Day 237 - 25th August 2014 - Barred Owl, Warblers and Butterflies

Monday morning comes way too fast. Hopefully this week will go as well as last week did. Weather looks pretty good for most of the week. Looking forward to the upcoming long weekend.
It was another great weekend. Roamed the hood and chased the Warblers, they weren't as close as Saturday. They tended to hang more in the upper canopy of the trees, but I managed a few shots. It was still fun and a good work out.  We never did get to the beach to look for shorebirds but headed to Upper Clyde where we found  a pair of Barred Owls. Stopped for a visit with friends then home again.

 There are lots of Black and White Warblers around, they are so cute.

 The Black-Throated Green Warblers weren't as accommodating on Sunday. I found on my regular route.

 Chickadees were really busy.

 White-Breasted Nuthatch - they can often be found going "down" the tree.

 Northern Parula hiding out.

 The Ragged Atlantis Frittilary is still around the yard.

 We found two Barred Owls - maybe a pair, one flew away but the other hung around.

 He's really quite stunning.

 Lots of them around.

 An old fence gate can just be seen behind grasses and wild flowers.

An old farm implement hiding in the grasses.







Enjoy your day!

Day 236 - 24th August 2014 - Black-Throated Green Warblers, Black & White Warblers, Red-Eyed Vireo, Eagle and a Frog

Stars are all this morning. Not sure what's planned today - some more wood pile for Larry I'm sure. He mentioned something about making freezer pickles too - that's more his thing than mine. Maybe we'll get a chance to head somewhere today for shore birds. They are leaving rapidly.
The hood was fruitful with birds yesterday. I went off for my morning jaunt and it was fairly quiet until I got back out on the road and was nearly home. Then a leaf twitched and the bushes and trees were alive! I usually have my best days when I find the Chickadees  - guess they are such friendly birds everyone likes to hang out with them. Later in the day I noticed activity in our old Crab Apple tree. We didn't get to the beach yesterday, just around home and a short run down to the tree farm after supper. I saw the Merlin, Flickers and lots of Song Sparrows there.

 Not a great shot but the baby Spotted Sandpipers survived - there were three plus the parents this morning.

 Maybe a space ship...or just a bubble on the water.

 Yellow Rumped Warbler.

 This big guy was hanging out in the road, after I took a few pics I moved him back toward the lake.

 Common Yellow Throated Warbler.

Black and White Warblers.

 The very friendly Black Throated Green Warblers. There were at least three of them.

 Red-Eyed Vireo.

 Palm Warbler.

 The Eagle was down by the river again last night.

A Kestrel  flying off.








Enjoy your day!

Day 235 - 23rd August 2014 - Parula, Chickadee and Blackberries

Here we are Saturday, dark out there, no more early morning sunrises. They are forecasting a nice day with some clouds. Guess it's going to be our regular Saturday - Larry in the woodpile for a while, me roaming the hood and doing some laundry, etc and then groceries and maybe some birding elsewhere. Life sounds exciting! No idea where I want to go today - probably will hit the shore somewhere.
The week ended with another fine day and a good one at the office. Finished up a lot of things with the help of  Jillian. Sad to see her leave she's been such a big help these last two summers. The hood was quiet yesterday morning, the birds are beginning to move on to warmer places for the winter months.

 The old Crab Apple tree in our front yard was the only place with activity yesterday morning. Northern Parula.

 Chickadee.

 The sun was coming through slowly.

 Just a little light hit a spot in the cove.

 In a neighbour's yard.

 The old tree over the lake is beginning to change colors.

Blackberries - I would have thought they would all be ripe by now.










Enjoy your day!

Day 234 - 22nd August 2014 - White Breasted Nuthatch, Ovenbird and a Dory.

No stars out there this morning - just darkness. Well it's Friday, that means the weekend is rolling around once again. Time is going by so fast, soon at the end of another month. Giving a chance of rain for this afternoon.  My summer student finishes today, this is her second summer with her and she's a hard worker. We've accomplished a lot.
Another beautiful day - sunny and warm. Got a little overcast coming home with dark clouds and just a few raindrops but nothing serious. Work went well, except for trying to set up an online account with the government - the problem with online there is no one to rant at! Oh well, fingers crossed this time it went well. Exercise class last night - a hard but good work out, once again Cindy has out done herself.

 White Breasted Nuthatch.

 Ovenbird - haven't seen many of these this summer so he was a treat.

 The Great Blue Heron was in the harbour this morning.

A peaceful morning.

I like these grasses in Lois' yard although she complains that the become a bit invasive.






Enjoy your day!

Day 233 - 21st August 2014 - Misty Lake, Ducks, Birds, Flowers and Butterflies

Looks like another nice morning coming - stars and moon are all out, but I've slept in so this is a good thing. Work today, hopefully tick a few more things off my list.
Had a great day on Wednesday. Fine weather, gently breeze - good stuff. Headed out for the hood early and stalked for almost 3 hours. Amazing how some morning in 20 mins I can see lots of birds and other days - not much but that's how she flies! Lexi and I roamed some more throughout the day but it remained pretty quiet. Got meals ready for the next few nights and did up the minimal housework required to keep me out of one of those reality TV shows.

Love starting the day with the sun coming through the mist on the lake.

 Looks like a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

 Everyone was hanging in the branches - Common Yellow-throated Warbler.

 A little too much light, but looks like he's giving me the evil eye - Red-Eyed Vireo.

 Lots of ducks - mostly Mallards in the coves. The lake is so low now.

 I like watching them fly off into the mist.

And a few cobwebs were among the branches.

 I liked his double reflection. Looks like he's doing some stretching exercises.

 An Atlantis Fritillary.

 Maybe the Hydrangea family.

Another Atlantis Fritillary and Bee sharing one of our "wild" Sunflowers.







Enjoy your day!

Day 232 - 20th August 2014 - Mist, Northern Parula and Lily

I see another lovely day in the forecast - when the moon and stars go to bed and the sun comes out of course. My day off, am going to hit the hood early this morning and see if those Warblers are around. Yesterday was slim hunting.  Today I've got time and can wait them out or roam off the road in search of them. Won't be long and they will be gone for another season. Lexi and I will spend most of our day outside I think,, just a few things in the house to get done.
Tuesday was a beautiful sunny day, but you can feel fall in the air ( I know - bad word) in the morning and evening. It's cooler. Not that I'm complaining, I like a chill at night - can really handle days like this for another 3 months. It was a good day at work but a little draining.  We've made a lot of headway this summer in cleaning up the backlog of accessioning, also re-organized some things so there is room for re-housing of others.

 Lots of mist rising off the lake.

 Northern Parula hiding in leaves.

Web blowing in the breeze with a little bling in the background.

 The Lilies have been so beautiful this summer.

Gulls frolicking around.

Enjoy your day!