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.
I had hoped the sparrow would land where it did!
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 😊
I stopped and watched this cute little guy as he paused between bites to look at me. I finally walked away and left him to his snack.
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.
I followed this cabbage white as it moved from flower to flower. This one looked a little bleary eyed from all that nectar 😏
At least it looked like that to me 😊
I think I’m seeing more bees now than I was earlier in the summer as the season nears its end.
Late summer – cooler nights, and daytime temperatures still nice and warm, the landscape now a mix of flowers and grasses.
I’ve seen very few dragonflies this summer, I was happy to see this one.
Under the bird feeder was the place to be for this red squirrel.
Bees and flowers, summertime favourites.
We’ve seen several monarchs this summer but until now they’ve been very flighty. I finally got a few minutes to photograph this one.
On a quick walk in the neighbourhood, I saw a house sparrow land on a stoop for a few minutes. Looking for its mate?
Another scene that signals late summer.
I don’t know who was having more fun, me or these characters.
That’s what I like about mallards, they look you right in the eye.
I had almost given up seeing any frogs this summer until I spotted this handsome fellow. I’m not sure who was more surprised!
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.
It is still very much summer but the landscape is slowly showing signs of fall. There’s a bit more yellow in the fields and milkweed pods are opening to release their seeds. I like photographing these changes.
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 😊
We recently visited a favourite nature reserve that had a variety of birds the day we were there. After taking a good number of photos, I slowed down to catch my breath and noticed this scene. I’m glad I saw it, there’s a lot we can overlook when our eye is on the “prize”.
The sunflower was centre stage but it had a nice supporting cast 😊
