tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4214762876625019242024-03-13T05:20:40.077-07:00Turbo's Track and Photo TourAn accounting of outings taken with guests of Turbo's Track and Tour.
All photo's on the site are copyrighted by the original poster, unless specifically mentioned in write up. I do not claim to be a photographer, the intent is to provide evidence of what I can find for you! I'd love to get comments on what is presented here. I'd like to thank Russell for finding the originator of the following quote: "There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing." -- Sir Rannulph FiennesPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.comBlogger694125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-61731801724787972562018-08-14T04:39:00.001-07:002018-08-14T04:39:55.783-07:00The final chapter (20180814) time to move on.I owe all my followers and visitors a huge apology. I have been negligent in proving more information to you about me and the blog over the past while. Folks that know me personally already know that I have moved to Nova Scotia back in 2015. Since moving here I have taken up the cause of Snapping Turtles. I occasionally do blog posts on this site: <a href="http://theturtlepatrol.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Turtle Patrol</a><br />
Please drop by and and let me know what you think. As a wrap up I thought I would throw some images in here of our recent trip to Calgary where I had a SUPER time visiting friends and family.<br />
This is likely my best Grizzly image to date. I was out with my good friend Jamie when we met up with Kerri. We had a great evening. Here is a taste, I have titles this shot "the guardian"!<br />
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On this same evening we also spotted another sow with three yearlings, here are two paying paddy cake with their hind feet!<br />
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One more of the guardian's youngsters.<br />
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But bears were't all we found. Tim and I spent a little time at a small pond close to the highway and I was able to grab this Black-crowned Night Heron in flight.<br />
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There is always the desire to capture a Great Grey Owl when in Alberta, this trip produced one. I was out with Russell when we managed shots of this this beauty.<br />
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The Whitetail deer bucks were showing their velvet, and this fella had a lot to show.<br />
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It is always nice to get a new bird, or critter on and outing and a full day with Kerri to the south delivered with nice Lark Bunting.<br />
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One of the advantages of Alberta in early July is the young grouse. Here are a pair of young Spruce grouse during an outing with Russell.<br />
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I have to say that I miss the mornings where a shot of the shadow of our transport is an opportunity. While Nova Scotia has many pluses I don't feel the need to get out this early for many of them.<br />
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On that same with trip with Kerri we were able to capture this beauty. a 13 Lined Groundsquirrel. I have titled this image "the dainty diner". It looks like one of the toes on the front foot of this little wonder must be injured.<br />
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This young Mountain Sheep was a joy to watch, Perhaps my best lamb shot to date.<br />
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We also had the pleasure of spending a little time with this young Three Toed Woodpecker. The day I took this shot this little guy was very noisy.<br />
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Here is a shot of a very friendly Hoary Marmot. This lady was hanging around the same 'hood as the woodpecker and the guardian. It is just wonderful to find so many great targets in a very small area. It just makes the mind wonder what this environment was like 500 years ago, before man started having such a negative affect on the wildlife of this fabulous continent!<br />
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So, we spent 7 days and I was out each day. I could easily have done a post each day, like in the old days, but I thought I owed it to my visitors to close out the updates to the blog with a highlight reel of the week. So I will end the post and the blog with a shot of a young grizzly boar that Jamie and I spent a little time with.<br />
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I haven't died, I have just moved on. I will leave this series of memories in place as they document a significant portion of my photography life in the digital age. I love that I have had the opportunity to share my experiences with folks all around the world. As I write this, the blog has has some 89000 views. Thanks to each of you that visited, I hope you found something that you enjoyed!<br />
Take some time today, and put a little "wild" in your life!<br />
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TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-65902137326683399892017-01-11T09:23:00.001-08:002017-01-13T18:29:18.009-08:00Northern Goshawk, GHO, Red-breasted Nithatch(201612-early) Some shots from around the house.<br />
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Len was out to assist me in getting my new workbench set up in the garage. "New" is a relative term as it was the temporary countertop from our kitchen reno. Anyway, Len, Deb and I are standing in the new kitchen reno when, "WHAM", we all looked at each other, then "WHAM" again. We look out the window to see a hen pheasant trying to get away from a hawk. Now to be totally honest, I didn't see the hawk, but I did see the pheasant. It had hit our kitchen window hard, twice. Then Deb and Len lean out and look and say " there's the hawk!" So I run for my camera, downstairs, then start thinking "if it's on the eavestrough out the kitchen window, I need a smaller lens!". So upstairs I run to get the back up with the 18-105mm lens. As I pick it up I see this beautiful juvenile Northern Goshawk land on the back deck. So I take several shots, only these two are any good.<br />
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A new yard bird today! The hen pheasant was fine, as I went out to check on her she flew off. Then not to long after the Goshawk followed. Here is the second image.<br />
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I am going to throw in here a shot of a Great Horned Owl that Mom and I found while out in the country in December. We had a quick fly by of an owl the week before with no opportunity to grab a shot. On this day I was able to get the camera on this beauty as decided to stop in a tree. <br />
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I also include here a couple of shots here from around the house, this first is a nice female Hairy Woodpecker on the suet feeder. <br />
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Here too is a nice little Red-breasted Nuthatch. <br />
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Now its time for some the beautiful Pheasants that are seen around the house all year round. Here is a male with a couple of his ladies in the back yard.<br />
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This next shot is of a male that I took out the front window. He was eyeing up the barberry fruit.<br />
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This brings me up to the Christmas Holidays as far as timeframe here on the blog. Hopefully I don't ever fall this far behind again. Take some time today and put a little "wild" in your life!<br />
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TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-74480088279258620962016-12-09T10:10:00.002-08:002016-12-09T10:10:18.038-08:00Red-tailed Hawk, Baltimore Oriole, Hooded Merganzer (20161205)First trip to Pictou County.Well Sylvia and the CSI ladies (Mimmi, Angela, Diane) were headed off to Pictou County thanks to Angela's organizational skills. Angela had arranged for Ken McKenna to be our guide. I had never been to Pictou County for a visit so this was all new country to me, and a guide was a wonderful thing to have. The morning wa pretty dismal from a light perspective and our visit to the causeway netted us Boneparte's gulls, Hooded and Common Merganzers at a distance. We headed over to River John for a recently spotted Pink Footed Goose. Ken had spotted the bird three times over the past two weeks, but the cooler weather and high winds sent us back to Pictou. I was with Ken in the lead car when he spotted crows mobbing this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk at one of the Round-a-bouts.<br />
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I was fortunate to grab a couple of images of this bird. Had it not been distracted I doubt it would have remained this close to the road.<br />
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Ken swung us by a abattoir to show us where Bald Eagles are usually available in the winter months. We were surprised to find some 40 baldies in the area. This juvenile bird looked pretty unique with all the white on its breast. It looked very much like a Red-tailed with a belly band.<br />
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Att he back of the field there were as many as 16 Balds in a single tree. Once again the light was pretty bad. Here is a shot of a juvvie doing a fly-over of Angela.<br />
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We next headed to some of the river spots in town. We were treated to a Harlequin and even an uncommon Eider. The highlights for me was this trio of Hoodies.<br />
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Although lighting and distance were tough the calmer water provided an acceptable couple of images.<br />
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We also found this Barrow's Goldeneye, agian in very dificult light, and at quite a distance.<br />
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In order to get these shots I left the convoy and spent some time walking along the river.<br />
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We wrapped up the day in Ken's neighbourhood looking for Evening Grosbeaks, but they were a no-show. However as we sat in Ken's driveway for a bit were were treated to his Baltimore Oriole.<br />
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A couple of American Robins were also present and some Mourning Doves. All told on the day we recorded 30+ species and had a SUPER time.<br />
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Take a little time and put some "wild" in your life, it'll do you good!<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-77967466883474434892016-12-07T13:08:00.000-08:002016-12-07T13:09:39.322-08:00Red-bellied Snake, Super Moon, Pheasants (20161109-14) More turtle work and a Super moon.We had such a great time on the 8th that we decided to spend a little time on the 9th investigating a second known Snapper nesting area. So the three of us headed out, Clarence, Bizzy and I. We checked three or four openings' but only one had eggshells present.<br />
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As we continued down the tracks Clarence commented on how we this was our second beautiful day in a row we had a good opportunity to find a snake. Well we only walked another 10 minutes when this little beauty revealed itself.<br />
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This is a Red-bellied Snake, and my first ever. Also being a blog first here is the obligatory second image.<br />
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As this sighting was almost a full two weeks later than I am aware this snake has been recorded we will add a third image here. This could be arecord breaker.<br />
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Another late critter out in this second week of November is this grasshopper, why isn't he underground fiddling with the ants??<br />
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A couple of evening later I took this shot of a near Super Moon. It is the night before the Super Moon but this is still a pretty good representation.<br />
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The next morning a couple of roosters dropped in and the lighting, for whatever reason was just beautiful.<br />
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I just love the purple that shows up in this light. These are probably our most beautiful birds.<br />
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Then a half our later one of the ladies showed up, and she tried to keep hidden.<br />
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That evening I managed to shoot the Super moon with a little colour. I don't know if this is any better shot then last night's.<br />
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I'll wrap it up here and once again encourage you to put a little "wild" in your life!<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-15795088348462300422016-12-03T18:41:00.003-08:002016-12-06T15:40:35.920-08:00Golden-crowned Kinglet, Pheasant, Snapper (2016115-08) Yet another Snapper rescue.Well I am finally in the mood to produce another blog post or two, it has been far too long. I had been spending some time on the tracks with very limited sightings so for the first two weeks back from California I really hadn't been taking photos. Oh, yeah then there was the kitchen renovation that we had to get through.<br />
On the fifth I headed eastward for a bit of a change, and witht he recent rain was happy to see all the brooks running and the water levels getting back to normal. Here is a shot of a little stream that is very tough to get close to.<br />
