Sunday, August 26, 2012

More Immatures, Strange Sights, Great Blue Herons, and Misty Views of The Vermilon River.

 We've moved into more seasonable weather with a return to humidity, and high temperatures. This means I'm out early in the morning. Everything is shrouded in mist especially the River and wetlands, which makes for great fun. Although there are some more shots of the Leucistic purpler finch, there is no heavy text in this post, except perhaps for the photos of the Red-winged Blackbirds in their evolution to maturity. The first scenes are of the upper River.




So with that in mind you can view the slideshow with ease.

 SIMPLY CLICK ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE AND WATCH THE SLIDESHOW.

A post to Our World TuesdayI'd-rather-B-Birdin' and Wild Bird Wednesday. Click any one to be redirected.

Long Lake Wetland.

Long Lake Wetland

Mid area of the LL Wetland

Peeking into the Wetland.

The mist shrouding the ridge.

An inhabitant of the wetland (beaver).


 I had read on another site that any gathering of blackbirds is attended by many types. In this swarm there were a fair number of Red-winged Blackbirds. What I didn't realize was that the immatures resemble the female, and gradually moult to move into their male plumage. So all I know is this is a photo of an immature Red-winged Blackbird, gender unknown.
Same here.




 Now it gets easier as the immature has developed an orange patch on his wing.



In this photo he's well on his way to a fully developed epalette, but his wings still have the stripes of immaturity.


The epalette on this one is not so developed. Nature never fails to amaze me.
 These photos are more shots of the Leucistic Purple Finch. For an explanation see the previous post.
Leucistic Purple Finch.

Same.




 This is a female Grackle. If you look closely, her leg is deformed. She is able to perch on a branch, and move about. She is accepted by her flock, as is the Leucistic Purple Finch accepted by hers.
Female Grackle with deformed leg.

Female Purple Finch.

Geese in flight.

Female Ruby Throat.

Immature Robin

Immature Robin.

Moulting Raven

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow.

Chickadee with berry.

Female Common Yellow Throat.

Same

Same.

Male Redstart.

Same.

Same.

Chestnut-sided Warbler  flying without wings.

Cabbage White.

 This is the Great Blue Heron series. I photographed him on the west side of the River.
GBH climbing on a beaver lodge.

Back view.

Side view.

Profile

In flight.

In flight ,on the up stroke.

68 comments:

  1. it starts to look like fall. Great set of birds.

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  2. So viel herrliche Natur, so wunderschöne Vögel!!

    LG Mathilda ♥

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  3. Great collection of birds, Love the redstarts and the heron shots. Have a great day!

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  4. i love the GBHs and the young robins, too. the 2nd photo is just gorgeous.

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  5. Of course, being a favorite of mine, the G. Blue Heron photos are superior. But!!!!-------I have to say I LOVE the chickadee with a berry. And the misty scene coming from the water is extraordinary.

    Thanks for linking up at the Bird D'Pot this weekend. Hope to see you again soon.

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  6. I don't want to double in commenting, I just hope it went through the 1st time.

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  7. beautiful photos! all of them:)

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  8. The landscapes are fantastic, the Heron is too. I love 'em.

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  9. I love how well you captured the mist rising. All the shots are great. I especially loved seeing the beaver's head above the water and the heron sequence. I hope you enjoy your hikes as much as I enjoy your photos from them.

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  10. Beautiful scenic place with such lovely birds.

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  11. Nice pictures you show.
    Really like them herons, we have a number of them on Lake Hald ..... but they are quite shy, not easy to photograph.
    Wish you a good day / good new week.
    Hanne Bente

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  12. I love the atmospheric scenery shots Gary - keep your camera dry. Just brill Great Blue Heron shots - our herons are very shy. I always enjoy shots of Red-winged Blackbirds with their interesting plumage variations. Great series Gary.

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  13. I love the Common Yellow Throat and the Ruby Throat. Lovely birds.

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  14. Wonderful moody shots at the beginning, especially when brought up larger. Great birds. That finch is really something. A beautiful color, if unusual.

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  15. You really are an amazing photographer..I have had young blue and green herons feeing fed by parents and a belted kingfisher doing same here on pond...love this time of year..Michelle

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  16. Lovely images of all your stunning wildlife... the Beaver is something they are trying to reintroduce over here.

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  17. Terrific series as always, Gary! I love the mist above the river, the colorful variety of birds, the beaver! A beautiful and wonderful world it is! Have a great week!

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  18. Amazing shots of the Leucistic Purple Finch, Gary. I'm sure I have never seen one before so this one is fascinating.

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  19. What an amazing amount of wildlife you have in your area not to mention some amazing scenery! I am so glad you stopped by Southern Meadows which led me to your blog...am now following!

