Kirtland's Warbler - Male
A composite of the same bird with two different sides of it. This is one of the rarest of all warblers found in Ontario. They are flagged as 'sensitive' species on eBird and thus no report of sighting is available to public in general.
After years of restoration effort of their habitat in Simcoe County Forest, about an hour drive north of Toronto, 6 males showed up this year with the exciting prospect that females would soon follow and they start breeding there. Arranged visitation was organized to allow people to see or hear them from safe distance. One could hear them sing and occasionally see them at a distance. However, finding them closer and out in the open was sheer luck. On this day (it was my second attempt), after an hour of waiting I finally saw one male chasing a Cedar Waxwing and landing on a red pine tree nearby for a total of 20 seconds of viewing, just enough to get some decent photos. Needless to say that it was a life bird for me.
Kirtland's Warbler - Male
A composite of the same bird with two different sides of it. This is one of the rarest of all warblers found in Ontario. They are flagged as 'sensitive' species on eBird and thus no report of sighting is available to public in general.
After years of restoration effort of their habitat in Simcoe County Forest, about an hour drive north of Toronto, 6 males showed up this year with the exciting prospect that females would soon follow and they start breeding there. Arranged visitation was organized to allow people to see or hear them from safe distance. One could hear them sing and occasionally see them at a distance. However, finding them closer and out in the open was sheer luck. On this day (it was my second attempt), after an hour of waiting I finally saw one male chasing a Cedar Waxwing and landing on a red pine tree nearby for a total of 20 seconds of viewing, just enough to get some decent photos. Needless to say that it was a life bird for me.