PAIR OF MERLINS, PRESQU'ILE PROVINCIAL PARK, BRIGHTON, ON

      We identified these falcons as a Merlins  (rather than as Peregrine Falcons) by the observation that the wingtips do not reach the tail tip (as they do in the Peregrin Falcon).  These falcons were seen at the same time very close to one another and thus are probably a pair, male and female.

   The Merlin is a new species to our Life List, which now stands at 151.

OSPREY, PRESQU'ILE PROVINCIAL PARK, BRIGHTON, ON

KILDEER, PRESQU'ILE PROVINCIAL PARK, BRIGHTON, ON

AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, PRESQU'ILE PROVINCIAL PARK, BRIGHTON, ON, 9/5/2015

   This plover has been identified as an American Golden Plover, rather than the similar looking Black-bellied Plover as follows:

• The black on the undertail coverts, rather than the all-white of the Black-bellied Plover.
• The black cap vs. the pale cap of a Black-bellied Plover.

   This plover as partially molted and is migrating.  The American Golden Plover is among the migratory birds that interrupt molt for migration and then resume it at the end of migration.  This plover has one of the longest migratory journeys of any shorebird.  It breeds in the Canadian and Alaskan high Arctic tundra and migrates to central and southern South America for the winter.

   The American Golden Plover is a new species to our Life List, which now stands at 150.

ADULT & CYGNET MUTE SWANS, CRANBERRY MARSH, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

   The three bright white swans are adult Mute Swans and the grey/buff swan in the middle is a juvenile Mute Swan (cygnet).  The cygnet has a black bill, so it probably is in its 1st year.

CHIPMUNK HAVING LUNCH, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

MOURNING DOVE, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON