Rainbow Dragon's Lair
- Thread starter Laura Rainbow Dragon
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aku-chan
Well-known member
Great bird pictures!
I wish we had such a variety 'round these parts.
I wish we had such a variety 'round these parts.
from
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
I almost didn't post that photo as the angle is funny and the lighting not great. I'm glad you like it!
Your interpretation is very interesting. American Robins are quite active, chatty birds. Not solemn at all. They scold quite loudly when nattered. But their song is thought of us cheerful and happy. (Indeed, many birders use the mnemonic "cheerily, cheer up, cheer up, cheerily, cheer up" to remember it.) In my area, many people think of robins as harbingers of spring--although we actually have some who remain here year round. (They just don't sing in the winter. And they feed in trees and shrubs during the winter months, not on people's lawns.)
The American Robin is the most common backyard bird in Canada and the US. These birds are well-adapted to suburban environments. So almost everyone is familiar with them. They have nested on our property in trees and shrubs, on a downspout, on our hydro meter, and once on a wreath my mother had hung on the front door of the house. (They built that nest when my parents were away for the weekend, and were quite nattered when my parents returned and the birds discovered their nest "tree" swung back and forth and people walked right past it on a regular basis!) Other people have had robins nest inside their barbeques.
The bird pictured above the robin, the Mourning Dove, is considered to have a mournful song. (Hence the bird's common name.) They are much calmer birds, and thought of us peaceful. Doves come to backyard feeders too, where they forage on the ground for seeds other birds have dropped from the feeders. They are one of the largest birds we get at our feeders. But they are not aggressive at all. They just wait patiently for seeds to fall, and then will graze peacefully beside other ground-feeders like sparrows.
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
Desa
Active member
Posts: 29
Oh! I got confused by the placement by the names, but looking at your link for the mourning dove made me realize I actually meant that the photo of the mourning dove was my favorite one! So your photo accurately conveyed that image.
Lady Celerity
Well-known member
from
The Woods. NorCal
Posts: 658
"..one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on.."
Love the bird pictures!
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
This little lady had me stumped for a long while today.
The only public entrances to the park with the storm water pond are both on the northeast side of the pond. Which means, unless I'm there very early in the morning, I'm looking into the sun when I first look towards the pond. All the birds on it are just dark blobs, if I can see them at all. At five in the afternoon, like when we got there today, I have to walk a good ways around the pond to get a decent look at the birds on it.
Today there were three birds: one goose and two ducks. The goose was easy. This is a Canada Goose (Branta canadensis):
There's nothing else that size here. A swan would be bigger, and even staring into the sun, obviously white. We do occasionally get other types of geese. They are much less common than the Canada Goose and distinctive from it. (The only possible exception here being the Cackling Goose. Which is basically a miniature Canada Goose. Canada and Cackling Geese used to be considered the same species in fact, but in 2004 the minis were officially split off into their own species: Branta hutchinsii. From a distance these two species could be difficult to tell apart without magnification. But in this instance, we can be fairly confident this bird is the larger species: Branta canadensis. See: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cackling_Goose/species-compare for a comparison of the two.)
Then there was this guy, a bird many of you are likely familiar with, as it is very widespread and occurs even in city parks:
This was my first look at this bird. Even from this terrible photo, I can tell you it is a male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). That white on the tail is distinctive.
Here is a slightly better photo. The sun was still messing with my ability to get a sharp focus, but you can see the familiar Mallard colours better:
Here you can see clearly the white outer tail feathers and the curled black central tail feathers, both distinctive of the male of this species.
At this point, the second duck was further away, and still between me and the sun. The only thing I knew about it was it was brown. Which usually means a female in a duck.
Two ducks on the same small pond. One is a male Mallard. The other is a...? Smart money is on a female Mallard. And that was my first guess. Until the bird disappeared.
Mallards are "dabbling ducks". When they feed, their heads dip into the water, but their butts stick up out of the water. A bird that disappears completely underwater when it feeds is not a Mallard. It's a "diving duck". Hmm...
Did any of you identify the top bird in this post yet? It's one I've posted before (although, in fairness, it's been a while.)
I did not figure it out until I got a good look at the bird's profile:
A long, fish-eating bill like that can only belong to a merganser. The head shape was still throwing me, though. There's only one merganser in my neighbourhood with that much brown: the female Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus). But female mergansers all have crests--most especially the Hoodie, who's crest is substantial and showy, like that of her male counterpart. (See pics at the link above.) Finally I made it far enough around the pond (without scaring the bird off) to be able to get the nice, sharp photos I've posted here, in which you can see this bird does have a crest, it's just slicked back.
As to why a male Mallard, a female Hooded Merganser, and a Canada Goose were all hanging out together in April without any mates in sight:
(I am really happy with the hoodie photo though.
