2015 Bird Count

[Catherine]

You have never seen snow?
It is exciting when you see it for the first time. It is even exciting when you see it for the first time in the fall/winter. After months on nothing but white, the novelty wears off.
I envy you seeing it for the first time.

I saw the Pine Grosbeak for the first time last fall. I knew what it was right away and that was a special moment. I just know I will spot it soon since it is around my neighbourhood. All the trees we planted have paid off.

That is a beautiful gull. I have never seen one like it.

[Catherine]

I have seen Tawny Frogmouths at the zoo here. It would be so much better to see one in the wild.

I might have heard a Kestrel today. I will count it when I actually see it. We do have them here. I am still trying to spot the Pine Grosbeak.

[platy]

2 June
92. European goldfinch - finally
93. Musk duck
94. Hardhead duck

3 June
95. a young Brown falcon

[Catherine]

You have almost made it to the 100 mark.
I have seen lots of birds, but they are all the same ones. I did see some baby house sparrows fresh from the nest being fed by their mom. They are so cute when they first start to fly.

[platy]

7 June
96. Little penguin
97. Pied cormorant

9 June
98. Blue billed duck

[Catherine]

You are about to reach a hundred birds. I did see a fledgling Robin yesterday. It might have been the one a rescued.

[Catherine]

You have almost reached 100.

Finally I have some new birds. The finches and the barn swallow are quite common in some areas, but the turkey vulture was real luck. I saw him out at the zoo.

22) Purple Finch
23) Turkey Vulture
24) Barn Swallow


This is the Turkey Vulture I saw. He was way up there, but I know what it is.

[Catherine]

25) Peregrine Falcon
The bird I saw is actually an American Kestrel.
I saw an actual Peregrine Falcon!
This isn't my picture, but it is very good.

This is such a typical picture. They are an intense looking bird
They nearly went extinct, but they are making a come back. They are nesting on the rooftops of tall buildings in the big cities. They are really protected and there is so much excitement whenever a chick is successfully hatched.

[Catherine]

It turns out that what I saw was an American Kestrel.

25)American Kestrel

Now I can post the pictures I took.

He is a beautiful bird. He was found with an injured wing and brought in to the reptile Centre. We were able to cage him safely and feed him.
You can see his wing is damaged.

He is of course being transferred to the Toronto Wildlife Centre. They have the facilities to properly care for him and hopefully fix him. They also have jurisdiction since all raptors (and most other wildlife) are protected by law in this country.


I love his face. I volunteered at the reptile centre yesterday and he was this close to me most of the time. He watched my every move.

Kestrels are one of my favourite birds, but I have never been this close. Usually I hear them and see them from a distance.
He is such a beautiful bird. I hope they can fix his wing. If I hear anything I will let you know.

[Catherine]

I will try posting them a different way.






Can you see these pictures and can you see the original pictures. I can see both, on my computer.