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The only bird that presented a good opportunity was this Golden-crowned Kinglet.I had been talking with a new neighbour for about 10 minutes when this little fella came to investigate.<br />
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On the 8th, we were having a beautiful day and Clarence called so we decided to do a little turtle work that we had been discussing all fall. Before I had to leave to meet Clarence I had a meeting with these two beautiful ladies that popped in for a bit to eat.<br />
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We headed out to investigate a couple of "holes" we had found during September and October, I wanted to determine if they were actually turtle hatchling "escape" holes. While digging our first suspected spot we found turtle egg shells, so Clarence kept escavating. At one point he pulled this unit out of the hole saying that he thought he had seen some movement. So we lay it up on the rail tie to get some sun heat, to see if we could encourage it.<br />
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Here is the little creature with a pile of some 50 shells that Clarence was able to discover in the the nest.<br />
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Clarence escavated the second nest of the day. This was an opening that I first noticed on September 29th. We uncovered 60 shells in this nest, 5 of which had not hatched. After digging the second nest out, we took another look at our little "foundling" and noticed a little movement. So I mentioned to Clarence we should get a little water on it and see how it responds. After a while he called to me and we took this image.<br />
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I am always amazed at how perfectly formed they are when they come out of the eggshell. Check out the little claws and the beautiful eye on this little foundling.<br />
The spot in the middle of the underside (plastron) is where the turtle was connected to the yolksac that fed it through the summer.<br />
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We went back up and had a look at the unhatched eggs and four of the were definitely too light and had creases in them. The last egg suffered a little mishap and revealed the interior. It was another unviable egg, but you could see that the turtle had begun to form, but didn't finish the transition.<br />
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Unfortunately none of my images of the little foundling in the water turned out, or I would have posted one here. I will end this post here with the last Snapping Turtle rescue of the season. What a tremendous feeling to be able to see the little critter get to the water where it needs to be for the winter. I can hardly wait until the spring when we will start looking for these beauties again.<br />
Take some time today, and put a little "wild" in your life!<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-47427910828210978492016-11-20T08:01:00.000-08:002016-11-20T08:01:06.910-08:00Gopher Snake, California Bunny, Golden Plover (20161024) Last photo day in California for this tripWe drove home last night from Palm Springs in a Lightening and rain storm, a bit of an anomaly in Southern Cal. and when we awoke on Monday morning it was still raining. I was disappointed to be held indoors for most of the day as I was hoping to get back to my favourite Bolsa Chica. Later in the day Neil and I decided to brave the remaining mist and head over. I knew the lighting conditions were going to be tough with ISO never being below 2000 just to get any image. The background skies in this Long-billed Curlew shot will give you some idea of the grey type of day it was.<br />
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These are such unique birds I just love shooting them whenever and whereever I find them. Here is a second image.<br />
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Now I am going to throw in a shot from a previous post that shows a Reddish Egret. I do that to provide an introduction to this video. This little "short" will provide more context of the conditions we were shooting under. The video to watch the entertainment is <a href="https://youtu.be/Vi4k2dbIlpQ" target="_blank">HERE.</a><br />
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As we made our way back to the car to head over to a separate area of the park we captured this Gopher Snake. Yet another first for both the blog and I.<br />
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Estimate length of this sweetie is about 6 feet. Here is a second, zoomed in image.<br />
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Whenever I get a chance to shoot uncommon birds for me, especially when I can get a number of them in a frame, I shoot them. Here are 6 Black-crowned Night Herons resting next to the Pacific Coast Highway at Bolsa Chica.<br />
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We didn't get away from the weather totally. Here you can see a few raindrops in this next shot along with a beautiful Western Grebe.<br />
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As we walked the other area we were pleased to find this American Golden Plover, that due to its postion allowed for a nice bokehed image.<br />
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If I have a current nememis bird for a great shot it is this one. The Belted Kingfisher is known to be a difficult bird to get, so I will have to settle for this ong distance landing image.<br />
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I thought this little group of Blue-winged Teals deserved an appearance here.<br />
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Then all of a sudden the Sun made an appearance and I was able to shoot this wonderfully cooperative California Rabbit.<br />
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When I was able to shoot this "golden" in golden light with a golden background I had to take the shot.<br />
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We had been watching this Northern Harrier make its passes back and forth along the shoreline. I found the use of its legs to help in steering the course to be very interesting. I don't ever recall watching a Harrier using this manoever.<br />
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I'll wrap up this post and this entire trip with what I think is a terrific Golden image taken in "golden" hour light, non silhoette version.<br />
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This just goes to show you why I love coming to Cali, even on a very tough day there are spots where you are ging to find subjects to shoot. It also is a great place to put a little "wild" in your life!<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-28244969738264502842016-11-18T14:56:00.001-08:002016-11-18T14:56:14.965-08:00Phainopepla, Lizards, Black-throated Sparrow(20161023) A quick trip to 1000 Palms-an oasis in the desertEven before we headed out to return home from Palm Springs I was able to get a nice shot of a Northern Mocking bird to get the day started on the right foot.<br />
