Thanksgiving at the Lodge

I missed posting a few pictures from our fall outing up north to the Lodge for Thanksgiving.  We alternate between both our families and this year was with Holly's family up north.

female Mallard in fall morning light

One of the mornings I headed out early to see what might be out in the crisp temperatures meeting the morning light.  There was not much; most birds have migrated south from the Bancroft area by this time of year.  Oddly, there was a lone female Mallard in a small bay of a little lake on the opposite side of the Lodge property. It kept calling and calling its comical quack, seeming to hope someone would listen and give it company or join it to head south.  Later in the week, a second female joined it and the calling stopped.  I rarely see ducks on either lake in the summer, so I wonder if they are isolated migrants.

female Mallards

While sitting patiently at the same location, I watched a female Kingfisher that was still patrolling the edge of the lake, constantly scolding anything around with its distinguishable call.  They are so hard to get anywhere near and this is the closest it ever came to me, on the other side of the little bay.  Interestingly, Kingfishers are one of the few birds where more colour and distinguishing features belongs to the female.  In the picture below you can just make out the faint markings of a second band on its chest below the top band of powdery blue and bronze.  The male is more simple with only a single, blue band.

female Belted-Kingfisher

In the same location later in an evening, a Common Raven silently and calmly flew over the tree tops.  Their throaty calls always bring back my memories of working way up in Northern Ontario where families of these birds would wake me at 4am with the early summer morning light of the northern latitudes.

Common Raven

A walk in the woods didn't result in anything more than a few Chickadees and a Downy Woodpecker, and then two curious Hermit Thrushes.  Only curious enough long enough for me to get a couple pictures in the very low light of a fall afternoon.

Hermit Thrush

We went for a walk one afternoon to Egan's Chute which is beautiful spot. According to the locals, the fall colours up north this year were very quick because it had been so dry in the prior weeks.  The leaves let loose and carpeted the ground quicker than usual so when we got there, not much was left to enjoy.

The first drop of Egan's Chute

a progressively closer view

and closer yet

The picture below was taken a shutter speed of 1/2500s and ISO 1600 to freeze the turbulence of the water as it plunged over the rocky fall. Quite interesting shapes and textures.

a closely zoomed shot of the bottom left portion of the picture above

Back at the Lodge the Eastern Chipmunks and Red Squirrels were all very busily preparing for winter, gathering and storing seeds and food, and collecting leaves to plump up winter lodgings and sleeping holes.

Eastern Chipmunk gathering winter lodging materials.

Eastern Chipmunk

Till next time....

Keep enjoying HIS handiwork!

The Annual Summer Lodge Post

Well, I'm doing this post about two and a half months after actually taking most of the pictures on our annual summer vacation up north with my wife's family.  I'm getting further behind and taking less pictures than ever these days! Oh well...

One of the first things I do when we get there, well birding wise anyway, is to listen and look for the Merlins which nest and raise young every year on the opposite edge of lake where my in-law's cottage is.  Last year I noticed, with significant chagrin that the new owners of the cottage with the big old white pine tree which hosted the Merlin nest had been cut down.  I wondered if this year they'd still be around.  I was happy to notice them quite soon, and even more pleased that they seem to be spending more time on "our" side of the lake.  In the morning one day, one of the young ones spent a few moments in a snag not far from our beach.  It tolerated me for long enough to get a couple picture from a bad angle below, and headed out with its trademark "kalee kalee" call.

juvenile Merlin against blue sky.

My dear wife is agreeable to me heading out for a good chunk of a day that week, and I made a circuit of a few spots I've started to have success with over the years.  Tait Lake almost always gives good views of a Loon pair that nests there yearly.  I wasn't disappointed this trip either. 

Common Loon on Tait Lake

Common Loon

Common Loon

I only got one short bit of time though with some close up shots and the loon decided I was not good company and dove to a more distant section of the lake. While wandering around after, the calm morning water doubled the presence of some Mallard females.  They were different sizes, so I wonder if some were juveniles that hatched early in the spring and gotten all their adult plumage already.

female Mallard ducks

As I stood along the bank, I noticed something foraging right along the water's edge, hidden by the foilage growing in a short little undercut the water had made in the sandy bank.  At first I didn't really pay it much attention, but as it continued slowly along, I got curious, for some reason expecting it to be a Starling or something of that sort.  But as I approached, I saw it wasn't a bird at all.  Two black little beady eyes met mine on a dark furry face that froze as I did.  We both looked at each other wondering what would be next.  I knew if I moved it would be gone, but longed to get my camera up.  The weasel moved first and dove into the water for a getaway.  I had to clear some scrub and by the time I got my camera on it, it had made a surprising amount of headway meaning more distant picture. 

Weasel swimming across the lake.

A new mammal on the animal list though!  Because I didn't get more than a partially hidden view on land, and only the view of a wet back in the water, I can't say which of the two larger, darker species it was.  We have three weasels here in Southern Ontario, but I believe it was either a Long-tailed or Short-tailed Weasel. It was too dark and large to be a Least Weasel.

I headed on to Eagle's Nest to walk the Christie Trail loop. (I recently found a better link to a map for the park)  I didn't see a lot this time, but still got a few pictures. My first sighting along the trail to the Hawk Lookout was a Flicker.  Usually, you hear their scolding call first before you have a chance to see them.  However, this one seemed to eye me carefully first, let me take a partially impaired photo, and then beat a noisy retreat.

Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker

A teasing Hermit Thrush stayed just a head of me as headed to the Christie Trail and gave me only a few chances for an partial view for a picture.

Hermit Thrush

As I finished the walk along the trail which winds through the lower elevations and more open forest, a White-breasted Nuthatch was foraging along the tree bark and caught a caterpillar for a meal.

White-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

On my way back to the lodge, I stopped one more time at Tait Lake and this time both the loons were back in the small bay by the road.  I stopped and flushed one of the loons into the air as I got out.  That is strange as their preferred method is to dive as they do not get airborne easily. It made a long, running takeoff necessary to get this water loving bird out of the water.  They are actually very fast flyers, reaching speeds faster than most birds, but they need a very long takeoff to get into the air, "running" on the water's top for quite a ways to aid in gaining speed.  The first loon circled back over me again and I managed to get one half decent shot as it zipped by.

Common Loon fly by.

Not long after its mate took off, the other decided to follow suit, too quick for me to change my camera settings leaving me with only a few salvageable shots.

Common Loon takeoff

Common Loon takeoff

Common Loon take off

Although quite blurry, I kind of like this shot from right at the beginning of the takeoff.

Common Loon takeoff

Back at the Lodge there were other sights to see too.  Almost every summer, we experience one night when there is a emerging of flying ants.  They dig out of their underground habitations and take wing.  There to capitalize on the event are hundreds of dragon flies.  It's quite a sight.  Some years are more intense than others, and this year the numbers were not quite as big as other years.

Flying ants emerging and taking to the skies.

A nephew and I rigged a net and caught of few of the dragonflies to look at up close.

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

Other insects inhabit the lodge grounds as well... I couldn't determine what type of grasshopper this was.

Grasshopper species.

A new butterfly landed just long enough to let me take a blurry picture while it took a quick "sip" from the sand.  I also could not tell what type it was for sure.  It think it is a Duskywing Butterfly.  Dwayne, do you know which one it is?

Juvenal's Duskywing Butterly (thanks Dwayne!)

Later that week, visiting our former Pastor and his wife who were vacationing on the opposite side of the lake the same week, I spotted one of the Merlin again. 

Merlin

Merlin

Don't hold your breath till the next post... my track record would prove to put you on the floor passed out.  But we'll see if I can't close the gap a bit.

Till then...
Keep enjoying HIS handiwork!

Shots from the Lodge Part 3

This is my last post of three (part 1, part 2) from our family vacation up north at the cottage.  This time I am going to keep my commentary short and just let you enjoy more pictures than my ramblings.  I have a few other posts in the queue from a couple other picture taking opportunities... and I don't have a lot of time to type up something long here.

American Bullfrog

Ant carrying grasshopper leg.

I wonder what the weight ratio is of cargo to carrier?

Eastern Chipmunk

The next two pictures aren't the clearest, but I managed to capture this Chickadee hanging on a leaf which had been modified into a home by some insect.  It got the bug (larvae?) out and you can just see it in the second picture.  (click on the picture to see it larger)

Black-capped Chickadee -
foraging in rolled up leaf 

Black-capped Chickadee with bug

Life bird # 96 was found in the same Birch tree as the chickadees, busy searching not the leaves, but the crevices and crannies of the rough bark.  I've seen many White-breasted Nuthatches since starting this hobby, and it was nice to finally see its cousin.

Red-breasted Nuthatch 

Here's life bird #97, last of the cottage birds... a Hermit Thrush.  I'm quite sure that is what it is anyway.  The side shots weren't clear enough for posting, but from them I believe I have the right ID.

Hermit Thrush

This Red Squirrel wasn't shy - once it noticed me, it set up a ruckus and came directly for me through the trees, and stopped about 4m away and scolded me soundly!

Red Squirrel

Right around the lodge, the grounds are very sandy and there were many, many little excavated holes from these little Sand Wasps.  They dig their holes in the sand like a dog, flinging the sand quite a distance between their legs.  They are digging burrows where they will bring prey (other bugs) which will be come the food for the larvae from eggs they lay underground.

Sand Wasp digging a burrow - you can just see the sand flying.

Slaty Skimmer Dragonfly

The next picture represents some fun, but also the loss of some Uncle points with some of my nieces.  My nephew John-Michael and I were wandering around the edge of the land and noticed a large Smallmouth Bass protecting a whole school of its young.  We caught a Leopard frog and I tried to take some pictures of it.  Unfortunately, that's easier said than done, and more than few frogs gave their lives for the cause.  My conscience was appeased by the small dent in the frog population this would make, but my nieces did not agree with this.

Smallmouth Bass catching Leopard Frog

Just an interesting shot showing how waves (the physics ones too!)
actually bend around an obstruction.

Fuzzy juvenile Loons with parent in the background.

Tawny Crescent Butterfly

Eyed  Brown Butterfly

One thing I added to my wildlife list was a beaver.  There have been beavers on the lake in the past, but this time we were able to follow one in the canoe.  I was out with the boys sans camera, so never got any pictures.  He seemed to almost be enjoying the game and popped up either side of the canoe numerous times.

That ends the summer version of the Lodge shots.  We hope to go back there in the fall with some friends and family and we'll see what we see then.