Wednesday, April 4, 2012

A Pre-Easter Hike on the West Side Of the Vermilon River. A Post to SWF.

Tired of red skies in the morning that brought rain, snow, cold and wind, Boom and I headed out to the west side of the River. We could not get through to the rapids before, because of flooding on the trail. But today, although the River was high, the trail was open.  
 REMEMBER: READ THE COPY, CLICK TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY THE SLIDE SHOW.

The skies were a little dicey. Although the sun tried, it soon lost the battle, and a high wind came up. You can see the bright spot in the photo opposite. That's the sun.

You can see the cloud overwhelming the sun in this photo. But the sun did show up in the late afternoon.

This is trail end as the bridge was destroyed when the track was abandoned.

The rapids are swollen with the spring flood. The rest of these photos are of white water as it fascinates me.

White Water.

The water is backing up on itself.

To get to the west side of the River we have to cross, and this is the bridge that we use. Turn right at the end and you go to the ski area, another area to hike. Turn left and you go to the abandoned track, which is our destination. 

The Ring-billed gulls were especially co-operative today which is unusual. This is the same gull in all the photos. Notice how his head is sharp all through the sequence. I'll bet you didn't think I could hold that lens steady for that long.


Not bad for an old guy and his dog.

This Ring-bill posed right at the River's edge. They may be squawky, but they're handsome, and they are beautiful fliers.

I did quite well in the duck department with these Hooded Mergansers, and the Buffleheads shown below.

Male and Female Bufflehead Ducks

Male and Female Buffleheads.

No post would be complete without some Canada Geese.



The Sparrows are starting to arrive which is another sign of spring. These photos show a Song Sparrow who was signing his heart out.


But this guy is the real find today as he's a Tree Sparrow, the first I've seen so far. We have an extraordinary variety in this forest.

Our Raven Guide

Our guide was almost blown out of the tree in the wind.

The Beaver was out and around also. You can see he has stripped some bark for breakfast.

Beaver.

A shot of the muskrat taken before the ice breakup.

Red Squirrel

Chipmunks are true hibernators so spring must be here. He's the first that I've seen.

56 comments:

  1. cute little chippie. nice murky skies and roaring waters. like the blue water w/ the goose. very pretty.

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  2. So many water fowl and creatures out to enjoy the windy day. That water looks swollen from snowmelt. Great pics!

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  3. So glad your weather has given you a break, hopefully you have finally reached the end of winter! The little chipmunk won my heart today. I love these little critters, they are so darn cute!

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  4. It is so wonderful to see white water. The beaver is very cute! Altogether, a great series of photos!

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  5. Wonderful hike -- the B&W makes wonderful photos of the white water. (I haven't done the slide show yet, am sure enlarged those pix will even be more beautiful). I am impressed with how still you can hold the camera and that I can't is my excuse for not getting good flight shots (but I'm older than you are... and, more to the point, MUCH less talented!).

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    1. I'm so old now that kids call Boom and I, sir. Can you believe it? Boom & Gary.

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  6. You have very fine pictures here.

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  7. Wonderful shots - looks as if you even got blue skies for your bird shots.

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  8. Lovely walk, and I love beaver:)

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  9. Great images Gary and not a drop of snow in sight.

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  10. Great collection of photos watching the play of weather across the light and clouds. Have a great weekend.

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  11. Kudos "for an old guy and his dog" and their great captures! Loved those menacing yet lovely clouds and all the creatures that you find along the way. I thought that gull kept a pretty sharp eye on you too.
    Boomer must love these walks...thanks for sharing!

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  12. Great shots from your hike. I love seeing the chipmunks, beavers, gulls in flight and all the wildlife. I also find white water fascinating and you captured it so well. Wonderful series of shots from your neck of the woods.

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  13. Terrific captures...this landscape looks really dramatic.

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  14. Tusen tack för fina kommentarer på min blogg!
    Jag besöker dig ofta och beundrar alla dina fantastiskt vackra bilder.
    Ha en trevlig helg!
    Anneli

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  15. your images are a feast to the eyes.

    happy easter.

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  16. Wonderful stormy skies! Fantastic white water shots! And then there are the little critters and birds that always make me smile! Beautiful post as always, Gary! Have a great weekend!