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As you can see from the background we had overcast skies once again today. On the way back to Irvine we were going to make a couple of stops to see more of this strange and wonderful countryside. We headed off to 1000 Palms an oasis just outside of Palm Springs. As we arrived I was able to grab a quick image of a Phainopepla. It is a bird a little large than a Cardinal but very close in body shape. It is all black with a red eye. This image was take at quite a distance.<br />
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As we walked around the oasis it was was pretty evident there was plenty of life around, but it was all staying pretty well hidden or quite far off. I Think this next bird may be a repeat for the trip. Is this another Rock Wren with some nesting material?<br />
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As we made our way from 1000 Palms to the next oasis in the link, only a couple of kilometers away, I grabbed this little lizard. I believe this is a Western Long-Tailed Brush Lizard yet another blog and lifer first for me and the trip.<br />
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Things were rolling along pretty well. Even in the heat (94F) there was still activity in the watery areas. I was able to get a little closer to this Black-throated Sparrow, so the detail is a little better. I believe this to be a female.<br />
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Here is a closer, though very conditions, shot of a Phainopepla. You can see the red in the eye, and even though there are many branches in the way, a better overall look at this bird.<br />
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There was activity all around the water and many of those movements were being made by the wintering "Butter-Butts". Here is a decent shot of another Yellow-rumped Warbler.<br />
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I am a little disappointed with myself as I took some photos of a small Orange minnow in one of the ponds and the images are not presentable. On the other hand I did manage to get an acceptable shot of these three little fishes. I have no idea what they are, they could be Pupfish. Yet more newbies for the blog!<br />
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Walking back from McCalum Grove, which was the second Oasis, we found this beautiful example of a Blue-sided Lizard. I love how his claws show on the rock.<br />
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I am pretty confident this is a second Western Long-tailed Brush Lizard of our walk today. Beautiful, quick and elusive!<br />
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As we stopped for a super Ice Cream, we were guided there by Yelp :) , I grabbed this image of another female Great Tailed Grackle in the parking lot.<br />
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As we swung over the mountains we took a couple of side roads to have a look at some of the views. At one of the stops, inspite of the wind, I was able to spot and quickly shoot this Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel, a favourite while in Alberta.<br />
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At another stop we grabbed some images of a Mountain Bluebird and this trio of Snow geese, two of which were in the Blue phase.<br />
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I'll end the post here, once again showing how easy it is to put some "wild" in your life.<br />
Turbo<br />
<br />Paul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-51672962032202081152016-11-18T08:48:00.002-08:002016-11-18T08:48:33.394-08:00Clark's Grebe, Western Grebe, Peregrine Falcon (20161022) Second part of our Salton Sea runI was estatic with how the morning had worked out, with the exception of this being the first day of the California Duck hunt. That meant that just about every body of water was going to have hunters, and very little else around. As we made our way nortward along the eastern side of the Sea, we would "pop over" to the water to see what we might be able to find. I was very happy to capture this Clark's Grebe, only the second one that I've seen, the first being a rarity in Calgary.<br />
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Next up was this gorgeous Brown Pelly just hanging on the water on its favourite perch.<br />
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Just up the road, where there was a little creek entering the Sea, I found this very approachable Western Grebe. This is by far the best image I have ever taken of this particular specie.<br />
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Then we found this second Clarks, I included here as you can see the foot in the water. It'll give you some idea how far back their legs are on their body.<br />
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Next up, I spotted this beautiful bird of prey hanging out in the shade of the trunk of the tree, keeping an eye our for any oppertunities that might present themselves. I don't have a lot of shots of Peregrine Falcons, so I will shoot them every time I have a chance, even when they are as far off as this bird was.<br />
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At one of the other "stopovers" we climbed a viewing stand and I was really happy to be able to grab a couple of shots of this Roadrunner. We had seen a couple other "Runners" but we could never get shots of them.<br />
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I thought I would add a couple other images from the day so I threw in this White-faced Ibis with a couple of Snowy Egrets.<br />
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Here is a shot of 5 Black-crowned Night Herons that we spotted at the Southend.<br />
There is nothing special about the situation, just that there were 5 of them.<br />
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Here is a shot of all three types of white egrets that I have found down here. Today is the first time that I have been able to find Cattle Egrets, they are the most numerous birds in this shot along with one Great Egret and two Snowys.<br />
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I'm throwing this next image in only as an evidence shot of a first ever bird for the blog and a lifer for me, a Great-tailed Grackle. This is a female.<br />
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So once again here is a shot of two first timers in the same image. A Cattle Egret and a male Great-Tailed Grackle, I really got lucky once again.<br />
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That pretty much wrapped up our day on the Sea, but we weren't quite finished. when we got back to Palm Springs we headed up the tram way to the 8500 foot mark. So I took a few shots of the "Springs" at night.<br />
