All of the herons who migrate here in the spring have flown south by now but I thought it would be nice to look back to earlier in the season. I took this photo in May, The heron was sporting its breeding plumage including its white head plumes which were just visible in this shot.
It’s nice when you can position yourself at the level of your subject. The wood duck’s direct gaze was nice too.
You don’t have to go far to catch a glimpse of the changing landscape. I took these photos around the corner from where I live.
This red squirrel was enjoying his snack and wasn’t about to assign the nut to his winter stockpile.
The ducks seemed to be swimming with a purpose known only to them 😊
Another common waterbird here, this Canada Goose was grooming itself away from the flock.
More autumn scenes. We’re having a wonderful fall, cold one day and warmer the next; the leaves are hanging on and so are many flowers.
Groundhogs are true hibernators and usually hibernation begins in late October and lasts through March. We’ve had up and down temperatures and the grass is still nice and green so maybe the locals will delay their long winter nap for a while.
I featured a female mallard on my blog yesterday. The male mallard has a guest spot today. One of my favourite ducks for their spirit and good looks. 😊
I saw a lot of ducks swimming along the lake the day I was there. This female mallard was on her own and very close to shore. I liked her pose and took the shot.
Canada Geese are on the move. We see and hear them overhead flying in V formations. With the weather getting colder it won’t be long before scenes like this will be over for the year.
I caught sight of this American Wigeon through a break in the trees. My only sighting this year. It must have been resting up on its migration south.
The reflections this time of year are spectacular, the wood duck is icing on the cake 😊
As the season moves along you have to give your surroundings a closer look but there’s still plenty of beauty about.
I see the occasional duck on this pond. Today though, the mallard was secondary.
Not too far from the centre of the city is this wonderful reserve that I visit often. As the birds get ready for their fall migration they often stop here before they fly south. They seem to like this old tree too; every time I visit I’m happy to see that it’s still standing. A pleasant place for all before the real cold sets in.
Someone on the path pointed to the duck and asked me if I knew what kind it was. I couldn’t give her an answer but I liked how it sat a distance from shore absorbing the late summer sunshine.
I had taken a photo of this same wood duck napping, back in August, I took this a few minutes later once she had woken up.
Canada Geese are usually elegant in flight. I took this quite a while ago but I believe he was coming in for a landing, a rather awkward one 😏.
We have several varieties of squirrels but red squirrels are my favourite. As cute as they look they’re not afraid to take on the bigger squirrels and chase them away from potential food sources.
It’s been cool and grey out, so I thought a swallowtail on a coneflower would brighten the mood.
I took these photos on a recent walk. As the days get cooler I linger a little longer and look a bit more closely at my surroundings.
The Canada Geese are certainly on the move. They begin their migration in September and most will have headed south by next month.
As I was walking along the sidewalk I saw this rabbit bounding across a lawn. I was using a wide angle lens so I had to crop in quite a bit but I think catching it mid hop made the shot!
The wasp found some goldenrod in bloom, most has faded by now. Despite their nasty sting, they are important pollinators and help keep the insect population down. Still though, I’m glad the goldenrod had its full attention.😏.
At the end of summer the flowers in the fields are looking pretty spent, but there are some like this salsify that aren’t going quietly.
The gulls were there first and then the Heron landed close by. It was as though they were expecting him 😏
The leaf almost seemed suspended in mid-air. It was only when I got closer that I saw it had been caught in the spider’s web along with an unfortunate insect. Another mini drama playing out right under my nose.
There are a lot of geese and gulls on the river right now. They seem to tolerate each other quite well.
Despite their name, New England Asters are native to many Canadian provinces. We see them from mid-August through October. These were at the edge of a pond in good company.
Although the Canada Geese have not begun to migrate south we’re seeing them flying overhead a lot more lately. There’s still plenty for them to eat so they’ll be here for a while yet.
As I mentioned in a recent post, there’s still a lot of greenery about. I was pleased to catch this scene on a recent walk.
I had wondered how sneezeweed, this attractive wildflower got its common name. Indigenous people and early settlers ground it up for medicinal use as well as to make snuff, It certainly brightens up the landscape in late summer and has never once made me sneeze 😏
Fall is certainly putting in an appearance. There’s still a lot of green about but the curtain is drawing on summer.
The red squirrel was sorting through the seeds under a feeder. Another animal I haven’t seen much of this summer.
We visited a local wildlife garden recently and saw more that morning than we had in several recent visits. Among the sightings was this American Goldfinch. He was moulting now that breeding season is over and will soon migrate further south.
The Japanese Beetle has no natural predators in North America so it’s very destructive to a large variety of plants. They are attractive though and I enjoyed watching this one lounge on some spotted jewelweed.
Sunflowers always have a nice long run. Some are beginning to fade but this bunch is still looking bright.
It’s nice to see the bees still gathering pollen in early September. Many flowers look like they’ve been picked over by now but it seems they still have a little more to give.
At least it looks that way to me 😊
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 