Me, Boomer and The Vermilon River

The Many Faces of the Vermilon River. A Post to MWT and WBW.

2012-05-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

The River is the centre of the natural system. It feeds the flora, fauna and thus creates the circle of life. So in the circle, it is the basic force, but equally so it wears many faces. In the first scenes it appears bucolic and benigh.

CLICK THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE AND SEE THE SLIDE SHOW.

But it rages in its flood season, freezes in the widest areas in the winter and never really warms up, despite the summer warming temperatures. It is, in that sense, a typical northern river

The rapids now only hint at their power as the water level is low. I try to stay as close to the River and its wetlands as I can because that's where the wildlife is.

Close up of the white water.

The Cedar Waxwings are back and moving close to the water because that's where the berries will ripen first.

They're not only handsome but playful as well.

Close Up

Rear view.

All of the warblers are not here yet, as I have not seen the Oven Birds. I'm also hoping for some new sightings. The Magnolia Warblers shown in an earlier post were new to me this year. The first series shown are Chestnut-sided Warblers.

Chestnut-sided Warbler.

These shots feature Yellow Warblers. They've just arrived

Yellow Warbler.

I still haven't seen any female Redstarts.

Male Redstart.

Yellow-rumped Warbler.

These are more shots of the Swainson's Thrush.

Rear View Swainson's Thrush.

Swainson's Thrush.

Alder or Least Flycatcher.

Red-winged Blackbird- Male.

Red-winged male showing his full epalettes.

This series show the female Red-winged Blackbird.

Black-capped Chickadee

Common Grackle.

Tree Swallow.

Male Goldfinch

I think that we see mostly photos of Hummingbirds that are taken at feeders. This has warped our perspective, as they're wild and feed in the forest also. Equally so we're not used to seeing them perching in trees.

This a Ruby-throated male. They tend to look somewhat different in this pose.

A post to MWT and WBW. Click on either.

Adult Osprey

Osprey.

Canada Goose with Goslings.

This is a Crab Apple tree that is growing in the forest. Someone probably threw it away and it has managed to root, and thrive.

Choke Cherry Blooms.

Wild Violet.

Wild Lilly of The Valley.

This is a mountain Ash tree It will also produce edible berries.

Pin Cherries.

Blue Berry Flowers.

Wild Strawberries.

Mourning Cloak

American Lady.

Unknown Skipper.

Red Squirrel

Another Shot of the Red Fox Without her Kits this time.

Snapping Turtle.

Web

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

2012-05-24T07:57:00.001-07:00

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.

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

2012-05-20T07:37:00.005-07:00

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.

A New Beaver Pond Of The Vermilon River. A Post to SWF

2012-05-17T03:54:00.000-07:00

This hike is a departure in that I am much further afield. I made arrangements with a young lady to drop me off up the Vermilon to the north west. I hike the area;start on my way back; and she picks me up at an appointed time somewhere on the way back. I've hiked this area before my accident, but not since ,so this is exciting stuff. CLICK ON IMAGES FOR THE SLIDE SHOW AND TO ENLARGE.

This is a beaver pond that runs parallel to the River and is quite extensive. Opposite is at least one of the lodges, there are probably others. The trails are mining and maintenance roads, as well as snow mobile trails. As a result I can't always get into areas where I want to go.

The scenes are shot in the mid pond area looking north and south.

Mid pond showing rock face.

Looking north.

Still north.

What would a beaver pond be without a beaver?

In the first photo you may have noticed the yellow flowers. They're Marsh Marigolds in all their yellow splendor. They're growing in the over flow of the beaver dam.

A closer look.

Close up

Closer up

Just showing the size of the marigold clump.

Pin Cherries.

These are Barren Strawberries. If the flowers were white, they would be wild strawberries. I know where some of those are and they're delicious.

Barren Strawberries.

These are Fly Honeysuckle and were growing along a short trail in the mid portion of the beaver pond.

Honey Suckle

The photo opportunities are good but the shooting environment is hard,as the leaves are filling in on the trees. As well the trails don't necessarily run into areas where you want to go, but its a wilderness forest after all. I was really lucky to capture these Magnolia Warblers. They're new to me.

Back View

Front View- He's a Beauty.

I put these yellow-rumped Warblers in the post to show the similarity to the Magnolia Warblers.

Yellow-rumped Waebler.

Then I was lucky enough to catch these Chestnut-sided Warblers.

Chestnut-sided Warbler.

These shots are of Nashville Warblers.

Nashville Warblers.

I also caught this male Hairy Woodpecker.

Male Hairy Woodpecker.

The Butterflies were out. I'm not sure of this one, but he's a Skipper, possibly a Dun Skipper. I'm going to continue to try to hike this area once a week over the summer period. A post to SWF ,Camera Critters, and Scenic Sunday Just a note, the day was bright and sunny, so all the wildlife including the butterflies, but excluding the Nashville Warblers were taken with the 150-500mm lens. The 70-300mm would not have had the reach. The scenery was taken with the Nikon 18-55mm.

Red Admiral

Eastern Pine Elfin.

Back In The Tundra at The Vermilon River. A Post To MWT and WBW.

2012-05-13T06:32:00.002-07:00

This hike is really a three day hike in the Tundra, which I showed you in a previous post. The Tundra runs off the south wetland of the east track, where the water narrows in the opposite photo. The black flies and mosquitoes are out now, and its warm so Boom is not with me. CLICK ON PHOTOS TO WATCH SLIDE SHOW AND ENLARGE.

We're coming in from the south, as the trail is impassable in the north because of snow mobile and ATV damage. We'll pass through a black spruce stand so the woods are thick and dark. As well its impossible to move off the trail.

The Tundra has its own stream which flows south. So it will be on our right going in, and the trees on our left. Vice versa going out. Its all heavy under brush as the opposite photo shows. The water in the stream is black, stained that way by the bog earth. If its wet you'll sink.

This photo shows the thick underbrush in the woods, so there's no going in there. The lighting is bad , so I'll use the 70-300 mm lens and hope for the best as far as distance is concerned..

You also have to watch for tree fall, as the black spruce trees have a small root ball, which you can see here, and fall with the wind or snow. Similarly the aspen and birch die in place. You don't want a rotten trunk coming down on you.

The trees are so thick that the lower boughs die off. The area is a paradise for wildlife with water food, and shelter.

Now we're in the tundra. You can see the extent of it.

This shot shows the stream flowing through the bog.

The weather was a bit iffy on the third day so I left earlier that I intended to.

All the brush on the Tundra is in flower. The brush has received any sunshine that was available; the soil is rich, and the land is wet. The brush as far as the eye can see is wild blueberries. Wild blueberries are small but the best tasting you'll ever get.

Close Up Of Blueberry Flower.

Look how Thick The Flowers Are.

Close Up

All those Flowers will be berries

Most of these berries will be harvested by the bears and other wildlife. Blueberries are sources of omega 3. Think how healthy the bears are.

The whole area is greening. These are Wild Lilly Of The Valley just starting to flower.

Unknown

Pin Cherry Blossoms.

Pin Cherry Buds

Wild Violets.

We call these little guys "Johnny Jump Ups". They're small but are they ever hardy.

We're starting to see more butterflies. These are summer Azures.

Summer Azure On Blueberry Bush.

Red Admiral

I tried to put the birds together in families as there are some new sightings, and some I did not include as I don't know what they are yet.

Black-capped Chickadee

Chipping Sparrow.

Common Grackle.

Male Red-winged Blackbird.

Same

Male Red-winged Blackbird.

All the male's posturing finally paid off, as here is his mate, the Female Red-winged Blackbird.

Female Red-winged Blackbird.

Raven In Flight.

My sparrows got a little out of order as this White-crowned should be with the Chipping sparrow. I still have not seen any Swamp or Savannah's yet.