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Then when we got back down the tramway, on the walk down to the car, and I do mean down, Laurel spotted this little Katydid! This is the second one I found this year, so into the blog it goes! A great way to finish the day.<br />
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It jsut goes to show you that if you keep your eyes open, you can put a little "wild" in your life, even in the dark of night.<br />
Turbo<br />
<br />Paul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-22584694343592788632016-11-17T07:09:00.001-08:002016-11-17T07:09:10.332-08:00White-faced Ibis, Sandhill Cranes, Peregrine Falcon(20161022) An initial trip to the Salton Sea.Well, I have been wanting to go to the Salton Sea for about 4 years now and this was expected to be a great day. Little did we know at the time that this was the opening day for duck hunting season in California. We headed to the SE corner and arrived just as the light was getting to a point of being usable. We went to the look out and could just hear the Sandhill Cranes with their chortle.As we walked into the park Sandy's and other birds were just "lifting off" and heading to the fields to feed for the day. I took too many shots that just weren't going to be usuable in my enthusiasm. Here is a shot of a portion of a flock of White-faced Ibis' in the morning sky.<br />
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This next image is more of a behavioural shot. We had spotted this Red-tailed Hawk on the top of the pole when we walked in. The next thing we know it is being attacked and driven off by a Peregrin Falcon.<br />
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Here just a short time later is the aggressor successful in attaining the best seat in the house from which to spot its next meal.<br />
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The morning was full of birds flying about and providing super views. I am happy with Ibis "fly-by" showing mud on its feet and the colouration in the feathers.<br />
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As in Bolsa Chica this wetland had its fair share of Godwits about. I always loved to shoot them in Alberta when I was able to find them.<br />
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As we got back to the car this Great Blue Heron was very accomodating and at ease with our presence.<br />
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We decided to just sort of stroll around the roads a bit to see what we might be able to spot. This pair of Sandhill Cranes were in a flock of about 100 birds.<br />
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Here is another pair. It was just super to see these large birds at a reasonably close range. We probably saw between 1000 and 1500 of these beauties this morning.<br />
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I'll just add one more shot of a quartet of these graceful birds to this post. When i lived in the Yukon the appearance of these birds in the skies really signalled that Spring was here.<br />
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As mentioned before where ever there are birds in these kinds of concetrations the predators are here too. This was a very cooperative Red-Tailed, not something I am used to with these birds.<br />
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We had spotted some small birds in the bottom of some shrubbery that turned out to be White-crowned Sparrows, California seems to be full of them, and on the top of the shrubs was this smaller predator bird. Here is my best shot to-date of a Loggerhead Shrike.<br />
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Soon we were zooming down paved roads heading from one hotspot to another. I think I shocked Neil when I spotted this little fella just off the side of the shoulder of the road. I had been hoping to find some Burrowing Owls, this was our first of the day. Yet another predator bird taking advantage of the bounty.<br />
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We were able to re-position the car and get a little closer to this beauty. I chose this shot to share to show the eye and how far they bulge out in front of the pupil.<br />
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Here it is with both eyes looking at the camera. What a treat to be able to spot and shoot such a fierce hunter in the broad daylight.<br />
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Just a little further up the road I spotted this second Owl. I love how I was able to catch it with it eyes closed. The eyebrows look like one of my great-uncles. I also like that you can see so much of the beak.<br />
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Sorry for all the shots of the Owls, but they are one of my favourite birds. Here is the same bird with its eyes open.<br />
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I'll wrap the morning session of our day up here. What a super spot to stop. With environments like this available, California is an easy spot to put a little "wild" in your life every day!<br />
Turbo<br />
<br />Paul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-80825933141543104902016-11-16T05:29:00.000-08:002016-11-16T05:29:12.384-08:00Rock wren, Rocky Mountain Sheep, Black-throated Sparrow(20161021) Whitewater ReserveWe made our way to Palm Springs. We were able to find our AirBnB without issue and this one too was a super place to hang our hat for a couple of days. While the ladies were getting settled in Neil and I headed over to the Whitewater Reserve which is actually an oasis in the desert here. On the road in we had an opportunity to grab a couple of images of these Rocky Mountain sheep.<br />
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Laurel thinks that this is a Purple Finch. One of the Ladies in Nova Scotia is very fond of this yellow variant of the Purple.<br />
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We took one of the shorter strolls available at the Reserve. The next time we visit we will take a different "track". Maybe we will find another Towhee like this one.<br />
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This next bird was another "shoot it and figger out what it is later" for the trip and we figured out that it is a Black-throated Sparrow. This is a very harshly cropped image.<br />
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There was Sage everywhere in blossom, and along with blossoms came Bees. I wouldn't even hazard a guess on this Bee.<br />
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This wasp was also buzzing around the blossoms. If it is like home, there are 1000's of different wasp specie.<br />
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While we didn"t interupt these little red fellas I am certain that they are Fire Ants. One of the few things that I am not alergic to (should I ever get bitten).<br />
