November 3rd in Humber Bay Park East

November 3rd I spend my Saturday afternoon birding in Humber Bay Park East and honestly, I did not see that many species of birds. However, this was more than made up by the number of Long-tailed Ducks, Red-breasted Mergansers, Buffleheads, and Scaups.
I also had the chance to get some photos of a pair of Snow Buntings right by the Humber River, just posing there. (They are so cute - Snow Buntings are my new favourite birds!)

Snow Bunting on the east bank of the Humber River near Lake Ontario.

Spending October 21st at Lynde Shores CA

On the 21st of October I visited Lynde Shores Conservation Area near Ajax, by Lake Ontario. It was quite a productive day as I and a group of friends saw 50 species in total until lunchtime.
It was an unusual day because we were there for an OFO Trip, however it was moved to next week and we were not notified. However, we still had fun and took some decent photos.

Desperate Black-capped Chickadees fighting for the granola bar on my hand. (Photo taken by Ark.)

House Finch by bird feeders.

There was a great abundance of sparrows. Apparently someone also spotted a Long-eared Owl among the evergreens, but we didn't get a chance to see it. There was also a wide range of duck species and numerous herons present. A good bird we observed was the Nashville Warbler by the marsh, which was supposed to have migrated by now. (See that yellow blur!)

New Backyard Bird: the Hermit Thrush

Recently, I had an interesting bird in my backyard that I thought is worth mentioning. It was the Hermit Thrush and I had it return several times over the course of three days in October. I believe it was a migrant on its way south.

Hermit Thrush in my backyard.

It do not think it was that unusual because I live near a park and running water, however my backyard did not provide any suitable food for this species or moving water. It was a nice new backyard bird, but I hope I get some more exciting ones during the winter.

Thanksgiving near Algonquin Park, ON

This Thanksgiving was not very productive bird-wise, but this weekend provided opportunities for photography of natural subjects such as landscapes and plants. We usually stay at a cottage near Algonquin Park (around and hour away) in a region known as Kaszuby. It was the first Polish settlement in Canada, and the land is now dotted with cottages and some permanent homes. It is a very beautiful place with deep forest and many small lakes, so I think some of my photos came out:

Morning mist over Wadsworth Lake.

My 2-year-old dog Amber running like a bunny.

Frost over small plants and weeds after a cold night.

Looking into the sun past trees.

Unfortunately, one Dark-eyed Junco collided into a window by the cottage.

Misty forest.

Quilt of fall colours under cloudy sky at the end of Tom's Lookout Trail.

Actually, it had just rained when I took this last picture. By the time we finished the trail and got back into the car, it was pouring rain. Driving back to the cottage was quite slippery, and we lost control of the mini-van and crashed into a ditch. The car was a little bit scratched, but we could not drive out. When we got the car towed, it was still working, so we did not need to fix it immediately. Driving around that same bend later that day, we saw that another car got stuck in that exact same ditch!

Overall, it was a nice weekend full of turkey dinners.