I always associate painted turtles with lazy summer afternoons. They are either basking in the sun or going for a quiet swim. You feel yourself slowing down in their company. No better way than that to enjoy summer!
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GREEN HERON
I took this photograph last August. We haven’t had as many opportunities to visit our favourite reserve this summer and the birds are keeping themselves scarce when we do go. Last year was a good year so old friends are putting in an appearance.
WHAT’S UP?
At the reserve we go to most often, mallards are well represented. They are very sociable, and always available for a photograph. I find them the most amusing of ducks, in this case the duck looks like its been up to something, or maybe it’s just me.
MEADOWS’ EDGES (PART TWO)
The birds are keeping themselves scarce right now but there is no shortage of insects or flowers to photograph. I look forward to when the chicory puts in an appearance, almost as much as this hover fly.
MEADOWS’ EDGES (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
This hover fly flew into the frame just as I was composing my photograph, a nice addition to the shot. On these brilliant summer days I enjoy walking along the meadows’ edges with the the riot of colour and buzzing of insects laid out for the taking.
A FINE FEAST
This little bee was a cooperative subject as he took his time gathering pollen. There weren’t many other bees around so he had his pick of the sunflowers. Summer time and the living is easy.
EGRETS (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
The first Egret shot was taken last summer, the bird was on the lookout for lunch. I took the second photo last fall, it appears the egret found the vine a tasty snack. I usually like to have a variety of subjects on my blog. This year my schedule and the birds putting in an appearance haven’t always coincided. Luckily as I have a good number of bird photographs that have yet to appear on my blog I’ll be featuring some from time to time.
POPPIES (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I do like poppies and was happy to see them among the other flowers in the field. They have a colour and delicacy that always attracts the eye. I decided against a tight crop and chose to show them as an element of the whole.
A FINE BALANCE (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I rarely carry more than the lens on my camera when I set out to do some photography, so I pretty much have an idea of what I’d like to photograph. On this particular day I had my 105mm and was looking for flower and insect subjects. I wasn’t disappointed by these red milkweed beetles.
SLIPPING INTO SUMMER (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
With all the greyness and rain we’ve had it would be easy to think that summer forgot to arrive this year. So when the sun does shine everyone comes out to enjoy it. I spotted these ladybugs while on a walk in my neighbourhood. We don’t see too many insects in the city centre so I was feeling pretty lucky that afternoon.
TENTATIVE (THREE PHOTOGRAPHS)
I came across this wood duck chick as it was about to slip into the water. It reminded me of a child building up it’s courage to jump into the deep end of a pool. The duckling seemed to wear a triumphant expression when he finally did.
ON THE FLY
I haven’t had as much time as I’d like to get out with my camera and this will be the case for a while yet. The other day however, while out in the neighbourhood with a macro lens on my camera, I stopped beside a hedge and had a look around. I spotted some ladybugs (for a future post) and this little fly. When I got home and viewed the insect on my computer, I was delighted to see it was blowing a bubble. A perfect macro moment!
TAME AND WILD (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
This yellow wildflower in a field of green embodies summer to me. It grew on its own with no competition for my attention. The second flower was in a garden hedge. It had just rained, a constant this summer, and it stood out nicely against the green.
NUTHATCH
This bird is one of my favourites. A frequent visitor to my blog, the nuthatch’s alert and friendly manner makes for a great subject. I thought the background colour did a nice job of framing the bird.
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Like many herons, the Black-crowned night heron can stalk its prey for longer than I have the patience to watch. With a catch or not they make for excellent subjects, as they stand so still allowing me to take many photographs. This spot on the lake is always a popular fishing spot, and the lighting always adds interest to the scene.
PRETTY IN PINK (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Two different wildflowers that I really like. The first photo is of pink trilliums. They are less common than the white variety but they tend to grow in bunches which more than makes up for their scarcity. The second photograph is of bladder campions, considered a weed in North America but not to this photographer!