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It was just great to spot this Monarch Butterfly during our visit. It takes three generations for them to reach us up in Canada, and they are getting to be less and less common.<br />
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This next bird is a new entry in the blog and another personal "lifer" for me. I was only able to grab a couple of images of this skitish Rock Wren.<br />
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Here is a slightly different angle showing the length of the bill and the under tail striping. This bird was another pleasant surprise for me.<br />
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Next up would be a new bird if I had the identity finalized. It was great that I have bothe the front and back views in a single image, but I still haven't determined this birds ID. Suggestions would be welcomed. I am certain that this too would be a lifer and first for the blog!<br />
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It was terrific to also pick up a nicely lit shot of another Lesser Goldfinch. This is likely the best image I have of this particular bird.<br />
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Back at the Lodge we were pleased to find two large ponds which contained some very large trout, They looked to be 4-6 pounds apiece. This cooperative American Coot was also cruising on one of the bodies of water.<br />
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We had missed a turtle that apparently was there earlier in the day, and a Roadrunner which had walked through the picnic area just minutes before we got there. C'est la vie. On the drive home we encountered another large group of Rocky Mountain Sheep.<br />
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I am pretty certain that this fella in the middle is the dominate male and doing all the breeding in this band. I include this shot for Dan A back in Calgary.<br />
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This wrapped up our little excursion for the afternoon. A highly successful outing and one that I would really like to repeat should the opportunity present. Take some time today, and put a little "wild" in your life!<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-64188224540215918142016-11-15T06:51:00.000-08:002016-11-15T06:51:00.848-08:00Great Blue, Lesser Goldfinch, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher (20161021) Sea and Sage re-visitedFriday morning and I had a little time to myself before we were heading out to the Palm Springs area. So I took another stroll to the Sea and Sage Audubon site in the San Joaquin area. It was a much brighter day so I was hoping for some better sightings than Monday, if that was even possible. I had the good fortune to have an up close encounter with this Great Blue Heron.<br />
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Next up was a bird I was expecting to find but had eluded me to this point. I spotted several Lesser Goldfinches feeding in the reed. I was in a poor light position, but managed an acceptable image.<br />
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I was able to spot then capture this little Song Sparrow, I had to wait quite a wile to be able to shoot it out in the relative open.<br />
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I spent a little time in the area where I had spotted the Orance Bishop on Monday, but had little luck. Yes I did get a shot or two but they wer at a very long distance.<br />
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I was surprised when I was able to get this close to this Northern Shoveler, although it didn't have its breeding plummage, I like the hints of green in the body.<br />
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A stroll through the Butterfly area once again netted me a Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher or two. I was hoping for the Munia once again, but I couldn't spot it.<br />
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Caught by surprise I almost didn't get any acceptable images as this American White Pelican did a close at hand fly over.<br />
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Even though it is October there still appears to be Love in the air. I found these two Dragonflies doing the "birds and bees" thing, and thought their colours were great!<br />
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Back in the Butterfly zone I almost couldn't find this little Hummer. I believe it is a juvenile Anna's, just strting to get his colours shined up for the coming spring.<br />
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That will do for this mornings activity, you can expect to see another post of our afternoon adventure! ake some time today and put a little "wild" in your life!<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-22501429992853964742016-11-14T18:51:00.002-08:002016-11-14T18:51:50.275-08:00Acorn Woodpecker, Black-tailed buck, Garibaldis (20161020) Last day on CatalinaLike the title says this is our last day on Catlina, so this will be an abreviated post as we will be just walking around town. Well we had an early morning visitor at the hotel. This little buck got our day started our day with a little "wild"! It was so early I had to shoot at 6400 ISO.<br />
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Downtown I got peretty close to this Acorn Woodpecker, I had to be close as I only had my short 18-105mm lens with me.<br />
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Here is another shot of the same bird. You don't often get a look at their chest area.<br />
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The flowers were great! Here is another Hibiscus shot, hard to believe blossoms in October, but that's California for you.<br />
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Avalon is a tiny town of 1 square mile, so evry foot of real estate is valuable. I thought I would throw in a couple of shots of the area to give you a bit of a feel.<br />
Everyone gets around on golf carts.<br />
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Of course some of the places are a little bigger. Its an expensive spot to buy a home.<br />
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While we were waiting for our ferry I bought some fish food out of a candy machine on the dock to see if I could lure any fish in for an image.<br />
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These orange fish are Garibaldi, and are the saltwater state fish of California. I just love how the waves of he water gently distort the contents of the water.<br />
