Tag Archives: bird

Chestnut-Mandibled yellow fronted Toucan, Costa Rica

chestnut mandibled yellow fronted toucan costa rica

How many of us growing up thought the Toucan was a Kellogg’s bird? Froot Loops anyway?? Costa Rica has six different types of Toucans, this one being the Chestnut-Mandibled version. In real life they are highly energetic and dramatic in appearance, however much less over-the-top than Toucan Sam. The picture above is taken not long before sunset. My own observation being loud squawkers, rarely sitting still, and some not too bright.

The Toucan pictured below is standing on the hotel room balcony. He/she is repeatedly flying into the sliding glass door of the hotel guest’s room where food was left on the table. Can’t blame for wanting free food, but ouch! How many times does it take bumping your beak before stopping?

chestnut mandibled yellow fronted toucan on a balcany costa rica

Costa Rica Scarlet Macaw In Flight

costa rica macaw lapas in flight

Bucket list bird! Getting a good image of a bird in flight is arguably the hardest form of taking pictures… their moving fast!!! Off to Costa Rica we went recently for vacation and I had two types of birds to find (also was looking for monkeys in the wild and here too we did not disappoint): the Scarlet Macaw shown here and a Toucan which will be in the next post.

Macaws – also known as Scarlet Macaws and Lapas locally – are native to Costa Rica living in the tropical low land forests along the Pacific Coast. Its estimated 1,500 of the birds call this country home.

The one here has a mate (they mate for life which is roughly 60 years). I heard the pair flying into the area from their noisy unique call, and was able to walk the half kilometer to the tree they landed in. Very lucky to be shooting rapid sequences when this Scarlet Macaw took off towards me.

The second photo below is the pair leaving the area.

two costa rica scarlet macaws in flight lapas

You are being watched by the resident broad-winged hawk

broad-winged hawk
Broad-winged Hawk

This hawk is very impressive to be around. Starting with it’s awareness, it knows where I am all the time and tracks my movement continuously. To a certain degree it finds me curiously entertaining and I would say definitely not a threat. It visits each year for roughly 3 weeks bridging end July and beginning August. Sometimes its by itself (like this year) while others years there are two of them… adult and juvenile. Here its perched high atop a 75ft dead Birch watching me with the camera.

Blue Tailed Emerald Hummingbird nesting in a palm tree

blue tailed emerald hummingbird female nesting curacao
She is a Blue Tailed Emerald Hummingbird – Chlorostilbon mellisugus – nesting in a palm tree next to the ‘people’ pool we were hanging at while in Curacao. Within her nest are 2 incredibly small eggs, and the nest itself is a mere two inches in height. I’m not as close to the hummingbird as it appears, using a zoom lens so as not to disturb.

Sharp-shinned Hawk on its Migration over Hawk Cliff, Lake Erie

sharp-shinned hawk sharpie hawk cliff migration
Had my initiation into the world of hawks and falcons a few weeks back when visiting Hawk Cliff on the north shores of Lake Erie to watch the migration. This is a Sharp-shinned Hawk, distinct for its three white stripes on the tail, plus stripe bands on the underside of the wings. Was fortunate to grab pictures of Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Bald Eagles, and an American Kestrel. And the one I missed while fumbling with the camera… a Northern Harrier.

Broad-winged Hawk

broad-winged hawk muskoka ontario echo lake
Three Broad-winged Hawks spent a couple of weeks in August on the cottage property before flying off. They would perch atop the Birch trees along the shore, or behind the cottage at top off forest canopy like this one in the photo.

Female Robin with two screaming chicks nesting

female american robin chicks chirping nesting
This female American Robin chose the fireplace vent out back of the house as perfect location for this year’s nest. She has two chicks, who on this late evening, were trying to be as vocal as their mom!

Can you guess the type of bird?

silhouette of male cardinal on branch
Going back to summer 2016 for this image of a male cardinal silhouetted against the sky.

Blue Jay Taking In The Sunshine

blue jay bird taking in the sunshine
Finally I believe we have spring coming to this area of the world! This Blue Jay, plus a pair of Cardinals, a woodpecker, and a Robin were busy eating and tending to their nests on Saturday afternoon.

Bald Eagle Making A Statement

bald eagle mountsberg conservation area halton
Our bald eagle friend here was injured at a young age flying into power lines, rescued and brought back to health at the Mounstberg Conservation Area in Halton. They are known for rehabilitating all species of raptors in Southern Ontario.