Eastern Bluebird & Tiny Apples at Beechwood / Don Valley: October 26, 2019

What a pleasure to once again have a working zoom-lens camera! I was able to resume getting interesting bird photos.

Today’s highlight was a male Eastern Bluebird. Bluebirds were common in the Toronto area until the 1920’s when European Starlings arrived and out-competed the bluebirds for food and nesting areas.

Eastern Bluebird (male)
Eastern Bluebird (male)
Eastern Bluebird (male)
Eastern Bluebird (male)

We also had several Juncos. These were my first of the season and some juncos will likely start appearing for their winter stay near my feeder.

Dark-eyed Junco (female)

Species list: great blue heron, mallard, belted kingfisher, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, northern flicker, blue jay, black-capped chickadee, American robin, eastern bluebird, ruby-crowned kinglet, northern cardinal, American goldfinch, dark-eyed junco, white-throated sparrow, song sparrow.  (16 species)

Great Blue Heron
American Robin
American Robin
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
sleeping Mallard (female)
Mallard (male)

Park scenes:

This today’s group on this 6 degree sunny morning:

There is an apple tree here which has very small apples. It is called the Sweet Crab,Wild Crab or American Crab (Malus coronaria). The leaves are quite variable in shape.

Sweet Crab Apple (Malus coronaria)
Sweet Crab Apple (Malus coronaria)

Other botany:

New England Aster (Symphyotrichum nova-angliae)
Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
frosty Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Bitternut Hickory (Carya cordiformis)
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)

NATURE POETRY

The dead leaves fall like noiseless rain,
The air is calm and warm and sweet;
Upon the woodland and the plain
The ghost of summer rests her feet.       – Clinton Scollard (1860–1932)

Miles Hearn

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