)
The only public entrances to the park with the storm water pond are both on the northeast side of the pond. Which means, unless I'm there very early in the morning, I'm looking into the sun when I first look towards the pond. All the birds on it are just dark blobs, if I can see them at all. At five in the afternoon, like when we got there today, I have to walk a good ways around the pond to get a decent look at the birds on it.
Today there were three birds: one goose and two ducks. The goose was easy. This is a Canada Goose (Branta canadensis):
There's nothing else that size here. A swan would be bigger, and even staring into the sun, obviously white. We do occasionally get other types of geese. They are much less common than the Canada Goose and distinctive from it. (The only possible exception here being the Cackling Goose. Which is basically a miniature Canada Goose. Canada and Cackling Geese used to be considered the same species in fact, but in 2004 the minis were officially split off into their own species: Branta hutchinsii. From a distance these two species could be difficult to tell apart without magnification. But in this instance, we can be fairly confident this bird is the larger species: Branta canadensis. See: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cackling_Goose/species-compare for a comparison of the two.)
Then there was this guy, a bird many of you are likely familiar with, as it is very widespread and occurs even in city parks:
This was my first look at this bird. Even from this terrible photo, I can tell you it is a male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). That white on the tail is distinctive.
Here is a slightly better photo. The sun was still messing with my ability to get a sharp focus, but you can see the familiar Mallard colours better:
Here you can see clearly the white outer tail feathers and the curled black central tail feathers, both distinctive of the male of this species.
At this point, the second duck was further away, and still between me and the sun. The only thing I knew about it was it was brown. Which usually means a female in a duck.
Two ducks on the same small pond. One is a male Mallard. The other is a...? Smart money is on a female Mallard. And that was my first guess. Until the bird disappeared.
Mallards are "dabbling ducks". When they feed, their heads dip into the water, but their butts stick up out of the water. A bird that disappears completely underwater when it feeds is not a Mallard. It's a "diving duck". Hmm...
Did any of you identify the top bird in this post yet? It's one I've posted before (although, in fairness, it's been a while.)
I did not figure it out until I got a good look at the bird's profile:
A long, fish-eating bill like that can only belong to a merganser. The head shape was still throwing me, though. There's only one merganser in my neighbourhood with that much brown: the female Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus). But female mergansers all have crests--most especially the Hoodie, who's crest is substantial and showy, like that of her male counterpart. (See pics at the link above.) Finally I made it far enough around the pond (without scaring the bird off) to be able to get the nice, sharp photos I've posted here, in which you can see this bird does have a crest, it's just slicked back.
As to why a male Mallard, a female Hooded Merganser, and a Canada Goose were all hanging out together in April without any mates in sight:
(I am really happy with the hoodie photo though.
)
Last edited:
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
Quiz time! Does anybody know what this bird is?:
These views are partially obstructed by vegetation, true. But the location is actually a good clue.
Another clue: I've posted at least one photograph of her boyfriend recently.
These views are partially obstructed by vegetation, true. But the location is actually a good clue.
Another clue: I've posted at least one photograph of her boyfriend recently.
PetiteSheWolf
Well-known member
Love these bird pics 
(but no clue on your birding exercise, LOL). Ducks are really fun to watch, they fishing, waddling eventually on ground, flying, group behavior, little ones... We have a fairly large lake not far from home (very close to my parents, they walk there nearly daily) and I like seeing them.
(but no clue on your birding exercise, LOL). Ducks are really fun to watch, they fishing, waddling eventually on ground, flying, group behavior, little ones... We have a fairly large lake not far from home (very close to my parents, they walk there nearly daily) and I like seeing them.
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
That is a good guess, @Desa . Especially since I did not give you much to go on regarding this bird's size. It is sparrow coloured and patterned, for sure. If you saw this bird next to a sparrow, however, you would see that it is substantially larger. It is larger even than our largest sparrow (which you could be forgiven for not recognizing as a sparrow, because it isn't coloured like one!)
The location is an important clue too. That can sometimes be difficult to determine when all you get is a close-cropped photo. You've seen me post photos of a lot of different types of birds from this particular location (including sparrows), because it is a spot where a bunch of different habitat types meet up.
You can see the spot where I was standing to take these photos here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/yLBcW6xdxcxL8CSW8 (Click on the Satellite view to see the terrain.) The trail is on a raised berm that circles around (and cuts through the middle of) a small marsh. Google's photo of this area is several years old. The marsh is much more filled in now than in the map images, including the area that looks like open water on the map. The entire northeast cell of the marsh is pretty much filled in with phragmites and cattails now. The southwest cell is filled in too, with some phrag and other marsh plants, like swamp rose mallow and swamp milkweed. The mystery bird, you can see from the photos, is in the marsh. But just the other side of the trail is an agricultural field (razed at the moment, since this year's crop isn't in yet--but there'll be lots of seeds there now, left behind after last year's harvest, not to mention lots of tasty insects). On the opposite side of the marsh you can see parkland, with quite a few trees in it. The open grassland southwest of the trail is still grass (which the municipality more or less mows--so it's mostly turf grass at the moment, although it has quite a few thistles and other plants growing in it due to municipal employees having some disagreement last summer over whose job it was meant to be to mow that area--I could not make this shit up!) That's where the lookout "hill" (a.k.a.: lookout speedbump) is located. And southwest of the hill/speedbump, where it looks on the map photo to be an extension of the agricultural field, is now the stormwater pond, where I've been photographing the ducks and geese.