White-crowned Sparrow.

The only warblers that I had seen so far was the Yellow Rumped, but below are Palm Warblers that I was fortunate to catch.

Yellow-Rumped.

Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Yellow-rumped

These beauties are Palm Warblers.

Palm Warbler.

Not just a Robin, but a Thrush to lead off the parade. In a previous post I showed some shots of a Swainson's Thrush.Here I'm adding the Hermit Thrush.

Robin

Swainson's Thrush.

Hermit Thrush.

Hermit Thrush

Male Purple Finch.

Red Squirrel

Squirrel

This shot is courtesy of Henri and Rejeanne Pomerleau who live just south of me. They posted it on The Weather Network. Its a mom and her cubs looking for food after their hibernation. They still have to wait for the berries to ripen, but it won't be long if the Tundra is any standard.

A post to MWT, and WBW.

More Colour At The Vermilon River. A Post to SWF.

2012-05-10T03:54:00.001-07:00

We're on the River today, and you can see the green in back of the photo along the ridge. Not summer, but a beginning anyway. CLICK ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE AND WATCH THE SLIDE SHOW.

This view faces southwest the direction we're heading in.

Same direction different view.

The Vermilon is a meandering river and this is one of its widest areas before the rapids. The red brush, below the trees,are likely pin cherries,which produce an edible fruit for wildlife of all types.

Just a close up of the same area. I had better warn you that this post is extra long as the forest wildflowers are in bloom, not completely but some. This gives me a great opportunity to try and identify wildflowers, and make a fool of myself, but mostly to photograph them. I'll name them by caption.

Pin Cherry Blossoms

Pin cherry Blossoms with an unidentifiable insect. Pin Cherry trees produce a red edible berry,which along with some of my friends we make into a jam. The bark on these trees is red, and the leaves turn red in the fall. We have some maple but we get our red from these trees in the fall. Fall colours here are mostly golden.

This is a Choke Cherry bud. They're not in bloom yet. We make jam out of these red berries also. But you have to be a little more careful as the pits and bark contain prussic acid which is poisonous, especially to pets. I use the jam, both pin and choke cherry, as a filler in the tarts that I bake, so always ask if I'm in a good mood when you accept bake goods from me.

Growth

Buds

More Buds.

All the next photos are of Woolly Violets that grow along the edge of the wetlands. They're really small but are quite hardy.

Close Up

They grow in clumps as this photo shows.

These are, I think, Bunch Berries. They're growing in a decaying birch tree. They produce a small white flower, and red berries which are edible also.

These are fern fronds called in eastern North America fiddle-heads. They're eaten extensively in Atlantic Canada, and the U.S seaboard states. They're a great source of omega 3 & 4. They're not cultivated , but are usually handpicked. See Wikipedia for a good discussion and how to cook.

Fiddle-heads.

And........,of course, the ubiquitous Dandelion, the hardiest of them all. Again it can be used in salad as greens and made into wine.

The first series of birds are all female purple finch.

Now the males. We seem to have a lot of purple finch this year.

The Goldfinch, some of whom over winter here, are in their breeding plumage. The first is a female followed by males.

The next series are Male Red-winged Blackbirds.

This robin was in a cedar tree along the river. He's been looking for worms in the mud as shown by the mud stains on his beak.

Common Grackle.

Common White-throated Sparrow.

This marks another edition to the Sparrow migrants. He's a White Crown Sparrow, and noticeably larger than the others.

This Raven was having a scratch, after which he decided to pose regally.

Raven

The Red squirrels are really active, and either hard to catch, or they pose for you, after they've scolded you.

See what I mean. A Post to SWF, Camera Critters and Scenic Sunday.

Still Hiking A New Trail Of The Vermilon River. A Post to MWT and WBW.

2012-05-06T08:12:00.001-07:00

We're still hiking the new trail and taking a look at some tundra, taiga or bog, whatever you want to call it. Amila Kanchann remarked in the comments section that it was like being on a virtual hike. I've always thought of the blog as a glimpse of the beauty contained in a small area of Canada. The "virtual hike" remark takes it even further, so thanks Amila, from Boom and I. CLICK ANY PHOTO TO VIEW THE SLIDE SHOW.

There are of course many regions in Canada that contain forests similar to this one or even different types, but all equally beautiful. Canadians are blessed beyond others by being able to enjoy such bounty. But we have to guard it carefully from despoilers and exploiters, who would sell us their destruction under the guise of a questionable progress.

As I said in the previous post, the hike starts early, and starts along the south wetland of the east track area. There are two trails, one almost a road, and the other a trail that skirts the wetland. We'll skirt the wetland. The lighting is bad on this trail, as its a black spruce area, with a thick canopy. I used for the wildlife photos the 70-300mm, as there is not enough light for the 150-500mm lens, and for wildlife you need to shoot fast.

The wetland at the far end turns into tundra or bog which is usual for a Boreal forest. The Vermilon Forest is a transition forest between the Boreal and the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes forest to our south. We have hardwood trees but they are birch, and only some maple or oak, and then fairly stunted. Our trees are mainly coniferous trees.

You can see the light brightening in this photo.

You can see the density of the trees as the sun rises. You have to be careful as the trails are not maintained. Black spruce has a small root ball, and the aspen and birch die in place standing. So there are standing rotten trees, and in a wind they'll come down on you. You though I was going to say bears, but while we're looking for them I haven't seen any this year.

This is what tundra looks like.

And this is why we're not going in there as its wet, and you'll sink.

This Black-capped Chickadee series shows this little fellow rooting in a woodpecker hole and in the final shot, coming up with sawdust. This is a standing birch,as rotten as can be. I mentioned above you have to watch for falling trees.

Now he's got the sawdust.

Black-capped Chickadee.

Mourning Dove.

Tree Swallow

The Dark-eyed Juncos have moved north now.

Dark-eyed Junco.

White-throat Sparrow.

The colours on the birds are especially vivid at this time of year. Look at that yellow. It just jumps off the page.

White-throated Sparrow.

This is a Swainson's Thrush. We have the Hermit Thrush and the Veery as well.

There are lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers around.

I was lucky to catch him in flight. You can see the yellow in his tail area.

Equally so, there are a lot of Purple Finches around.

Although not as colourful, the female purple finch has incredible markings.

In a previous post I said this was a Painted Lady, or an American Lady. Wrong on both counts as Jenn Jilks pointed out. Its a Red Admiral. Apparently 10,000 of these butterflies migrated to Ontario during the cold snap. They must have survived as NWO Birds is reporting Red Admiral sightings, and they're north of me.

This guy is still lying down on the job. A Post to MWT and WBW. I don't put the URL's in anymore as they don't set up the link system automatically. Is this Blogger again?

Red Squirrel.

More New Trails of The Vermilon River. A Post to SWF.

2012-05-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

Although we've been on this trail before, we have never gone as far as we did today. The day was overcast with intermittent sunshine and then rain in the afternoon.Just about everything but the kitchen sink came down from the sky.. Click on Photos to enlarge and view slide show.

The wetland is the south part of the east track wetland. The trail runs roughly along the edge although it meanders and actually runs almost parallel to small road. But we're such stalwart hikers we'll take the trail.

The first series of scenes shows the wetland with the raised area on the far side which is the track we take into the beaver pond, the next wetland east. The area is beautiful, but the periphery is littered with garbage of the filthy human trash that live in this area.As I've said before they fear the forest, and inhabit only its periphery which shows their quality as well as their mettle. I never get tired of directly telling them that.

As the wetland narrows the area becomes tundra, taiga or bog, whatever name you prefer. By that rock it will be tundra. Very few of you will ever see that as its the mark of the Boreal forest. This is a transitional forest, between the Boreal and the St Lawrence- Great Lakes forest to the south.

