Sunday, September 2, 2012

Four Legged Critters, Ducks, Herons and Other Birds Of The Vermilon River.

The weather has been strange indeed with a return to hot,sultry days with high winds, and today a return to cooler weather. I expect we caught a piece, although a very moderate one of the Hurricane Issac. This hike is mainly on the west side of the River in the big wetland and then south. On the cool days Boom was with me, although I don't take him on the west side of the River very often, There are just two many other dogs running free. I thought the scene opposite, in colouring at least, was very old Masters' Flemish.


All these shots are of the big wetland which is the size of a small lake. Shooting here is difficult in intense sun as the birds crowd the opposite side, and the glare is heavy The green reflection makes it hard to focus on auto or manual. I was thinking maybe a polarizering filter would help. Any ideas? I have one for the 18-55mm lens and find it quite handy.


REMEMBER CLICK ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE AND ACTIVATE THE SLIDE SHOW.

Notice how quickly the leaves are turning. I think part of that is the lack of rain earlier.As I said in an earlier post ours is a golden forest in the fall. Only the pin cherries, blueberries and a few maple turn red.

A post to I'd-Rather-Be-Birdin' Our World Tuesday and Wild Bird Wednesday Click anyone to be redirected.

Looking south.

Showing the trail

Another weak sun

Ducks flying in tandem with water reflection.

Mallard in flight.

Geese in flight.

Wood Ducks.

Female Wood Duck

Male Wood Duck

In Flight.

Female Wood Duck

Landing.

Wood Duck


Wood Duck taking off.

Chestnut-sided Warbler.

Chickadee.

Sparrow in reeds

Song Sparrow

 Great blue Heron.

"Hello" said the River Otter.

"Goodbye" said the River Otter.

I saw something brown crossing the trail from the River to the wetland., so we hurried and the previous two close ups were the result. The rest of the shots are long range shots of the Otter playing in the River wetland on the trail.
Frolicking Otter

Talking Otter

I was out at the east track beaver pond as well. I saw a brown lump on a mud bank while I was shooting another beaver. There's an old saying " if it walks and quacks like a duck...."
He finally turned a little.

As we moved on, the trail narrows moving more closely to the River. Boom went all alert and grunted as is his wont. In answer from the tree came a growl, and some hissing. Moving Boom from my front, I moved forward to see three raccoons  moving up the tree.

They been in the River probably feeding on freshwater clams. No wonder they were upset, we'd disturbed them at lunch.
The dry raccoon.

The third raccoon

The wet raccoon.

As I said in the previous post, the forest clearings are bursting with wild sunflowers. I have some in my garden,not only because they attract the birds, but also in winter they provide perches for the migrants and stop them from hitting my windows.
Sunflowers in mist.

A full clump

"Wood ducks in flight" was supposed to be with the others above. Blogger is not quite up to par yet.

Several people mentioned Boomer. If you want to know more Boom  just click this link Boomer's Story

64 comments:

  1. Beautiful picture series.
    Really like images with the flying heron and the ones with the little raccoon.
    Wish you a good Sunday :)
    Hanne Bente

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  2. You always have such a wonderful array of wildlife in your posts. I especially like the photos of the male wood duck...and the ducks flying with the golden hue of the water and reflections. Ohhhhhh, and I fell in 'love' with the 'coon face. Adorable.

    You have Autumn temperatures right now? Color me jealous. We're still sitting around with 90-100 degrees and heat advisories. :o(

    Thanks for linking up at the Bird D'Pot this weekend.

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  3. The Wood Duck is so clolourful, but the racoons are my favourite in this set. Very cute.

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  4. Great series, the wood ducks are my favorite. Have a great weekend.

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  5. Awesome photos, you must have a great camera? I'd love to get better pictures than I do with the camera I have now. Does it have auto settings, or do you set it manually? Do you have different lenses for this? I'm not very advanced in photography. I love following your walks.

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  6. Another very interesting post. All of your photographs are amazing, but my favorite is the ducks flying in tandem, reflected in the water.
    Rubbish by Roan

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  7. Oh, beautiful. I love the low flying ducks with reflections. Wow!

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  8. What a great series, the pictures of the woods are my favorite.
    Greetings Irma

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  9. loved the reflection shots. and the otters, beaver and raccoons, too!

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  10. You and Boom hit the jackpot! What a wonderful set of photos. That reflection shot is one of my favorites.

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  11. As ever just so much excellent variety in your pictures Gary.

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  12. The beaver and otter shots are so good -- he looks so funny emerging from the duckweed. Love the wood ducks and the flight shots. And I just figured out that there is an X in the upper right hand corner of the slide show, so that I can close it after I watch and get back to your blog to comment .. everybody else in the world probably already figured that out already!

