Here is a small collection of photos taken during a business trip to Toronto. I was lucky to be able to stay on for the weekend, visiting Niagara Falls on Saturday with a colleague from work, and then on Sunday out birding with Knud Rasmussen, the Birdingpal creator. Below are the photos I took during this trip. This page has 133 photos including 27 bird species. Many thanks to Knud, creator of Birdingpal, and his charming wife Karen, not only for the fantastic day out to see birds, but also for the exquisite dinner before departing from Canada! Thanks for visiting this page - Alec Earnshaw Site gateway: www.fotosaves.com.ar

PHOTOS (Click o the photos to enlarge)

Assorted photos
	Finally, a real maple leaf in fall colours!
	The canadian flag waving in the wind at Niagara
.	The hotel I stayed at. Hardly a chance of doing wildlife photos during the week, as work schedule coincided exactly with the daylight hours. (The clocks were changed just the day I departed, so that would have given me with an hour to bird in the mornings...) Right: infinite reflections in the hotel room bathroom mirrors!!!
	View from the hotel room
	Downtown Toronto
	Invited to see "Medieval Nights", a fine spectacle!

Toronto Tower

	An Ontario Parks stand at Toronto Airport promotes Ontario as an excellent birdwatching destination and highlights the Loon, one of Canada's special birds

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Taken in pine trees around the hotel parking lot in the evening with the very last rays of light, immediately after getting back from a busy day at work.
I had heard it calling and went for it, even if it was in very harsh light.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) - TURDIDAE

Also by the hotel car park, in the evening. Taken with flash, as it was nearly dark.

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) - EMBERIZIDAE

Also at the hotel parking lot. The only other bird I saw here was Dark-eyed Junco, but was able to get better photos of these on Sunday at a reserve.

Ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis)

Manys of these gulls were to be seen flying around in the outskirts of Toronto, where the hotel was.
These in the photos were hanging around in the parking lot next to the McDonald's where we had breakfast each morning.

Grey Squirrel - (Sciurus carolinensis) - Melanistic form

A "black morph" taken near the workplace

Niagara Falls - Saturday 6th November 2010
	Industrial works on the road to Niagara
	Downtown Toronto seen from across Lake Ontario, about 30 miles away.
	Fall colors at Niagara...
	A tree brilliantly lit-up in autumn colours, at Niagara
	Yet more fall colours! And the falls???
	Strange leaf! Tulip Tree, also known as Tulip Poplar Liriodendron tulipifera Mmany thanks Art Schiavo for the ID!!!
	Tower at Niagara
	The brige from Canada (on the left) to the US, and the lesser of the 2 main falls prouring from the American side.
	Siloutte of artistic tree infront of the horseshoe falls.
	Take 2
	Horseshoe falls
	Feel the force!!!
	Bird island, USA
	Wine country, on route to Niagara-on-the-Lake
	Bridge near Hamilton, on the drive back to Toronto
	It's me, trying to take a photo of a small hawk (presumably Sharp-shinned Hawk) - Photo by José Luis García

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)


Sharp-shinned Hawk? (Accipiter striatus?)


Great black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)


Rring-billed Gull - juvenile (Larus delawarensis)

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) - CORVIDAE

Photos taken during outing with Knud Rasmussen along shores of Lake Ontario, east of Toronto Sunday 7th November 2010

Photos taken at Whitby - from Windsor Bay Park

A view of Whitby Harbour


Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)


Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), digiscoped using Knud's scope


A pair of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)

Photos taken at Whitby Harbour - from Lake Park

Common Loon (Gavia immer) - GALVIIDAE - in winter plumage


Red-breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator)


Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis)

Photos taken at Cranberry Marsh - near Lynde Shores Conservation Area

Link to Cranberry Marsh, one of the sites monitored by the Greater Toronto Hawk Watch effort.

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) - CORVIDAE

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) - PARIDAE


Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) - SITTIDAE


American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) - EMBERIZIDAE


Fox Sparrow (Passarella iliaca) - EMBERIZIDAE


White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) - EMBERIZIDAE


Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) - EMBERIZIDAE


Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) - EMBERIZIDAE, female (poor photo)


Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) - ICTERIDAE - Nº 2 shows leucistic primaries


Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) - ICTERIDAE


Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) - SCIURIDAE - Nº 5 & 6: melanistic form


Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) - SCIURIDAE


View of shore along Lake Ontario


Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) on the shores of Lake Ontario


American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus), juvenile, soon to be evicted by adult (see below). This species may soon change common name to Smithsonian Gull


Adult American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus) evicting the juvenile.


Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) on Lake Ontario


White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) tracks along the shores of Lake Ontario, aptly recognized by Knud.

Plastic Owl, used to recognize arriving raptors that will stalk the owl not knowing it is a dummy.
This behaviour is used by the experts who participate in the raptor counts during migration as it helps to distinguish resident raptors from the migrants.

Photos taken at Thickson's Woods

Link to Thickson's Wood Land Trust site

Oak leaf

The Woods

The Meadow

Knud looking for the Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) - Gotcha!

Photos taken at Second Marsh - Oshawa

Link to Second Marsh wetland habitat

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) - At a great distance, digiscoped through Knud's scope. A fairly late record for this bird, it seems, on November 7th, 2010.

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

Many thanks to Knud Rasmussen, creator of Birdingpal, for taking the time to show me around those lovely birding sites. In all I got 47 bird species during my visit to Canada, of which 10 were lifers, and was able to take photos of 27 different bird species, shown above. Not bad at all, considering the time of year and the fact that I was doing photos. Thanks for visiting ths page - Alec Earnshaw Site gateway: www.fotosaves.com.ar

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