Second Marsh, fairly quiet today

Doug, John, Jim and I arrived at the west side of Second Marsh around 8:30 this morning, where we were promptly greeted by the DRMWC (aka Durham Region Mosquito Welcoming Committee) who immediately drained us all as we madly fought over Jim's insect repellent, it was an ugly scene but we survived it....

This was the first time that I'd been on this side of the marsh, offering up a different and interesting perspective. GM's Head Office is on the right-hand side of the pic below, if you own a magnifying glass:

Some of the species we encountered included Common Yellowthroat and Yellow Warblers, Red-eyed Vireos (audio only), American Robins, Northern Flicker, Black-capped Chickadees, House and Marsh Wrens, Song and Swamp Sparrows, American Goldfinch, Gray Catbird, Belted Kingfisher, Osprey, Common Terns, Willow Flycatchers, Red-winged Blackbirds, Wood Ducks, Mallards, Blue-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebe, Spotted Sandpipers, and dozens of Great Blue Herons:

 

From the shores of Lake Ontario, we had great encore views of the American White Pelican who continues his extended Canadian vacation with us. Canada Geese, a Great-crested Cormorant, Turkey Vultures, Mute and Trumpeter Swans, a pair of Common Goldeneye (!) and perhaps a female snoozing Common Merganser were all seen from the beach. We also believe we briefly saw the reported second year Bald Eagle in flight being mobbed by smaller birds. On our walk back, we spotted a lone Great Egret roosting in a tree surrounded by several Great Blue Herons.

My BOTD (and also a year bird for me) was this Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, which truly does look like a mini Mockingbird:

Distinguishing marks include a white eye- ring and a long black and white tail:

On the non-avian front, Red Admiral, Monarch, and Viceroy Butterflies were plentiful, as were assorted Dragonflies and Damselflies, here's a male Common Green Darner:

A new one for me, Eastern Forktails, thanks yet again for the confirmation, John:

My bird species count for the morning came in at 37, although I admit to a somewhat "sloppy" count today, most likely due to blood loss after passing through Mosquito Alley :-(

And I am now officially out of sequence with my postings, as I remain in photo-editing hell after Saturday's outing to Tiny Marsh, etc, with Ann. I loooove going out with you, Miss Annie, but hate the aftermath, I down-loaded 1,051 photos that evening, then returned to the Red-tailed Hawk nest solo on Sunday morning for another three hours of partying, adding insult to injury. I'm doing my best to recover from my photography hangover and should be caught up within the next day. I hope. Unless I stop off at Long Sault tomorrow en route to the cottage. No. Make it stop. Please. Now.