The growth covered area is the tundra, which is wet today, and impassable. Its a haven for wildlife of all types. With the weather still cool we're also bug free.

This area is open because its groomed for a snow mobile trail. You can see the damage the trail groomer does.

The trail we're following is a black spruce forest with close growing trees that are quite high. Its fairly hard to take photos in, as the lighting is constantly changing with every twist and turn.

This is the actual trail, so some light gets through, which usually confuses the whole issue. Most of the photos today were taken with the 70-300mm with as high as an 800 ISO. The tree needles on the trail make for some pretty quiet movement.

The Black-capped Chickadees were especially active. This little guy was actually digging out sawdust from this woodpecker hole.

Chickadee

Chickadee.

Red-winged Blackbird.

Dark-eyed Junco bathed in Sunlight.

Song Sparrow.

White-throated Sparrow.

Robin

Now the new sightings begin. This is a Swanson's Thrush, just singing his heart out. The Robin is also a thrush, so he's in good company. Swanson's, and Hermit Thrush are difficult to distinguish. Both as well as Veerey's are here to complicate ID's..

The Swanson's is a greeney grey on his back and buffy grey on his chest. The Hermit Thrush is reddish brown in his tail feathers and back. Its not helping that he is not showing me his back.

I only found him because he was singing his heart out. Black spruce provide lots of protection for wildlife.

I think the Tree Swallows are nesting now as this guy always checks on me when I pass.

Tree Swallow.

I included more of the Purple Finch because he looks so great in the snow.

I then ran into a small flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers that we chased around for a while.

No sign off would be complete without these guys and their frolicking. I think I shot some in this position before. A Post to SWF @ http;//skyley.blogspot.com/

More Arrivals At The Vermilon River. A Post to MWT and WBW.

2012-04-29T15:37:00.000-07:00

The post is long today, even longer than usual, as there is a lot going on. The scenes are from the east track wetland, which is divided in two by the portion of the active track that ultimately becomes a trail. If we continued along the track, we would reach the beaver pond I showed in a previous post. The sun rising is from Boom's early morning walk. CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE AND WATCH THE SLIDE SHOW.

North Side Of the Wetland.

South Side showing active Track

South Side of Wetland.

Sun Rising through trees.

I haven't seen any geese for a while, as the weather, rain, snow and high winds precluded our hiking some of the trails. They, the Geese, leave the River when it goes into flood heading for the wetlands. This pair came out of the wetlands and settled on the fringe area, forcing us to pass them. I hate doing that as they can be quite contrary.

You'll see all sorts of weather in the photos. In fact, its hard to believe that all the photos were taken in the last five days. But the male Purple Finch looks good in the snow, if not too happy. In my experience there are usually some females around with a male. And there were.

Male Purple Finch.

I think the female Purple Finch is equally resplendent, especially with those eye markings.

Female Purple Finch.

Of course trying to pick her out is sometimes difficult as these shots of the Pine Sisken that has similar markings show.

Pine Sisken

The Sparrow migration is coming along well. As time moves on these Dark-eyed Junco's will leave and head further north.

Junco's belong to the Sparrow family.

I put all the Sparrows in the same area. This is a Song Sparrow.

Song Sparrow.

The White-throated Sparrows have really moved in. They're among the smallest and have that yellow patch on their heads. It really show in the next photos.

White-throated Sparrow.

A lot of photos, but they're favorites of mine.

Robin

I grouped the Raven along with his relative the crow. The crow is Huegy, of course, and he is not too happy with the rain. Boom & I looked about the same when we came in out of the rain.

A Very Wet Crow.

Northern Crow.

The Red-winged Blackbirds are really active in the wetlands.

All these shots are of male Red-winged Blackbirds.

This shot struck me as funny. They're tree swallows just fooling around.

Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow.

The next two are Alder or Least Flycatchers. Least, I think as there is a touch of yellow under the tail area.

The Northern Flickers are back. They're a ground Woodpecker that feeds on ants. This is a male as the mustache indicates.

Male Northern Flicker

Northern Flicker.

These guys are illusive, but its a male Yellow- bellied Sapsucker. The red bib shows he's a male.

Sap Sucker in Flight.

Red Squirrel

A post to MWT @ http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/ and WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

Lots of Colour At The Vermilon River. A Post to SWF.

2012-04-26T12:08:00.004-07:00

The weather has been crazy. We had that heavy snow fall, then sun, and then snow again followed by rain. The snow was not as heavy as the first storm. I'd say that it interfered with our hiking, except Boom and I hike every day. We just call it Boomer's walk. All these photos are from the woods at the back of us, but its all the Vermilon forest, and it all links through various trails. This is called German mountain for some reason. The trail you see is not the one we use as its too steep. The photos were shot just before, and during sunrise. Click on the photos to enlarge and see the slide show.

From a hit and miss beginning the sky brightened. So you'll see bright backgrounds, grey backgrounds and snowy backgrounds. That was what the three days turned out to be.

Yup, this is the trail we use to gain access to more forest and wetlands. Its more our speed as you can see. In fact the trails seem to run for ever.

The post is long so we're starting with Huegy our crow frolicking in the snow.

He's a handsome fellow and since its spring everybody, including him, is a little frisky.

The snow was wet and heavy. The Mourning Doves made it look like Christmas.

Mourning Dove.

Close Up Mourning Dove.

Mourning Dove Mid Air collision.

The Dark-eyed Junco's will soon head further north. They're actually sparrows.

Junco In Slate Grey

Dark-eyed Junco

They like the Redpolls are tough little guys and will forage in the snow for food. Look how deep this one is.

Junco

I put this shot in as they're far from a plain bird. Look at those wing markings and that tail. which seems long to me.

I had to include the Robin as he's just building nests and toughing out the bad weather.

Right in the worst of the storm these guys showed up. He's a Purple Finch in full regalia.

Male Purple Finch.

The Tree Swallows are back for another season. They're cavity nestors and are looking for suitable homes.

We can add another sparrow arrival to the group, as the White-throated Sparrows are here now.

These Black-capped Chickadees were playing around while they searched out nesting materials.

See they got some moss for the nest.

This one is a real surprise as I think he's an Alder Flycatcher. There's a yellow cast to his tail in other photos.

The Red Squirrels were active in the sun as well.

The day was cool, and windy despite the sun, but he uses his tail as a kind of stole.

This was really weird in all the different weather patterns, a butterfly shows up. He's either a Painted or American Lady. A COMMENTOR LATER POINTED OUT THAT THE BUTTERFLY IS A RED ADMIRAL. APPARENTLY 10000 CROSSED INTO ONTARIO DESPITE THE WEATHER.THEY DID SURVIVE AS THEY WERE LATER REPORTED HERE AND FURTHER NORTH. A post to SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/ Camera Critters @ http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ and Scenic Sunday @ http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

I'm going to answer the track question from the previous post as best I can. But let me thank MNR Canada for the wolf and coyote photos first. If you didn't see the original post go to the bottom of the previous post. As far as guesses go, its not a cat, although we have Lynx, bobcats, and eastern cougars. In cat tracks the claws are retracted when walking. Its not a badger as they're more resident in our western provinces. I think its too big for a fox. But it could be a coyote, or a wolf. The Ontario coyote population is expanding. They're big as there is now apparently some mixing with the wolf, and they're here as I've got pictures of them, but not as good as the ones shown here. Equally so it could be a grey wolf as they're here also. Boom is here because the track was the same size as his paw and he weighs between 85 and ninety pounds. So its a wolf or coyote track.

Red Fox

Grey Wolf.

Coyote.

Big Happenings At The Vermilon River. A post To MWT and WBW.

2012-04-22T05:59:00.001-07:00

I promised myself to limit these posts, but they continue to grow like some out of control monster, despite my best intentions. Today, I'm starting out with a little scenery to show you where we are and to show you a fast weather change, which you'll see shortly. REMEMBER CLICK ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE AND SEE THE SLIDE SHOW.

