After photographing the blossoms, I spent some time watching birds, most of which were too fast and small (i.e., probably warblers) for me to properly see them.
I am pretty sure this is a Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus), but then my labmate pointed out there is also a similar-looking Philadelphia Vireo. Thankfully there is this post that helps people to distinguish the two species.
Since I didn't see strong yellow in the throat and upper breast area (and maybe some yellow in the flanks and undertail in the above image), I think this was still a Warbling Vireo.
Then I got really lucky and photographed it in an interesting pose. I like it so much that this is currently my computer desktop.
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)
While photographing the Yellow Warbler, I noticed something dark on the grass. Initially I thought it was dog feces, but then I realized it was a bat! Upon closer inspection, I found out that the bat was dead. Because there were many dogs running around and lawnmowers nearby, I decided to pick up the bat with plastic bags. I still have the bat and am trying to decide what to do with it (bury it, send it away for rabies testing, or preserve it).
After finding the bat, I was pretty much in a sad mood all day. I wondered what caused its death - disease (didn't look like it because I didn't see any white spots on its nose), predator (no external wounds that I could see), weather (Ottawa's evenings are pretty cold recently), or just natural death.
I then went to Commissioners Park to check out the tulip festival. Since it was a weekday, there weren't many visitors but the tulips were certainly in full blossom!
This patch of unique-looking tulips drew a lot of attention from visitors.
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