The leaves are almost at their peak now. Sun or cloud, the woods are ablaze with colour. Walking along the paths, I’ve been selecting small portions of the landscape that have stood out for me. Their shapes, patterns and colours make for nice compositions. Black and white works well too.
This juvenile Black-crowned night heron was a fair distance from me and very high up a tree. I had to crop the picture quite a bit and when I did I noticed its stern expression. It’s a common look for this stocky heron and one that never fails to make me laugh.
These herons usually remain until the lakes begins to freeze, so with a bit of luck we’ll have a few more sightings before then. I didn’t see the heron right away. I was focussed on a goose in the water and panned around to see if there were any other birds about when I spotted the heron standing absolutely motionless. At that distance I would have missed him if hadn’t been for the goose!
This photo was taken on the weekend at a nearby reserve. The lake has several beaver lodges, the one in the background is one of the largest and provides a nice backdrop for the Canada Geese.
I featured the same cardinal a few weeks ago, in this photo he’s giving me a a sidelong glance. I guess he realizes he’s looking a bit rough. While out today I saw another cardinal that was in perfect form but it flew off before I could take a shot.
I heard the chickadee, aimed my camera and got him mid song. They are a common little bird but animated and attractive. The tree was very leafy wth little sunlight filtering through which contributed to the painterly background.
With a frost advisory on the way tonight I thought it was time for another look at some late summer flowers. These were taken mid-September; the first in a field, the second in a neighbourhood garden.