We're all over the River today. As you can see the weather is sunny, and if not warm, getting to be that way.Boom is my indicator of temperature and the sun is warm enough now, that he's just too hot to hike anymore this year until fall, although he's OK very early in the morning.

All the scenes so far have been in the upper River area. Now we're into the big wetland.

This is the opposite side of the big wetland. I've never shown it so far, as its too hard to make look interesting. But there are wide open areas in those cat tails, and they can be loaded with aquatic wildlife.

This is the wetland on the west side of the River. And some of the shots were taken there.

I had mentioned earlier that the wood ducks were really being unkind to us, as they would not stay still. By the way, we're in the big wetland for this series.

Wood Duck In Flight.

But for some reason they decided to pose for me.

Wood Ducks

They're really colourful and are dressed in their resplendent no worries, breeding plumage.

The flock is a fair size.

The Bufflehead were on the opposite side of the big wetland, and refused to come any closer. The male is black and white.

Female Bufflehead.

Male and Female.

The Grackles were all photographed in the River wetland. As I remarked before birds of a feather do flock together, and the Red-winged Blackbirds and the Rusty, which is a rare Blackbird, were photographed in this area. I call this tree the Grackle Tree.

Common Grackle.

Rusty Blackbird.

I included the Red-winged Blackbirds because they 're displaying their epalettes in full colours.

This was a true find as its a Red Breasted Nuthatch. Up until now, I've only seen the White Breasted variety. This bird was in the Black Spruce stand where I have a great deal of luck, but where its so hard to take photos, as its dark and damp. The birds don't stay still long enough to make a change in settings possible.

In Flight.

Top Side.

This one, probably the clearest shot, shows the red breast.

I included this shot, taken earlier, to show you the difference in birds. This one is a White Breasted Nuthatch.

Another real spring find ,as this is the first of the Warblers to appear. He's A Yellow-rumped Warbler.

A Little Jumpy.

The Black-capped Chickadees are with the Warbler because both of them ( all warblers) are necessary to this forest. You probably have noticed that the Birch tree is a main stay of the the Vermilon Forest. One of the insects which feeds on the Birch tree is the Birch Leaf Miner, introduced through Connecticut to North America in 1923. The Warblers along with the Chickadees keep infestations under control naturally. Information courtesy of Glen Blouin, An Eclectic Guide to trees:east of the rockies.

Now to the Sparrows. They're dismissed by some as "little brown jobs" but not by Boom and I. We have numerous species here, and they're a real indicator of spring. This is a Song Sparrow.

Tree Sparrow

This is a Chipping Sparrow. I know you noticed the snow. We had a major storm yesterday which dumped about 20 cm or 10 inches on the area. Its a heavy spring snow and will probably be gone by tomorrow as the temperature is warming. I'll bet this little guy is regretting arriving so soon.

These are Dark-eyed Juncos, a member of the Sparrow family. They'll stay a short while and push on further north to summer with the my Redpolls and Pine Grosbeaks. All the plumage on these birds is bright and crisp. No worries until the kids come, I guess.

Mourning Dove in the snow. Looks just like Christmas.

HERE'S A TRACKING GAME FOR ALL YOU OUTDOORS PERSONS: I had earlier mentioned that the problem with feeding birds in a wilderness is that you can attract four footed critters. I even showed you a fox at the feeders. I found these tracks outside my door in the snow Sunday morning. Some hints: Animal tracks are hard to tell from dog tracks. There are no human tracks around these tracks. A dog meanders. All these tracks are direct to feeders and then on his way. There are four toes and you can see the claw marks. The claws are long, normally dogs are not, because humans clip them. The tracks are 5 inches long. Boomer's paws are 5 inches long and he weighs between 85 and 90 lbs. I put in a bear's prints for your information, but a bear's prints are wide. Raccoon's here are small, so its not a raccoon, and its not a feline.What's your guess? Answer next week. Tracks courtesy of Parks Canada, and www: Bear Trade Tracks .com

A Post to MWT @ http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/ and WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

New and Old Sightings On The West Side Of the Vermilon River. A Post to SWF.

2012-04-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

The storm swept through the US Midwest,crossed the Great Lakes bringing a temperature drop from 20C(upper 60's F) to -5C(low 20's F) or so, all in a day. The temperature drop was accompanied by snow flurries. So once the storm cleared, Boom & I were on our way. The morning was cold, but as the sun rose, it warmed the air. Remember, click the photos to enlarge and watch the slide show.

All the scenic photos are of the upper River for a change. You can see the effect the sun has on the water in all the photos. The water is really copper coloured, and shows black on overcast days.

This is a shot of the far bank. As you know I'm fascinated with water, but what struck me in the shots below, taken of a little rapids, was the reflection, and the jello look of the water as it flows over the rocks.

It fascinated me so much that I included a second photo.

The day started off with a heavy frost and the sun's reflection created fairy lights in the tree branches.

These Buffleheads were in the big wetland.

Male and Female Buffleheads

The Buffleheads were lucky for us as I finally caught up with the Wood Ducks, who normally take off like a shot when they catch sight of movement.

This is a female Common Goldeneye that was on the far side of the River. Too far for my lens.

But this is a shot I caught of her when the ice was still on the River. They're real northern ducks and stay as long as there is open water in the winter.

The song sparrows were in fine form.

Song Sparrow.

Ring-billed Gull In Flight.

Raven In Flight.

I caught this guy in the stand of black spruce. He's a real find as he's a Red Breasted Nuthatch, the first I've seen here.

I included this photo of his cousin the White Breasted Nuthatch, which I had shot earlier. You'll see more of these guys in another post.

Even the Red-winged Blackbirds proved lucky.

Red-Winged Blackbird.

I included two photo's of the Common Grackle, not only because the sun lights him up well, but also because he's central to our detective game.

Common Grackle.

"Birds of a feather ..." is an old adage, but certainly true with Blackbirds. I'm pretty certain this is a male Rusty Blackbird. He's a real find as they're under stress because of oil in the Tar Sands, and river dams being constructed for hydro in Quebec. Now begins the detective work. For that I use Cornell. But if you compare him to the Grackles above what stands out is the difference in the beak.

This is a photo that I took this fall of A Rusty Blackbird in non-breeding plumage.

This is another case for Cornell as I think this is a Brewers Blackbird, but I still need to do more work to confirm the ID.

Just as exciting as the shots above are these photos. This is a Yellow-Rumped Warbler in breeding plumage. The first warbler sighting of the season. You'll see more of these guys in other posts. A Post to SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/ , Camera Critters @ http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ and Scenic Sunday @http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

Yellow-Rumped Warbler.

More Wetland Wildlife At the Vermilon River. A Post to MWT and WBW.

2012-04-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

We're starting to get our bright, sunny days, and you'll be able to see the effect in the photos. EC is on, but it is still hard to avoid an over exposure, especially when you pass from light to shade, and the subject wouldn't hold still for an adjustment. Thank God for Photoshop. This is the big wetland. The opposite side is every bit as large. The trail around the wetland is excellent, and soon the cat tails will be high enough to shield me from the wildlife. CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE AND WATCH THE SLIDE SHOW.

Some of today's photos were taken here, and others were taken in the wetland below.

This is the River wetland that I spoke about the other day. I had originally intended to hike up the trail to that flat area in the back of the photo, between the evergreens. But I was certainly ill-prepared as the trail is overgrown and poorly marked. So I'll need my trail markers and a pair of pruning shears to trim back the brush. The brush is mainly pin or choke cherry trees, good to attract birds and bears, and I don't want to do much damage to it. I'll cut out a small area so that I'll be closer to the water area in the middle. All the Buffleheads were shot in this area.

