As I was leaving a store, this sight greeted me across the street. This lot was pretty relaxed but I still was impressed at the way the dog walker handled all the dogs at once.
I grew up with a West Highland Terrier and can never resist stopping to have a look at one or take a photo if my camera is handy.
This might look a typical winter scene but it was actually taken last April. There was more snow on the ground then than we have right now, though not for long I imagine. Chickadees are here throughout the winter, brightening our walks along the trails.
A bit too cold for photography lately. I pulled this photo from my summer files. It was taken in August when everything was at its brightest and most colourful. A bit of cheer on this cold December day.
It’s always a pleasure to see one of these birds. We saw several goldfinches in the woods this year, this female landed close by and I managed a quick shot.
This photo was taken in late October. I liked the contrasting shapes and colours of the flowers and leaves. There’s something very appealing about these fading flowers, beauty in their imperfection.
The weather today is cold, grey and wet. I thought a scene like this was a good antidote. The duckling was exploring his new surroundings. There are a lot of predators of these young birds and I wished it well as I walked along.
In mid summer, the living is easy for animals in our local reserve. At least it’s easier for this red squirrel than it is now with the approach of winter. The squirrels were busy in the fall hiding their winter provisions. This along with people feeding them, will help them make do until spring.
People with backyard feeders tell me they often have blue jays visit their feeders. Living in the city and having no backyard, my sightings are in the woods and far less frequent. The bird’s noisy call usually alerts me to its presence as it did so here. The jay stopped for a minute amid the fall colours.
On a drive last summer, we passed a group of horses grazing in a field. A mare stopped to nurse her foal and glanced our way as I took the photo.
These frogs can be grey, brown or green. This one was a lovely shade of green. I’ve heard them calling a few times but had never seen one close up. A friend was focused on a patch of sunflowers as we approached and he pointed to this well camouflaged frog. They overwinter under leaf litter and snow.
I didn’t manage to capture the butterfly with its wings wide open but this face on shot made up for it. Butterflies can fix you with a look so direct that you might wonder what you have interrupted😏
Most ducks have left our rivers and lakes as the water begins to freeze. A few mallards remain by the open water in a reserve we visit but the majority have left for the season. These photos were taken a month ago when the fall colours were at their height.
I watched the sparrow as it paused on the edge of the pond and then walked about. This pond is a favourite of frogs too and attracts other birds and insects during the course of the summer. The sparrow is an energetic little bird with striking colouring. Always fun to photograph.
Since I took this photo, we’ve had snow, freezing rain and a week of -C temperatures. The weather has moderated a bit but scenes like this are over until next year. Thank goodness for my photo catalogues where I can retrieve sights like these.
Many birds balance on one leg to reduce heat loss. Although it looks kind of comical it’s quite effective. Another photo of a wood duck with attractive fall background.
While walking through a wildlife garden, I passed by this little pond and saw two leopard frogs, sitting there motionless. Normally, frogs dive for cover when they see me approach but not these two. Lucky for me.
I saw the last swallowtails of the year in August although other butterflies were still around until early October. A very good year for them all. The swallowtail made picture taking very easy as it lingered on the Joe Pye weed, a plant they love.
I wondered if I could photograph a leaf as it floated to the ground. At 1/640th of a second I managed to get one leaf in perfect focus.
The second photo was taken this fall. When I first saw the thing in the water several years ago, it startled me as it looked like an exotic vine or reptile. I later found out that it was the work of beavers. (After all, we don’t have alligators in Ottawa😏 .)
Every year in late October, several pairs of American Wigeons stop here on their migration south. You can almost tell the date by these birds. I took quite a few photographs of them and will feature more over the coming months.
I took this photo two weeks ago, before the temperature began to drop. The wood duck had a faraway look as though he knew it was soon time to leave for the winter. Snow is on the way tonight, I sure hope all the birds that should have left are well on their way. I’ll have to check on the next sunny day.
The sumac provided a perfect landing spot for the chickadee. The bird was in the open and took its time to look around, making this animated subject easier than usual to take.
The way the sun hit the lime coloured leaf reminded me of holiday lights. As I continued my walk I came upon these rich purple berries (which the birds will enjoy in the cold months ahead). Both photos required little cropping, I just moved around a bit to get a pleasing composition.
I featured this nuthatch, in a late October post, looking half asleep. In this photo the bird had reached the end of the branch and looked like it was weighing its options.
The goose was at quite a distance and I tried to position myself to get a clean view of it. I shot down a narrow tree lined pathway so there were a few unwanted shadows in the frame, most of which I removed. There were no colourful reflections at this spot but the vegetation added some interest to the water.
These were taken earlier in the month. Most of our wildflowers have gone to seed but a few still remain, including these hardy wild sunflowers. We’ve only had a few nights that have dipped below the freezing mark and the days have been mostly sunny so the flowers might last a bit longer.
I like the wake created as the duck glided through the coloured water. I watched as she swam around, changed course and headed in my direction forming the trail behind her.
This is the second in a series of photographs I took on a recent walk. The colours are not quite as bold as they were in my earlier post, but there are still plenty of opportunities for photos like these.
The way this squirrel is hugging the tree makes me think he’s a young one. Usually they are pretty spirited, chasing the larger grey squirrels or holding their ground as we pass them in the woods.
Fall in the Northern Hemisphere is a short one. The days get colder, and the leaves change colour and fall. But before they do, they dress the water in fabulous reflections which caught this passing Canada Goose.
The forest was dark, so to compensate for this I shot at a high ISO which made for a noisy photo. I corrected this in Lightroom using noise reduction and the moire filter.
The nuthatch looks half asleep as he makes his way up the branch, almost sleepwalking.
I feature mallards a lot on my blog. There are plenty of them year round always up for a photo shoot and are sociable, good looking subjects. This handsome male was competing for my attention with the wonderful fall background.
The bee was working on a deadline, busy collecting pollen in mid-September. Its colour is striking; among the most attractive of bees.
One of several woodpeckers we see year round, I took this photo in July. Using a narrow depth of field I got the background you see here.
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!
I thought the season for damselflies was over for the year when I saw one a week ago, perched on a stem. We’re still seeing the occasional Monarch but this is the only damselfly I’ve seen in over a month. A wonderful sight indeed.
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.
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 