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Our return ferry ride was very uneventful so no new birds or other critters to add to this post. Put a little "wild" in your life, it'll do you good!<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-41632635252015104442016-11-10T13:25:00.002-08:002016-11-10T13:25:32.113-08:00Quail, flowers, Catalina Island Fox (20161019) A target specie found!Well, my primary target for Catalina Island was the local indigenous Fox which had only recently been taken off the endangered specie list. So I did some inquiring and found out that the Botanical Gardens was the only place around town that I might be able to spot one. So I headed off on a walk to do some exploring. Shortly after entering the Gardens I had a chance to grab a quick shot of this California Quail.<br />
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There were three or four Acorn Woodpeckers flying about and I spent about 20 minutes trying to get a decent shot of one in the air. This is the best that I could do. If I lived down here I am certain I would be able to get better images. I like this one as it shows the white on the wings and base of the tail.<br />
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While I was up in Mr. Wrigleys Memorial I had the opportuity to capture this beautiful Says Phoebe. I doubt I'll have a better encounter.<br />
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Next I grabbed this little Orange-crowned Warbler. While they are supposedly all around, this is the only one I managed to capture.<br />
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The walk back to the hotel netted me this lovely Mockingbird along side the Golf course.<br />
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The hillside that our hotel was on kept the local vegetation. There were several specie of Cacti. I thought a shot of the environment would be nice.<br />
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Even though it is October there are flowers in bloom everywhere. When we lived in New Brunswick we actually had a Hibiscus that we were able to get to bloom.<br />
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Of course the flowers need polinators when they are in bloom and that is where the Hummingbirds come in and perform a service.<br />
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The bride and I headed back up to the Gardens with the hope of being able to spot a Fox in the evening. The Gardens are full of all types of Cacti and trees indigenous to the region. This is Catus flower that reminded me of a Rose.<br />
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Then just 70 yards further along I spotted this little beauty. I couldn't believe out good fortune.<br />
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We probably got to spend a whole 2 minutes with this wildlife gem.<br />
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As we headed out I was able to capture two of my "lifers" of the day with the Quail in the foreground and the Fox near the entrance.<br />
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As the light faded I grabbed a final shot of a female Quail. This wrapped up a fabulous day on a fabulous Island, with fabulous weather.<br />
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Take some time out of your day and put a little "wild" in your life!<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-17864428404771637662016-11-09T07:53:00.001-08:002016-11-09T07:53:30.658-08:00Black-Vented Shearwater, Dophins,Yellow-Rumped (20161018) The trip over to Catalina Island. Tuesday morning and we are headed over to see Catalina Island and spend a little time relaxing. We "Ubered" over to the ferry terminal in the morning to catch a 8:30 crossing. The moon was irresistable, so here is what I captured.<br />
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While we spotted many pelicans and gulls from the boat, the most common bird available for photos were the Black-vented Shearwater. I don't usually shoot Pelagic birds, so this too is a new bird for both me and the blog.<br />
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Here is a closer shot of two of these same birds.<br />
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I don't usually publish this type of shots, but here is a shot of the wake of the boat shot as a reflection. I used one of the doorway windows as my mirror.<br />
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As we neared the Island, I was able to grab a couple of images of another blog first: Dolphins. While these are long distance shots, I was glad to get them.<br />
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A second image. I missed the whale that was apparently spotted out the other side of the boat earlier in the crossing.<br />
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I will now add some shots from the next morning. I do this as this would have been a very short post, and I had a lot of images suitable the next day. I hope you enjoy. The first thing on Wednesday morning Deb spotted this little Doe with her fawn in the hotel area.<br />
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These are Columbian Black-tailed deer and are a subspecie of the Mule Deer Specie. Here is a shot of another doe laying amongst the cactus and sage of the island.<br />
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I would like to say that I planned this next shot, but I was just fortunate to capture this Yellow-rumped Warbler in mid air. I was happy to see I had manged to keep focus as it popped from one section of fencing to another.<br />
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I have developed a real affinity for the striking Acorn Woodpecker. So when I get a shot with three of these birds in the same frame I felt it had to make the blog.<br />
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I hope you are enjoying our California results, I know that I had a great time. Take a little time out of your day and put some "wild" in your life!<br />
Turbo<br />
<br />Paul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-70699683285419987322016-11-07T19:15:00.001-08:002016-11-07T19:15:44.121-08:00American Kestrel, Reddish Egret, Great Egret (20161017) An afternoon stroll at Bolsa ChicaAfter a highly successful morning at the Sage and Sea Audubon park I was looking forward to my favourite place to bird in California-- Bolsa Chica. I have great memories of visiting last time we were here. I must say that the location did not disappoint on this day. Once again Neil and I were together to shoot in sunny late day conditions. We had just arrived when we received an inquiry like fly-by, one of the many specie of terns here.<br />
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I love this place as there are always things to shoot, and the Snowy Egrets always seem to be around if you take some time to look.<br />
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I did manage to spot a first-timer for me and the blog. I believe that this is an American Golden Plover. It really was quite cooperative.<br />