The Mallards were shot in a small wetland near the big wetland shown above.

They're at the back and fairly protected.

She's a real beauty. All the birds now are resplendent in their breeding plumage, as the young arrive the plumage will fade. Just like the human situation I guess.

I caught these Mallards in flight in the big wetland.

All the blue Mallards were shot in the big wetland under the intense sun. I think its just the effect of the blue sky reflection.

But its an interesting effect.

This is a series of Bufflehead shots, so named because of the shape of their head. These shot were taken in the river wetland and you can readily see the brown in the reflected light.

I find the female every bit as handsome as the male.

I want to get to the back of the wetland so that I can be closer to the birds as these photos are either 60 or 100 percent blow ups. I should also be able to avoid some of the water glare. Still the reach of the 150-500mm is really performing here. If the birds catch sight of movement they're gone.

This is a flight of Wood Ducks that would not roost for some close ups in the big wetland.

I'm extremely fond of Robins.

He's also dressed in his bright plumage, not showing any of the wear and tear that will come with the kids and mortgage etc.

The Song Sparrows have certainly arrived as there was no end to their presence and bright music.

All these guys are song sparrows.

This is a tree sparrow recognizable by the chest patch and the yellow in his beak.

I caught this raven in flight.

All the wetlands were filled with Red-winged Blackbirds.

Hanging out with the Red-winged Blackbirds were the Grackles so the wetlands were alive in sound.

The sun is just lighting up the plumage of these Grackles.

I just seemed to stumble from one set of birds to another, This is a male Hairy Woodpecker.

I put this Ring-billed Gull series in because he's clearly getting ready to go out. You can really see the water fly.

I caught these Chipmunks on my way back. They were frolicking on the trail so spring must be here. Valerie from Australia asked me if the Chipmunk is related to the Squirrel, so I looked it up. The answer is yes; the Chipmunk is a ground Squirrel, so we're fortunate enough to have both ground and tree squirrels.

And here's his cousin the Red Squirrel.

Couldn't resist these Pussy Willows. A post to MWT @ http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/ and WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

More Wetlands of the Vermilon River. A Post to SWF.

2012-04-12T11:23:00.003-07:00

Tuesday we had snow flurries, and Wednesday started with flurries until the sun broke through. The wetland we're visiting today is on the west side of the River, so I couldn't help but pay a visit to the rapids. By then the day was brightening, as you can see. CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE AND WATCH THE SLIDE SHOW.

No visit to the rapids is complete without some white water, which fascinates me.

This is a River wetland. The beaver pond in yesterdays' post is a tributary wetland,i.e. it drains into the River through another system.This one is right beside the River, although it too drains into the River.

Just a different perspective showing the trail at the left side which allows one to get to the ridge or that piece of raised ground in front of the ridge in the background.

Again another perspective giving you some impression of the size. All of the the Red-winged Blackbirds were photographed in this area. The mallards were actually photographed on the River, although the in flight shots were taken over this wetland. I'll use captions in the next photos where possible.

Robin.

Robin

Red-winged Blackbird

The Red-winged Blackbirds were all calling for mates I suppose. They were amongst the grackles, and the noise was pretty loud. The occasional duck also joined in.

Song Sparrow.

These guys are usually on the periphery of the forest or wetland and sing Boom & I on our way.

Song Sparrow.

The Mallards in flight, two males and a female, were over the wetland. The

closeups were actually in the River.

Male Mallard

Female Mallard

Canada Geese.

These are photos that I took earlier when the ice was still in the River. This guy is really upset. He's just landed and is running on the ice.

I think this is the same guy. You can see he's squawking all the way down.

Ring-billed Gull.

This Is Huegy our Northern Crow.

No post would be complete without some cutes personified in the Red Squirrel.. A Post to SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/ , Camera Critters @ http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ and Scenic Sunday @ http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/ Note: My post was somewhat interrupted this morning as there was a computer bank fraud going on. No problem for me especially, but I changed all my accounts and passwords. But, I sure would like to take those computer wussies out in the forest with Boom & I for a couple of hours. Its more the time it takes up than the effectiveness. Nevertheless I had to go to the city

In the city I got to shop a store called the Bulk Barn, and stock up. I've never mentioned that in addition to being an amateur photographer I'm an amateur cook and baker. I'm just in the process of learning the in's and out's of fruit breads. But that's another story.

A Hike To A Beaver Pond of The Vermilon River. A Post to MWT and WBW.

2012-04-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

With the early spring, we're out in the east track area. This is another abandoned railway track, although part is still used to shunt trains. Its a good idea to use the track because the bears may be moving around now and the track area allows you to have more visual protection. The destination is the beaver pond. The photo opposite shows the stripped railway bed, and the beaver pond to the west. CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE, AND SEE THE SLIDE SHOW.

This photo looks to the west where the trail goes on. You can just make out a rock outcropping in the background. The trail is not straight but wider than the abandoned track on the west side of the river. There is a forest trail which we'll use to get back.

This photo looks west again, and gives you some idea of the pond size. It is in fact a small lake. There are numerous other trails that branch off this area, so the possibility of longer hikes is almost infinite.

Still looking east, this photo shows the eastern rock outcropping. The hydro lines are a bear highway that the bears use to raid garbage pails of a vacation area south of here. But by enlarge the area is uninhabited.

There are two lodges in the pond, both on the far side. Beavers tend to build a work highway and it is on the far side as the trail makes them vulnerable to their predators, which are numerous.

The lodge contains a sleep and eating chamber. Beavers are not true hibernators, but they do store food. But they venture out in the winter.

Another close up of the same of the lodge.

This is the second lodge.

This photo looks west. The red sign marks the beginning of the actual track section of the roadbed. The narrowing of the pond also indicates the site of the beaver dam.

This is the dam. Last year the dam was breached, likely because the water was high. Since then the beaver have repaired the dam. People sometimes point out the negative problems of beaver dams ie, mainly flooding. But beaver ponds protect endangered species, cause regeneration of forests, and clean toxins out of the water. All of these toxins are man made such as nitrogen, phosphates, and others.The conflict with man is really a quarrel over space. If man wins the land becomes contaminated. If we're lucky the beavers return and clean it up. This includes a lot of agricultural pasture land, because beaver ponds also clear up farm animal waste.

You can cross the dam and hike the wetland behind.

The beaver is a semi aquatic rodent. A fully grown beaver weighs about 14-27 kg or 31-60 lbs. They have a heavy layer of fat, thick fur, and use the musk from their glands to waterproof their coats.

They are perfectly adapted to the water. They are able to close their nostrils, and ears and have a nictitating membrane that permits them to see under water.

Their tail is scaly and used for swimming as well as to communicate danger. Their front feet have five fingers, which are nimble allowing them to manipulate the wood they use for food and building.

I put this muskrat photo in to show you the difference between the two. All the rest of the photos were taken at the beaver pond and show the biodiversity of the pond itself. The Vermilon Forest is a re-generating forest, and the larger numbers of wetlands and beaver have surely contributed to this regeneration.

Raven- Our Guide.

Canada Geese in Flight.

Geese In Flight.

Canada Geese in the Beaver Pond.

Male Mallard

Song Sparrow

Tree Sparrow

Male Downy

This Red squirrel was hiding from me. I returned on the land trail and not the track. The forest here is thick and makes it harder to catch the wildlife.

This Pine Sisken ends the photos. A Post to MWT @ http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/ and WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/ Most of the information is from Wikipedia, but the web is loaded with excellent sites that will dispel a great deal of beaver misinformation. For instance you don't have to trap beaver to stop flooding, just use one of the newly developed pipes. There is additional information that trapping beavers doesn't work, others just move in. Apparently, the same can be said of the bounty on coyotes in Saskatchewan. The coyotes are apparently on the increase despite the bounty.

