A Vixen Of The Vermilon River. A Post to MWT and WBW.

 After that great hike last week up the River to the NW, it turned into the week that was. First Boomer, who hates summer with a passion got stung by something or other, and I thought he was going to have to go to the vet, but we tried an antiseptic, and soldiered through. As well the weather turned cool, with rain for a few days. If I don't hike my muscles stiffen up, so both Boom and I were miserable. On Saturday, the weather changed and the sun came out. A perfect day for the sigma lens. It was too hot for Boom so I took off for the west side of the River.

 All the scenic shots are of the upper area. In the first shot you can see the Canada Geese, and they have Goslings, so I thought I'd hike right to the rapids with a stop at the big wetland, despite not being in shape. YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO WATCH THIS AS A SLIDE SHOW, SO CLICK ANY PHOTO AND PROCEED AFTER READING THE COPY.

The first part of the journey was disappointing with nothing very rare.

 But the visit to the big wetland proved really interesting. The 150-500mm is really useful here as the brush and cat tails are not of a height to disguise my sudden appearance and everything moves or takes off.

 So I'm shooting at long distance a moving subject. But these pair of Blue-winged Teals were a great find.

 This Lesser Scaup, a male, is a first for me.

 As I moved down the trail, the American Redstarts showed up. They're another warbler, and are lucky for me, as the last bear photos I got, I was trying to get some Redstart shots. I took a bunch of shots because they're small, and the tree canopy is thick.

The Yellow-rumped Warblers were out also. This whole outing is looking pretty good now.

 This is a flycatcher, an Alder or Least,  I think. If I had to pick one I'd guess an Alder as I don't see any yellow on the chest.They're both very similar.

Rear Shot Of the Flycatcher.

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow.

White-throated Sparrow.

 I caught the Female Red-winged Blackbird along with the male.

Male.

Common Grackle.

Crab Apple Blooms.

 We have Crab apple trees at the the apartment. They look healthy, and there are lots of insects to pollinate them. They attract Waxwings, both Cedar and Bohemian.

Johnny Jump Ups.

 In the last post I showed some Barren Strawberries which have a yellow flower. These are the real thing, wild strawberries. Small but delicious.

Wild Violets

Wild Blueberries.

 I saw Eastern Swallowtails, Monarchs, and Azures, but they didn't land. Opposite is a Red Admiral.

American Lady.

 This Red Squirrel was busy scolding me, until he decided to pose.

 This is Boris, the Canadian secret weapon, and the reason we don't need any expensive F-85's. His shell is about a foot long. He's sunning himself. He's just out of the wetland and brought half it with him.

 This head on photo really displays his handsome features. Did you notice his tail in the preceding photo?

 I said I was going to hike to the rapids to get some white water photos and so I did. Some people with their dogs caught up to me. I played with the dogs for a little; they left; and on the opposite side of the River, I saw some brown. I quickly stood, and started shooting. The rest is told in captions. A post to MWT and WBW.

She looked at me closer.

Then moved to the side....

And out popped these guys, her kits.

It became playtime....

Nap time...

Hug time...

Time To Leave... By the way a female fox is called a Vixen; hence the title of the post.