Thursday, August 16, 2012

Another Hike On The West Side Of The Vermilon River.

 The weather is still strange in that the mornings are usually sunny, and the afternoons cloudy, with rain in the afternoon or over night. The scenes pretty well lay out the sky changes. So hiking continues around the weather, and my current fascination with the wildlife young. That means hiking the west side of the River, which I now call "The Warbler Highway".
 Wildlife young are difficult to identify because their plumage is a non-breeding plumage, and even then, not fully developed in many cases. This is especially true of the warblers, in which case I have been using Cornell Labs of course, but  also Warblers of Canada, the University of Alberta site, which also gives tail configurations as well as immatures, and The Warblers Of Ontario, which shows immatures. All these sites can be goggled. If that fails, I run to NWO Birds, where I have a file called "Help ID This... Someone usually comes to my aid, not only with birds,but insects as well.


THIS WHOLE POST IS SET UP FOR THE SLIDESHOW FUNCTION, WHICH ENLARGES ALSO. SIMPLY CLICK ANY PHOTO. IN FACT,I HAVE REDUCED MANY PHOTOS IN SIZE TO SAVE ROOM. I DO SUGGEST YOU READ THE COPY FIRST.

River Reflection

The Sky Turning.



Rock and Reflection.

The Morning started well with the Black and White Warblers. Of the nine species of warbler listed in Warblers of Ontario, I have seen all but two. That doesn't mean they're not here, just I haven't seen them. To those who think I wait for them to appear-no, sorry I hike and find them randomly. If I can't track them down, fairly shortly I move on. Waiting for them to appear closer out of a thick forest is a waste of time.
Black And White Warbler.

This is the start of the warbler sequence. This female Redstart is resplendent because she's showing off her tail feathers. The male tail is equally bright, but her colours are much more subtle.
Immature Female Redstart.

Male Redstart.

Preening Male Redstart.

Male Redstart.

Just sitting down to rest, I caught this Oven Bird, another warbler. Sometimes people describe him as a less flamboyant member of the warbler clan, I really don't find him so,especially with those head colours, and those incredible chest markings, plus that eye ring.
This is what I meant by hard to recognize as this immature Yellow Rumped Warbler shows. He's even still fuzzy.
Immature Red-winged Blackbird.

Immature Starling.

Immature Starling.

But here is a secret I use. Wherever the chickadees are, the warblers are close behind, as they feed on the same grubs in the Birch trees. In fact, they along with the warblers naturally control the grubs in the Birch trees. While you wait for the warblers to arrive, the Chickadees will also entertain you and allow you to sharpen your camera reflexes.


I think of all the flyers, the Canada Geese are the best precision flyers even when they're training their young. These guys fly the River course and are fun to catch, especially as they suddenly cross over your head on a narrow trail.


Mallards.

This is a male Hairy Woodpecker. A commentor asked last week how to tell him from his smaller cousin the Downy. Size is useless, of course, because the two are not together, The beak of a Hairy is the size of his head, as you can see from the opposite photo. From the photo below you can also see the white bars on his tail. So always get a back shot if you can.
Male Hairy.

Calling Raven.

Ring-billed Gull in Flight.

Gull in Flight.

Question Mark.

Question Mark

The rain has re-juvenated the wild flowers in the forest, although it is too late for the blueberries, The Fleabane is blooming again.
Joe Pye Weed.

Unknown

Devil's Paintbrush.

High Bush Cranberries.

Great blue Heron and friends in a wetland on the far side of the River, after I spooked him.

A post to Sky Watch Friday, and  Camera Critters. Click to go directly to the site.

61 comments:

  1. The scenery is just beautiful with dreamy reflections, great to see the geese it flight too. Have a great week.

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  2. It is so very interesting to share your part of the world with you on these hikes and see your wildlife.

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  3. You must have access to a rich bird life, again many interesting birds and nice scenery.

    Ottar

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  4. The landscape and birdlife are simply fantastic in your surrounding. Love the landscape pictures and birds are often species I don't know...

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  5. wow the landscape and birdlife are simply breathtaking in your surrounding. I love the landscape shots and all bird will be lifers for me!

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  6. The scenery is tremendous, a pleasure to look at.

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  7. Thanks for sharing your nature walks with us, summer is really showing off her colourful best

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  8. Beautiful captures of wildlife! Love all the shots of the birds!

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  9. Beautiful sky shots and water reflections. And I always love your awesome bird photos.

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  10. I do so enjoy the hikes you take us on -- like everyone else!! A wonderful look at your world and it is fantastic! I do love the variety of nature and wild life and birds! Thank you as always! Hope you and Boomer have a great weekend, Gary!

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  11. Amazing shots of your wonderland!

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  12. Very interesting post and so beautiful photos,Gary!

