Backyard Birds

In these challenging times of maintaining physical distance and staying close to home, I thought it would be interesting to look through my photo file of backyard birds. Living close to natural areas means a wide variety of species can drift into our yard. Our definition of a backyard bird may be considered a little "loose" by others. If we are in our yard and see a bird fly overhead, it counts as being a backyard bird. Our rule and we're sticking with it!! 😄😁

Our extensive list includes the common, but still beautiful Blue Jay! 

House Finches are regularly found at feeders in many yards.

Sometimes a Hermit Thrush will hunt for insects in the lawn and garden.

I was glad I had my camera in hand when this Bald Eagle sailed overhead.  

He was gone in the blink of an eye, but still counts as a yard bird!

Dark-eyed Juncos will be heading north soon.  

They are regularly found at feeders during the winter months.

White-throated Sparrows have been elusive in 2020

but we see them in our yard every year.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are starting to make an appearance.  

They can regularly be spotted on a neighbour's tree, adjacent to our fence.

It won't be long before migrating warblers such as this Yellow-rumped 

Warbler will be returning to Southern Ontario in large numbers.

One of my favourite yard bird photos is this robin that landed on the road in front of our house.  He seems very proud of the snake he caught!  I'm not sure what the kids back at the nest thought of this meal. A Little Brown Snake is unlikely to slide down their throats as easily as a juicy worm!