GREEN-WINGED TEAL, COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK, TORONTO, ON

   This beautiful duck is a male Green-winged Teal in breeding plumage.  The breeding male is distinctive, with a rufous head, a green eye patch and a white vertical bar on the side of the breast.  You can also see the yellow rear end and the green with buff edge speculum.

FEMALE GREATER SCAUP, COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK, TORONTO, ON

   We have identified this duck as a  female Greater Scaup in nonbreeding plumage, rather than a Lesser Scaup, as follows

• The rounded head and nape.  The Lesser Scaup has an oval head, a straighter neck and a notch or corner toward the back of the head.
• The scaup has a large amount of white on the face.  This is more indicative of a greater scaup.

FEMALE COMMON GRACKLE, HUMBER PARK EAST, TORONTO, ON

MALE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, HUMBER PARK EAST, TORONTO, ON

   This Red-winged Blackbird landed on the ground right next to us and hung around.  We think it wanted food and was probably use to people feeding it.

MALE RED-NECKED GREBE, HUMBER PARK EAST, TORONTO, ON

   This male Red-necked Grebe is in breeding plumage: reddish neck and white cheek.

LONG-TAILED DUCKS, HUMBER PARK EAST, TORONTO, ON

      The male Long-tailed Duck in the first photo is in its winter plumage.  You can really see its very long tail.  The second photo shows a female Long-tailed Duck.  The female does not have a long tail, its tail is short.  The female on the left in the third photo is starting to take off in flight.  The last two photos show male Long-tailed Ducks.

MOLTING HORNED GREBES, HUMBER PARK EAST, TORONTO, ON

   The Horned Grebe in the first photo is molting from nonbreeding plumage to breeding plumage.  The yellow patch behind its red eye is starting to form and its cheek is turning from white to black.  You can see the rufous color starting to form on its neck.  The flanks of the grebe have not started to turn the rufous color of the breeding plumage.

   In the second photo, you can really see the yellow patch behind the eye of this Horned Grebe.