Sunday, July 22, 2012

Clear Wing Moths, Wildlife and Scenes of The East Track Beaver Pond. A post to OWT, IRBB, WBW.

Today's post is mostly photos. I have been hiking in the beaver pond area, because a strange thing happerned. I got some good photos of a sandpiper, and a belted kingfisher in flight. I, by mistake, cleaned them off the memory card, and I'm uncertain how I did that; so, I've been coming back in the hope of getting the sandpiper. There is not a large selection of shorebirds here. I also wish that I knew what I did to avoid doing it again.
 CLICK ANY PHOTO TO WATCH THE SLIDE  SHOW. BUT YOU SHOULD READ THE COPY FIRST.

All the scenes are from the beaver pond.

A post to Our World TuesdayWorld Bird WednesdayI'd rather be birding. Click any one to check them out.




Reflection

The central area of the pond.

Hiking this area also gives me a chance to check on the Northern Harrier.






 The Turkey Vultures were also active in the area. There are a pair of them.


 The Osprey shots are from the west side of the River, where this one is hunting the wetlands, and the River for fish.
 Another Osprey photo.
 This is the same bear that I showed two posts ago. I included another photo of her, because there has been a bear incident near here. I'm using the information from "The Northern Life" which in my opinion is a poor newspaper, but is the only source that I have. Black bears are almost to Northern Ontario what politicians are to graft. They're everywhere, because it is wilderness forest.

 A woman was taking her unleashed dog for a walk, when she spotted an adult bear in a berry patch. She blew her air horn, and the dog, a lab, barked. The bear attacked, and gave her a swipe, but it backed off. Just an aside almost anyone here who goes in the woods carries a noise maker. She was fortunate. But there is a lesson here. If you'll notice in my photo above, the bear is pretty thin. She's been surviving on grasses,but all the berries are rippening now,so the berry patch and shrubs that have edible berries look like an outdoor restaurant to her. What the women and the dog did was challenge the bear over the berry patch. If the bear was a male, she also challenged him in his territory. The whole incident is unfortunate, but it goes to show that there is a forest protocol, and it needs to be followed. Don't challenge the wildlife, sharpen all your senses so that you see what's in front of you, behind you, and beside you. Leash your dog, and keep him quiet..

When I was hiking on the west side of the River, I shared the trail with three other travelers. I came within ten feet of the humans, and they didn't see me. The third traveller beat me to the River bank, and swam the River, a bear, but you can bet he knew that I was there, and I knew he was close by.

Raven in flight.

 I put another photo of the snapping turtles in to make a point. Nature theme parks, and Disney nature portrayals give us a warped view of nature reality. Creatures like this turtle, which is an endangered species, are not cute in a bambi sense, and therefore are unappealing. But in a wetland like this one, she and her mate contribute to the viability of the wetland and the over all environment. In the post in which I showed the fox and her kits, I got rave "cute" responses, but what I didn't tell you was that she brings home live catches to teach the kits to kill, which is necessary for their survival. Pretty gruesome!! So take a look at the previous posts and support turtles to preserve the species.

Canada Geese.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Same in wind.

Male Redstart.

Side view.

Indigo Bunting

Same

Preening Bunting

Cedar Waxwing.




Male Northern Flicker.

Song Sparrow.

 Swamp Sparrow?

 Swamp Sparrow?

White Throated Sparrow.

All these photos are shot in flight, because this subject is always in motion. This is a Clear Wing Moth, often reffered to as a Hummingbird Moth. They hover, and they suck the nectar out of the flower in the same manner that hummingbirds do.They have a wing span of 38-50 mm or about 2 inches. There is a like moth in Europe and Japan, the Old World, but it is unrelated. It is, rather, an example of convergent evolution.

In flight.

Hanging onto the flower.

Side view.

You can see the clear wing here.

Dragonfly

Fritillary

Wild Chicory

Unknown, but the chipmunk and the squirrel below are feeding on the berries  

White Lilly

Chipmunk

Chipmunk

Chipmunk

Red Squirrel eating berry.