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  13. Nice place with beautiful birds.

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  14. Wonderful photos you are showing us.
    Have a nice weekend!

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  15. Lovely images Gary, always worth enlarging.

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  16. Your posts are like going for a lovely guided mountain trek,thanks!
    Just have to add that I love the Raven calling from the tree top!

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  17. Beautiful photos and thank you for sharing your hike :-)
    Greetings from Liva

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  18. Wonderful series, I love the reflections and the birds are always a pleasure to see. Thanks for sharing, happy skywatching!

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  19. Lovely views for the middle of August color. I'm glad life goes on in the avian community for awhile longer.
    Happy trails!

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  20. Lovely serie of shots! Have a great evening!

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  21. I'm glad you've been able to hike around the weather and take these wonderful shots. The great blue heron reminds me that I need to start walking again and look for the ones that live around a lake near my house. Most years I've photographed them in the summer but this summer has been so hot I haven't been able to make myself walk.

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  22. Nice pictures, yes, I like those beautiful reflections on the river, thanks.

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  23. Wow! Those babies are beautiful. And the flowers.... I appreciate your world and the way you share it with us!

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  24. Great shots of the Canadas. Reminds me that fall will be coming soon and the migration south starts. Enjoy the weekend with Boom!

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  25. Your posts are like science chapters, very interesting to go through them.

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  26. Another amazing collection of photos! I think my favorite is #2... the reflection on the water and rock formations are amazing.

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  27. Love the river reflection. the colour is stunning.

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  28. Wow, the landscapes are just stunning and I am amazed by all the wildlife you have! Even the immature birds are so colourful!

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  29. Your walks are always fascinating, you are able to see and photograph so much beauty. I love always the colours of the immature Starlings~

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  30. Beautiful photos - though could have done with knowing at the beginning why they are so small in the post.

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  31. It's always so lovely visiting your part of the world and going on your walks - wonderful landscapes, gorgeous birds, beautiful flowers... so much to see and enjoy!!

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  32. Amazing post :) I really enjoyed the reflection shots.. they are amazing.

    Wollreflections

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  33. Awesome photos! I love the river reflection! Happy weekend!


    Kim,USA

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  34. I love those river reflections, some more great hiking!

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  35. Hi there - great set of pictures - are the Starlings considered a pest?

    Stewart M - Australia

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  36. Such awesome shots and I love that you know the names of so many of the items you post. I found a wonderful site that identifies butterflies and posted the link on one of my posts, right after capturing a red admiral on a lilac bush.

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  37. Beautiful photo series showing - with many incredibly beautiful images.
    Canada geese, I have also seen a large flock of here.
    Thank you for a wonderful insight into your beautiful nature.
    Wish you a good weekend :)
    Hanne Bente

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  38. Stunning place and wonderful photos
    xoxoBshell

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  39. Great nature pictures!!
    Thank you,
    Gisela
    Guildwood Village, Ontario

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  40. ♡¸.°.¸♫♫♪
    Já faz muito tempo que não visito o seu blog, mas ele está mais incrível do que antes: as fotos e as informações... amei mesmo!!!!
    Bom fim de semana!
    Beijinhos.
    Brasil
    ♡彡♫♪°.¸.•°`

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  41. Beautiful scene and reflections here.

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  42. What fabulous shots of the birds and the darling flowers!

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  43. I'm so glad you resort to the internet too!

    Love the reflection pictures this week Gary - gorgeous.

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  44. Wonderful sightings -- I honestly think the birds must fly out of hiding so that they can see YOU (and welcome you to their woods)! It's just amazing how many you spot on any given hike. The female redstart with her fanned tail is incredibly lovely.

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  45. These are lovely!

    My Critter post, have a great weekend!

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  46. Beautiful slide show!

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  47. Hi! Sweden calling :-) Beautiful pictures, lovely reflections in the first one. The bird serie, great. I got a raven too the other day hunting and he got a frog...

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  48. Wonderful series.....
    I love the reflections and the birds...great photo work...
    Best regards, Karin

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  49. Loved looking at this post, so many great photos, lovely scenery and lovely birds.

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  50. You do such a good job of capturing birds. It's always interesting to see what you've posted.

    «Louis» thanks you for your visit to San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

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  51. Hieno 'Retki-Kertomus'...
    Mainiosti kuvattuja maisemia, linnustoa, muuta kesäistä...
    Terveisin Eko...

    Kiitos vierailusta

    Fine 'Tour-Report' ...
    Perfectly described the scenery, birds, other summer ...
    Greetings Eco ...

    Thank you for visiting

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  52. Thanks everyone for your visits, and kind words. Boom & Gary.

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  53. Fairy lights, watery clouds, beautiful birds, I love all your signature shots!

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