Scenes, Butterflies, Birds and Squirrels of the Vermilon River. A Post to SWF.

River before Rapids.

 The skies as you can see are not especially vivid. They range from overcast to a bit of sun, although we have had rain, which we needed. So for the post today I included some shots that I like from my hikes, and not much copy.

A Post to SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/

River Wetland showing the Ridge

River before Rapids.

Far Side of Rapids.

Rapids at old Bridge Abutment.

Black Swallowtail.

Song Sparrow

Female Yellow Throat Warbler.

Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Turkey Vulture.

Turtle.

Red Squirrel.

More Strange Skies of the Vermilon River. A Post To SWF.

Sure looks like rain.

 The sky gave me and the weather man a rough time this week. Despite the need for rain these black clouds would not build up to a rain. Finally we got a thunderstorm, really not what we needed, nor was the rain of sufficient  duration. The heat has broken much to Boomer`s relief, and probably mine. In fact right now it's about 16C or say 62F and feels cold.

The little clouds didn't grow.

Starting to brighten.

Cedar Waxwing.

My own bird feeders became more active with visits from Song Sparrows, Chickadees, and this male Downy who balances on the feeder using his tail. The Cedar Waxwing and the Turkey Vulture are from the forest. If the Vulture was sitting in my tree, I`d sure need to check my pulse, wouldn't  I?

Of course, no local grouping would be complete without Huegy, the Crow. A Post to SWF@http://skywatch.blogspot.com/

Black-capped Chickadee.

Male Downy

Male Downy.

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Turkey Vulture In Flight.

Huegy, the crow and his peanut.

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/

Birds of The Vermilon River. A Post to WBW.

Female Am. Goldfinch

I was really fortunate to get both the male and female American Goldfinch. They're in their summer colours despite the fact that the wind chill temperature was -4 C this morning. But they're probably used to that as they stay here all year. The male simply has a less flamboyant plumage in the winter. The low temperature is really the result of the high winds we're suffering.

Male Am. Goldfinch



Female Am. Goldfinch.




Female Purple Finch




Male Purple Finch.

As I said earlier I've been fortunate in seeing so many purple finch on my hikes. And fortunate in their willingness to pose for me.  

Female Purple Finch.



Yellow-rumped Warbler Male

I have always enjoyed catching sight of and getting a good photo of the Yellow-rumped Warbler, so seeing this young female on my picnic table and on my feeder was really exciting. No she's not hurt, she's just having a little rest in between feedings. I put the feeder photo in to show her wing and rump markings; otherwise I wouldn't have known what she was. Sometimes identifying these guys drives me crazy.



Young Female Yellow-rumped Warbler.




Young Female Yellow-rumped Warbler.




Hermit Thrush

 Catching the Hermit Thrush was great. They're easily mistaken for Veery's or Swainson's Thrush and we have both as I learned last summer. The white eye ring and the reddish tail mean this guy is a hermit thrush. He was in the brush and I only spotted him by accident.


Yellow-bellied Sap Sucker



This is the real find though. I was really lucky here as he blends right into the woods. If the leaves were out I probably would have missed him. And a him he is, as he has a red bib under his beak. These guys make holes to suck the sap from trees as well as eat insects.


White-throated Sparrow.



Chipping Sparrow

Last year I couldn't seem to find a Chipping Sparrow and as I said earlier White-throats were in short supply.


Mallard IN Flight



I still enjoy the thrill of an in flight capture and this one shows off the mallard's colouring well.
The aquatic birds are hard to find as the Vermilon is in flood, and not very good for nesting, so I'm going to move deeper into the wetlands to find them.


Male Mallard.




Turkey Vultures.



I added in some more photos as some people were not acquainted with Turkey Vultures or buzzards. They're carrion eaters and have a keen sense of smell to detect the gasses from a carcass. All in all they're quite large, about 25-32 inches long, 2-5 lbs in weight, and a wing span of 67-72 inches. They are of course exceptional flyer's and circle to hone in on their food. In the photo, if you click to enlarge, you can just make out the red head with its mottled skin from which they get the name turkey.




Hawks ?




Hawks ?








I caught these guys in flight over the river. Thinking they were doves of some sort, I didn't think much more of it until I realized their speed and flying skills. To try and figure out what they are, I used the profile guide in Birds Of Canada, and Birds of North America. The lack of a fan tail seemed to indicate Buteos. I then went to Cornell Labs, using this information and photos on the web, I think they're Rough-legged Hawks.


If you have a better idea let me know. The small photo is not as good but I included for identification purposes.









A Post to WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/