65 comments:

  1. cute varmints. :) love the harrier shots. such beautiful feather markings. the hummingbird moths are so cool, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. As always, a wonderful collection of critters. I have been chasing a cedar waxwing around here, but he likes to sit atop a really tall fur tree. I'm glad we don't have black bears around here, although I have heard tall stories about sightings. I think I would be afraid to walk in the woods.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing images in this post. It would be exciting to photograph the bear, but also a little scary to have one too close. Thanks for sharing your great photos. Mickie :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great pictures again Gary with some excellent advice about respecting wildlife. Like your throwaway line about politicians - maybe the bears and the politicians should get together over a meal?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amazing shots, the Harrier is my favourite.

    ReplyDelete
  6. you really have a lot of wildlife around you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Another very interesting post and great photos. I like your comments about how to act in the forests. Humans don't own the wild environment - we should share it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. O what a fascinating collection of varied wildlife! Love the colours of the indigo bunting and good to see the little sparrow is part of the beauty parade!

    ReplyDelete
  9. The indigo bunting is a beautiful colour Gary. I'm with Bob the Harrier is my favourite especially where he looks like he is screeching, second favourite is that little cheeky chipmunk. That Cedar waxwing has amazing markings on his wingtips! An incredible post!
    Paul

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Gary

    A great post I really appreciated your comments. I thought your small bird shots were great especially but my favorites were the Harrier and the moth.

    Guy

    ReplyDelete
  11. You area great source of information and I really enjoy the photos.


    Gill

    ReplyDelete
  12. Fabulous series, Gary! I love the Harrier flight shots.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Such variety. Interesting about the bear - what we think we would do and what we actually do are always different.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wonderful Gary! I'm pretty clear about the food chain (I eve posted an alligator eating a turtle)...but it is pretty hard to comment about that kinda' stuff (always easier to say "ooooh cute").... your pictures are always way more than cute though....

    I'm sorry you "lost" your kingfisher -- hope you get one soon...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Another superior post!!! I especially like the Harrier in flight, and I'm jealous for the photos of the Redstart Warbler [I can't seem to have luck getting a photo of this beautiful bird...yet!!] And the squirrel is so darned cute.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hey Boom & Gary.
    Very nice photo series you run.
    Always beautiful nature pictures on your blog.
    Thanks for viewing.
    Wishing you a good day / good new week.
    Hanne Bente

    ReplyDelete
  17. All great shots! Love the chipmunk and the chestnut warbler. Interesting about the bear. I know a lot of people who go camping in central Florida who see our bears but I haven't heard of anyone here carring a noisemaker. I'll have to ask them about it.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Awesome flight shots!
    So many different photos in your post. I do like that!

    ReplyDelete
  19. awesome post...each shot is enjoyable to look at!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Nice shots, it looks like a beautiful area.

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a post!!
    All those wonderful photos and your words with them, thank you!
    Also we are picking up berries with bears but our bears are usually shy enough if we do not walk between "mom" and baby.
    Brown bears ( Ursus arctos ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_bear

    ReplyDelete
  22. You make the most beautiful photo's. I love them all.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Terrific reflections, gorgeous skies and a world full of delightful critters and your photos are superb! Love the bear and the chipmunks! What cute little buggers they are! Have a good week, Gary!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Beautiful pics!I have Hummingbird Moths in my yard& Humming Birds too.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Probably one of your entries, which I enjoyed most. Thank you for the sight of the Bear and all the other wonders very much. Must be about a year since last I saw a forest.
    Please have a good Tuesday.


    daily athens photo

    ReplyDelete
  26. Beautiful photos. Very good catch, I like this moth in flight. Greetings.

    ReplyDelete
  27. pond shots n that dragonfly are lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I know that must have been frustrating to have deleted the shots. I've never had much luck with kingfishers. I hear them sometimes when I'm walking but by the time I spot them they are off to another tree. I would be very upset to delete any kingfisher shots if I caught them.

    You got some fantastic shots though for this post. The dragonflies and birds in flight give me goosebumps. All the shots are wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Wonderful pictures,all the birds are beautiful. I love that hummingbird moth, I have seen them in Europe (France/Italy) but never at home. They are so interesting to watch but I find it is difficult to get a good picture of them, your pictures are just great.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Amazing captures. Superb shots.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Birds in flight are always spectacular. I love little squirrels too.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Wonderful photos! I'm sorry you lost some! I enjoyed seeing the wildlife and birds....I've always had a tender place for Canada, ever since I read Mrs. Mike as a young girl. Lately we've been watching all the seasons of Northern Exposure. It's fascinating to see "the real thing" posted by someone who knows that wilderness well. And thanks for coming by my blog and visiting, also!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Wow // your world is really beautiful at this time of year.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I enjoyed the anecdotal stories alongside your excellent photos.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Hi there, nice post. I used to get the European version of the humming bird moth in the honeysuckle that grew up our back wall. Nice to see one from elsewhere.