Lots of different micro-habitats bunched together like this = a wide variety of bird (and other wildlife) species. Sparrows I have recorded at this location include Song Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows, and Chipping Sparrows. Also a lot of House Sparrows (a European bird not closely related to North American sparrows at all.) Curiously, I have no record of Swamp Sparrows from this location. (I don't post everything to iNaturalist. But a new bird for a specific location I usually do post. And I've no recollection of ever having seen a Swamp Sparrow in this marsh, although it is good habitat for one.) Of these birds, I have only seen House Sparrows and occasionally Song Sparrows clinging to cattails like our mystery bird is. (Though a Swamp Sparrow certainly would too, if it was there. Which it might well be. They can be hard to spot, and I haven't learned to identify all of our sparrow species by song yet.) Our mystery bird, however, is larger than all of these. (Web sleuth clue: you can find her within two clicks of any of the links I've included in this paragraph.)
The location is an important clue too. That can sometimes be difficult to determine when all you get is a close-cropped photo. You've seen me post photos of a lot of different types of birds from this particular location (including sparrows), because it is a spot where a bunch of different habitat types meet up.
You can see the spot where I was standing to take these photos here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/yLBcW6xdxcxL8CSW8 (Click on the Satellite view to see the terrain.) The trail is on a raised berm that circles around (and cuts through the middle of) a small marsh. Google's photo of this area is several years old. The marsh is much more filled in now than in the map images, including the area that looks like open water on the map. The entire northeast cell of the marsh is pretty much filled in with phragmites and cattails now. The southwest cell is filled in too, with some phrag and other marsh plants, like swamp rose mallow and swamp milkweed. The mystery bird, you can see from the photos, is in the marsh. But just the other side of the trail is an agricultural field (razed at the moment, since this year's crop isn't in yet--but there'll be lots of seeds there now, left behind after last year's harvest, not to mention lots of tasty insects). On the opposite side of the marsh you can see parkland, with quite a few trees in it. The open grassland southwest of the trail is still grass (which the municipality more or less mows--so it's mostly turf grass at the moment, although it has quite a few thistles and other plants growing in it due to municipal employees having some disagreement last summer over whose job it was meant to be to mow that area--I could not make this shit up!) That's where the lookout "hill" (a.k.a.: lookout speedbump) is located. And southwest of the hill/speedbump, where it looks on the map photo to be an extension of the agricultural field, is now the stormwater pond, where I've been photographing the ducks and geese.
Lots of different micro-habitats bunched together like this = a wide variety of bird (and other wildlife) species. Sparrows I have recorded at this location include Song Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows, and Chipping Sparrows. Also a lot of House Sparrows (a European bird not closely related to North American sparrows at all.) Curiously, I have no record of Swamp Sparrows from this location. (I don't post everything to iNaturalist. But a new bird for a specific location I usually do post. And I've no recollection of ever having seen a Swamp Sparrow in this marsh, although it is good habitat for one.) Of these birds, I have only seen House Sparrows and occasionally Song Sparrows clinging to cattails like our mystery bird is. (Though a Swamp Sparrow certainly would too, if it was there. Which it might well be. They can be hard to spot, and I haven't learned to identify all of our sparrow species by song yet.) Our mystery bird, however, is larger than all of these. (Web sleuth clue: you can find her within two clicks of any of the links I've included in this paragraph.)
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
Join Shelby for a leisurely stroll through the MacIntosh Woodlot on a sunny Saturday afternoon in April, 2024.
In part II, hear a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) singing to his mate, and watch an Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) scamper up a tree.
In part II, hear a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) singing to his mate, and watch an Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) scamper up a tree.
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
The lookout speedbump:
View of our birding "patch" from on top of the lookout speedbump:
View of our birding "patch" from on top of the lookout speedbump:
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
A view from inside the woodlot:
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
MATCH MADE IN A MARSH
Here's our mystery bird alongside her mate. (Well, a potential mate. There are a large number of Red-winged Blackbirds in this small area.)
Absolute size can be very difficult to judge in the field. But relative size and shape (e.g.: size and shape of bill relative to the bird's head, wing length relative to tail length, head size relative to body size, etc.) are useful field marks for identifying birds.
Colour is useful in good lighting conditions, as we have here, but it can be tricky too when males and females of the same species are so differently coloured. On this female Redwing though, you can see just a hint of red colour on her shoulder, to match her mate. Some of our sparrows have reddish patches in their colouring too (usually called "rufous" in a sparrow), but not specifically in this one location.
