ROCK PIGEONS, COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK, ETOBICOKE, TORONTO, ONTARIO, 7/27/2023

 

MOURNING DOVES, COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK. ETOBICOKE. TORONTO. ONTARIO. 7/27/2024

 

AMERICAN ROBIN WITH BUG IN BILL, COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK, ETOBICOKE, TORONTO, ONTARIO, 7/27/2023

 

MALE & FEMALE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK, ETOBICOKE, TORONTO, ONTARIO, 7/27/2023

 

MALLARDS, COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK,, ETOBICOKE, TORONTO, ONTARIO, 7/27/2023

   On the Mallard on the right you can see part of the "speculum"  patch on the wing.  It is blue with black and white edges at its ends.

 

ADULT & JUVENILE BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK, ETOBICOKE, TORONTO, ONTARIO, 7/27/2023

   The first four photos show an adult Black-crowned Night-heron.  The last photo shows a sleeping juvenile.  Unfortunately we couldn't see its face.

 

WESTERN GREBE, COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK, ETOBICOKE, TORONTO, ONTARIO, 7/27/2023 - NEW LIFE SPECIES

   We can ID this grebe as a Western Grebe as follows:

• Long, slender, swan-like, black (nape) and white (front) neck, with a sharp division between the black and white.
• Red eyes
• Black crown which extends below the eye (this distinguishes it from the very similar Clark's Grebe, where the crown doesn't go below the eye)
• Blackish gray upperparts

    The Western Grebe breeds over a large portion of western North America, but winters primarily  along the West Coast.  It is a relatively rare vagrant to Toronto.

   The Western Grebe is a new species to our Photographic Life List. Our ebird Life List now stands at 1,078.