The Birds of Mystic Lake of the Vermilon River. A Post to WBW.

American Redstart- Male.



American Redstart.



The hike to Mystic Lake, which I posted yesterday for My Tuesday if you want to see it, started off really promising with some photos of these Redstarts. Redstarts are members of the Warbler family. In fact Mystic Lake added to my warbler count so I'll have to post a warbler page soon. These guys are hard to photograph as they're small, flighty and good at hiding in the thickening forest.


American Redstart.




Chestnut-sided Warbler




Chestnut-sided Warbler.

You can readily see why They're called chestnut sided with that distinctive stripe. Needless to say they're high in a tree and the wind is blowing.



Nashville Warbler

 


Nashville Warbler.





This guy caught me by surprise as I though he was an American Goldfinch at first because of the yellow. Nashvilles are recognizable by the white eye ring and the white on their yellow chest.


Hermit Thrush




Hermit Thrush





The Hermit Thrushes are common here as are Swainson's.

White-crowned Sparrows appear to be the largest of the sparrows and these fellows appear to be the latest arriving back home.


White-crowned Sparrow.




Common Grackle.




Chipping Sparrow




Canada Goose.




The Chipping Sparrow was in a tree on the shoreline of the Lake. I was also right as the aquatics have sought other areas to nest as the Vermilon was in flood.

Turkey Vulture or Buzzard.

This is even a better close up as his distinctive red mottled head is visible. To get the shot I was sharing space with his dinner, the remains of a rabbit. Click on the photo to enlarge it.





A Post to WBW @ http://pine riverreview.blogspot.com/

Some Bright Skies and Wildlife of the Vermilon River. A Post to Skywatch Friday.

Bright Skies



Rock Face




Upper River



The weather has been pretty hit and miss, with four overcast or rainy days to one of sun. So you're seeing some of both here. The river scenes are all of the upper river.

 Click to Enlarge Photos.



Rock Face




White -throated Sparrow




White-throated Sparrow





White-throated Sparrow



These White-throated Sparrows were all shot in very gray overcast weather, which gives the background a gray look making them, I think, look like Oriental prints. The same goes for the song sparrow, but the Warbler was shot in sunshine. The Pussy Willows were shot in shadows of the woods as I had to move off trail to get them. I did this overcast shooting previously, during the winter with some starlings, and some winter scenery. The winter scenery was almost monochromatic showing colour only in the evergreen trees. Dull gray and bright sun are the norms of the North, although they are extremes, and usually what photographers would advise to avoid. But, they are the North, and need to be dealt with.


White-throated Sparrow.




White-throated Sparrow




Profile of White-throated Sparrow.




Song Sparrow




Yellow-rumped Warbler




Pussy Willows.



Grackle



Common Grackle

The Grackles were shot in super bright sunshine and certainly benefited from the sun as it picked up the iridescence in their feathers, and enhanced the slightly mad eyes. Again dealing with a norm of the north. I think the iridescence certainly adds to the photos. The same I think is not true of the starling whose feathers have all the sheen, but lack the reflection that bright sun would give to them.

Common Grackle

Head On Grackle

Starling

Is there a point to my rambling ?? Actually yes. I think Northern Ontario is a rugged country that should be depicted as one. It's colour schemes and lighting is not the same as Southern Ontario or anywhere else for that matter. This is the same argument that, of course, founded the Group of Seven, those artists that are so basic to Canada. They rejected the UK Lake District genre that was popular here and embraced the rugged extremes.

 To avoid dealing with the extreme light or to turn the wild cold water soupy or jello like with a filter and a slow shutter speed is to turn a wild animal into a zoo animal, and does a disservice to the ruggedness of the  area, or at least that's what I think.

A Post to SkyWatch Friday @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/