Note too the similar perching posture. Whether a bird sits upright or with a forward lean, how its tail is held, how it grasps whatever it's perching on, etc. can be important keys to ID.
And of course, as I mentioned before: the location. Here you can see clearly the female bird is in a marsh. The male bird's location isn't so easily discerned from this close-cropped photo, but he's perched at the top of a tree that is adjacent to the marsh. This time of year, the males spend a lot of time high up, displaying (as this bird is), whereas females spend their time hidden in amongst the marsh reeds, building a nest which she hopes will remain hidden from predators.
Here's our mystery bird alongside her mate. (Well, a potential mate. There are a large number of Red-winged Blackbirds in this small area.)
Absolute size can be very difficult to judge in the field. But relative size and shape (e.g.: size and shape of bill relative to the bird's head, wing length relative to tail length, head size relative to body size, etc.) are useful field marks for identifying birds.
Colour is useful in good lighting conditions, as we have here, but it can be tricky too when males and females of the same species are so differently coloured. On this female Redwing though, you can see just a hint of red colour on her shoulder, to match her mate. Some of our sparrows have reddish patches in their colouring too (usually called "rufous" in a sparrow), but not specifically in this one location.
Note too the similar perching posture. Whether a bird sits upright or with a forward lean, how its tail is held, how it grasps whatever it's perching on, etc. can be important keys to ID.
And of course, as I mentioned before: the location. Here you can see clearly the female bird is in a marsh. The male bird's location isn't so easily discerned from this close-cropped photo, but he's perched at the top of a tree that is adjacent to the marsh. This time of year, the males spend a lot of time high up, displaying (as this bird is), whereas females spend their time hidden in amongst the marsh reeds, building a nest which she hopes will remain hidden from predators.
MadamMeow
Well-known member
Fae
from
Central NJ
Posts: 635
from
Central NJ
Posts: 635
"I see my vision burn, I feel my memories fade with time, but Im too young to worry..."
Shelby is just majestic and those are amazing pics of the birds. Thank you! 
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
April 8-14: a weekly roundup post. Because I fell behind again.
This was a strange week. We had 5 days of nice weather and 2 days of cold, windy, rain-all-day with a bit of thunder weather. Shelby and I made good use of the nice weather days to get outside and spend some time in nature. (Thank you all for the love on our nature pics and videos.) One might think I could have made good use of the rainy days to, I don't know, maybe sit at my freaking desk and get some writing done? But no. Those were my least productive days all week. I did go out in the rain to fetch groceries on one of the rainy days and to fetch an income tax receipt for my mother on the other, and I watched a French language television show and did some cooking. Otherwise I mostly procrastinated in the rain.
Workout wise this was a slacker week. I did an actual workout (or at least a bunch of mini workouts) on the Monday: dancing, some crane pose, one-legged crow with crossed ankles, baby presses, and some calf raises for @TopNotch 's birthday. Also some push-ups. I did actual push-ups. With nothing pressuring me to do them. (My notes say these were "funky push-ups". If I remember correctly, some were similar to dragon push-ups, but with keeping my bent leg lifted, and the others were also a one-legged variety in which I crossed my lifted leg underneath my body. Not a lot of reps for either. But way more fun than doing high reps--or really any number of reps--of standard push-ups.) On Friday I did jumping jacks for @Nevetharine 's birthday. Other than this, all I did all week was walk.
I'm not sure why I am being such a slacker. I do have a lot of things on my plate right now. But they're not chewing up all that much of my time. They are chewing up a lot of headspace though. I mostly need to get a grip and just press on through this time. Things will settle down to a new normal soon. In the meantime, the longer walks with Shelby and spending more time in nature are good for the head, and at least I'm not doing nothing physically.
I was mostly a slacker on the writing front this week too. My word count was low for the week overall. But I did get my short story written. Story #13 of 52, so one quarter of the way through the challenge now! I've been experimenting a lot, exploring new genres and sub-genres. It's been good overall so far--even if I haven't yet fixed the procrastination leading to late nights bit.
Speaking of which: yah. Sleep was messed up again. Stayed up late Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Sunday night due to needing to finish up my story. Friday and Saturday nights for no good reason. Not terribly late on any night though, so that was good. Finished my story on Sunday night and got it in before 11:30. So that wouldn't have been too terribly late of a night at all. Except that Shelby wanted to go for a bedtime walk, and once we got outside, she decided she wanted to do the full 3K. I don't so much mind being late to bed when this is the reason.
Not a huge amount of cooking last week. I did make some banana muffins (baked half the batter and froze half), more pizzas (ate 'em all! yummy!), roasted some asparagus, made sweet potato air-fries (twice!) plus baked some sweet potatoes for using in other recipes, whole wheat cacao nib banana pancakes, and a blackberry-cherry crumble. I just have the crumble and some of the pancake batter left at this point, plus the sweet Ps still waiting to be baked with. So cooking is definitely in order for today. But I am at least starting the week with a clean kitchen.
