Young Redwing
October 25th, 2009
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I photographed this juvenile male Red-Winged Blackbird back in late August. The rather cavernous feel of the backdrop is a fortunate optical illusion. In fact, the bird was maybe a foot above ground, and the surface behind him was a fallen tree.
I Spot My Prey
October 21st, 2009
There's a black and white cat I've been seeing at Mud Lake for years. Its behavior is entirely feral, yet somehow it survives the winters.
Although my forebrain realizes the cat is probably just afraid of me, there's always something a little unsettling about the intense looks I get when we cross paths...
A chickadee, and a wigeon in strange company
October 20th, 2009
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Another chickadee posing for the camera. I have to bring some sunflower seed next time I go to Mud Lake--they're starting to get cranky with me for not having any!
A female American Wigeon with a taste for exotic men :-) (Those are male Mallards flanking her).
Common birds get their day
October 19th, 2009
The lighting was unusual on this one...it came out looking as if I'd taken the chickadee indoors for a portrait.
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There were about five hundred robins today and one Hermit Thrush. I eventually gave up on the Hermit Thrush (he's called "hermit" for a reason) and focused my camera on one of the robins. I liked the way the fall leaves called out his brick-red breast, and vice versa.
This was taken in the maple swamp area of Mud Lake. I photographed a robin in the same place back in April. It's a favorite spot for them.
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A Song Sparrow at Dick Bell Park.
Memories Of Summer
October 15th, 2009
I love autumn. I've loved it since I was a kid. The crisp air, the changing trees, gold and scarlet maple leaves piling up on forest paths. Still, I felt nostalgic looking through these photos I took in early August. Nowadays even the asters are going to seed, and alas, there is no such thing as a winter-blooming wildflower.
Black-Eyed Susan
Common Milkweed
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I call it "cormorant on jade." No digital editing, other than a slight contrast enhancement, nor is the location anything exotic. The Rideau River was just a neat color that day.
Sparrows are always tough to identify, and doubly tough in late summer when the fledglings come out. My best guess on this one is a young Chipping Sparrow.
St. John's Wort (center) and Viper's Bugloss (upper left.)
Fresh autumn Wood Ducks
October 12th, 2009
The pair of Wood Ducks stood out like delicate Fabergé eggs amidst the large, aggressive mallards.
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(Male near center, female on the far left.)
That one was taken just after a large pile of birdseed hit the ground--thus the rather purposeful look of the approaching mallards.
There is in all the world no work of art like nature's work of art: a male Wood Duck in his fresh, newly-grown autumn plumage.
Fall Migration, mid-October 2009
October 11th, 2009
Warbler migration has finally wound down. There will be a trickle for awhile yet, especially of the abundant Yellow-Rumped Warblers, but I didn't spot a single one today. Taking their places are increasingly large flocks of kinglets, juncos, and White-Throated Sparrows.
This brings me full circle. It was kinglet season last fall when I first bought my zoom lens and started photographing birds.
Thanks to the cold weather today, the tiny, hyperactive Golden-Crowned Kinglets were only moving at light speed as opposed to, say, ludicrous speed. This contributed to my obtaining my first decent, in-focus photograph of the species!
A male Ruby-Crowned Kinglet. That red bit is not a trick of the light--it is, in fact, a wee glimpse of the bird's usually-concealed red crown patch.
Miscellaneous
October 8th, 2009
A slightly late migrant warbler--probably Yellow-Rumped. I wondered what attracted an insectivorous bird to the rocks at Andrew Haydon Park. When I studied this picture at home, I discovered the answer :-)
A female Northern Pintail and a Lesser Yellowlegs forage in shallow water at AHP. These two hung together for awhile, for whatever reason. Maybe they just liked each others' company.
Male Pileated Woodpecker, photographed by the Rideau River in late August.
Misty Morning
October 7th, 2009
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A red squirrel adds a welcome splash of color to a foggy morning at Andrew Haydon Park.
Great Blues
October 5th, 2009
Great Blue Heron shots taken in July, August, and October, respectively.
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