Horned Grebes, Iceland Gulls, and a FOY!

It was gorgeous today. 15 degrees Celsius and no wind. It was super sunny, and there were were also no clouds in the sky to be seen!

Walking down to the lake, I felt lucky.

Today I had the pleasure of seeing three Horned Grebes! All of which were within 3 feet of the shore at one point! Anyways, I saw two breeding individuals and a non-breeding individual. It's neat that I saw both on the same day. 

As I was walking along a beach on Lake Ontario with hundreds of people, I found my first Horned Grebe of the day! It was a non-breeding individual that was swimming and diving within 5 feet of the shore! A mother with two toddlers were about 6 feet away from it at one point, and it wasn't even phased by them!

Then I went over to Ashbridge's Bay, and in the bay, there was a pair of Horned Grebes in full breeding plumage! Soooo beautiful!!! I was able to get some great shots off, and they stayed within 20 feet of me for 15 or so minutes, diving happily. 

I think I've used up all my birding luck for the year!

Here's what I saw:

2 Mute Swan 
5 Common Goldeneye
2 Lesser Scaup
15 Greater Scaup
1 Common Merganser
10 Red-breasted Merganser
2 American Black Duck
2 Gadwall
4 Canada Goose
4 White-winged Scoter
5 Redhead
3 Horned Grebe
10 Bufflehead
5 Long-tailed Duck
80 Ring-billed Gull
10 Herring Gull
5 Iceland Gull
1 Red-tailed Hawk
4 Golden-crowned Kinglet
2 Killdeer
10 Song-Sparrow
10 American Tree Sparrow
4 American Robin
1 Dark-eyed junco
2 Northern Cardinal
1 American Goldfinch
1 While-breasted Nuthatch
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Common Grackle
2 Mourning Dove
5 Red-winged Blackbird

Here are some shots!

This was the first Horned Grebe I saw - it was actively diving off the heavily populated beach!

Then I found a pair in the bay that were super close to shore! Absolutely stunning breeding individuals.

Iceland Gulls. These are my favourite gulls... they are quite rare elsewhere but are super common here!

American Robin

Common Grackle

FOY Golden-crowned Kinglet!

 Song Sparrow - my all-time best shot of one!

Long-tailed Duck

Common Mergansers

Red-breasted Merganser

Red-tailed Hawk flyover - this was in my yard right after I got home.

Comments appreciated!

Happy birding!

-Owen

Ashbridge's Bay birding - nice birds and a surprise lifer!

I went to Ashbridge's Bay this afternoon with hopes of getting some yearbirds and perhaps a surprise lifer! It was very windy today with scattered clouds - pretty cold in the wind. The wind off the lake was quite harsh today. The usual species were seen today with the exception of my FOY Double-crested Cormorant and lifer Horned Grebe!!


Here's what I saw:

4 Mute Swan
2 Double-crested Cormorant
10 Greater Scaup
5 Lesser Scaup
10 Bufflehead
5 Common Goldeneye
2 Common Merganser
5 Red-breasted Merganser
2 Redhead
2 Gadwall
4 White-winged Scoter
1 Horned Grebe
200 Ring-billed Gull
2 Iceland Gull
20 Herring Gull
1 Song Sparrow
10 American Tree Sparrow
2 Northern Cardinal
2 Red-winged Blackbird
1 White-Breasted Nuthatch
4 Black-capped Chickadee

Here are some shots!

Common Merganser

White-winged Scoters with Ring-billed Gulls

Lesser Scaup! A nice bird to see considering 98% of scaup here are Greater!

FOY Double-crested Cormorant

American Tree Sparrow

Ring-billed Gull

American Tree Sparrow

A coconut? One of three seen today!

My all-time best American Robin shot!

Closeup

Canada Goose

Male Mute Swan

Iceland Gulls! A few are still sticking around through April!

Mute Swans

Female Mute Swan

This Horned Grebe randomly popped up 30 feet from the shore of Lake Ontario 50 or so feet away. I got a bad shot, then   ran towards it. The next time it surfaced, it was 20 feet from the shore and 30 feet from me. Then it dove again, and I ran towards it. This time, I got lucky. It surfaced 5 feet from the shore, no more that 10 feet from me. I just had time to get this shot before it swam away quickly. I only wish it weren't so windy, as I would have been able to get a better shot!

Lifer #184!

Comments appreciated!

-Owen

Cherry Beach birding.

Went down to Cherry Beach on Thursday evening hoping to get a year bird or two, but sadly didn't. Waterfowl and gulls were abundant, so were some sparrows. It was overcast and quite cold. The wind off the lake was very strong too. I was happy to see two Great Black-backed Gulls, only the second time I'd ever seen them!


Here's what I saw:

3 Mute Swan
15 Bufflehead
20 Common Goldeneye
1 White-winged Scoter
100 Long-tailed Duck
5 Greater Scaup
10 Red-breasted Merganser
50 Ring-billed Gull
10 Herring Gull
3 Iceland Gull
2 Great Black-backed Gull
20 American Robin
20 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Northern Mockingbird
8 Common Grackle
10 American Tree Sparrow
2 Song Sparrow
1 Downy Woodpecker
4 Black-capped Chickadee

Here are some shots!

Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gulls, Great Black-backed Gull, Long-tailed Ducks

Ring-billed Gull

Iceland Gull

Iceland Gull

Herring Gull

Common Goldeneye - it was doing a dance for the female he was with.

White-winged Scoter and Long-tailed Ducks

Jealous Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser and Long-tailed Ducks

Iceland Gull with Greater Scaup and Long-tailed Ducks

American Robin

Great Black-backed Gull series - the juvenile eventually won!

Northern Mockingbird - pretty happy about this, as it was shot at 1/20 of a second.

Comments appreciated!

Happy birding!

-Owen