Thursday, May 24, 2012

Black Foxes, Osprey and Other Flora and Fauna of The Vermilon River. A Post to SWF

 The hike today is up the Vermilon River to the NW. Again, my driver dropped me off, and I hike back as far as I can get,while exploring any interesting trails. Some of the photos were taken the previous day on the west side of the River. Stewart is always asking how long the hikes are and how many photos I shoot.  So today we clocked some distances. She dropped me off about 20 km from where I live. I probably hiked about 3 or 4 km back. Not too shabby for an old guy. That includes ventures on to new trails, most of which I abandoned because of a lack of time. She picks me up at 8:30 in the morning, and brings me back about 12:30. Between the day before and this hike I shot about 400 photos of which 10 percent are useless.
 I usually start in around this old bailey bridge which is  one lane. The  scene opposite looks south. Of the  keeper photos you'll only see maybe 40. Not that the others are useless, but in the meantime I will have hiked somewhere else, and have lots of new pictures CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE AND WATCH THE SLIDE SHOW.
 I followed a trail to get this shot and wished I hadn't as the trail was uneven, and I needed to raise my mosquito netting to see the trail clearly to avoid any misstep. Today I'm swollen from the bloodletting.
 No sooner had I got under way when I saw this guy. I've heard people mention black foxes but was skeptical. If you notice his mouth, he has something in it.
 He crossed into the brush, and I caught his tail end.
 And then a front on shot. His face and mask is black, but he shows some races of red. According to the Ontario Trappers News letters, Red Foxes come in silver and black in the north. We're not talking artic foxes here. But what you're seeing is a  rare occurrence .
He's quite large and that tail is really full. Not a bad start to the day.
 I don't see may hawks, which I think is because of the ravens and the difficulty of photographing them in heavy forest. I caught this guy hunting near the big wetland on the west side of the river. He's an Adult Osprey.
 He's really large. The Cedar Waxwings, shown below, are back. We have both the bohemian and the Cedar, but the yellow tail flash indicates this is a Cedar Waxwing.
Cedar Waxwing.

This little guy is a Yellow Warbler in flight. They're hard to catch as they're small and really flighty.
 The next series are Chestnut-sided Warblers.
Chestnut-sided Warbler.

 I was lucky to catch another Swainson's Thrush. They sing beautifully. I put the Robin in because he's a thrush also.
Swainson's Thrush.

Rear View Swainson's Thrush.

Robin

Black-capped Chickadee.

 The next are Red-winged Blackbirds, starting with the female.
Female In Flight.

Male

Song Sparrow.

Mallards in Flight.

Mallard and Blue-winged Teal.

 This female Mallard broke from the cat tails scaring me, but she was protecting her young.
Young Mallards.

Canada Geese and Goslings.

 This is Ruby-throated Hummingbird perched in a tree. They feed in the forest also.
Upside Down American Lady.

Dragonfly.

Mourning Cloak

Red Admiral

Skipper, Uncertain which one.


Another American Lady.

Uncertain, although I think Its a Mourning Cloak.

I did this Snapping turtle a bit of a disservice, in that she's a female and is out of the wetland to lay her eggs. They're an endangered species here in Ontario and Canada. At one time they ranged from Ecuador to here, but increasing urbanization has threatened their existence.
 So be patient with these guys if they're crossing the road. She's just a mom doing her thing. She's about a foot in length and will be well over 20 years old.
This is a crab apple tree growing wild in the forest.
Unknown

Wild Violet.

Wild Lilly of the Valley About to Bloom.

Wild Strawberries.

Wild Choke Cherries.

These are wild Pin Cherry blooms, easily told apart from the Choke Cherry which have that unique bottle brush shape. A post to SWF.                                     I think I also need to add re the number of photos. The blog is just not a bird site. It celebrates a whole ecosystem, an area in which Boom & I are privileged to live. So there are numerous opportunities for photos.

60 comments:

  1. a lot of lovely photos in this post! What an unusual looking fox!

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  2. gorgeous fox! wow! what a thrill to see!

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  3. Fantastic shots. I'd never heard of a fox like that one before. Wonderful shots of the birds in flight. As usual all of your shots are a delight and I enjoy your hikes.

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  4. I love nature and this is the very first time I've been on your blog, well done folks. And your from one of my favorite places in the world "Canada". Richard from the Amish community of Lebanon,Pa

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  5. You always get such great shots of the wildlife. I've never seen a black fox before!

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  6. Beautiful place, very scenic.

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  7. Fantastic nature shots and explanations as usual (like Carver said). Yes, you have a wonderful area to live and hike.

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  8. Love the fox! And you do have the most beautiful and colorful birds! Terrific captures, Gary, as always! Enjoy your weekend!

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  9. A great post. Interesting reading!
    Have a nice evening!

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  10. Great photos Gary, but, my favourite is Black Fox, superb.

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  11. Looks like a great hike Gary. It is too hard to pick favourites when there are so many wonderful sights!

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  12. Never seen am black fox... all your pics are beautifull!!!

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  13. Amazing colour tones in the black fox! Fascinating! Always love your bird series of photos! The warblers and chickadee in this post are simply adorable!