    Stewart M - Australia

    ReplyDelete
  36. You took fantastic photos, Gary, and the different birds are amazing to see.

    That little information on what to do in the wilderness is wise. I would have quietly walked away instead of getting attention to myself with noise like that..

    ReplyDelete
  37. Gary, you've got some incredible shots here. Great post. BTW, the bird you labelled as a "Sparrow?" might be a Pine Siskin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pine Siskins have a yellow in the wing feathers.

      Delete
  38. Lot's of lovely wildlife captures. What a wonderful place to live.

    ReplyDelete
  39. You have lots of lovely wildlife captures. Wonderful place place to live!

    ReplyDelete
  40. For 'having taken up photography only recently' you sure are a quick study!! These photos are phenomenal!! Too bad about the bear...you are correct...there is 'forest protocol' and if you don't adhere to it you will find yourself in a bad way. Too bad about the lost photos..I always have a fear of that happening. You would be in shore bird heaven where I live...Florida...we even get them in our yard!! Thanks for stopping by my place, I appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete
  41. A wonderful collection of critters. Great post!

    Irene

    ReplyDelete
  42. Love the harrier, vultures, and ospreys! I've never seen a Hummingbird Moth, but would love to. Some other folks have posted photos of them, too. The chipmunk shots are great!

    ReplyDelete
  43. Lovely shots as always, Gary. Those vultures in flight are magnificent!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Beautiful photos. The incident with the bear is an eye- opener. There is a forest protocol, like you said.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Beautiful place. I am always happy to see the birds here.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Wow... its really awesome Gary, w(゜o゜)w
    I love the birds that fly in the skies... great shots!

    Amiko @ maipikucha

    ReplyDelete
  47. Beautiful shots as always Gary! What a great place you have there! That Hummingbird Moth is very cool!

    ReplyDelete
  48. Those are amazing photos you've got there. You explain and photograph wildlife so well! I enjoy reading your post...bears and all!

    ReplyDelete
  49. I hear you about cute and all that warm fuzzy stuff. Nature does her thing on her terms. The turtles have gotten a hold of that basic truth and worked it out so that they will be here when we are gone. (Which could be soon at the rate we're going.)

    ReplyDelete
  50. Great Gary, both the still ponds and the flying birds have been captured beautifully. And i love the slant of the bear and the politician, the latter should be fed to the former, i suppose!

    ReplyDelete
  51. It is wise to always remember the critters are still wild and respect them! So many great photos and such variety! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  52. My goodness, this is a wonderful post. Good advice about all our critters out there. Beautiful pictues Gary! You live in an are where there is so much to see and photograph. We have an awareness of bears in our area now as there have been sightings nearby.
    Have a great rest of the week.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Wonderful variety of wildlife, always enjoy seeing what you've been up to during the week. Kristi
    Unable to link up to WBW this week. http://dreamsomedesigns.blogspot.com/2012/07/wbw-red-tailed-hawk.html

    ReplyDelete
  54. Great post. Love the bird photos especially the birds in flight. You captured the photos wonderfully. Love the reflections too.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Like Robert, I found this entry (among many excellent ones) to be one of your most fascinating. I am thankful the woman and her dog survived. The "cute factor" subject is one close to my heart and beautifully handled. My senses are still in need of much sharpening, and I probably wouldn't have been aware that "there were three." Because I am hyper-conscious for my dog's safety, I always presume when in the wild that we are surrounded :) Hope you find another sandpiper!

    ReplyDelete
  56. Thank you for your last comment posted on "Les Fous du Cap". Your last set of pictures is really beautiful.
    CĂ©line & Philippe

    ReplyDelete
  57. Great shots all!!! And I love that bear, bears are so cute - but I would not like to see one in nature. :D

    ReplyDelete
  58. The nature is very beautiful. I enjoyed your photos very much.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Wow!!! Some wonderful shots here! But I have to say...I love the hummingbird "in flight"!
    Thanks for visiting MammothLakesDP! I think we live in similar wilderness!!!

    ReplyDelete