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

2012-04-04T17:14:00.001-07:00

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.

A Post To SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/ ; Camera Critters @ http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/, and Scenic Sunday @ http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

A Bit Of Sun At The Vermilon River. A Post to MWT and WBW.

2012-04-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

This hike took place over Friday, an extremely cold day and Saturday which was sunny and warm. The sky is from Friday, and again the adage played true as the day was plain miserable, that damp cold which is so unlike here. REMEMBER TO CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE AND WATCH THE SLIDE SHOW.

Saturday was warm and prompted me to visit the East Track wetlands, another abandoned track, although a portion is still used for shunting purposes.

This is the East Track wetland on the north side of the track. The wetland is still frozen, and the water level is very low.

Another view of the wetland. The track is another favourite trail of mine.

Another view

The weather is bouncing around as today it is snowing so the migration appears stalled. I'll just use captions for the next photos.

Close Up Canada Geese.

Canada Geese

This guy is so crabby that you may see the first Geese divorce in history.

This pair is getting along alright.

I'm still getting Pine Sisken visiting the feeders.

Pine Siskens.

For some reason I usually have trouble getting photos of Mallards, but not this year.

Male Mallard Feeding.

Ring-billed Gull- There's still ice around the River.

Raven In Flight.

Northern Crow.

Song Sparrow.

Red Squirrel

He's just stopping for a little rest. A Post to MWT@ http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/ and WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

That's all Folks!!

"Red Skies In the Morning..."At The Vermilon River. A Post To SWF.

2012-03-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

To finish the adage "... sailors take warning. Red skies at night sailor's delight. " Feel free to add your adaption to one of the apparently quite good, in the sense of accuracy, old adages about weather.These shots are sunrise photos, and did lead to poor weather. ALL PHOTOS ARE RESIZED,SO CLICK ONE TO ENLARGE AND WATCH THE SLIDE SHOW.

We went from the early warming to cooler with snow flurries today, to possibly snow on the weekend. But its still early for spring, and winter returns every so often to keep us honest.

What's amazing about this series is the brightness of the colours and the changes.

From the molten red to the gold below.

And from the gold to the blue.

These colour variations took very little time to occur, and left the day overcast.

This is my artsy photo for the day. It's the sky reflected in the common room window of the apartment that we live in. Nice digs, eh? And of course we senior citizens deserve them.

The cooler weather did not impede the break up of the river ice. As well the River is in flood, we were unable to get to the rapids on the abandoned railway track. But now its clear why the track was abandoned. The scenes are all of the upper River and I'll use captions now.

Looking North.

Rocky Shoreline

Vermilon Wetland Still Mainly Frozen

The Big wetland is ice free.

I was really lucky to spot this Male Mallard in a small wetland.

The wetland is still frozen. I tried looking for his mate.

But as I approached she took off, joined shortly by him.

Male And Female Mallards In Flight.

These Geese landed up river setting off clouds of water.

Part of Spring is the arrival of the Red-winged Blackbirds.

Red-winged Blackbird.

This guy is all caught up in the wind. The winds have been high also.

Common Grackle.

This is a male Downy Woodpecker. You can just make out the black spot in his white tail feather, and his beak, and body are smaller than the female Hairy Woodpecker shown below.

Female Hairy Woodpecker

Female Hairy Woodpecker.

The Song Sparrows were shot in the big wetland, and are, of course, spring arrivals. Soon the big wetland will be full of aquatic birds as the River current will be too heavy with the spring flood.

Song Sparrow

Huegy, the Northern Crow.

Huegy,Making a Point.

Red Squirrel

Pussy Willows are a sure sigh of spring.

A post to SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/ , Camera Critters @ http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ and Scenic Sunday @ http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

Muskrats of The Vermilon River. A Post To MWT and WBW

2012-03-25T10:58:00.007-07:00

I'm posting the foggy scenes again to show the conditions on the River, which is the effect of this unusually quick thaw. Remember all the photos are reduced, so read the copy and click on any photo to enlarge and watch the slide show.

The fog takes until noon time to clear, as you can see from this photo.

You can also see the fog lingering in the ridge area in the back ground.

The thaw brings out the near hibernators such as the beaver, and the muskrat pictured opposite.Otherwise all these guys are mainly nocturnal, but the spring brings them out in search of food. The muskrat will hole up in bad winter weather with a food hoard, but move around in good winter weather. Muskrats are semi-aquatic rodents, but not rats.

Their fur has two layers, and is medium brown in colour. The two layers insulate them against cold. Their tail is covered in scales for the same purpose. They are able to stay under water for 12 to 17 minutes, and close their ears to prevent water penetration. Exceptional swimmers, their tail is used for propulsion.

They are territorial and will fight to protect it. In fast moving rivers, they live in dens in the banks, and in wetlands in lodges.

They are nocturnal creatures and feed on aquatic weeds , but are omnivorous as they also feed on turtles, frogs and small fish, or crayfish.

.They in turn are preyed upon by all the wild canines such as wolves,or coyotes, in addition to wild mink,or fishers. So many enemies means that nature has made them like the red Squirrel, prolific. They have 2-3 litters per year.

Mature animals weigh about 1.5kg and are 40 to 60cm (16 to 24 inches) in length.

All the information came from Wikipedia, and Nature.ca:Canadian Museum of Natural History.

The river is in flood now and most of the local ice is gone, although the weather has become more seasonably cold, say 10C or 40F. I'm not so happy with the quick thaw as the four legged critters will be harder to find as they move to their nocturnal hunting.

I put this photo of the beaver in so you could see the obvious differences with the muskrat

Since this is a post to WBW, I thought I'd post some token birds. Also Dave had asked me to post some comments about the Sigma 150-500mm lens, and this is a good area to do it it. All of the the muskrat shots above were made with the Sigma lens. I have a Nikon camera, but I'm not brand loyal,so if the Canon had been available for the same price I would have bought it. I use a Nikon D3000, a starter DSLR. All my money went into the lens set up. I started off with a Nikon70-300mm, and added a Nikon 18-55mm as soon as I started to shoot wildflowers, insects, scenes, and trees. Its usual in camera lingo to relate to a 35mm camera so unless you have a full frame you multiply the lens lenght by 1.5 to see how it acts in in a 35mm situation. For instance my 70-300mm is in 35mm camera terms a 450mm lens (1.5 x300=450)

I really became frustrated when the 70-300mm failed to have the reach for wildlife, especially four legged critters. I found this out when I missed a coyote pack, simply because I was too far away. Nikon in its infinite wisdom does not make an extender for the 70-300 mm. So I started looking around at the same time that the Sigma 150-500 came on sale. So I tried it out, and bought it. Before I go any further let me remind you of the area in which I hike,because that's important in any choices that I make in equipment.

It's a wilderness. There are no rangers, and usually no one else for that matter. The wildlife is not habituated. And some of the animals you don't want to be near. The trails are abandoned railway lines, railway maintenance roads, mining roads and snowmobile trails, and are not groomed, nor do they go where you want them to. The forest has a heavy underbrush, so short cuts are impossible. The ridges are high, and the weight you carry is important. It's the rocky Canadian shield and setting up tripods, or playing with unipods is almost impossible. The subject is gone, the moment you make a noise. So you're going to be hand shooting. It's cold and snowy in the winter, and warm and buggy in the spring, so you're carrying water, seasonal clothing, and personal safety gear.

Added weight is exactly what you don't want. On the positive side, I don't have to drive to it since I'm already there. So now back to lenses.The Sigma weighs 1.91kg or 4.2 lbs. So a major disadvantage is the weight. The 70-300mm weighs 745g.The Sigma 150-500mm lens is an f 5-6.3 lens, so it loves bright light. In grey light, its slow and sometimes useless. If you go to the bottom of the this post, you'll find a red squirrel. The lighting was just the same for that shot as in the first scene above,but the squirrel was in a dark cedar. It was just too dark for the Sigma, but the Nikon performed OK, because its a f 4.5-5.6.

