Canadian winter is a harsh mistress
January 4th, 2009
1680x1050 wallpaper
Found this juvenile Great Black-Backed Gull sitting alone on the ice edge of the Rideau River, looking forlorn.
Autumn Goldfinch
December 17th, 2008
I took this a few months ago, didn't get around to processing it until now.
Common Goldeneyes
December 15th, 2008
Common Goldeneyes are my favorite of all waterfowl. They spend the summer north of us, but in late fall hundreds of them arrive in Ottawa, and many stay throughout the winter, staking out patches of open water on the Rideau and Ottawa Rivers. If necessary, they'll cluster in the rapids when the rest of the water freezes over. They are amazingly hardy little ducks. These guys can be seen splashing and having a good time in twenty below, when even the overwintering Mallards are huddled up on shore hiding their faces from the wind.
Even the rough water of the Deschenes Rapids is not too much for them. They dive for food in the waves, all the while getting carried further and further downstream, until they have to use their wings to regain lost ground. They do this again and again, for hours. They never seem to run out of stamina.
But the Rideau River is the best place to see them up close in winter, in the stretch between Queensway (Hurdman) Bridge and Cummings Bridge. To pick them out among the more familiar Mallards and Blacks, look for smaller ducks who appear very white--those are the adult males. Up close they're quite handsome.
A young male making do with a narrow stream of open water.
Mallards behind.
How cold was it?
December 14th, 2008
A few wide-angle photos to set some context for the ones I'm posting tomorrow.
If you look closely at the second picture, you can see a male Common Goldeneye on the upper left. The ducks on the ice are Mallards.
A deep-winter Pileated Woodpecker
December 13th, 2008
Went out hiking at 8:30AM this morning. Two hours, -20 degrees Celsius (that's -4F for my American readers). It was wonderful. The sky was clear blue, the sun was shining. The Rideau River is gloriously ragged in such weather, like our own little corner of the arctic. Even the rapids had icebergs and ice fringes.
A male Pileated Woodpecker was the star of the show. For such magnificent and wild-looking creatures, Pileated Woodpeckers can be remarkably tame. This one was busily gouging an old wooden pole beside the river. He remained calm while I approached to within 10 feet, and circled the pole trying different angles. The only thing that sufficed to startle him was a very noisy mini snow plow going by. He skittered around to the far side of the pole, but came back a few seconds later.
And so here he is, with my thanks for being such a good sport!
1680x1050 wallpaper
Toughing it out
December 11th, 2008
When three Wild Turkeys made an appearance at the Hurdman bird feeders, I kicked myself for not bringing my camera--then I raced back home on foot as fast as I could go. When I got back a half hour later, they were still there!
Wild Turkeys were recently reintroduced in Ottawa. We're still waiting to see whether they can establish a stable breeding population, surviving the worst that Ottawa winters can throw at them. So far they appear to be doing well.
Insulation
November 22nd, 2008
1680x1050 wallpaper
Liquid Light
November 6th, 2008
1680x1050 wallpaper
Watching the world go by
November 3rd, 2008
Got a few good shots of an American Black Duck resting and preening on the Rideau River today.
1680x1050 wallpaper
1680x1050 wallpaper
Posers
October 23rd, 2008
There's nothing like chickadees to make a nature photographer feel like a million bucks.
They almost seem to be helping you out. "Over here! Me me me! Photograph me. No wait, the light is all wrong. Let me move over there. Okay, here we go. Cheese!"
1680x1050 wallpaper
So I went down to Henry's camera shop today. I learned that there is, in fact, a lens that does 400mm zoom and is in my price range (just). Yay!
I also learned that, dear god, I need steroids to carry that thing. Way too heavy for handheld shooting + my arm strength. Unyay. Since I don't like the idea of having to lug a tripod everywhere, 70-300mm it is. So I (re-)bought it and went down to Mud Lake with it this afternoon. Got lots of distant poor-quality shots of interesting birds (Wood Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Scaup), and several glorious pictures of chickadees.
I have high hopes of what I'll be doing with this lens in the future! Common Goldeneyes winter in Ottawa by the hundreds. They can sometimes be seen quite close to shore on the Rideau River rapids (when the rest of the river is frozen over). In late winter, they start courting, and Common Goldeneye mating rituals are...quite something.
But today, you get chickadees.
1680x1050 wallpaper
|