Geese in the Park

A Canada goose family walking on a park path. Click to enlarge.

All heading to the pond. 

This one paused for a close up. 

Quiz Bird

 

Do you know this bird? Click on the photo to enlarge it. A clue -- it's a female.

The male of the species looks like this. They are red-winged blackbirds! Tricky, right? Because the female is smaller than the male and has sparrow-like stripes, it is often misidentified. 

Black Squirrels in Toronto

 

I just returned from a trip to Canada, where I saw the famous Niagara Falls.

I also saw the less famous local black squirrels of Toronto! They have a coat-color mutation that seems particularly well suited to the area; black fur absorbs sunlight efficiently and helps keep them warm during cold Canadian winters. 

Just last year, I saw the famous white squirrels of Olney, Illinois. Click on this sentence to go to my blog about them.  The white fur mutation persists with help from local people who actively protect white squirrels. The squirrels have the right-of-way on the streets of Olney. 

 

Squirrels in New Jersey usually look like this. Black, white, and gray forms are different colors of the same species, the Eastern Gray Squirrel, for which this gray is the standard color. Reddish highlights are common. Click to enlarge.

Any questions? 

Osprey

 

The osprey is about two feet long with a five-foot wingspan. This one is hovering while hunting. It eats mainly fish, which it catches by diving feet-first into water, sometimes to a depth of more than a foot. Not surprisingly, it is also called a fish hawk. Click to enlarge.

The osprey is not one of my backyard birds. But there is a nest on the Delaware River that is close enough to my house that I can walk there to watch them. 

The male catches fish in the river, carries them to the nest, then flies out again. 

And again. 

This shaggy character is one of this year's young. So... well done, osprey parents!