Sunday, June 26, 2011

A Hike to the Long Lake Wetlands. A Post to My World Tuesday.

Lower Long Lake Wetlands.


I laid this post out exactly as the hike took place except the scenes are the final destination of the hike. It really wasn't too far today for a few reasons. It's Sunday and the first nice day in four or five days of rain. This means the bugs will be bad, and gloves, netting and heavy clothing will be necessary, but it's also hot, and sunny so you really feel it in all the gear. The first nice weekend day will also bring out the ATV morons and I don't feel like even seeing them.



Wetland.


Tree Swallow


Tree Swallow.


I was really lucky to catch this male  Tree Swallow at the start of the hike.


Female Red-Winged Blackbird.




Female Red-Winged Blackbird.


Same Female.


Male Red-winged Blackbird.




I literally bump into this pair of blackbirds when I take a shortcut to start my hike. I'm going to post more photos of these guys on Wednesday to WBW with the full story. As for the crow I'm not sure its mine,but it sure is strange that there is always one around.

My Crow.


Male Goldfinch.


Male Yellow Warbler in Flight

Same Yellow Warbler.



All these fellows were in the same area, and I chased the warbler around a pine tree getting some good shots.

The photo of the Cedar Waxwing is not great but where there is one there will be a whole flock. These guys like their relatives, the Bohemians, are social and hang out in flocks, stripping the trees of berries. This is my first sighting.

Northern Flickers are a ground woodpeckers feeding on ants, but I caught him in the trees so something must have frightened him.

Male Northern Flicker.


Cedar Waxwing.


Bladder Campion


Coltsfoot.


Wild Daisy.



I always leave the flower photography until the end of the hike as I have to change lens and usually crawl around on the ground.

Devil's Paintbrush.


The First Tree Berries.


Johnny-Jump -Ups


Long-Headed Anemone?


Lupin Patch.


Purple Lupins.

You can see the size of the lupin patch and this isn't the only one. So you easily understand the colour impact in the forest clearings.

Red Clover


Red Clover.


Mountain -Laurel.


Viper's- Bugloss.


Close Up.



The Bugloss is another electric colour in the clearings of the forest. Interesting flower isn't it?

Eastern Swallowtail.

Dragonfly.












With all these blooms the butterflies are pretty busy, and I hope the dragonflies are eating their weight in biting insects. Today I missed shots of Black Swallowtails, and a couple of birds that I had never seen before. Also in the creek where the berries were, there was a four legged creature that I couldn't catch sight of because of the thick bush.

 I was trying to give you an impression of a normal if somewhat short hike, because many of you have expressed interest. This is a wilderness,not a park. There are no rangers or guides. You're on your own. The trails are snowmobile trails, RR right of ways, abandoned tracks, or maintenance roads.  The hike duration was about three hours and maybe a mile there and back, as I said short. I shot about 350 raw photos, and garbaged about 10 percent, which explains my storage problem.



A Post to My World Tuesday @http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

37 comments:

  1. ha ha! love those paintbrush and the lupines too. and those gorgeous yellow warblers! :)

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  2. What does Boomer think when he sees you crawling around on the ground taking pictures of flowers? And, if you do that, you're a better person than I am. I'm usually leaning on a trekking pole, bent over as far as I can go. One of these days, that trekking pole is going to collapse, and I'm going to go ass over teakettle. Let's just hope I'm not taking pictures of poison ivy at the time.

    I especially like it when you take pictures of the warblers, because, as I've said before, there are none in my back yard. You have some beautiful places to walk, with lots of birds and flowers. I'm just a little envious.

    Added note: my verification word was crowe.

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  3. Great birds and flowers! I haven't been able to comment on these embedded comment forms for a month or more. Maybe it will work this time.

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  4. The Canadian nature looks like the Russian one.
    The images are so beautiful!

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  5. Boomer is extremely patience as long as it's not too hot or too buggy, Louise.

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  6. Not much difference is there Tattina?

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  7. Wow - the wilderness really looks lovely in the summer!

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  8. Beautiful images Gary.... earning a living really gets in the way of what I would love to do every day.

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  9. Don't wish your life away Andrew!!

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  10. Beautiful shots of birds and flowers in the hike.

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  11. It looks like the red-winged blackbird had something to say! Beautiful pictures!

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  12. I think that crow is yours and you are stuck with his presence....

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  13. LOL on your terminology, ATV moron :)

    I've been inspired to snap some bird shots too, whatever variety we have around these parts because your bird photos are really good.

    Ewok

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  14. Lovely photos. I'm surprised you got all of these in spite of the ATVs.

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  15. did all birds have a stretching exersice today? Looks like it. :)

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  16. I felt sure I had already commented -- I never want to miss your posts/photos!! Beautiful place, lovely birds and gorgeous, colorful flowers! Perfect for the day, Gary, any day! Enjoy your week!

    Sylvia

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  17. you sure found endless treasures, too bad you had to wear all that gear in the heat! the bugs are bad now.

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  18. Wonderful hike in the wilderness! You found a lot of subjects to photograph. I enjoyed the hike.

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  19. Hi there – it’s always great to see just how much you see!

    ATV's and such like are a pox! The less the better!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

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  20. I think the wildlife stay low while they pass and then come out again, EGW.

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  21. Yoga is big in the forest, NF.

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  22. The upside is the birds migrate here for the high protein diet,TL.

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  23. Unpleasant when all the little bitey things come out in force and you have to go around like an Eskimo. Great photos of all those wonderful birds and wildflowers. Is Viper's Bugloss native to N.America? I know it certainly is not to Australia.

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