Would I give it up? Absolutely not, it has the reach I need. In fact I'm just debating whether to get the 1.4x, or the 2.5x extender to use in one of the wetlands which is the size of a small lake. In bright light it produces sharp images every bit as good as anything in the field. Its configured for all brands, adapting readily to the non-shake technology of all brands. How do I carry it the lens? Cradled in my right arm

And suspended on a chest carrying case, which although somewhat unorthodox works. Maybe next year I'll add a cotton carrier case which would work also.Hope that answers your questions. YOU SHOULD SEE THE COMMENTS BELOW FOR MY ANSWER TO SOME OF THE QUERIES!!

Since this post is so long I'll just caption the remaining photos. Opposite are a male and female Hooded Merganser, as are the ducks above. The series started off with a Common Grackle. Of course you recognize the Geese.

Ring-billed Gull In Flight.

Male Downy

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow.

A Post to MWT @ http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/ and WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

A Quick, and Exciting Spring On The Vermilon River. A Post To SWF.

2012-03-21T17:11:00.001-07:00

The weather went from cold to days of 25 C or 76 F, and spring came with a bang. The snowpak went through a quick melt, raising big time fogs, that the sun did not burn off until the afternoon. All the photos were taken on the upper river showing both the fog and the ice melt. All the photos are reduced in size, so click to enlarge and watch the slide show.

Some of the snow, of course, remains in the forest, so we're still somewhat restricted in our hikes.

These photos were all taken on the first day of the quick melt. The fog is so thick that you really have to watch for wildlife.

I almost missed this muskrat who was posed on the end of the ice enjoying his breakfast, He appeared at first as just a brown lump on the ice. I crept up on him and got some great shots, so I'll do a post on muskrats soon. He only left when some people showed up with dogs, and asked me what I was doing. They, the muskrats, have incredible hearing.

He kept diving in, and bringing up more river weed to feast on. You can tell that he's a muskrat from his tail.

And this is a close up of his tail!!

Thinking myself lucky with the muskrat, I was astounded when this beaver showed up about 10 feet away. River beaver will live in dens in the river bank, because the current is too fast to build beaver lodges.

He was feeding on this aspen stick.

Not as good a photo, but it shows the tail which is different from the muskrats,and makes for a fast ID.

This shot is from the next day, but it's the mustelid again on the far side of the river. From his size I'm starting to think he is a fisher as opposed to a Pine Marten.

I caught this photo of the red squirrel right where I had taken the photos of the mustelid a few days before, so I guess the squirrel survived.

Another spring arrival, the Common Grackle.

The Ring-billed Gulls have returned to the river.

But most exciting is the return of the Robins.

They're just singing their hearts out.

I also saw a few Red-winged Blackbirds in the cattails.

With the clearance of the ice, the geese are on the upper river. If the flood is mild they'll stay ,and if not they'll move to one of the wetlands.

Geese In Flight.

Canada Goose.

These are yearlings and looking to choose mates and settle down. So competition for a mate is high. This guy is not landing, but on the attack to protect his lady.

Here is who he is attacking!! Our hero is on the right side of the photo.

These Hooded Mergansers suddenly materialised out of the fog.

This is the photo that really got me. One warm spell, and the pussy willows are out in some areas. A post to SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/ and Camera Critters @ http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ and Scenic Sunday @ http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

More Strange Happenings On the West Side Of The Vermilon River. A Post to MWT and WBW.

2012-03-18T09:07:00.003-07:00

When we're hiking the west side of the River, I always like to check in with Huegin, Broken Beak, clan leader of the Ravens. I introduced him in an earlier post. He usually comes up with a fine show for us. All these photos are reduced in size to about 700 pixels, one side, so click to enlarge, and watch the slide show.

Although this time he warned me that spring was here, and all the creatures were moving around and acting pretty frisky. So I should take care.

Huegin runs a tight clan as these Ravens are showing. It's a perfect eyes right.

And indeed a perfect eyes left.

Then, things seem to go to pieces, and the larger one, the male seems to be asking for a date. All accompanied by the aerobatics shown below.

Raven In Flight. Below Raven Landing.

After all that display, I wonder what would come next.

The day was perfect, although it started with cool temperatures. But as the day progressed the sun came out, and it became quite warm. I couldn't get into the west trail as the snow was too icy with the melt, so I just used the road. Opposite is the River to the north

The River to the South.

The River to the North.

The River to the south, but concentrating on the rocky bank, and showing more open water.

I bumped into some friends and just as we sat down to talk, there was movement on the river shoreline, fairly far up stream. I'm shooting with the 150-500mm, so you have some idea how far away this critter is. He's got the mustelid or weasel shape.

He continued to forage the area, possibly hunting for red squirrels or rabbits that live in the immediate area.

The back view shows his ears, and colouring.

And this view shows his shape even more.

Unfortunately he then left at a leisurely pace, of course leaving the question which mustelid was he? All four live here. The Marten, the Mink, The Fisher ,and of course the grandaddy of them all the Wolverine. I went immediately to the web, and actually to wikipedia under the four classifications as their copy and photos are pretty good. Their photos are in the public domain; and, hence usable with attribution. The wolverine the marten and the fisher are courtesy of Wikipedia then. The mink are my shots taken last year.

I enlarged the new photos to get some idea of the colour variations in the coat. At about 300 percent the photo is grainy, but there is a colour mask on the face in the new shots. Opposite is my wild mink shots, and there is not a real face mask, just an orange patch under the chin, shown in another photo.

Cute little fellow, but don't take him home as he'll eat the cat and dog.

This is a Wikipedia shot of a Fisher called a Fisher-Cat in the US. He's bigger, although I don't find size a good indicator, because we're not in the zoo with all these guys lined up together. He, also, doesn't have much of a face mask. So I don't think it's a Fisher.

This is the grandaddy of them all, the wolverine again courtesy of Wikipedia. But he's too big, and has colour variations in his coat, although he has a face mask. Our guy does not have the coat variations.

Again from Wikipedia this is a Marten. He is the smallest of them all, has the face mask, and definitely the ears of our guy. So I'd say that our unknown is a Marten, although there is a chance he could be a mink. Anyone who wants to add an opinion, feel free. It's funny with four legged critters in the wilderness suddenly they're there and then they're gone. Again Huegin, Broken Beak came through with a great show.

Now it's time to stop playing detective and post some known wildlife like this Black-capped Chickadee. I still have some Redpolls and Pine Grosbeaks left, although the Redpoll flock is much diminished., and only one or two Grosbeaks remain.

Male Pine Grosbeak

Female Pine Grosbeak

Male Pine Grosbeak

Female Pine Grosbeak

Opposite, another close up of a Female Pine Grosbeak. A post to MWT @ http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/ and WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/ JUST A NOTE AND YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS VIDEO TO SEE HOW TOUGH THESE GUYS ARE AND THE PINE MARTEN IS THE SMALLEST OF THEM.: I received an email from Jack Illingworth at NWO Birds, a group from the North Lake Superior area that I belong to. At their cottage, they hung end of date meat, and attracted a Pine Marten, and video taped it. It's probably one of the best tapes I've seen. I have always wanted to bait wildlife for photography, but they like me live in a wilderness. There are no friendly rangers to get you out of trouble. They have their cottage to go to, and I don't. Anyway watch the video to see how aggressive these guys are and remember they're the small members of the family. Click http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamuudsen/6995526497/in/photostream

Red Skies of The Vermilon River. A Post to SWF.

2012-03-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

The temperature has changed by enlarge (we may still get some storms), and during the day is about 10C or the late 40's F. We've had rain but also some sun so Boom & I headed to the River. I caught these skies as the sun rose and I was amazed at how red they became. The photos are reduced in size, so click on a photo to enlarge, and view the slide show.

