I was about to cross the bridge that leads to the other side of the park when I saw this song sparrow just ahead of me. He wasn’t easily startled and I took a few shots. These sparrows are common little birds, but their colouring is striking. I believe the bird is a mature individual although given his stance in the first photo, I wondered for a moment. He reminded me of kid trying to steady himself.

I usually crop closer to my subject but in this case the Black-capped chickadee was only one element of the photograph. I liked the way the branches framed the bird and the the leaves opposite it added balance to the shot. As I learn more about photography and look beyond the obvious subject in the frame, I see how the background and lighting and the play of colours can turn a photo into something you might look at just a bit longer.

I was standing along the muddy edge of the lake photographing a group of tiny frogs when this phoebe flew into view. I shifted my position on the log and kept snapping away. Shooting with a prime lens and with no time to back up, the tail of the bird is a little close to the frame. Happily the shots were nice and sharp so I’m not too bothered by the less than perfect crop. I made a few tonal adjustments in Lightroom to brighten up the photos.

Wood Duck chicks and their parents seem to prefer this part of the lake. A few posts back I featured an adult female on the same log keeping an eye on her young. The wood duck is the only duck in North America that produces two broods a year. As we’ve had many adult pairs at the lake this summer we’re seeing a lot of chicks, more than any other species.

A fellow photographer alerted us to this black-crowned night heron he had discovered in a tree off the water. It was nearing the end of the day and a whistle caught our attention. We couldn’t see what was making the sound until I looked towards the water and saw a man waving his arms. As we approached he pointed upwards and we saw the heron. We couldn’t have been more than 15 feet from it. I don’t know if the heron saw us but it continued to preen and we took multiple shots. It was a wonderful end to our walk thanks to the friendly stranger who generously shared his find with us.

I have featured this grackle before. The last time he appeared on my blog he was taking a bath. Once he had finished splashing around he flew into a nearby tree and began drying himself off. I continued taking pictures until he finally flew away. I take shots of these birds whenever I can. They are alert, deliberate, intelligent and uncommonly good looking!

On a hot day last week I took cover in the shade and saw this wood duck family close to shore. The light was perfect and each duck stood out sharply. The chicks looked relaxed, the adult on alert. The young were born sometime in June. They learn to fly at about seven weeks, until then they stick close to their mother.

The Canada Goose gets mixed reviews: they can be messy, noisy, territorial and damage crops (not one of our most popular exports!). There are times though when I appreciate the Canada Goose and this is one of those times. The bird had just taken a drink when it seemed to pause and stare at it’s reflection. I took this photo in early October when the trees were beginning to change colour and caused the effect on the water that you see here.

When I saw this solitary wood duck looking out on the lake, she reminded me of a Mom waiting for her kids to come home. The ducklings in the second photo weren’t actually hers and were a bit young to be swimming around unsupervised (their mother was just out of view). So in the end I guess the first duck was just having a look around.

Sometimes nature saves the best for last. After a couple of hours of wandering around on a hot muggy morning with nothing much to show for it we came across this heron. It had its back to us at first but slowly turned sideways concentrating on the water. The lake is full of small catfish and he waited patiently for one to swim by. We were happy to be standing in the shade and waited along with him. Before too long he caught one and I walked away the first decent shots of the day.

It’s been a good year for wood ducks at our local reserve. This female is leading a good sized brood around the lake. Wood ducks have up to 11 eggs per clutch and as there are more than 11 ducklings in this picture (a few are hidden behind the adult) she might be minding another’s young or her nest could have been occupied by another duck’s eggs, a result of egg-dumping. The chicks stick very close at first, a good thing too because they are very vulnerable to turtles and other predators.

A few posts back I featured a grackle taking a bath at the same spot in the river. Once it had left the shallows this robin took its turn. Other than cooling them off, it seems that a bath keeps a bird’s feathers in good shape and makes them more agile in flight. The robin’s exuberance was very appealing and it remained long enough for me to take these shots. I wonder who is going to show up here next?

Wood ducks return to our region in late March and remain until the first severe frost. This photograph was taken in early May and the ducks are in their finest breeding colours. Along with american wigeons, wood ducks are among the most colourful ducks in this part of Canada. We haven’t seen many broods this spring and we’re hoping that things are just a bit slow. Wood ducks build their nests in the cavities of trees, which explains their name. The other day we saw a female fly into a nesting hole in the same tree that was also occupied by a pileated woodpecker’s nest! If the duck is sitting on a nest we should be seeing her young anytime now.

Every March as the snow melts, the Ottawa River overflows its banks making the walk to the river’s edge impossible. As there had been so little rain this past spring we thought it likely that the water had receded. As it had we followed the path to the edge of the river and found this grackle in the shallows. The bird was totally engaged in his bath and even though we were standing within feet of it, I was able to take this series of shots. I’m not sure who was having more fun, the bird or us!