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  14. Such a beautiful photo series,
    I like your nature shots very well,
    great motive, very nice photo work ...
    Best regards, Karin

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  15. Having never come across a fox in the wild, it was a real treat to see one here. I'm also very partial to ospreys, having followed (with my camera) a chick over a summer and into its first flight a couple of years ago. All to say, lots of interest here!

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  16. Wonderful range of photos. The chickadee and unknown flowers are gorgeous!

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  17. Magnificent capture the black fox had never seen one of these.

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  18. Wonderful images, as always. I just LOVE that fox! Great catch!

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  19. a full days imagary - makes the evening much more pleasurable when you can upload your shots and display them in this way - the fox is indeed awesome

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  20. Lovely shots I love that Ceder Waxwing. 400 shots per hike that too only around 10% wastage is great!

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  21. Always love seeing what you have found this week!! The ducklings are out, husband tells me. I haven't seen them in weeks. The goslings here are still in their eggs. Seems quiet without the geese around!

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  22. Yep you are right, not bad for an old guy, or a young guy either one. I marvel at your prodigious photo taking.

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  23. lovely captures. i've always enjoyed your wildlife photos.

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  24. Wonderful post, Gary. Great shots - what a splendid way to spend a morning!

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  25. I love the variety you present us. :)
    Have a great weekend!

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  26. Gary, I am shocked that y'all up north have more of a problem with mosquitoes than we do in the southeastern U.S.
    Super sighting on your hike!

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  27. You live in an amazing part of the world. A stunning series of shots.

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  28. Nice reflection on the bridge shot.

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  29. Your photos are simply wonderful. I hope you are (or will) considering putting them into a book for all the city dwellers that never get to see such sights. A friend of mine self published a book of her flower shots at one of those online publishing sights and it sold rather well. She even had request from a greeting card company to use some of her shots.

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  30. thanks for sharing your collection of photos from a great day out, foxes, flowers, turtles and birds, so much to see and enjoy

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  31. Wow, what a lovely assortment of songbirds. I especially like the female Red-winged Blackbird images. The flowers are so pretty and the Black Fox, how cool is that!!! Happy weekend~

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  32. What about that fox! We've got foxes, but none of these (unless there have been an escape from a fox farm and that one has mated a ordinary red one).
    As always i'ved enjoyed your hike.
    Thank you for sharing.
    Best whishes
    Mormor Norway.

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  33. Such an interesting post and beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing your adventures.

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  34. What a great hike you have. I'm amazed with the views. You also saw many critters there. Thanks for sharing!

    Thanks also for dropping by :)

    www.womenandperspectives.com

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  35. So many different things you saw! Lots of great variety. All great shots!

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  36. Lots of neat stuff here...the black foxes and the osprey and all the beautiful birds and butterflies. If you only have 10 percent worthless shots, you are doing better than I do by a long shot :-)

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  37. I enjoy your interesting hikes!!! Your shots are wonderful. I have never seen a black fox. Your world is amazing!
    Thanks for your comment...I didn´t need to arrange the white cows. We have hundreds of them here.

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  38. That rubby-throated hummingbird is wonderful but i do love all the collection. Man, you have a wonderful anture around you, and you captured it so well. Thanks for sharing this magnificent nature with us Gary!

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  39. What a stunning series of images, Gary! So many beautiful birds and so many lovely flowers & creatures. Nature is amazing, isn't it??!!

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  40. Great series...I love that yellow wabler flight shot as well as the Hawks.Have a great weekend!

    Shantana.

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  41. I love the photos of the black fox, I had never seen one before! ANd your bird photos, as always, are amazing!

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  42. Great serie again.
    It seems there's no end of the beauty.

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  43. So much to see in your country Gary. It must be beautiful overthere.
    Have a great weekend
    marijke

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  44. Beautiful post, beautiful pictures I've never seen a black fox.
    Thanks for the comment on my blog.
    Wishing you a good weekend / good Whitsun.
    Hanne Bente / hbt.finus.d

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  45. Great Osprey wing span and Blackbird in flight. I love the dragonfly, too. Very nice photos and commentary.

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  46. Beautiful captures of wildflowers, birds, butterflies and black fox, that must have been a wonderful hike!

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  47. The pictures of the fox are really interesting - real range of colour in one animal.

    Stewart M

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  48. Great collection, Gary! The black fox is a cool sighting. I love all the birds, especially the Osprey. Thanks for sharing, have a great weekend!

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  49. Wonderful photos! Many thanks for taking us on your hike :)

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  50. Love all your shots...especially that black fox. Have a great weekend!

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  51. Beautiful flora, fauna and scenery! The black fox is something special!

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  52. Gorgeous photos!

    My Sky Shot, please come and see. Have a great weekend.

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  53. The chestnut-sided warbler is beautiful, Gary, and I always love chickadees. Fascinating about the black fox, and I always love crabapple blossoms, too, but my favourite today has to be the female snapping turtle, threatened with extinction, laying her eggs in the hope some of her young survive to adulthood.
    K

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  54. Wonderful trip, and great photos. That fox is spectacular!

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  55. What a magnificent place...and what marvelous photos...BShell

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  56. Another great post Gary. Of course my favorite part was the Black Fox just wonderful.

    Regards
    Guy

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  57. Wonderful hike -- I'm glad you found that driver .. the fox is fascinating and the turtle as well as always the birds and plants. I would so love to see that many waxwings.

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