Despite the old adage, we got some intermittent sunshine to help dry out the snow pack,although the going is pretty soggy, and a lot of snow remains.

It's still cloudy in this photo looking to the NW. But you can see the streaks of sun starting to show. You can also see the water puddles on the ice, which mean the end of the ice.

This photo looks a little further east.

At long last the blue sky shows through. You can see the train in this photo. We're on the northern route which delivers goods east and west for the US and Canadian markets. That train is loaded with containers.

Looking south, you can see the open water. The amount of open water will increase everyday, and the River will suddenly flood as the same happens on its feeders.

The breaking sky through the rock islands in the River.

Blue Jay.

Female Redpoll

Male Pine Grosbeak

Mourning Dove.

Red Squirrel

This Female Pine Grosbeak was just enjoying the sun and was quite content to have her photo taken.

Close Up

If you look at her eyes in some of the photos you'll see that they're almost closed.

Male Pine Grosbeak

Red Squirrel

Female Redpoll.

Red Squirrel

Male Pine Grosbeak

Male Pine Grosbeak.

I heard the honking, but the upper River is not clear enough yet for these yearlings to take up residence. But, they are the first of the spring arrivals. As sad as I am to lose the Redpolls and Grosbeaks whose numbers are diminishing everyday, I'm glad to see the Canada Geese, the first spring arrivals. Next will be the Robins. A Post to SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/ , Camera Critters @ http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ and Scenic Sunday @ http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

High Winds At THe Vermilon River. A Post to MWT and WBW.

2012-03-11T11:37:00.001-07:00

The weather changed again to cold, but this time with high winds. Although we had some fresh snow, the winds curtailed most of the hiking because of the blowing snow. Despite an earlier warm thaw, we seem to have lost what gains we made toward spring, and have lapsed back to winter. All these photos are taken along the River where the access is easy. Opposite looks north west.

This scene plus the next one down looks south. Remember click on the photos to enlarge and watch the slide show.

I'll just use captions for the birds, but in almost all the photos you can see the blowing snow, especially in the Redpoll and Pine Grosbeck photos.

This photo looks north west again.

Male Redpoll In The Wind.

Male Redpoll.

A Female Redpoll, but you can see the snow in the background. The snow is mostly blowing snow.

This shot shows a male Redpoll. The photo is not out of focus, in fact I included it to show you the blowing snow. Redpolls are probably the hardiest birds that I know.

A Female Pine Grosbeak hanging on for dear life.

The same Female Grosbeak with the snow visible in the background.

Female Pine Grosbeak

Male Pine Grosbeak

Male Pine Grosbeak and Redpoll

Pine Sisken

Starling In Non-Breeding Plumage.

Starling Front View.

Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove.

These shots are some attempts to be creative. Opposite are dried wild sunflower pods that still have seeds in them, and attract these hardy birds.

A Post to MWT @ http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/ and WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

More Whimsy At The Vermilon River. A Post To SWF.

2012-03-08T06:33:00.001-08:00

The weather here is more changeable than ever. We've gone from a storm that dropped somewhere between 16 and 25 cm of snow to low temperatures of -29C with the windchill, and back to 0C with sun and then rain. I caught these photos of the moon one very early morning when Boom and I were out walking. Don't forget these photos are all resized so read the copy and click on a photo, and watch the slide show.

The sheer brightness eclipsed that of the sun when it arose the next morning in a rather insipid way. I've included in this post more photos of the the lakes and ridges to the NW of our usual stamping grounds to give you an idea of the extent of wilderness available to us. If we were younger it would be even more, because there is no human limit to the area as you move north.

These are the ridges of Rockcut and Mud Lake shot from the mining road we're on. Normally we would be on the other side of those ridges.

I like this shot because it's a rock outcropping on a rock outcropping which is so typical of the Canadian Shield.

I included the map again to give you some idea of the area, and the country available to us. I'm shooting the scenery along the the road marked in red, near the North symbol, and the lakes are running along side the road. I didn't include the west side, or south west side of the map which is also our area. You'll have to look closely, but the elevations are marked on the map.

Another ridge on the other side of the lakes. To hike this area, you could canoe across Rockcut Lake and pick up a trail that that climbs up the ridge. You don't need to worry about leaving your canoe, because the whole area is uninhabited, except by wildlife. The rest of the post is wildlife so I'll just use captions.

Blue Jay.

A Close View of the Same Blue Jay.

Black-capped Chickadee

Two Mourning Doves With One Taking OFF.

This is a view of the Mud Lake ridges that escaped to this part of the post. The lake is frozen over in the foreground of the photo.

Mourning Dove.

Female Grosbeck Peeking At Us

Male Pine Grosbeak.

Female Pine Grosbeak.

Male Redpoll Fluffed Up

Female Redpoll

Pine Sisken

And finally a red squirrel posing in the snow. I had mentioned in an earlier post that I'll be losing some of my winter finches when spring arrives. I was talking mainly about the redpolls who I count as my lucky winter birds. If I have them, I have all the rest. In addition to them, the pine grosbeaks will probably leave for the far north to be replaced by warblers, sparrows and all the aquatic guys. A post to SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/ and Camera Critters @ http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ and Scenic Sunday @ http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

Around the Ridges of The Vermilon River. A Post to MWT and WBW.

2012-03-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

The storm, which hit Indiana, proceeded across Lake Huron, and dumped somewhere between 16 and 25 cm of snow on us. That's between 8 and 12 inches approximately. Nevertheless, we got out despite the warning, and much before the snow, but in a different direction this time. In fact, we went to the east track area, but not using the usual trail as it's too snow clogged and steep to handle at this time of year. Remember, click the images to enlarge, and watch the slide show.

I've included a map because we're to the NW and at the front of the ridges that we're usually behind. We're on a mining road that ultimately ends up on an aboriginal reservation that has a terrific restaurant, and makes a great omelet. To help find your way on the map, the first photo is Mud Lake, showing the ridges in the background. The weather is foggy with a light wet snow drizzle. The Lake is in the foreground covered in snow.

The next Lake is Rockcut Lake, also covered in snow. But you have to be careful on these lakes, as the ice is dangerous.

The map is courtesy of MNR Canada and is a topo map. The lakes that I showed you are beside the North arrow. But the map also shows you the area Boomer and I play in. Look at all the uninhabited lakes that are behind Mud Lake, directly to the east, and the wetlands. The map is showing the ridges behind Rockcut and Mud Lake as 340 metres above sea level. That's about 1020 feet, so those ridges are high. The rail line showing to the east is used for a short distance for shunting trains, but is really abandoned, and is the trail we use to hike east, picking up other trails to take us up the ridge into Long Lake, or continuing further onto Moose Lake. And this is only the east area. You can see the River on the other side of the town, so that's our area also.

The key when you face ridges like these is knowing where the trails are, and watching your step. I forgot to mention that the storm, after the snow passed, dragged the temperature with wind chill down to about -29 C. Although when these photos were taken it was above zero.

This is the top of the ridge to the west, or other side of the mining road, about 380 metres or 1440 plus feet above sea level. I'll use captions now as this is a long post.

Open Water on the Lake.

Blue Jay

Female Pine Grosbeak.

Male Pine Grosbeak with Redpolls.

Pine Sisken

Red Squirrel

Female Pine Grosbeak

Female Hairy Woodpecker.

Male Pine Grosbeak.

Redpoll

Female Hairy Woodpecker.

Female Pine Grosbeak

Common Redpoll.

Blue Jay.

Male Redpoll Hiding behind a Branch.

Male and Female Redpoll.

A Post to MWT @ http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/ and WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/ Of course saying good bye is our favourite Crow, Huegy.