The red squirrels had a good year at the reserve and we saw more of them than in the past. They are smaller than the eastern greys but what they lack in size they make up for in temperament. They often chase the larger squirrels around; are known to be feisty and very territorial. These squirrels make for fine subjects particularly in the fall when the woods wear a similar colour to their own.
I think this groundhog noticed me before I saw him. He was half in his burrow and kept a wary eye on me as I walked along. I see them quite often within the city limits, in open fields and in public gardens. Groundhogs dig deep burrows and one misplaced step can land you on their doorstep. I can well understand that farmers and gardeners consider them pests as they graze on vegetables and crops and can leave the ground weak where they tunnel. However, not being either, I rather like them. It all depends on your perspective I guess. They are also one of Canada’s true hibernators, fattening up in the fall and hibernating when the temperatures dip.
There’s a large tree in the reserve which the local raccoons have claimed as their own. On hot summer days we’ve seen them stretched out on the limbs of the tree, waiting for the hint of a breeze. Clever animals, as we push our way through the humid air… The light on the raccoon and tree trunk were very harsh. A few adjustments in Lightroom to the exposure, highlights, contrast and shadows corrected this.
These photos were taken within a few days of each other. The brown hues of late fall turned to a white snowscape very quickly this month. These eastern grey squirrels are sporting thick coats and look alert and well fed as they make their rounds of the park. At times you get the sense that you’re being watched as you walk along the trail. Chances are it’s one of these squirrels, as they’re everywhere you look.
The photograph above was taken in March of this year, we had a late spring and the squirrel stands out against the wintery backdrop. The other two photographs were taken in early October before the vegetation had taken on its fall appearance. We’ve had some cold weather the last few days so I haven’t been keen on heading out with my camera. As we’re supposed to get some sun in the next day or two, I’ll get myself fitted up and check on these little guys and see what else is going on in the woods.
The woods around us boast two species of squirrels: the red squirrel and the eastern grey squirrel, both grey and black varieties (pictured below). With the cold weather settling in it’s a busy time for them. They’re out in force collecting food for the long winter ahead. The sound of the squirrels scurrying through the woods can even muffle the birdsong that we’re straining to hear.
Some squirrels in the reserve are quite tame, on alert for handouts. They’ll hold their ground as you approach them on the path in anticipation of a treat. Others will freeze in place hoping you won’t see them. I think this young squirrel wasn’t sure where he stood, hiding in plain sight.
With all the summertime visitors to our area we tend to forget the true denizens of the forest. Although there are a few species of birds that remain year round, you don’t need to go far to spot a squirrel in any season. We haven’t seen any raptors in the reserve this summer (the largest bird we’ve spotted is one lonely turkey) so the squirrels are running free. I took this shot in low light so I raised the ISO but the speed never got above 1/40sec. Exposure and shadow adjustments in Lightroom and noise reduction software in Macphun made the photo come to life.
I was standing on a platform with a group of other photographers trying to take photos of a heron that was just out of my lens’ range. As I was having no success with the heron I looked about to find something else of interest. The painted turtle in these photos was swimming around a few feet below me and kept raising his head above water. As I didn’t have a polarizing filter on my lens the water looks a bit murky but I don’t think it detracts from the final result.
I came across this well-fed rabbit as it grazed along the footpath. It didn’t follow typical rabbit behaviour when startled by people – it didn’t freeze or bolt. It just continued feeding and then stopped and looked at us (we were never further than seven to eight feet away). We figured it must have been a young rabbit and had not learned to fear people or predators yet. This reserve has a fair number of hawks and other raptors, I hope it learns that lesson soon!
* After some useful information from a fellow blogger, I no longer believe this rabbit is a cottontail (see my exchange with Eliza Waters in comments)
I always check for painted turtles swimming along the shoreline or sunning themselves on the fallen logs. As their name suggests they have colourful markings and are the smallest turtle species at this reserve. The snapping turtle and blanding’s turtle (both of which I’ve featured in earlier blog posts) are larger. We’re looking forward to seeing some hatchlings, it shouldn’t be too long now!
This little squirrel was aware of my presence but he wasn’t going to abandon his snack and run away. I guess he hoped that if he stood very still I wouldn’t notice him. Not a chance of that as the lighting was perfect and he stood out so sharply against the green of the grass. I took a couple of shots and left him to his snack.
This attractive squirrel with its reddish coat and white underbelly is larger than a chipmunk but smaller than the grey squirrel. They are very territorial and I often see them chasing the much larger eastern greys through the woods. They will stand their ground with people too, this little guy a case in point.
We came across this beaver towards the end of our walk. Instead of taking our regular route back we decided to walk along the river’s edge. Given that it was mid day we weren’t expecting to see a beaver as they are mainly active at night. Looking down the river bank we saw it feeding at the shoreline. We were very close and it must have been aware of us but tolerated our presence. The beaver stopped eating for a bit, took a swim and returned with something else to snack on. You never know where a different path might lead!
This raccoon was quite easy to spot in its perch above the main hiking trail. There are a few resident raccoons in this reserve and we always keep an eye out for them. I like the way the leaves create a natural frame around the animal. Although I liked this effect, I made some adjustments in Lightroom using the Hue/Saturation/Luminance slider to adjust for the brightness of the leaves.
The snapping turtle is prehistoric looking with its long spiked tail and makes for a great subject as it can stay put for long periods of time sunning itself. This is the first time I have tried doing a photograph in black and white. I used Tonality Pro for Mac to affect the changes. While the colour version gives a sense of what I saw, I think the black and white is a better representation of this impressive creature.
As we were finishing our walk one day last fall, we saw someone we knew and stopped to chat. There were quite a few ducks on the lake that day but other than that we hadn’t seen much. As we turned around to leave I spotted this meadow vole. Catching sight of this little creature was an unexpected treat. Given the dull quality of the light I made some shadow and contrast adjustments and used spot removal to clean up the water a bit using Lightroom.
I came across this cottontail one morning last spring. As they are usually nocturnal I thought this was a bit of luck and given what he was up to, doubly so. I guess his snack was of more concern than I was because he held his ground which allowed me to capture him mid chew. Out of camera the shot was in the centre of the frame, I thought this crop gave the picture more impact.
There are several spots we always check on as we make our way through the woods. The raccoon was having a nap in a tree where we have spotted raccoons before. The tree is located a fair distance off the path in a dark wooded area. Out of camera the shot was a bit grainy (it was taken at a high ISO) and given how far I was from the subject I had to crop the image significantly. I processed the shot with Macphun’s Noiseless Pro and Nik detail extractor. Another issue was the white balance which I corrected in Lightroom.