THE FLOWER AND THE BEE
Although it’s still spring, the temperature has been in the low 30Cs the last few days. The birds and their offspring are scarce but the wildflowers and insects are everywhere you look at the reserve. My first bee and flower photograph of the season, always a cheerful combination!
ONE MORE SPRING FLOWER
I haven’t been out as often as I’d like with my camera but seeing and photographing this beauty, made up for some missed opportunities. Trilliums are the official flower of Ontario yet I never come across them in great numbers. Their growing period is a short one, this trillium looked like it was celebrating the season.
DOWNTOWN SUNDAY (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Taking a walk downtown on a rare sunny afternoon in May, I hoped to see some things of interest to photograph. I had borrowed a wide angle lens (12-24mm) and was trying to get a feel for it. The sharp lines and colour attracted me in both of these photographs.
Canada will be celebrating its 150th Birthday on July 1. There is a multi-year plan to renovate many Federal buildings in Ottawa. You can just see some scaffolding in the reflection of the Parliament Buildings in the first photo. The fencing covered in colourful posters dressed up another construction site and made for an interesting composition.
ANOTHER SPRING FIRST
All the familiar favourites are returning to the reserve. We’ve had a few sightings of Black-crowned Night Herons; never two at once, so I’m no sure if there’s one individual or more. We came across this one in a quiet cove. We watched as he starred at the water never shifting his gaze. He caught a fish so quickly that I missed the shot and only caught him with his back to me as he flew off with a large catfish dangling from his mouth.
FIRST DRAGONFLIES (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
In the past week we’ve seen our first dragonflies of the season. Once these insects appear summer is truly on its way. Since I rarely carry more than one lens with me, and had set out to photograph birds that day, these were taken with my 300mm lens. I took plenty of shots, the dragonfly was in no hurry to fly off, and though some were discarded I had quite a few keepers. I look forward to the weeks that follow with more dragonfly varieties emerging as well as the appearance of damselflies.
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
The female Red-winged Blackbird has more subtle colouring than her male counterpart but is an attractive bird by any standard. I’ve only seen the female once before, the males seem to be less shy and their song fills the woods beginning mid-March, one of the first spring migrants to our area. This bird and her mate were in the open as I walked along and I took this shot.
WILD FLOWERS (THREE PHOTOGRAPHS)
As is often the case, spring arrives slowly to my part of the country, the temperature going from very cool to very warm within days. The woodlands remain quiet, but gradually the birds return and the trees and other vegetation begin to bud and then suddenly burst with colour and sweet smells. These flowers were just budding last week, now there’s so much that catches my eye, it’s hard to chose what to photograph. The perfect dilemma!
YOUNG RED SQUIRREL (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
By this time in May we usually see a lot of young birds in the woods and on the water. Given the below normal temperatures in our area and heavy spring flooding the natural cycle has been delayed by a few weeks. Squirrels don’t seem to have been effected though as we’ve some young about. This young squirrel wasn’t scared off by my presence. He kept an eye on me but held his ground (and his nut) while I photographed him. I took a few shots and then I left him to it.
TULIPS – 2 (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
We returned to the Tulip Festival for a second time on a hot sunny day this week. Many of the flowers were at their peak although not all as you can see in the first photo. The tulips are selected in such a way that there are continuous blooms throughout the three week span of the festival. I plan to get back once more before it ends, the riot of colour is hard to resist.
UNRULY BIRD
The photo has an unusual composition that I like. The chickadee to the right of the photo and the leaves to the left provide balance. No Rule of Thirds here or the usual negative space in front of the bird. Some rules are meant to be broken!
ON THE WING (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I came across the first image when I was looking for some Canada Geese photographs for a recent post. I haven’t taken many birds in flight and hadn’t remembered taking this one. The geese were beginning their fall migration so if you pointed your camera towards the sky there were a lot of opportunities to try and capture them. My 300mm lens at F 5.6 worked in my favour and I was pretty pleased with the result.
The Great Blue Heron was on a fishing expedition and landed shortly after I took this photo. Always a favourite subject of mine on land or in the air.
