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.
On a cold wet day, a return to summer is in order. A goldfinch provides a needed bright spot.
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 liked the strong contrast of colours and the flowers’ spiky appearance. 😏
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.
Staghorn Sumac is a flowering plant native to Eastern North America. Its leaves turn beautiful colours in fall and remind me of party streamers.
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’m not a fan of most flies but this one has attractive colouring and great eyes!
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.
We began to see cabbage white butterflies in April and we continue to see them. I think we’ve now seen several generations of this butterfly and they are by far the most numerous around here this year.
There are still flowers about but on some recent walks, the gardens are looking more like this. As for the trees they have begun to show off their fall colours.
Many of the older homes here have been built with red brick. It does provide a nice backdrop for these late summer flowers.
I like these large ducks, close relatives of mallards. They’re often seen swimming together and also tend to be a little less vocal 😏
Japanese beetles are a form of scarab beetle and were introduced to North America in the early 1900’s. They have beautiful colouring but are highly destructive to plants and crops. This one was balancing on some Queen Anne’s Lace.
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.
Taken one day in early September.
I caught the bee as it darted between the flowers. Always nice when this happens!
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 don’t look forward to the end of summer but do enjoy these kinds of photo opportunities.
Our neighbour grows the most beautiful peach coloured roses. I stopped by often this summer,
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 took a number of shots of the monarch but only realized I caught it in mid air when I got home 😊
As I walked along the path the grasshoppers scattered. Luckily I saw this one land.
I don’t see Blue Jays too often. I waited for this one to fly to a tree after it stopped at a feeder.
I haven’t seen many Asian Lady Beetles (pictured) or Ladybugs lately. Last year I saw some around this time so I’m still hopeful I will!
I’m always surprised at how hefty groundhogs look as their diet consists mainly of grass and the contents of people’s vegetable gardens 😏. They hibernate from late fall through the winter so right now they’re working on their fat reserves.
Not to be overlooked.
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.
After a long drive we thought we’d make one last stop. I took this photo at a conservation area close to home.
Had I followed the rules of landscape photography, I would have had more in the foreground but I wanted to convey the vastness of this wetland.
The landscape is looking more like Autumn. There’s still much to enjoy but our long awaited summer is coming to an end,
I like photographing geese and reflections. I got quite lucky here.
If you’re lucky a dragonfly will land nearby. Just the water lily that day, still not too shabby 😏
I watched as the two geese joined the rest of the group, they really look like small aircraft on the descent 😊
The reflections in the river are taking on an autumn feel too.
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.
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 