Will post some more photos and stories of Shelby's adventures in separate posts.
Stats for the Week:
hiking: 54 km
French: 10 hours French-language television
new fiction words: 3445
fiction YTD: 62,664
story-a-week challenge: 13 of 52 completed
54 stories in my 54th year challenge: 13 of 54 completed
new consumable words: 6558
consumable YTD: 130,646
target YTD for 2024 words a day in 2024: 212,520
deficit: 81,874
Streaks:
Consecutive days of working out: 0
Consecutive days of French study: 1244
Consecutive days of SOOT: 0
Consecutive days of GBOT: 0
This was a strange week. We had 5 days of nice weather and 2 days of cold, windy, rain-all-day with a bit of thunder weather. Shelby and I made good use of the nice weather days to get outside and spend some time in nature. (Thank you all for the love on our nature pics and videos.) One might think I could have made good use of the rainy days to, I don't know, maybe sit at my freaking desk and get some writing done? But no. Those were my least productive days all week. I did go out in the rain to fetch groceries on one of the rainy days and to fetch an income tax receipt for my mother on the other, and I watched a French language television show and did some cooking. Otherwise I mostly procrastinated in the rain.
Workout wise this was a slacker week. I did an actual workout (or at least a bunch of mini workouts) on the Monday: dancing, some crane pose, one-legged crow with crossed ankles, baby presses, and some calf raises for @TopNotch 's birthday. Also some push-ups. I did actual push-ups. With nothing pressuring me to do them. (My notes say these were "funky push-ups". If I remember correctly, some were similar to dragon push-ups, but with keeping my bent leg lifted, and the others were also a one-legged variety in which I crossed my lifted leg underneath my body. Not a lot of reps for either. But way more fun than doing high reps--or really any number of reps--of standard push-ups.) On Friday I did jumping jacks for @Nevetharine 's birthday. Other than this, all I did all week was walk.
I'm not sure why I am being such a slacker. I do have a lot of things on my plate right now. But they're not chewing up all that much of my time. They are chewing up a lot of headspace though. I mostly need to get a grip and just press on through this time. Things will settle down to a new normal soon. In the meantime, the longer walks with Shelby and spending more time in nature are good for the head, and at least I'm not doing nothing physically.
I was mostly a slacker on the writing front this week too. My word count was low for the week overall. But I did get my short story written. Story #13 of 52, so one quarter of the way through the challenge now! I've been experimenting a lot, exploring new genres and sub-genres. It's been good overall so far--even if I haven't yet fixed the procrastination leading to late nights bit.
Speaking of which: yah. Sleep was messed up again. Stayed up late Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Sunday night due to needing to finish up my story. Friday and Saturday nights for no good reason. Not terribly late on any night though, so that was good. Finished my story on Sunday night and got it in before 11:30. So that wouldn't have been too terribly late of a night at all. Except that Shelby wanted to go for a bedtime walk, and once we got outside, she decided she wanted to do the full 3K. I don't so much mind being late to bed when this is the reason.
Not a huge amount of cooking last week. I did make some banana muffins (baked half the batter and froze half), more pizzas (ate 'em all! yummy!), roasted some asparagus, made sweet potato air-fries (twice!) plus baked some sweet potatoes for using in other recipes, whole wheat cacao nib banana pancakes, and a blackberry-cherry crumble. I just have the crumble and some of the pancake batter left at this point, plus the sweet Ps still waiting to be baked with. So cooking is definitely in order for today. But I am at least starting the week with a clean kitchen.
Will post some more photos and stories of Shelby's adventures in separate posts.
Stats for the Week:
hiking: 54 km
French: 10 hours French-language television
new fiction words: 3445
fiction YTD: 62,664
story-a-week challenge: 13 of 52 completed
54 stories in my 54th year challenge: 13 of 54 completed
new consumable words: 6558
consumable YTD: 130,646
target YTD for 2024 words a day in 2024: 212,520
deficit: 81,874
Streaks:
Consecutive days of working out: 0
Consecutive days of French study: 1244
Consecutive days of SOOT: 0
Consecutive days of GBOT: 0
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
SHELBY'S HIKING ADVENTURES, APRIL 8-14:
Monday, April 8: This was the day of the eclipse. So we saw lots of people out. Shelby's Miniature Aussiedoodle friend Lily was out in her backyard (which backs onto the FitPark trail) with her human and some guests, all with telescopes. This was also the day we saw the Buffleheads on the pond. 6km afternoon hike, + 1km at bedtime.
Other critters seen this day:
Canada Geese:
a Muskrat:
an American Tree Sparrow:
Bluejays:
Turkey Vultures:
Red Admirals:
Golden-crowned Kinglets:
Red-winged Blackbirds: (lots of these in the marsh, but we see them in the agricultural fields on either side of the woodlot too)
Common Grackles:
and Cabbage Whites:
Tuesday, April 9: This day we had glorious weather. So we went for an extra hike in the morning. Went a different route than usual, out to the east end of town to check out some different spots: a park that is mostly sports fields but does have some trees, a cemetery (also with lots of trees), some rural roads adjacent to a woodlot and a couple of small ponds. It was nice weather for hiking, but we did not see much in the way of birds other than robins and grackles.
