Life and Death on the Vermilon River. A Post to WBW.

Vermilon River Canada Geese



Boom and I had just sat down for a rest when this sequence occurred. The protagonists were Reynard the Fox and Goosey Gander. There is no wind, but Boom and the fox were well aware of each other.

Red Fox




Who's That and Especially That Big Dog.



Out On The Ice



Watch Your Step




Really Close Now




Just On The Other Side Of  the Rock Island




Now


The whole sequence speaks for itself. I read in another wild life blog that young eagles suffer a 40% mortality rate. It has been my experience, no scientific proof, that geese parents have 5 goslings, but by the end of the of the season only 3 remain. A 40% mortality rate. So he,and other predators,are not always unlucky.



What Do You Think He's Saying?



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





 Click to enlarge pictures.

Me, Boomer and The Vermilon River: Continuing the Hike Along the East Track to the Be...

Me, Boomer and The Vermilon River: Continuing the Hike Along the East Track to the Be...: "Our Favourite Northern Crow  He goes with us   Song Sparrow   Song Sparrow   Red Winged Blackbird   Singing..."

Continuing the Hike Along the East Track to the Beaver Pond of the Vermilon River. A Post to My World Tuesday.

Our Favourite Northern Crow



He goes with us




Song Sparrow




Song Sparrow




Red Winged Blackbird




Singing For A Mate




East Wall Of the Beaver Pond



Large Lodge

Second Lodge



Beaver Dam




Close Up of Dam as Song Sparrow Looks On


Click any images to enlarge. 

Breach in the Dam




Close Up Showing Volume of Water Escaping.




Great Blue Flying Over Pond




Great Blue.




Great Blue

I'll bet you didn't think we were going to say anything. The Beaver pond is just a continuation of the hike on the abandoned East Track. It's a very large pond that they have made, and is really high. I expect the breach in the dam is natural and they'll fix it when some of the water drains out.

Seeing the Great Blue was unanticipated as I didn't think they would be here yet. He was flying on the opposite side. The pond is the size of a small lake, so he is a big guy.




A Post To My World Tuesday @ http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Me, Boomer and The Vermilon River: Still Hiking the East Track Wetlands of The Vermil...

Me, Boomer and The Vermilon River: Still Hiking the East Track Wetlands of The Vermil...: "NE Wetland  Channel And NE Wetland As you can see from photo one the north wetland is still frozen over, although the chan..."

Still Hiking the East Track Wetlands of The Vermilon River. A Post to Camera Critters.

NE Wetland



Channel And NE Wetland

 As you can see from photo one the north wetland is still frozen over, although the channel that flows under the old track is open and running.

SE Wetland



You may have to click to enlarge as there are a lot of photos in this post. If you're a little lost check out yesterday's post to get up to date. Photo three shows how open the south wetland is.


The Usual Bribe




And Here He Is.

 Hard to believe what a peanut will get you in the north isn't it?


Song Sparrow




Opposite Profile Song Sparrow




Red Winged Blackbird




Flying Geese




Close Up


The Sparrows sing us onto the trail and the Geese provide entertainment with their attempts to deal with the ice. 

A Pair Of Mallards

 The Mallards are new arrivals and will stay to the far side of the wetland. We can't get any closer to them because the land trail is still snowed in.


Killdeer

The Killdeer I think are searching for places to
nest. The Killdeer are members of the Plover family. 

Killdeer












A Post to Camera Critters @ http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

Me, Boomer and The Vermilon River: A Hike Along the East Track Of The Vermilon River....

Me, Boomer and The Vermilon River: A Hike Along the East Track Of The Vermilon River....: "The Actual East Track  The East Track Without Rails. This is the East Track Wetland, another unused RR line perfect for hi..."

A Hike Along the East Track Of The Vermilon River. A Post to Sky Watch Friday.

The Actual East Track



The East Track Without  Rails.

This is the East Track Wetland, another unused RR line perfect for hiking.


The SE Wetland




More SE Appears like A Tundra Forest

 It's still pretty frozen although becoming more active with wildlife.The SE area is large and watery more what you would associate with a wetland. Further east the area becomes much more like a tundra forest, and now is quite boggy.

The boggy area is of course homeland to the Red Winged black birds. The Sparrows, favourites of mine, live on the entrance area and will sing Boom & I into the bush.


Song Sparrow




Red Winged Blackbird.



Geese climbing the Ice.

The Geese are horsing around on the ice in between open areas and are entertaining as anything.

Still Fumbling on the Ice.



Spring Pussy Willows.




Killdeer













Spring pussy willows are starting to grow in the sunny areas. Killdeers are back and appear to be starting to nest in the areas along the shore of the wetlands. I'll keep this post up as I saw lots of interesting things and wonderful sights. The north wetland is still frozen. A Post To Sky Watch Friday @ http://skyley.bolgspot.com/

Just a note: The earlier hikes were to the abandoned track to the west of the river itself and to Mystic Lake and the lakes beyond. This area is at the base of  the Mystic Lake Trail. I'll be using this area for a while as three things happen here in the spring. The snow only disappears in fits and starts. In fact we had snow here this morning. Boomer begins his fur shed in a big way, and the Dept. Of Natural Resources announces the Black bear warnings as they're coming out of hibernation and are cranky. The elevated rail lines allow us to watch for other mammals.Remember it's a wilderness and Boom And I are also part of the food chain.