This might be slightly off topic, but... I have seen a bird recently that I've never seen before in this area. I kayak in the Toronto Islands frequently (when I can't get out of town) and while gunkholing through the islands found this bird. They are shy and fly away before I can paddle too close. It's not small, standing about 20 inches tall (taller than most crows but a tad thinner). I at first mistook it for a heron with its neck all scrunched up, but it appears to have a short neck. It is white and grey in color, like many seabirds such as the local seagulls. I haven't seen it in the water, only on branches of trees and bushes overhanging the shore. The most distinguishing characteristic is two long strands (like tubes) that hang down from its nape. These are bright yellow and hang to its mid-back. Anyone familiar with these? Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
It sounds for all the world like a black-crowned night heron, although I think the head plumes are usually white, not yellow. -Paul On Mon, 1 Jul 2002, Michael Daly wrote: > I have seen a bird recently that I've never seen before in this > area. I kayak in the Toronto Islands frequently (when I can't get > out of town) and while gunkholing through the islands found this > bird. They are shy and fly away before I can paddle too close. > > It's not small, standing about 20 inches tall (taller than most crows > but a tad thinner). I at first mistook it for a heron with its neck > all scrunched up, but it appears to have a short neck. It is white > and grey in color, like many seabirds such as the local seagulls. > I haven't seen it in the water, only on branches of trees and bushes > overhanging the shore. The most distinguishing characteristic is > two long strands (like tubes) that hang down from its nape. These > are bright yellow and hang to its mid-back. Anyone familiar with > these? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Check your dictionaries and bird books guys - if indeed it was a heron of any sort it wouldn't be considered a pelagic bird... (pelagic - of the open ocean) Good job of IDing, though! Dave Seng Juneau, Alaska > -----Original Message----- Paul wrote > > > It sounds for all the world like a black-crowned night heron, > although I think the head plumes are usually white, not yellow. > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
It sounds for all the world like a black-crowned night heron, although I think the head plumes are usually white, not yellow. -Paul From: "John March" <jsmarch_at_acpub.duke.edu> > Could be a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron? > Two votes for black-crowned and one for yellow. With the help of the names, I can look up on google (knowing what it looks like doesn't easily lead to a name). There are lots of photos of these birds online. The yellow crowned isn't right, since the neck is too long and the head plumage not quite right. The black-crowned is pretty exact, so I guess that's what it is. I had looked at a photo of one earlier, but dismissed it as not matching color and appearance. Other photos showed variations that match quite well. It seems its range is all across Canada, so either I've never noticed them before or they've recently moved into the area. The latter is likely, since there are a number of species of birds and animals that have been re-establishing themselves in the Toronto area in recent years, including the beaver, who've been active at cutting down trees in the ravines and on the islands. Very near where I pointed out one of these birds to Amie yesterday was a tree that was missing almost half its trunk near the ground with obvious tooth marks most of the way round. Thanks for the help - I'll never make a birder, but at least I can identify another species while kayaking! Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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