    Sylvia

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  17. Thank you for visiting my blog. Your is full of wildlife and very interesting. I will be back.

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  18. This is a beautiful series of shots and I did enjoy the hike. Love all the birds and the beaver! It looks like a cold hike.

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  19. Wonderful outing and birds. The scenery is gorgeous and I love the cute chipmunk.

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  20. Wonderful posts all, Gary. Thanks for sharing your part of the world with us. By the way, what's the difference between a chipmunk and a squirrel? Happy Easter.

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    1. Wow you ask hard questions!! Both belong to the same family. The red squirrel is a tree squirrel, and not a true hibernator. He will in bad weather hole up in his tree nest with food, and wait for good weather.The chipmunk is a ground squirrel and lives in an hole in the ground and hibernates for the entire winter. The chippie is smaller than the red aquirrel, although grey and black aquirrels are bigger than the reds. Here we only have the red as they feed on coniferous trees, while the black and grey prefer hardwood tress such as oak or walnut, and live on acorns or walnuts.

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  21. Impressing sky pictures!
    Great post! Happy SkyWatch to you!

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  22. Beautiful scenery and creatures, it's a shame they destroyed the bridge.

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    1. The trail is an abandoned railway track that was built on the undercut side of the river,i.e. the side subject to erosion. The track was moved to the far side of the river. Northern Ontario is filled with abandoned tracks, bridges and roads that make good hiking trails.

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  23. Nice photoes and very interesting to see the beavers and also your red squirrels. The squirrels look surprisingly different, when comparing to ours - don't you think?

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    1. Yes, yours are more like the ones in Scotland.

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  24. Birds flies freely in the sky.

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  25. You got some nice images, Gary. It sure does look like a cold spring in your part of the world.

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  26. Wow! Impressing pictures!

    http://blogg.birgittasplace.com/

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  27. Delicious, bright photos with the arrival of spring, beauty ... Greetings.

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  28. snowing here today. Sky as grey as yours. :(

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  29. That was quite an outing!! I can't believe all the beautiful, perfect photos you were able to get. The gulls on the wing are just incredible!! Have a wonderful Easter. ~karen

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  30. The flight shots are wonderful...a steady hand you have! Such a variety of animals and birds...very nice! You and Boomer have a good time on your walks. The sky and water shots certainly set a mood...very stormy looking.

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  31. Beautiful as always Gary!
    Easter greetings from Holland,
    Anna :-))

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  32. These are all great photos, especially the close-ups of the ducks, geese, birds and other critters. You do have a very steady hand, indeed! Happy Easter.

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    Replies
    1. Its a non shake lens Pat. I had to confess. Boom & Gary.

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  33. Great shot from your hike.
    You live in a beautiful countryside.

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  34. Great post from your hike.
    Beautiful photos as always.
    I especially like your stunning shots of the gull.
    Happy Easter.
    Mette

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  35. One beautiful shot after another!

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  36. Such professional photos, beautiful! I would have thought you used a tripod, amazing! Love Canadian geese... saw some in Monterey. Great post!

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  37. I really enjoyed this series Gary!

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  38. Incredible post... so many good photos!!

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  39. Beautiful shots.

    Regards and best wishes

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  40. une superbe serie, tes photos animalieres sont tres belles

    Publicity ;o) Every Friday (and the Weekend), The Challenge "Walk In The Street Photography"

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  41. Lovely pics. I like the beaver pictures. We dont have beaver just here. We´ve got 2 inches snow last night....so spring did get a surprise. But lovely morning at the dog walk in the woods, sunny and very beautiful. Hope you have a Happy Easter

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  42. Pictures were great, very enjoyable!

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  43. Oh splendid, beautiful photos shared!!! Happy Easter~

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  44. Beautiful wildlife for SWF.

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  45. Wonderful collection of photos, great BIF's there!

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  46. You just have it all--great scenery, a huge variety of wildlife, and lots of "peace and quiet". What a great life. Happy Easter. Mickie ;)

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  47. Hi Gary

    I love the vivid colours of the chipmunk after all your shots of grey sky. Another great post.

    Guy

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