Several weeks ago I posted a photograph taken last spring of a woodpecker preparing a nest. In this shot I show the same bird feeding his chick. If you look closely, to the right and left of the chick you can just see the beaks of two other nestlings. We passed this same nesting site a few days back. Once again, a male woodpecker was cleaning it up for this year’s young. The last time we checked we saw that a squirrel had taken up residence. I know that squirrels often occupy vacant nests but this one seemed to have had a tenant, maybe the woodpecker changed its mind.

I have featured mallards several times before and they will continue to show up on my blog. I have a soft spot for these ducks. I like to watch their behaviour and they rarely disappoint! While the light looks even, the photo was taken with the sun directly overhead (shadow under the beak) and in this case illuminates the bird quite nicely.

American Wigeons are a common duck in North America, they pass through our region during the fall migration. Last year was the first time I had seen any. We spotted three pairs of wigeons along with the other ducks. As luck would have it these two climbed up on a log and allowed me to take some shots. The colourful water provides a nice background for these beautiful birds.

This is a good example of being in the right place at the right time, catching the heron just as it was landing. The ISO was low, the lighting was ideal and the shutter speed was high enough so that the bird was sharp. I was happy to capture the drama of the moment and the texture of the heron’s wings.

It’s always nice to capture a bird in motion. I took this just as the duck began her display, propelling herself through the lake and stirring up the rather calm water. Shooting at a high speed allowed me to catch the movement of the duck and the water spray.

I took this photo of a female cardinal the other day. Not being much of a winter photographer, it’s my first photo of the year. The winter is fading into spring so it’s easier to get out on the trails and see what’s what. I watched the bird as it flew around with it’s mate and managed to get a clear shot when it landed in the open. I would have preferred to have more space and less tree to the right of the frame but I took the bird where I could, so I guess I can live with the tree.

I do like mallards and I’ve featured them a few times now. They remain in our area year round and when nothing else shows up, you can always count on them for a photo or two.  A common duck with uncommon good looks, these two are naturals.

The Black-crowned night herons did not pass through in great numbers last summer. I was happy to spot this bird as he fished. We were standing close by but the heron was focussed on what he was doing and paid no attention to us. We waited for him to catch something but he wasn’t having much luck. We got the better of the deal coming away with a slew of shots.

Flocks of these sparrows passed through our area last fall before migrating south. I find them a challenge to photograph as they forage in the underbrush often in large groups. They don’t remain in one spot for long either and all seem to take off at once. So I was happy to spot this individual in the open and he stuck around just long enough for me to take this shot.

We’re lucky to have very distinct seasons but I think fall is my favourite.  The changing of the leaves can make for wonderful photo opportunities.  When I sat down to process this photo I cropped it quite closely to highlight the goose.  I continued with my usual edits but wasn’t happy with the results.  Looking at the photo again I knew that the goose wasn’t the subject of the photo, but an important element of it.  The colour, the light, and the mood the scene evoked were key.

It seemed like a long wait last spring before we finally saw the young appear. We came upon this gosling in late May. He had swum over to the log and it seems we spotted each other at the very same instant. He was a distance from the adults so I was glad that he had climbed up onto the log. The lake can be a dangerous place for the new born with its fair share of snapping turtles and mink. Shortly after I took this shot he swam off to join his parents!

Walking along one of our favourite trails we came across some photographers with their cameras pointed upwards. If there had been no one else on the trail we would have walked right by as the owl was silent and its colouring provided perfect camouflage. The eastern screech is a small owl with a big head and almost no neck and it seemed to fit snuggly in the cavity of the tree. Out of camera the owl and tree were quite dark. I made contrast and shadow adjustments and added luminance to give more definition to the sky (all done in Lightroom) to show off this fine little bird.

The mallard’s mates were out of site and she captured my attention alone on the log.  I took this shot just as the duck had taken a drink from the lake, I think she looks kind of wistful! I made some contrast and exposure adjustments in Lightroom to brighten the photograph and enhanced the detail in Nik.