On the way home from our morning hike we walked along the downtown strip. The barbers were standing outside their shop, enjoying the sunshine, and asked if they could give Shelby a treat. I usually try to discourage people from feeding Shelby because a.) a lot of people around here treat dogs with things that aren't all that healthy for them, and b.) Shelby is very food-motivated (she was rescued from the streets), and I would prefer that she be excited to greet people because she likes the people themselves, not what they're carrying in their pocket. But it had been a long hike. So I said yes to the treat, hoping it would be a nice little dog biscuit. Well... the one barber went back into his shop and came back out with a big huge piece of bacon-flavoured jerky. Needless to say Shelby is now very fond of the barbers!
In the afternoon we went back out for our usual hike. By this point it was 21°C outside and still nice and sunny. And Shelby's butt masseuse was sitting outside on his front porch. This is the guy who was Trudy's #1 boyfriend. (Trudy had a great many boyfriends, but this guy was her favourite.) We walk past his house every day, but don't see him much in the winter. During the warm weather, however, he likes to sit out on his front porch. On this day, he was out there having a drink with Trudy's #3 boyfriend. Shelby likes both of these guys too, but especially the #1 boyfriend since he gives most excellent butt massages. So we had a short break in our hike so that Shelby could have her massage. Then we continued on to do our usual route through the FitPark and behind the school. I posted photos from this hike up-thread.
We went out for a third hike at bedtime this day, for a total of 15.5 km on the day.
Wednesday, April 10: This was the first day we saw the female Hooded Merganser. It was also the first day this year I've seen female Red-winged Blackbirds. (The males do arrive first, usually by a couple of weeks, to establish their territories. I suspect the females have been back for a while though now. They're just harder to spot due to their camouflage and habits of slinking about inside the marsh, as opposed to displaying bright red epaulettes from treetops like the males do.
Some other critters from this hike:
a bit better view of a Turkey Vulture:
the male Mallard departing the scene: (I guess he was as miffed as the goose that all of my attention was on the Hoodie)
this gull was pretty far away, but the dark face suggests it's probably a Bonaparte's Gull:
(There are other gulls and terns with black faces, and from such a poor photo I cannot 100% rule them out. But Bonnie is by far the most likely in my neighbourhood.)
Some nicer picks of a grackle: (likely male with a head this blue)
a male Northern Cardinal:
Song Sparrow:
an Eastern Grey Squirrel: (that's actually mostly grey--in my area most of the "grey" squirrels are black or brown)
Monday, April 8: This was the day of the eclipse. So we saw lots of people out. Shelby's Miniature Aussiedoodle friend Lily was out in her backyard (which backs onto the FitPark trail) with her human and some guests, all with telescopes. This was also the day we saw the Buffleheads on the pond. 6km afternoon hike, + 1km at bedtime.
Other critters seen this day:
Canada Geese:
a Muskrat:
an American Tree Sparrow:
Bluejays:
Turkey Vultures:
Red Admirals:
Golden-crowned Kinglets:
Red-winged Blackbirds: (lots of these in the marsh, but we see them in the agricultural fields on either side of the woodlot too)
Common Grackles:
and Cabbage Whites:
Tuesday, April 9: This day we had glorious weather. So we went for an extra hike in the morning. Went a different route than usual, out to the east end of town to check out some different spots: a park that is mostly sports fields but does have some trees, a cemetery (also with lots of trees), some rural roads adjacent to a woodlot and a couple of small ponds. It was nice weather for hiking, but we did not see much in the way of birds other than robins and grackles.
On the way home from our morning hike we walked along the downtown strip. The barbers were standing outside their shop, enjoying the sunshine, and asked if they could give Shelby a treat. I usually try to discourage people from feeding Shelby because a.) a lot of people around here treat dogs with things that aren't all that healthy for them, and b.) Shelby is very food-motivated (she was rescued from the streets), and I would prefer that she be excited to greet people because she likes the people themselves, not what they're carrying in their pocket. But it had been a long hike. So I said yes to the treat, hoping it would be a nice little dog biscuit. Well... the one barber went back into his shop and came back out with a big huge piece of bacon-flavoured jerky. Needless to say Shelby is now very fond of the barbers!
In the afternoon we went back out for our usual hike. By this point it was 21°C outside and still nice and sunny. And Shelby's butt masseuse was sitting outside on his front porch. This is the guy who was Trudy's #1 boyfriend. (Trudy had a great many boyfriends, but this guy was her favourite.) We walk past his house every day, but don't see him much in the winter. During the warm weather, however, he likes to sit out on his front porch. On this day, he was out there having a drink with Trudy's #3 boyfriend. Shelby likes both of these guys too, but especially the #1 boyfriend since he gives most excellent butt massages. So we had a short break in our hike so that Shelby could have her massage. Then we continued on to do our usual route through the FitPark and behind the school. I posted photos from this hike up-thread.
