Gobble, Gobble!

I took these a few years back and intended to post them on Canadian Thanksgiving a couple of times. The only trouble was I couldn't find them! (Don't ask about my filing system.) But I've found them now and I figure that American Thanksgiving is just as good since they invented the holiday anyway.

In the past I've often seen a family of wild turkeys lurking around Cranberry Marsh in Whitby. That's where this turkey was, hanging out and feeding under a canopy of trees. I can't say for sure if this little group is still in the area. I can confirm however that turkeys do fly, even if only for short distances. Don't have a shot of that though.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our US readers!

Absolutely Not a Turkey

In honour of American Thanksgiving I was going to post a pic of a wild turkey (the bird, not the drink) that I once shot right on the very edge of Toronto. But I can't find it! Yikes!

So instead I'm posting something that might conceivably eat a wild turkey. No, it's not Mr. and Mrs. Jones of Steubenville, it's a very vigilant-looking Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Or...

I'm pretty sure it's a Sharp-shinned Hawk. (SEE UPDATE BELOW) If you check a bird ID book you'll find many of the birds of prey (aka raptors) in the Northeast of North America look very similar, and each species can look different depending on their age and the time of year when you see them. Even really expert birders can argue about the identification of these birds, so while I'm the first to admit I'm not a hundred percent positive I'm reasonably certain that this is indeed a Sharp-shinned Hawk, or a Sharpie as they're sometimes called. Anyone with a different opinion is welcome to let me know.

Found this guy right smack in the middle of the Don Valley.

UPDATE: In fact, later on I determined that this is probably a Broad-Winged Hawk. Oops.

For a Sharp-shinned hawk go here.