WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, VAN WAGNERS BEACH ROAD, HAMILTON, ON

   We can ID this sparrow as a White-throated Sparrow as follows:

• Bright white throat contrasting with gray cheeks and breasts.
• Yellow supraloral.
• White/tannish eyebrow.
• Black and white striped crown. You can just make out the end of the white crown stripe in the photo.
• Gray bill.

GREAT BLUE HERON, VAN WAGNERS PONDS, HAMILTON, ON

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT IN FLIGHT, VAN WAGNERS PONDS, HAMILTON, ON

EUROPEAN STARLINGS, VAN WAGNERS PONDS, HAMILTON, ON

FLOCK OF RING-BILLED GULLS, VAN WAGNERS BEACH, HAMILTON, ON

GREATER SCAUP, TOLLGATE POND, HAMILTON, ON

   We can ID these ducks as Greater Scaups, rather than Lesser Scaups as follows:

• Rounded head.  The Lesser Scaup has a corner at the rear of the head, while the Greater Scaup has a more rounded head.
• Prominent black nail on bill.  This can be seen in the first photo.

BIRDS ABOVE THE FALLS ON NIAGARA RIVER, NIAGARA FALLS, ON

   The birds on the various rocky islands in the Niagara River just upstream from Niagara Falls are Double-crested Cormorants and gulls, mostly Ring-billed Gulls.