LONG-TAILED DUCKS, COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK, TORONTO, ON

MUTE SWANS, COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK, TORONTO, ON

1ST WINTER MALE KING EIDER, COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK, TORONTO, ON

   We saw a King Eider reported on eBird at  the marina in Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Toronto.  So this past Tuesday we went to the park to try to sight and photograph the eider.  We spent about 1 1/2 hours looking for the bird, but couldn't  find it.  Luckily we ran across a couple of birders who had seen it and they told us from where.  We went to that location and low-and-behold we sighted it almost right away.

   We can ID this duck as a 1st winter male King Eider by its orange and pale bill (orange at the base),  black-dark brown-dark gray  plumage,  white chest and white rump.

   The King Eider is a new species to our Photographic Life List, which now stands at 519.

TWO BEAUTIFUL BIRDS TOGETHER: MALE PAINTED BUNTING & MALE NORTHERN CARDINAL, CREW BIRD ROOKERY SWAMP, NAPLES, FL

ROSEATE SPOONBILL, CREW BIRD ROOKERY SWAMP, NAPLES, FL

BABY ALLIGATORS & MOTHER ALLIGATOR, CREW BIRD ROOKERY SWAMP, NAPLES, FL

MALE BURROWING OWL STANDING GUARD, NEAR TIGERTAIL BEACH, MARCO ISLAND, FL

   This is breeding season for Burrowing Owls.   Here the male stands guard against predators, while the female Burrowing Owl is in the burrow incubating it's eggs.  The burrows are in a roped off area on a vacant lot.