Black-throated Green WarblerI heard my first Black-throated Green Warbler this morning, hooray! Meanwhile our resident male Yellow-rumped Warbler continues to circle our house, eat some seed, and sing vigorously giving all indications that its waiting for a mate and will nest on our property when she arrives. A pair of European Starlings have taken over the nest box I built for the Northern Flicker. The flicker tried it out but nothing works without a mate so although it visits occasionally I think it has moved on. During my tour this morning I visited a few reliable areas for warbler birding. They were all closed except for walk-ins. All the birds are late this year so I probably did not miss much. Even our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are late, two weeks and counting. Black-throated Green Warbler
Northern ParulaThe Northern Parula is easy to identify thanks to its colour patterning especially the transitional colour changes on the chest. The song of this diminutive warbler is akin to a walker going up a set of stairs and then falling off into the void. It is surprisingly hard to photograph well even though its quite tame. The subtle colour variations and blending of tones are hard to capture. Northern Parula
OvenbirdThe Ovenbird has the most powerful voice in the woods. Its numerous, widespread and loud. Add to that its good looks and you have a winner. Its also a photographers dreams since it is quite tame and will sit on a branch belting out its territorial song while posing. The Ovenbird builds its oven like nest on the ground. A reliable field mark is the orange crown stripe flanked by black stripes. It also walks, not hops, even when on a tree branch. Ovenbird
Common YellowthroatThe Common Yellowthroat is widespread and easily found due to its tameness and rambunctious song. Its a striking bird and certainly not common in its good looks. Its also reliable in its nesting habits. The bird will return to the same location and even the same bush year after year. Laura and I call this bird the "bandido". Common Yellowthroat
Mourning WarblerThe Mourning Warbler is absolutely stunning in the right light. Its hard to find in its thick brush habitat. I once met a migrating flock going up a stream in Cape Chignecto Provincial Park but I could not photograph any as they kept on moving. It was inconsiderate of them I say! I found another bunch moving up through brush and I found them thanks to their sparkling song. This resulted in the only photos I have of this warbler. Mourning Warbler
This is my best photo of the Mourning Warbler. What a beauty, eh?
Bay-breasted WarblerThe Bay-breasted Warbler can be hard to find. It prefers mature forests and sings from the canopy. Its a coveted target for all nature photographers and naturalists. Fortunately it is easy to find thanks to its territorial song. Bay-breasted Warbler
Hermit ThrushThe Hermit Thrush is our most common thrush and like all thrushes it has a gorgeous song. The song is especially haunting when heard at dusk or dawn. It arrives early, mid April, and stays late. Some overwinter if they can find enough food. The reddish brown tail often bobs and is a reliable field mark. Hermit Thrush
Ville de QuebecThis is my favourite photograph of the Ville de Quebec, one of our Halifax class frigates at speed off Chebucto Head. The photo was extremely noisy so after I cleaned up the photograph it gives the Ville de Quebec the appearance of a fresh paint job. Ville de Quebec
Glaucous GullThe Glaucous Gull is our largest gull with an attitude to boot. Normally we only see them in the late fall, winter, and early spring near fish plants and almost always in company with other gulls especially the Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull and Iceland Gull. Glaucous Gull
GadwallThe Gadwall is an uncommon summertime breeder in Nova Scotia. It can be hard to find and easy to miss except for the conspicuous white ornament on the side. Gadwall
Nashville WarblerThe Nashville Warbler is not from Nashville. It's a continental bird with most nesting in Canada. It arrives early and leaves late. The song is similar to the Yellow-rumped Warbler but with more emphasis on the second part of the song, a rolling trill. Nashville Warbler
Little Blue HeronThe Little Blue Heron is an annual regular to Nova Scotia, certainly not rare. Its an extremely attractive bird with its blended shades of blue and purple/blue. The immature is mostly white. The feeding technique is interesting as it stirs the water with its feet and uses the umbrella wing maneuver to shade the sun, all to shock prey from hiding. Little Blue Heron
Short-billed DowitcherThe bills of the Short-billed Dowitcher and Long-billed Dowitcher overlap and their plumage is almost identical so the only way to reliably separate the species is by call. You can hear the call recordings of this bird on Cornell Labs. Fortunately they tend not to mix. The spring bird is almost always the Short-billed Dowitcher and the late fall bird is almost certainly the Long-billed Dowitcher. They do mix in the early fall but the Long-billed Dowitcher is less common at that time. Learn the calls and be cool! Short-billed Dowitcher
Blackburnian WarblerThe Blackburnian Warbler is easy to find thanks to its striking good looks and easy to remember song, a rapid high pitched trill usually in two parts. It seems to prefer higher latitudes of mature forest in my area. It has been observed engaged in territorial singing in Jerry Lawrence Provincial Park along with 18 other warbler species. This park was scheduled for destruction by the Department of Natural Resources. Why on earth are our parks not under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Environment where they should be? This is almost certainly petty politics and power grabbing. Thanks to the effort of several people including myself this park has maintained its status as a provincial park and provided rich habitat for numerous warbler and flycatcher species. Blackburnian Warbler
Snow BuntingThe Snow Bunting is a handsome bird that brings the winter and leaves when spring arrives. It breeds in the wind swept tundra of northern Canada. Who wouldn't considering all the flying insects there are to feed the young? Unlike most birds its most attractive as in these photos during fall plumage. Snow Bunting
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