Welcome to Eastern Ontario Birding. My name is Jon Ruddy and I am a freelance birding guide specializing in birding tours throughout eastern Ontario, and also southwestern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. I have birding outings suitable for all levels of birders, from beginner to expert. For a list of my upcoming tours, please visit my Field Tours page.
Philadelphia vs. Warbling Vireo - Philadelphia and Warbling Vireos can be quite similar in appearance. This identification challenge is not necessarily straightforward, most especially when dealing with these two species flitting about in green, leafy vegetation on a sunny day!
ID: Juvenile Lincoln’s vs. Swamp Sparrow - Identification of juvenile Lincoln’s Sparrow Head: On Lincoln’s, the crown detail is especially important. The crown is wholly brown to buffy-brown with distinct black streaking throughout. The median crown stripe is poorly-defined, and blends into the lateral crown stripes; the lateral crown stripes are greyish and finely marked with dark brown/blackish streaking. The edge to … Continue reading ID: Juvenile Lincoln’s vs. Swamp Sparrow
Chestnut-sided Warblers in song: more than meets the ear - This is a re-upload of an article I wrote in 2016: Birdsong is a fascinating study subject and living in this ‘day and age’ when one can step outside, record a bird in song with their smartphone, step back inside, upload the recording to their computer and analyze the recording via spectrograms (such as those … Continue reading Chestnut-sided Warblers in song: more than meets the ear
Differentiating the Trilling Songsters - Below, I will attempt to highlight the differences between the trilling songsters most commonly encountered here in eastern Ontario! I hope you enjoy this segment 🙂
Overview of Spring Arrivals in Eastern Ontario - Overview of Spring Arrivals in Eastern Ontario As winter gives way to spring, our bird-nerd minds cannot help but begin to daydream about the wonderful birding days soon to come! Here’s a rough overview of when some of your favourite bird species arrive back en masse to eastern Ontario. Outliers, i.e. “early birds,” surely will occur!