Botaurus lentiginosus

This American bittern froze in the reeds as I approached in the canoe.

Butorides virescens

The morning canoe ride also resulted in me spoting this green heron in the tree on the island. He was mostly relaxed but became alarmed when I got too close as his hair stood on end.

Sayornis phoebe

This eastern phoebe liked to sit in the tree by the lake between meals.

Jcterus galbuda - Male

The Baltimore Orioles like to visit the apple trees in blossum during the spring. This means they are frequent visitors to the backyard where their songs can be heard. As they like the top ot the trees a good picture is hard to get.

Jcterus galbuda - Female

The female Baltimore Oliole visited with her partner.

Annual Visitor

This is the second spring that the Canada Warbler passed through the backyard on the way up north. My nomination for the official bird of the country.

A Warbler

There is no identification of this warbler visiting the backyard as Vincent has hid my bird book. He likes to read it and has stashed is someplace for him to find at a later date. Update when I find it or some blog reader provides a positive id.

Picoides pubescens

This downy woodpecker visits the back yard from time to time throughout the year. Here he visits the backyard tree after the leaves have fallen looking for any remaining insects. The downy is a little smaller than the hairy woodpecker but otherwise they look very similar. This was the first time I saw the eyelid protection against flying wood caused by the impact of his beak on the branches.

Junco hyemalis

These small Slate-Coloured Juncos pass through the backyard in spring and fall on their way up north. So far no more than two or three have been spotted in the backyard. In Montreal their were often a dozen or more in the back yard. They are quite shy and like to hang around the ground usually in the higher plants but will occasionally head onto the grass.

Certhia familiaris

Here is a Brown Creeper stopping at the beach on it's way south. I believe we saw one of these in the spring at Uncle Marc's. These like to hug the trees and use their beaks to pry out insects along and under the cracks in the tree bark.

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

The second species of kinglet the Regulus calendula passed through the beach this week on it's way south. This is most likely a female. These are very small and fast as they flicker from branch to branch.

Golden-Crowned Kinglet

This female Regulus satrapa passed by the beach on her way south.

Some Big Dragonflies

Some big dragonflies have been buzzing and hovering around the level of the house roof all week. One landed in the snowball tree when I was out with Vincent. These common green darners "Anax junius" have good camoflage against the tree.