We went out for a third hike at bedtime this day, for a total of 15.5 km on the day.
Wednesday, April 10: This was the first day we saw the female Hooded Merganser. It was also the first day this year I've seen female Red-winged Blackbirds. (The males do arrive first, usually by a couple of weeks, to establish their territories. I suspect the females have been back for a while though now. They're just harder to spot due to their camouflage and habits of slinking about inside the marsh, as opposed to displaying bright red epaulettes from treetops like the males do.
Some other critters from this hike:
a bit better view of a Turkey Vulture:
the male Mallard departing the scene: (I guess he was as miffed as the goose that all of my attention was on the Hoodie)
this gull was pretty far away, but the dark face suggests it's probably a Bonaparte's Gull:
(There are other gulls and terns with black faces, and from such a poor photo I cannot 100% rule them out. But Bonnie is by far the most likely in my neighbourhood.)
Some nicer picks of a grackle: (likely male with a head this blue)
a male Northern Cardinal:
Song Sparrow:
an Eastern Grey Squirrel: (that's actually mostly grey--in my area most of the "grey" squirrels are black or brown)
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
SHELBY'S HIKING ADVENTURES, APRIL 8-14 - PART 2 (because I had too many pics for one post):
American Robin:
Here she is again, gathering materials to build a nest (in this case some very wet grass from a very soupy lawn):
This day (April 10) we hiked a total of 7km -- but it took us two hours because we spent so much time bird-watching. Shelby also made a new friend in the woodlot, a husky named Sekou. We did not do a bedtime walk as the rain had set in by then.
Thursday, April 11: Rain, rain, and more rain. No photos. It was too wet for a camera. I had to go to the optometrists to pick up a tax receipt for my mother. Shelby decided I should not go out in the rain alone, so she came with me. That was our only walk this day.
Friday, April 12: More rain. I went out to get groceries, and later Shelby and I did a short walk. But only 1km with Shelby. The rain just did not let up, and the wind was cold too.
Friday was not all doom and gloom, however, as the blossoms on our magnolia tree started to open this day:
and we had some nice birds come to visit us at our feeders:
House Sparrow (female):
Mourning Dove:
Chipping Sparrow:
Saturday, April 13: The sun returned! (Though it was still windy.) This was the day we shot the videos posted up-thread. Lots of birds and other critters were about. The hoodie was still on the pond, with two geese this day. We saw (or heard) plenty of the usual suspects in the marsh and the woodlot: robins, red-wings, grackles, killdeer, cardinals, a Black-capped Chickadee, Song, Savannah, and House Sparrows, bluejays, and some Brown-headed Cowbirds. Here is a male cowbird:
a Song Sparrow:
Here is a familiar sight in my neighbourhood: These big, messy nests aren't birds' nests. They're Eastern Grey Squirrel nests. In this pic, you can see the squirrel's tail hanging out of the nest.
Lots of Red Admiral butterflies about too, plus some Cabbage Whites, and my first Azure of the season:
There are two different species of Azures in my area. The professional entomologists keep going back and forth on whether or not they can be accurately identified in the field based on their flight season. So I'm just going to go with saying this is a Holarctic Azure. Photographs of Azures do not do them justice because these butterflies always rest with their wings folded shut. As a result, photographs tend to show nothing but a small, chalky-white butterfly. But the dorsal (top) side of an Azure's wings is the beautiful blue for which these butterflies are named.
As Saturday was such a beautiful day (and we were grateful for the sunshine after two days of non-stop rain), Shelby and I also did some birding (and lepping) in our backyard in the afternoon.
Downy Woodpecker (male):
Dark-eyed Junco (female):
Mourning Cloak:
Sunday photos to come (after lunch!)
American Robin:
Here she is again, gathering materials to build a nest (in this case some very wet grass from a very soupy lawn):
This day (April 10) we hiked a total of 7km -- but it took us two hours because we spent so much time bird-watching. Shelby also made a new friend in the woodlot, a husky named Sekou. We did not do a bedtime walk as the rain had set in by then.
Thursday, April 11: Rain, rain, and more rain. No photos. It was too wet for a camera. I had to go to the optometrists to pick up a tax receipt for my mother. Shelby decided I should not go out in the rain alone, so she came with me. That was our only walk this day.
Friday, April 12: More rain. I went out to get groceries, and later Shelby and I did a short walk. But only 1km with Shelby. The rain just did not let up, and the wind was cold too.
