Monday, December 5, 2011

Bird, Insect, and Animal Favourites of the Vermilon River. A Post To WBW.

I forgot to mention white water scenes in the title which are also a favourite of mine. The River is in flood again because of the rain and the snow. The snow by the way keeps disappearing with warming temperatures. But this means great opportunities to try new camera tricks, the old slow shutter speed trick in this case.

I have, but never take the tripod with me. Just too much to carry. There's really only one area in which the tripod would be useful and that's in one of the wetlands where the ground is fairly even. Otherwise setting up the tripod on the uneven ground would be impossible. So all these shots are hand held.

I'm constantly amazed by the colour of the dragonflies here.

The year before there was a dragonfly census taken just east of here.

These are Tiger Moth caterpillars that I encountered crossing the trail on the east side of the River.

The trail is wide in this area and this little guy made it. I guess it just proves that every impediment is relative.

White-throats are common here, but I never tire of how nature dresses up the various sparrows.

Another view showing how vivid the yellow, black and white markings are.

Perhaps not as colourful, the tree sparrow is still a handsome bird.

I did a post earlier on all the sparrow variations which are resident here. Just click on the index in the side bar if you want to find it.

These photos show a male Hairy Woodpecker.

The Hairy is probably the most common woodpecker in the area.

Although the Goldfinch overwinter here, the male has now changed to his winter colour, more like the female.

The eyes of the Common Grackle are always riveting.

I've seen quite a few Female Ruffled Grouse this year, but no males. Nor, have I seen any Spruce Grouse, male or female.

I caught these Geese in flight on the West side of the River.

Huegy, a Northern Crow looks good in the snow.

I think this is Huegy's mate, just based on her size.

There are a lot of Red Squirrels this year, and they all suffer from a case of the "cutes".

They generally settle down once you stop moving and will pose for you.

Or maybe they're just naturally nosey, and once you've stopped moving, they come out to see what you are.

If any of the squirrels are missing from the preceding frames we all know who to blame. A Post to WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/ Just a note: I'm behind on my posts, and visits to other blogs. So let me appologize upfront. I'm behind because of things I have to do and some things that are fun to do. For instance today I attended a common birthday party for people born in December. I was amazed by the number of people in attendence.

20 comments:

  1. Lovely images of all your wonderful wildlife Gary and it's lovely to hear about your birthday party... sounds like a great way to meet folk.
    The fox is a real beauty by the way..I always enjoy seeing them.

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  2. always love when you end with squirrels - and in this case, with one of their predators. :) love the flowing water! we'll have some of that again some day!

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  3. Great series of photos, I love the fox and the White Throated sparrows shots are my favorite.

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  4. Another great post Gary, especially the Whitethroat's and Red Squirrel's. That party sounds like a great idea.

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  5. Oh nice dragons...fuzzy bears and birds that you got. I started a mini-survey of the damsels and dragons in our wetland woods area. It is amazing what you can find if you carefully enough...

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  6. Very cute post! That photo of the tree sparrow really shows off its bi-colored bill!

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  7. The pictures are great - but I really like the fox - half hidden, half seen. Splendid.

    Stewart M - Australia

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  8. I love that you've included other wildlife in your post as well. Stunning colours on the dragonfly. Our sparrows are all brown and black...these yellow markings really stand out.

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  9. What a comprehensive and wonderful post. Huegy's mate. Huegy's mate is quite a looker! Glad you went to the birthday party, we have three family birthdays this month as well. Many happy returns for yours whenever it is.

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  10. Entertaining post, Gary, such a variety from roiling river and a sampling of sparrows to cute squirrels and a sharp fox! Glad you had time to attend a birthday party; your's too? If so, happy birthday!

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  11. Those white waters do look daunting and beautiful, the songbirds so sweet, the dragonfly so brilliant in it's turquois colours, it looks like it could have been painted on and this was a very delightful series in all ways~

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  12. Beautiful shots, Gary! Nice lighting and detail! Excellent job!

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  13. I love your walks Gary. The red tailed fox is terrific! Strange to see dragonflies so late in the year!

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  14. Hi Gary! I see many of these birds at my feeders here in Nebraska. Beautiful captures --- the fox is my favorite. :) Have a wonderful day.

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  15. A great series of photos. You have such a variety of things to see and photograph on your walks. The white water shots are fascinating.

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  16. Amazing collection! I am impressed by the weather over there, really looks warm, in December...

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  17. beautiful collection, but I love the fox photo!

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  18. Now who else would post a fox on WBW? I had to look to see what birds you were hiding. What a nice assortment. I'm going through a sparrow phase currently so naturally I like the ones you have here especially the white-throat which is rare in the west. Very nice.

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  19. Gorgeous collection! I totaly envy you the Grouse :D!

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