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  20. The last pictures of the Heron are close to poetry.


    daily athens photo

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  21. The Vermillon river is definitively a place that one has to see when looking at your pictures. The fauna, flora and landscape are really wonderful!

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  22. Beautiful post with fantastic bird shots, and the area looks like it's changing into a beautiful fall weather!

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  23. Beautiful post, with so many photos to see! I love that Purple Finch, so adorable

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  24. I'm going to have to get up to your area of the country.. I haven't been to Lake Penage in years.. Mayb next summer

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  25. Gary...You birder photographers never cease to amaze me. These are such beautiful captures filled with color and detail. If only I had learned about birding years ago. I have misses out on so much of Mother Nature. Your skies and water shots are so pretty. The reflections are awesome. genie

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  26. Loved the photos of the heron.

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  27. your mist in the country looks far better than my haze in the city!

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  28. Fabulous captures as usual Gary! (I have nominated you to participate - if you wish - in Capture the Colours competition; see my blog of today for more info.)

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  29. Incredible shots of the heron, and I love those misty views!

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  30. If everybody was like you, we need not worry about the environment.

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  31. I have enjoyed yours (our) World, Gary!
    Thank for sharing it with us...
    Greetings from Holland,
    Anna :))

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  32. I have to say the finch is my favorite....so delicate.

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  33. Great series Gary. We had a flock of redwings come through our "yard" yesterday (we put up a bird feeder for the first time in years) and saw ones with just that little speck of red, were speculating that they must be immatures. Thanks for the confirmation!!!

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  34. Back again to say the slide show is even better than ever!! The beautiful misty scenes show up so well and the flight shots show up so much better in that format! Wonderful photography (as of course is evident even without the slide format) but it is so worth anyone's extra few minutes to view it in the slide format.

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  35. What a great amount of birds. The heron looks almost the same as our Grey Heron. They look a bit like dracula when they are all hunched up. From Findlay

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  36. Beautiful collection of pictures ! you are a real bird specialist !

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  37. Beautiful and (some unusual!) birds Gary. :)

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  38. Lots of nice photos of all the birds!
    The heron pictures are my favourites!
    Greetings Pia

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  39. Always such a treasure-trove of photographic images you present Gary; so enjoyable

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  40. Beautiful and informative post. I especially love the herons!

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  41. Wonderful that Leucistic Purple Finch. I've never seen. Greetings.

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  42. Amazing photos, Gary! I'm particularly intrigued by the leucistic Purple Finch. Thanks for sharing these!

    And thanks for linking up with Windows on Wildlife again last week - your post is in this week's recap. Would love a link back to us!

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  43. Gorgeous scenery! Love the GBH, but I'm partial to them, anyway!

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  44. wonderful series. the last shot is perfectly captured.

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  45. Your captured many wonderful photos of the birds around the river on your misty morning visits, Gary.

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  46. Those wetland scenes are magical. I've seen beaver ponds but have yet to see a beaver in the wild.

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  47. The misty photos of the river are very beautiful. Interesting photos of the Blackbirds and their moult and the leucistic bird is fascinating.

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  48. Love the variety you present.
    Greetings Indrani.

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  49. Mist in the early morning is fabulous!! It is wonderful to enjoy beauty of nature like this. I am amazed to see how many little beings have been nurtured by the river and forests. Stunning photos!
    keiko

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  50. These are simply stunning photos - the ones of the river are magical, and the birds are clear and easy to view. Nice shots!

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  51. Gary ... what a great series, I love the landscape pictures really quite amazing.
    The bird pictures are beautiful, you have many different types can be recorded.
    Overall a nice series.
    Greetings Irma

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  52. ♡ ♡ ♡
    Muito lindo!
    Bom dia, com muita paz, alegrias e muito sol.
    Beijinhos do Brasil.
    ♡ ♡ ♡

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  53. Wow! Great series! I love that GBH in flight.

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  54. Hi there - nice set of pictures. I often wonder how birds with such a different set of feathers to "normal" manage to survive - either not getting attacked or not have have good adaptations. It would be an interesting study to see what happens to birds with aberrant plumage.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

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  55. Delightful series!

    Daniel of Prince Edward County, ON

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  56. Some very emotive scenery there and brilliant to see a wild beaver. Thanks for sharing.

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  57. The misty shots at the beginning are wonderful, all the birds are great but the heron pictures at the end are outstanding. Thank you for the tour.

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  58. Wow, great landscape! Love the mist!
    Many greetings
    Yvonne & Raphael
    (Yvonaut is back)

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  59. The misty skies, beaver surrounded by textured blues and your heron flight shots stand out for me this week.

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  60. Wonderful photos! I've reached my maximum photo storage on blogger. I now use TinyPic, free image hosting and upload url to my blog post. Really enjoyed the photo series, Gary.

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  61. I love this. Some of my favorite animals are here. Like the beaver. So intense!

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