Friday was not all doom and gloom, however, as the blossoms on our magnolia tree started to open this day:
and we had some nice birds come to visit us at our feeders:
House Sparrow (female):
Mourning Dove:
Chipping Sparrow:
Saturday, April 13: The sun returned! (Though it was still windy.) This was the day we shot the videos posted up-thread. Lots of birds and other critters were about. The hoodie was still on the pond, with two geese this day. We saw (or heard) plenty of the usual suspects in the marsh and the woodlot: robins, red-wings, grackles, killdeer, cardinals, a Black-capped Chickadee, Song, Savannah, and House Sparrows, bluejays, and some Brown-headed Cowbirds. Here is a male cowbird:
a Song Sparrow:
Here is a familiar sight in my neighbourhood: These big, messy nests aren't birds' nests. They're Eastern Grey Squirrel nests. In this pic, you can see the squirrel's tail hanging out of the nest.
Lots of Red Admiral butterflies about too, plus some Cabbage Whites, and my first Azure of the season:
There are two different species of Azures in my area. The professional entomologists keep going back and forth on whether or not they can be accurately identified in the field based on their flight season. So I'm just going to go with saying this is a Holarctic Azure. Photographs of Azures do not do them justice because these butterflies always rest with their wings folded shut. As a result, photographs tend to show nothing but a small, chalky-white butterfly. But the dorsal (top) side of an Azure's wings is the beautiful blue for which these butterflies are named.
As Saturday was such a beautiful day (and we were grateful for the sunshine after two days of non-stop rain), Shelby and I also did some birding (and lepping) in our backyard in the afternoon.
Downy Woodpecker (male):
Dark-eyed Junco (female):
Mourning Cloak:
Sunday photos to come (after lunch!)
NancyTree
Well-known member
Thank you for all the beautiful pictures and bird info 
Nice to see the bird species to be found across the ocean
Nice to see the bird species to be found across the ocean
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
I'm glad you like, @NancyTree
I like to see everyone else's birds too. And other wildlife. And landscapes. It is a wild and wonderful planet we all live on!
I like to see everyone else's birds too. And other wildlife. And landscapes. It is a wild and wonderful planet we all live on!
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
Laura Rainbow Dragon
Well-known member
SHELBY'S HIKING ADVENTURES, APRIL 14:
This was another lovely day for a hike. We did our usual route, with an extra lap of the woodlot, plus the walk to the west end of the storm water pond. The hoodie was still there, with one goose this day. Saw a pair of mallards too, not on the pond, but in flight, plus more of the usual suspects: red-winged blackbirds, grackles, robins, starlings, house sparrows, song sparrows, savannah sparrows, killdeer, mourning doves, cardinals, bluejays, goldfinches, cowbirds, and chickadees. We heard a white-throated sparrow in the woodlot, but I was not able to locate it.
Brown-headed Cowbird pair:
Bluejay:
Saw my first snake of the year too:
This is just an Eastern Gartersnake. Our most common snake, which is widespread and commonly found even in suburban environments. They have been up and about for several weeks already this year, but this day was my first time seeing one this spring. (Could have something to do with my large black protector who accompanies me on all of my hikes.)
Sunday's lunch: whole wheat cacao nib banana pancakes with Greek-style yogourt, raspberries, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and dessicated coconut
Our apricot tree is blooming:
Some excitement after lunch: I was sitting out back of our shed when this bird flew past.
This is one of our Accipiters. A relatively small one, so likely a Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus), although it could be a male Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii). (These two species are a challenge to tell apart in the field, and I did not get a great look at the bird.) The yellow eye suggests this is a first year bird. (Adults have red eyes.) I did not witness the hawk catch anything, but you can bet all the small birds make themselves scarce when one of these guys is around!
This was another lovely day for a hike. We did our usual route, with an extra lap of the woodlot, plus the walk to the west end of the storm water pond. The hoodie was still there, with one goose this day. Saw a pair of mallards too, not on the pond, but in flight, plus more of the usual suspects: red-winged blackbirds, grackles, robins, starlings, house sparrows, song sparrows, savannah sparrows, killdeer, mourning doves, cardinals, bluejays, goldfinches, cowbirds, and chickadees. We heard a white-throated sparrow in the woodlot, but I was not able to locate it.
Brown-headed Cowbird pair:
Bluejay:
Saw my first snake of the year too:
This is just an Eastern Gartersnake. Our most common snake, which is widespread and commonly found even in suburban environments. They have been up and about for several weeks already this year, but this day was my first time seeing one this spring. (Could have something to do with my large black protector who accompanies me on all of my hikes.)
Sunday's lunch: whole wheat cacao nib banana pancakes with Greek-style yogourt, raspberries, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and dessicated coconut
Our apricot tree is blooming:
Some excitement after lunch: I was sitting out back of our shed when this bird flew past.
This is one of our Accipiters. A relatively small one, so likely a Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus), although it could be a male Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii). (These two species are a challenge to tell apart in the field, and I did not get a great look at the bird.) The yellow eye suggests this is a first year bird. (Adults have red eyes.) I did not witness the hawk catch anything, but you can bet all the small birds make themselves scarce when one of these guys is around!