Rondeau Ric

Melanistic Great Blue Heron The increased development of the dark-colored pigment melanin in the skin and hair of an animal is called Melanism, and is the opposite of Albinism. This great blue heron was found at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario. We did a road trip and found it on the Grindstone Marsh Trail in Hendrie Valley. Ardea herodias Great Blue Herons can hunt day and night thanks to a high percentage of rod-type photoreceptors in their eyes that improve their night vision. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Juxtaposition. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. When you have 800 hungry birders you better have a feeder ready. This was a sign at the Midwest Birding Symposium held at Lakeside, Ohio. Good food, good people.

Cerulean warbler , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. The normal habitat for the Cerulean is high in deciduous forests foraging for insects in the tree tops. Due to cold weather and a major shortage of insects this Cerulean was foraging on the ground giving bird watchers great looks. Nice for the birders but stressful for the warbler. Ceruleans are a small warbler with a short tail. Blue above with white below. Dendrocia cerulea