Day 249 - 6th September 2014 - Sunrise, Common Yellowthroats, Hummingbird and Chickadee

Up too early again, wonder when I'm going to have a couple nights of normal sleep. Hoping to do a little birding today but they are calling for some showers sometime, although Sunday is looking better now. Can always haunt the hood today and hit the beaches tomorrow. Oh yeah there will be wood to do, housework and groceries to fit into the birding schedule too.
Glad this week is over - for some reason those short week always feel sooo long. Friday was busy and tiring but it was a beautiful day, warm and sunny. When we got home supper time the temperature was still +30 but it cools off quickly in the evening.

 Morning on the lake - my favourite time of day!

 Love these little Common Yellowthroat Warblers.

 A foggy start.

 There are lots of webs around most mornings.

 Still a few females and youngsters around.

 I enjoyed sitting on the deck last evening with my tea and camera.
The Chickadees are always fun to watch.

 Umm...it's that crazy woman with the camera again!

A few Goldfinches stopped by to see if there was anything good to eat.














Enjoy your day!

Day 248 - 5th September 2014 - Foggy Mornings, Spider Web and Phlox

Friday has rolled around once again. Lots of things to get finished off today at work. Looks like another nice day but the weekend maybe a wet one. Might get a chance to check out some birding early in the morning on Saturday but that will probably be about it. Sounds like it's going to be a weekend mostly housebound. Oh well it's Nova Scotia - the weather can change in 5 minutes.
Beautiful fall day, sun came out warm and great. Work went well as did most of the day. A few researchers and people in purchasing books. Quiet walk in the morning, only saw a Northern Parula and Song Sparrow. Exercise class last night - as always a hard workout.

 Fog and sun on the lake.

 The sun was shining through the fog on the spider web.

 Still have some of my phlox.

 But many of the petals have fallen.

Not my favourite creatures but part of nature.

Some of these are fading as well.







Enjoy your day!

Day 247 - 4th September 2014 - Chickadee, Northern Parula and Blue-headed Vireo

The air is so much clearer and cooler this morning and the stars are all out. Feels like it's going to be a good day. We'll see the school bus on the road again beginning today, summer is over for students, teachers and bus drivers. Guessing most of the kids are ready to go back or at least the parents are ready for the return to normality.
Well it took most of the day but it did clear off and the sun came out. Humid but not quite as bad as the last few days - nice breeze to help out. The hood was quiet yesterday, I walked way over to the point and only saw a couple Song Sparrows and Common Yellow-throated Warblers on my trek. It was foggy and dreary at that time so maybe they were off sulking in the swamps. After supper they began to appear in my back yard as has been their habit the last few nights. Makes me feel like they are saying good bye before they head out for warmer climates and our colder months.

This was a huge web and appeared to be suspended in mid air.

 Song Sparrow.

 Bees are still active.

 The Lupin seeds have blown in the wind to reseed for next summer's blooms.

This is certainly a healthier looking Atlantis Fritillary than the one I've been seeing in the yard.

 And the Chickadees arrived in the yard after supper - sitting on Larry's Scarlet Runners and Bean posts.

 That usually means others arrive...sure enough - a Northern Parula.

And a Blue-headed Vireo. Also saw several Ovenbirds in the trees, but just a bit too high for good shots.







Enjoy your day!

Day 246 - 3rd September 2014 - Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher, a few Warblers and a Kite

Wednesday, my day off and up too early again. This really gets to be a drag, but as they say - "suck it up buttercup". Looks like another morning of drizzle then clearing. Guess I'll hit the hood, poke along through some bushes and see what I come up with. Might find a few birds or I may have to wait until they make their way into my yard again later today. If nothing else, makes for a good workout.
A relatively quiet day at work, which meant I got lots done. Humidity is still high - really dislike it. It was dark, overcast and drizzly when I went for my walk in the morning, birds weren't moving too much and where they were was dark for photos. I did see a couple of Hermit Thrushes and Common Yellow-Throated Warblers.  I was rewarded in the back yard while cooking supper last night with a few Palm and Yellow Warblers as well as a Yellow - bellied Flycatcher. Could hear the Woodpecker but didn't see her.

Yellow Warbler - high in a tree.

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Nice to see one in the yard again.

Dill

 Palm Warbler.

 Someone was flying a kite on Daniel's Beach the other day.

 A path of Queen Anne's Lace and other wild flowers.

Grasses - thick and fluffy.












Enjoy your day!

Day 245 - 2nd September 2014 -Spider, Ducks, Woodpecker and Palm Warbler

Up too early and back to work this morning. Looks like we had a few showers during the night but I think the day will clear up and be fine. September will probably speed by quickly, lots of things on the go this month.  Fall is usually busy at work too, researchers like to travel in the shoulder season - many of those don't have to worry about children going back to school.
To my credit I did get some housework done yesterday, but then the sun came out... around the hood I went. Unfortunately it was pretty quiet, little did I know most activity was in my own yard. After the rain the humidity jumped sky high - not great for plodding along. Lexi wasn't keen on it either so we kept mostly  to the woods where it was shaded and she could have a run.

 He might be kind of ugly but watching him build his web was really cool.

 A very small frog - almost didn't see him.

 Dragonfly - they certainly have lots of character.

 From the yard.

 This poor Butterfly is really looking bad.

 Looks like lots of cranberries this year.

 Must be love!

 I got quite close but a little too much light. She seems to spend a lot of time in this old apple tree.

After supper the yard was full of Palm Warblers and Magnolia Warblers. The Maggies aren't near as easy to capture!! All I got was their butts.











Enjoy your day!

Day 244 - 1st September 2014 - Sandpipers, Red Knots, Dowitchers and more

Hard to believe that today starts another month. Where have the months gone - they seem to fly right by. I'm off as it's a Holiday - seems the last few holidays that have fallen on Monday have been wet ones and today is no different. Oh well, it will be a housework kind of day. Need to clean up the laptop some too. If we get a break in the weather I'll be off in the hood.
We had another really good day on Sunday - no new lifers but still great. Headed off down through Port Clyde - Thomasville, Reynoldcroft toward Port LaTour. There are lots of ponds along the side of the roads but they were pretty quiet. Made a stop at Crow's Neck Beach - lots of peeps there feeding in the seaweed along the beach.  Then it was off to Villagedale and Sandhills Beach. It's one of our nicest provincial beaches - long stretches of white sand and on a sunny day the water looks tropical. More little peeps along with Red Knots and Dowitchers. A large flock of Terns also flew in but were unsettled. From there we headed out to Cape Sable Island. The tide was in by then so not much action on the beaches. Stopped at West Head Take out for dinner and then homeward.

Lots of peeps around yesterday morning.

 Least Sandpiper

 Sanderling

 One of my favourite shots of the day.

Ruddy Turnstone with Least Sandpiper in the background.

 Black-bellied Plovers in flight.

 Long-billed Dowitchers.

 Juvenile Red Knot.

 It was so windy on the beach they all snugged together.

 A large flock of Terns flew in and land near the water - no getting close to them.

 And off they went again!

Yellow Legs.










Enjoy your day!