Jason's Living Room

Throughout spring and summer I see them almost everywhere I look. Lately far less

Agelaius phoeniceus

After disappearing for a few weeks the red winged black birds are back in my neighbourhood!

I'm not sure if these are migratory or my usual neighbours

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #marsh #wetlands #blackbird

Icterus galbula

Looking back on the spring. I saw a lot more colour, but I've come a very long way in terms of the quality of my photos. Loving the journey!

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #birdwatching #orange #oriole

He looks so proud. What a show off

Downy! Hard to tell the bill size at this angle but it seems shorter. The giveaway is the black spots on the outer tail feather (note: out west the hairy woodpeckers sometimes have these spots)

Turdus migratorius

During the spring and summer I have frequent, nearly constant visits from robins. The fall is here and the robins aren't. Too bad, they're my fave

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #cute #birdwatching

Dumetella carolinensis

Jason: c'mon catbird.. Look at me
Catbird: like this?
Jason: can you turn and face me?
Catbird: *flies away*

Birds are uncooperative models

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #tommythompson

That's awesome!

Nycticorax nycticorax

It's not night time! Night heron sighted during the day. Absurd!

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #lake #lakeOntario #torontoIslands #heron #waterfowl

Astur cooperii

I love the expression of this coopers hawk. He seems affronted by a nearby squirrel.

The squirrel survived

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #wildlife #nativespecies #birdwatching #raptor #hawk

Spinus tristis

One bug improvement for me lately is walking around frequent perches to get a more dramatic backdrop. I didn't nail the lighting, but I love this composition.

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #finch #cute #birdwatching

Totally! They are adorable but they were hard to spot because of their size

Setophaga palmarum

Another jailbird! This time a palm warbler. Tropical in name only, only one other warbler breeds further to the north.

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #torontoIslands #warbler #airport

Gorgeous!

Thanks Rob!

Thank you!

A downy woodpecker climbing a small tree

Dryobates pubescens

I finally have a decent photo for #woodpeckerWednesday and all I see is "pube" in the Latin name. I may be 37, but I'm also 12

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #forest #tree #woodpecker #birdwatching #torontoIslands

An eastern kingbird perched on barbed wire at the Toronto island airport

Tyrannus tyrannus

With a Latin name like that, I'm not surprised it's a jailbird!

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #torontoIslands #airport #fence #birdwatching #perch #jailbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

The shortening days are really hampering my bird watching time... Do I really need a day job?

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #marsh #wetlands #blackbird

A great egret eating a small fish at the edge of lake Ontario

Ardea alba

This is one of the great egrets of my life.

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #marsh #waterfowl #wetlands #heron #torontoIslands #lake #lakeOntario #noegrets #noragrets

It was probably raised by nuthatches 😜

I see woodpeckers move upside every once in a while too. I'm sure there are other exceptions as well

A great blue heron stands at attention, wading through the still water at the edge of lake Ontario

Ardea herodias

Merlin tells me that great blue herons are present year round. Where are they in the winter? They migrate right? Am I crazy? They don't like snow?

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #marsh #wetlands #heron #winter #merlin #birdwatching

Passer domesticus

A house sparrow on a sparrow house.

They're cute, but invasive here.

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #meadow #birdwatching

A white breasted nuthatch climbing down a tree

Sitta carolinensis

Just a nuthatch doing nuthatch things... The only birds that climb trees face down.

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #wildlife #nativespecies #forest #trees #birdwatching #cute

For me, the other socials have become more addicting but less substantial... Bluesky isn't getting its hooks in me the same way, which as a user I LOVE! But the flip side is businesses and other accounts trying to make conversions from eyeballs may prefer to addict me to their content.

A bald faced hornet, white and black, crawling on some white berries

Dolichovespula maculata

The bald faced hornet is actually a yellow jacket wasp and not a true hornet.

Does this count as stolen valour?

#bugs #bees #wasps #insect #flower #pollinator #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #torontoIslands

The habitat pile is doing its job well!

The head of a double crested cormorant on a snake-like neck sticking out of the water as it swims along the lake's surface.

Nannopterum auritum

Animals adapt to specific niches, cormorants are an example of a specialized predator.

Which is why they look so goofy in other contexts! What a derp

#birds #ontario #photography #nature #outdoors #toronto #wildlife #nativespecies #wetlands #lakeOntario #torontoIslands #lake

Amazing photo. Many things came together in this shot, not just the perfect timing of the wave. Great work!

Is that a splashing wave I the background? Really adds to the beautiful composition