I enjoy seeing ring-billed gulls on the water, although we often see them in city parking lots and public parks scavenging for food. I liked this photogenic group; note the mottled bird on the left, it’s a juvenile. These gulls take three years to reach full maturity.
Luckily, the sparrow decided to stay put for a few minutes!
It was a good year for wood ducks. This young male was one of many I enjoyed seeing this summer.
I was looking across the lake and happened to glance down from the platform and saw the wood ducks resting on a log. Not an angle I favour but it did show them off quite nicely.
We associate robins with springtime. Yet, if they can find enough berries to eat a few remain all winter.
The duck seemed to know how to navigate the choppy water and I watched it as it moved with the waves.
There were plenty of seeds in the feeder but they weren’t on this blue jay’s menu. 😏
I don’t see hooded mergansers very often and when I do they’re usually in the middle of the lake. Not this one though.
We discovered this pond late in the season as did a number of waterbirds. This is one of many photos I took that day of geese and cormorants.
There are plenty of logs at the lake for birds and turtles to climb onto when they want a break from swimming or just have a look around. I caught this young wood duck doing just that.
When I was a kid you either inched your way into the freezing lake or dove in and got it over with. I think the goose fell into the latter camp. 😊
Wild Turkeys are not the prettiest of birds and can be quite aggressive during mating season. A local reserve closed its walking trails this past spring for several weeks when a trio of toms were harassing people. Conservation Officers had hoped to capture the birds and relocate them but they evaded capture. I took this photo at the same reserve in August, I kept a wary eye on this bird and waited for him to move along before I continued my walk.
I took this in early August at a local reserve. The young wood duck had recently emerged from the water with its siblings. The young are quite fearless but its mother was close by.
I turned around and there she was. I would have liked a bit more space between me and the duck but you’ve got to work with what you’ve got. Wood ducks are still in our area, I hope for a few more photo opportunities before they fly south for the winter.
There’s an old house in my neighbourhood that has several feeders out front. Sparrows, goldfinch and pigeons drop in often. The pigeons are quiet and don’t seem to leave any tell tale signs of their presence 😏. I couldn’t have asked for a more accommodating bird.
I’ve read that male ducks will often puff themselves up to fend off predators or to attract potential mates. I think this one just had an itch. 😏
I saw the heron in a city park that borders the river. The bird was perched on the embankment of a man made lake. Not sure what if was hoping to catch.
I have a soft spot for mallards and feature them quite frequently on my blog. They are pretty hard to resist. 😊
One of the ducks found some shade beneath the asters on this hot September day. I saw the bright flowers first and then these two.
I watched as the heron made its way out of the underbrush and started patrolling the shoreline. All the time I was there it didn’t get a bite.
I always enjoy seeing a chickadee. It was a windy August day and the bird seemed to have a tenuous grip on the edge of the rock. It appeared to be molting too.
The woodpecker had been drilling away at the tree for some time when he suddenly looked up, perhaps taking a break from all that hammering.
I like these large ducks, close relatives of mallards. They’re often seen swimming together and also tend to be a little less vocal 😏
We tend to see more goldfinch in the late summer and early fall as flowers dry and form seed heads, their food of choice. This male looks like he’s beginning to moult.
On a recent drive heading to a new birding area, we stopped when we saw this pond close to a suburban development. The water was teeming with several egrets, cormorants and a lot of other water birds. We never did make it to our original destination.
I had hoped the sparrow would land where it did!
I enjoy seeing cardinals no matter the season. I saw this one in the spring. He struck a fine pose too.
I saw the heron in the reeds but couldn’t get a clear shot. All of a sudden it decided to fly across the pond and I caught this. More to come…
I don’t see Blue Jays too often. I waited for this one to fly to a tree after it stopped at a feeder.
People we met on the trail pointed us in the general direction of this barred owl. Unlike other owls who often keep close to the trunk or inside a tree cavity, barred owls often are quite easy to spot if you know where to look. This owl was my first of the year.
I like photographing geese and reflections. I got quite lucky here.
I watched as the two geese joined the rest of the group, they really look like small aircraft on the descent 😊
Some years I see chickadees everywhere. I haven’t seen many this summer but as they remain year round I hope for more opportunities.
As we followed the path down to the beach we saw an egret standing in the long grass. After a while it turned towards the river and we left it to its wandering.
At least it looked like that to me 😊
On a quick walk in the neighbourhood, I saw a house sparrow land on a stoop for a few minutes. Looking for its mate?
That’s what I like about mallards, they look you right in the eye.
I heard the pileated woodpecker before I saw it. As we got closer, several people were gathered close to the tree the bird was excavating. If you look closely you can just see its tongue darting into the hole it had drilled to retrieve its meal.
As the summer moves along wood ducks become a bit bolder and don’t retreat when they see you. This imposing male strode along like he owned the place 😊
This female downy was enjoying her meal. When these little birds are feeding they don’t notice the photographer lurking in the background 😊
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 