T.O. Backyard – Pre-holiday Season Mix

Hello, thanks for returning to the Bird Canada blog and seeing what is happening in our neck of the woods here in Toronto, Ontario.

It’s actually been rather quiet at home with the birds. We can blame a Cooper’s Hawk with near daily visits.

It’s something to watch this Hawk hunt our backyard, running from brush pile to shrub, looking for House Sparrows hiding within.

A Sharp-shinned Hawk appears on occasion but quickly flees when the Cooper’s arrives. There’s a couple of Red-tailed Hawks often seen in the area and randomly dropping in.

It’s a dark and dreary time of the year. It’s a challenging time for an amateur photographer.

We did have a few American Tree Sparrows here for a couple days. I really hoped they were going to stay for a while. Not so. Same with one White-throated Sparrow. The White-throated is one of my favourite Sparrows.

We have no Nuthatches which is unusual. Early on there was 2 White-breasted but they moved along. A Red-breasted has made a few appearances in November but has not been seen in a couple weeks now. Our Pigeon visitors number between 1 to 7 max; they know well enough not to linger here at this time of year.

A Northern Mockingbird has discovered our holly bush. His visits are ridiculously random, sometimes not coming back for a week or more. He’s yet to drop in on one of my count days for Project Feeder Watch. As you can see, he is tough to spot in the bush at times.

There has been a little bit of local excitement though, stepping away from the backyard.

A small flock of Eastern Bluebirds spent over a week in a park down the road from us. Any day I see a Bluebird is a good day.

Long-eared Owls have returned for the season. Much like the Bluebird, any day I see a Long-eared Owl is a good day. It’s even better when I do not flush these very skittish birds. I lucked out with a tolerant Owl in this cropped photo.

Snowy Owls are starting to appear now. Angie and I found this one last Friday while out for a drive.

Northern Saw-whet Owls passed through a while ago but some are staying in Toronto. We recently found this one while out on a morning walk, taking paths less chosen can be a good thing. It’s always a thrill to find an Owl on your own.

I guess that’s about it for now.

Thanks to everyone who reads our blog entries even if we aren’t always monthly. We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas (or however you spend the holiday season) and all the best in 2020. See you next year!

Rob and Angie