JUVENILE RED-TAILED HAWK, HILLMAN MARSH CONSERVATION AREA, LEAMINGTON, ON

   These photos were taken on 3/29/2016 on a road near Hillman Marsh Conservation Area.  The lighting was not great and the photos were taken through the front glass window of the car.  By the time I got out of the car the hawk had flown away.  You can see in the photos, that it is starting to spread its wings in preparation for flight.

   We can ID this hawk as the light morph of a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk as follows:

• The hawk is stocky and broad.
• The hawk has a pale breast contrasting with a brown head and a streaked belly-band.
• There is a white speckled V on the back of the hawk.

MOLTING HOUSE SPARROW, PARKING LOT, TORONTO, ON

   This House Sparrow is molting from nonbreeding winter plumage to breeding summer plumage.  You can see the black patch on its chest starting to form and the rufous nape starting to form.

NORTHERN CARDINAL AT MAKESHIFT BIRD FEEDER IN BACKYARD, THORNHILL, ON

   We've been talking about putting a bird feeder in the backyard.   Sharon decided to invent a makeshift bird feeder from a yogurt cup and try it out.  She hung it from a thin branch, which hopefully would be too fragile for a squirrel to climb on.  It was filled with seed.  Lo and behold, it worked.

   Here is a photo of a male American Cardinal at the makeshift feeder.  On the ground below the female cardinal was foraging.  Maybe the male dropped some seed for her?  We don't know.

ICICLES OVER LAKE ONTARIO, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

   We thought this was a beautiful scene: icicles hanging from a bare tree right by Lake Ontario.

AMERICAN COOT, LAKE ONTARIO, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

   We can ID this bird as an American Coot by its dark gray body, its black head and stubby white bill and its red frontal shield (you can just make out the red in the photo).

MALE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, LAKE ONTARIO, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

      We can ID this duck as a male Red-breasted Merganser in breeding plumage as follows:

• Thin reddish bill.
• Dark head & upper neck with shaggy crest.
• Red eyes.
• White lower neck and rufous breast.

BUFFLEHEADS, CRANBERRY MARSH, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

   The Bufflehead on the left is a male and the one on the right a female.