they decide to head north. This is a lousy photo but I love how it captures the chaos and non-stop squabbling. Amazing they actually get to eat anything with all their fighting. #birds #HamOnt #Ancaster

Last week there was a huge influx of Brown Creepers - I was in one woodlot where there must have been about ten, the most I've ever seen at one time. Here's one doing what creepers do best, creeping up a tree trunk. #birds #birding

I saw this beautiful coyote in a park in Oakville yesterday. I'm guessing it is a pregnant female. #coyote #Halton #notabird

Whenever I look out and see woodpeckers "playing statue" at my feeders, I figure a hawk is nearby. Sure enough, when I saw this male Downy (left) and female Hairy (right) absolutely frozen, I looked high up in the maples and there was a Cooper's Hawk. #birds #birding #Bobsbackyard #HamOnt #Ancaster

Time for some cuteness overload - what else but a Tufted Titmouse! #birds #birding

This morning I saw this female Red-winged Blackbird in my backyard, the first this spring. The males returned several weeks ago, so it's nice to see the females back in town as well. #birds #birding #Bobsbackyard #Ancaster #HamOnt

Loshi wishing happy #caturday to those who celebrate!

This past week I stopped at a spot known for Fish Crows. The minute I opened my car door I heard the unmistakable nasal call of not one, but two of them. This one was enjoying feasting on sumac; you can see a bit in its mouth. #birds #birding

This 12 minute Audubon video is well worth watching! #birds www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDH-...

A bleary-eyed Eastern Screech-owl. I don't see very many red morphs; the gray ones are much more common here. #birds #birding #owl

There are lots of Golden-crowned Kinglets around these days. This was one of several at our pond yesterday. #birds #birding #Bobsbackyard #Ancaster #HamOnt

A Horned Lark, the @aba.org's bird of the year. #birds #birding

A Blue Jay given a timeout in my redbud jail for gluttony and bullying at the feeders. I don't think he learned any lessons. #birds #birding #Bobsbackyard #HamOnt #Ancaster

A Pine Siskin on my feeders, one of three that are still hanging around. #birds #birding #Bobsbackyard #Ancaster #HamOnt

A Sandhill Crane that I saw this past week. #birds #birding

It is #Caturday. In my next life I want one like Loshi's!

If you've watched the movie "The Big Year" you'll know that the ultimate prize for many birders is a Great Gray Owl. I had the pleasure of seeing this one this past winter. #birds #birding #owls

A Tundra Swanpalooza! Thousands of these beautiful birds staging at a stopover spot on their way to the Arctic. #birds #birding #swans

A surprise St. Paddy's day visitor to our yard was a female Eastern Towhee - first one ever. #birds #birding #Bobsbackyard #Ancaster #HamOnt

A very distant Rough-Legged Hawk that I saw earlier this winter. The photo is heavily cropped. #birds #birding #hawk #raptor

In honour of St. Paddy's day, here is a gorgeous Green-winged Teal, the greenest bird that I've seen lately. #birds #birding #ducks #StPatricksDay #StPaddysDay

An Eastern Bluebird that I saw at the same location as yesterday's Eastern Meadowlark. #birds #birding #HamOnt

My first Eastern Meadowlark of the year, one of my favourite birds! He was singing from a tree top and allowed me to walk up close enough to take these. #birds #birding #HamOnt

Loshi enjoying the winter sun on his window perch. Happy #caturday to those who celebrate!

Earlier this winter I was lucky to see this pair of Great Horned Owls! #birds #birding #HamOnt

A few days ago I was sitting out back, wearing a t-shirt and enjoying a beer at +21C. And here's today!! #Ancaster #HamOnt

A few Pine Grosbeaks from my trip to Elliott Lake a month ago. #birds #birding

A Golden-crowned Kinglet at our pond this week. #birds #birding #Ancaster #HamOnt

There is hope for me! #birds www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks...

Yesterday was a glorious day for spring migration. Literally thousands of tundra swans on the move, including a flock over our neighbourhood, lots of killdeer flying around calling, and my first backyard Song Sparrow of spring. #birds #birding #Ancaster #HamOnt #Bobsbackyard #springmigration

When I posted the Northern Saw-whet Owl on Saturday, I mentioned that it kept looking straight down - something on the ground had its interest. Here's a shot of that, and one after it closed its eyes, looking like it is wearing blue eyeshadow! #birds #birding #HamOnt #owl

It was nice of this pair of Hooded Mergansers to stop by our pond on the weekend. #Birds #birding #ducks #Ancaster #HamOnt #Bobsbackyard

Just a reminder that I'll be giving a talk on bird names on Thursday, March 12th at 7 pm. You can register with the host, @burlingtongreen.bsky.social, using the link below: www.burlingtongreen.org/events/decod... #birds

Hail to the king - the King Eider is a spectacular duck! #birds #birding #ducks

Whenever I'm lucky enough to find a Northern Saw-whet Owl, they are usually sound asleep. This one was awake and active, looking around, especially straight down - something on the ground had its interest. #birds #birding #HamOnt #owl

Since the winter finch forecast has fizzled out, I wasn't expecting to see Redpolls this winter. I was delighted to happen upon a few last week. Missing the winter of 2021 when I had about 50 at my feeders for months! #birds #birding #finch #redpoll

I got my ducks in a row, more or less. Lots of Redheads this year! #birds #birding #ducks #redheads

Yes to both cats (indoor/catio ones) and birds!

Here are two Common Ravens that I've seen this winter. Magnificent birds! #birds #birding #raven #corvid

It was looking so promising this morning until the moon was about 70% eclipsed, and then it slipped behind cloud cover so I never saw totality. Meanwhile, frustratingly, the sky was mostly clear to the east! #lunareclipse #eclipse #HamOnt #Ancaster

This spectacular looking duck is a hybrid, a cross between a Mallard and a Northern Pintail. In the first photo it is swimming with a pair of Mallards, and in the second it is preening. The third is a male Northern Pintail for comparison, surrounded by male and female Mallards. #birds #birding

Last week I had a close encounter with Wile E. Coyote. #notabird #coyote #urbannature

When Hairy met Sally......a good size comparison between Red-bellied (left) and Hairy woodpeckers (right), both female. #birds #birding #Bobsbackyard #Ancaster #HamOnt

This is pretty cool! #birds

White-winged Crossbills are one of my favourite "winter finches." They occasionally come south for the winter when the cone crop is poor in their boreal forest homeland. I was thrilled to see these ones last week. #birds #birding #crossbills #finches #winterfinches

It's #Caturday and here's a different sort of photo - Loshi on his window perch, enjoying the sun, with the drapes closed so that he makes a Batman-like silhouette.

A Northern Mockingbird at "max floof" on a cold morning last week. #birds #birding #HamOnt