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  13. Love all the critters in this post!

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  14. Gorgeous series of shots! The raccoon pictures are so cute!

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  15. There is always something new and beatiful sight out there:)

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  16. Looks like your part of the world is changing fast, and autumn is around the corner.

    Gorgeous photos as always!

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  17. Gorgeous photos as always! And your part of the world is changing sooner than ours.

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  18. Very interesting sightings on your walk! I love the reflections in the teal shot, and all the otter action.

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  19. The Raccoon is my favourites, it is superb.

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  20. Nice serie of photos, - lovely to see them!

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  21. The reflected ducks are great - but the mammals win this week! Nice pictures.

    Stewart M - Australia

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  22. Wonderful shots of the wetland. I always like all your shots but my favorites (besides the wetland ones you started with) are the bird caught in flight as well as its reflection and the raccoon. I also love seeing the flowers.

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  23. There are lots of different critters there ! I can only see a raccoon in the zoo !

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  24. All those photo's are wonderful. That little raccon is adorable.

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  25. All are wonderful, but flying Ducks are exquisite.

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  26. Great, great series. I think that the ducks, especially the one in tandem with reflection are just magic. Thanks for sharing.

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  27. I always love your pictures, but the in-flight-ones are sensational!

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  28. What a wonderful world of wildlife you inhabit.

    Thank you for visiting Friko's World

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  29. Awesome pictures, love the variety you present.

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  30. The scenic, the ducks, the birds, the racoons and the flowers..they are all very wonderful!

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  31. Hi Gary

    I love the reflected ducks and the otters. As always a great post.

    Guy

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  32. The otter looks nie peeping out of the water, but I reallt like the ducks flying low over the water. I hope Boomer had a good time too. From Findlay

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  33. Looks like the trees and grasses are starting to change colour. I especially like the ducks flying in tandem with the nice reflection on the water. - Margy

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  34. Wonderful post, as allways I am so impressed how rich your wild and birdlife is. Love the racoons!

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  35. Gary you always indulge with so many wonderful photographs. The scenery in those first images is spectacular, what a joy. The beaver and the racoon are great catches too

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  36. A great series of photos. I love the landscape photos with the beautiful soft lighting - so different from here in the sunny tropics!

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  37. Great post as always Gary. Beautiful photos of a beautiful place. You are a lucky man!

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  38. Beautiful photos of a lovely wetland. Our sun is as strong as ever, I'm beginning to wonder when it will cool down and we can get our first snow.

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  39. Super duck with reflection shots!
    Cute raccoon captures as well.

    I've seen yellowing leaves here as well and feel it's the lack of rain. I just hope the fall color I enjoy doesn't suffer because of it.

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  40. Stunning photos! I have a weakness for images reflected in the water. What a lovely wet raccoon. I'd love to have the beautiful sunflowers in my garden. But I have Gjerdesolhatt (Rudbeckia laciniata) a bit like the wild sunflower.
    Thanks for sharing

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  41. Beautiful photos as always. I enjoyed every visit here. I love the ducks flying with reflections.

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  42. What an interesting trip. Gorgeous scenery.
    I love Wood ducks, and we used to have lots on the creek, but since we have barking dogs nearby , now most of the wildlife has disappeared.
    Have a good rest of the week.

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  43. Hi Gary!
    I really like all of your your photos today!
    It almost looks like it was here in my country Sweden right now, autumn is coming soon.
    Have a good week!
    Greetings Pia

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  44. Lots of change and activity to accompany the end of your summer.

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  45. Love the ducks in flight. Oh those racoons are so deceiving...they look so cute and adorable...but oh my can they be mean and destructive. wonderful photos as always.

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  46. Your world is a treasure house created by nature, full of adorable wild lives! I love talking otters. They seem to enjoy casual talks. Great photos!
    keiko

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  47. What a beautiful series of photos I felt I was enjoying the hike with you.

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  48. A captivating series, Gary - tells a good tale of where you're living. Nice shots!

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  49. These are great. The in-flight shots made my day.

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  50. Wonderful shots, the flying birds look great.

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  51. What gorgeous collection of wondrous images!
    Love all those beautiful waterfowl shots, superb!

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  52. Excellent and varied series from you again, many exciting pictures.

    Ottar

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  53. What amazing shots.

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  54. That curved track photo is my fav! :)

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  55. These are such wonderful photos! I have always been fascinated with Canada ever since my mom and I read a book together called Mrs. Mike, based on a true story of a young Boston girl who marries a Mounty. The thought of seeing beaver and other wildlife in the Canadian wilderness really intrigues me. I love seeing everything you post! The lake is truly beautiful.

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  56. More beautiful scenery and so many lovely bird shots! I love the tandem ducks in flight and the little Chickadee is such a sweet bird.

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