TULIPS (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Canada’s Tulip Festival is a yearly event in Ottawa that takes place each May. We decided to go before the official opening in order to avoid the crowds. There are many varieties of tulips in bloom with many yet to come over the three weekends of the festival. After a break from photography this past cold winter it was a pleasure to get out again with our cameras, coming home with muddy knees from taking close ups of the flowers.
RASCALLY RABBIT
The path we were on led to a field bordered by some underbrush. While looking around, this Cottontail appeared. At first it froze in place and then not bothered by our presence continued feeding; glancing in our direction from time to time. I thought it must have been rather young and trusting to react this way. I took a few shots before he decided to move along.
MISUNDERSTOOD (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Canada Geese can be unwelcome visitors, noisy, messy and overstaying their welcome. But they can make for wonderful subjects too. I came upon this bird last fall as the leaves were changing and the light was soft. These photos were taken at our favourite reserve, a place I’ve only visited a few times this spring. With the below average temperatures and the flooding this month many of the paths are under water. The nearby river is slowly beginning to recede but it will be a several weeks before we’ll be able to walk the park in its entirety.
BIG SKY (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
This downy woodpecker had been busy excavating some bark but paused briefly in his work, taking a break. Perched on the branch facing a wide open sky gave the bird a rather contemplative look that I liked.
FINE WEATHER FOR DUCKS (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Both of these photos were taken in April on a rare day when it wasn’t raining. The rain and cold is breaking records this spring and flooding is affecting a large number of people in several provinces. I love taking photos of ducks when they appear to be steaming towards me, the first duck looks like he means business while the second one just a bit curious.
NUTHATCH (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I’ve done several posts on Nuthatches, they remain in our area all year long. Even in winter when there’s nothing much about you can usually count on this little bird to put in an appearance. Their striking looks and tell tale call make them agreeable subjects.
CEDAR WAXWING
It was our first time back to this particular nature reserve since last fall. It has a wonderful wildlife garden and the rest of the property consists of trails and woodlots. As we walked along one of the paths we came across this solitary waxwing out in the open. He sat on the branch in no hurry to leave. He made my morning.
MOVE OVER
The air was cool but the sun was nice and warm and the painted turtles were out in force. In this sheltered little bay every log was host to crowds of turtles. The spring melt has flooded parts of the park and we had to wade through shin high water to get to the little bridge that overlooked the turtles. What a sight they were for winter weary eyes.
DOWNY WOODPECKER (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I usually see downy woodpeckers excavating tree trunks, so it’s nice to photograph one perched on a branch for a change. This male stuck around for a few minutes, so I had more opportunity than usual to take some shots. The light was excellent and the weather was fine (sunny days are returning). All and all a wonderful return to spring and picture taking!
SPOTTED SANDPIPER
This is the very first sandpiper I have photographed. I have seen a few shorebirds along the river but they were never close enough to get a decent shot. This bird flew into a quiet inlet and was at the limit of my lens. I thought the rocky ledge he was perched on made for an interesting background and compensated for the fact that the bird could have been just a bit closer.
SPRING FLOWERS (THREE PHOTOGRAPHS)
I took a walk in my neighbourhood and saw more evidence of spring. More birds chirping, crocus wearing their colours, tulips coming up and one brave daffodil in bloom (it’s still in the single digits celsius most mornings). Today’s flowers were taken around this time last year, so they are another nod to the season that’s slowly approaching.
GOSLINGS (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
It’s too early to see goslings in my part of the country. It’s cold and grey outside so I went through my catalogues from last year for a bit of a spring lift and came upon these two. The goslings were taken within a day of each other last May. The first little goose looks just a bit younger and more tentative than the second who seems to be fixing me with a curious stare. I’m so looking forward to taking photographs like these again!
ANOTHER DOOR OPENS (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
There’s a pedestrian mall in town that has a mixture of shops, restaurants and government office buildings. Many of the buildings were built after the Second World War in the Gothic Revival style of architecture. I have always liked this door and the detail of the frieze with it’s iconic Canadian scene. I think the colour version works quite well but the black and white version is more in keeping with the period in which it was built.
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 