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I had to include this Ringed-billed Gull only due to the quality of this image. I don't usually shoot gulls unless they are new to me, but the pink legs and feet of this baby made me shoot.<br />
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Like the Snowy's there are usually Great Egrets here, and if you are patient they will povide you with an "action" shot.<br />
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The American White Pelicans are subjects I cannot pass up. These are massive birds, and inspite of their unique physical apprearance, they are graceful flyers.<br />
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My next bird is another Newbie, and I will spend a little time on this bird. The Reddish Egret is just beautiful. Their wispy feathers make you wonder how it ever gets air-borne.<br />
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Rather than sit in wait like the other herons and egrets this bird get active at feeding time.<br />
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It would be standing still and then suddenly start racing and prancing about in the water to stir up the fish on the bottom.<br />
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I believe that this next shot is of a Least Sandpiper and I am pretty sure they have made an appearance on the blog.<br />
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I had to throw this shot of the Godwits in. While not the centre piece of the shot, the bird with the minnow caught in mid-air just had to be seen.<br />
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We swung around to the other entrance in fading light hoping to find more interesting sightings. We were surprised by this very cooperative Kestrel which held for us as we walked by. My best ever encounter with a bird of this specie.<br />
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We also captured this wonderfully close Savannah Sparrow. Apparently Cali has a specific sub-specie has a thicker beak.<br />
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While Hummers have been elusive, Bolsa Chica delivered this beauty near sunset. I am quite happy with this shot.<br />
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I'll wrap this post up with another Great Egret image, Me and my shadow!<br />
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Another successful outing and a super, super day, here in California. Take some time and put a little "wild" in your life, it will do you a world of good!<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-50145759478140955152016-11-06T19:40:00.000-08:002016-11-07T14:23:29.416-08:00Orange Bishop, Scaly-breasted Munia, Western Fence Lizard (20161017) A Monday Morning at Sea and SageThe girls were headed to Disney land on our first Monday in Cali and Neil had to work so I had the morning to myself. So I decided to head out to the Sage and Sea Audubon site in Irvine. I wanted to get out there nice and early but it was raining! In southern California, raining, sheesh. 165 days with no rain before our arrival, now it is raining. So I had to delay, while checking in I met a wonderful young lady named Sandrine. She was waiting for the rain to stop and shooting this same Allan's Hummingbird as I.<br />
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Sandrine agreed to let me tag along with her on her next stroll, which started as the rain finally ceased. Here is a shot of a young Cooper's Hawk that "popped up" in front of us without any warning.<br />
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Next up is was a non-native bird the Orange Bishop. These beauties have been breeding at Sea and Sage for several years now. I owe a Thank you to Sandrine for pointing this bird out to me. Another first for both me and the blog!<br />
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We then spotted either the Coopers or its mate, trying to dry off in a tree. We had seen both Cooper's earlier so we knew that there were two.<br />
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It was nice to find this group of Black-necked Stilts. They were always great subjects to capture in Alberta.<br />
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Another favourite bird in Alberta is the American Avocet, but I am more accustomed to seeing them in their breeding plumage.<br />
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About this time Sandrine had to leave me to return to work. It was a little while later I captured this small Cassin's Vireo. This is another first for both the blog and I. Sorry only one shot of this baby.<br />
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In the "Butterfly" area I had several great subjects like this Spotted Towhee.<br />
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Next up was another first-timer for me a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher.<br />
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While the Bishops was a great looking bird, this Scaly-breasted Munia really brightened my day.<br />
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I was briefly distracted from this beauty by another Blue-gray Gnatter.<br />
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Back to the sweetie previously know as the Nutmeg Mannikan, and my personal highlight of the day.<br />
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As my stroll continued I found a very cooperative Northern Mockingbird.<br />
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With the Sun now out I thought I should give my rain drenched first subject the benefit of some better light.<br />
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I am going to wrap this post of a fabulous morning with a couple of shots of a favourite of mine, a Western Fence Lizard.<br />
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I wated a little while and he revealed his full size, as he couldn't refuse the beautiful sun that began to heat up his basking site.<br />
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Take some time out of your day and put a little "wild" in your life, you will be better for it.<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-91600142658755004222016-11-05T18:11:00.002-07:002016-11-05T18:11:56.499-07:00Botta Pocket Gopher, Side-blotched lizard, Whimbrel (20161016) A walk by the ocean to see what we can find.Well the girls were keeping themselves busy so Neil and I took a ride and stroll over to an ocean outlet to see if there was anything about. I grabbed this Scrub Jay early on at 3200 ISO.<br />
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We were looking over a waterway when Neil called me over for some ground action happening near him. It took us a little while and a few attempts to capture this Botta Pocket Gopher that seemed to be excavating a new burrow. If you look closely you can see his teeth.<br />
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Here is another shot of this little Gopher. This shows his razorback like ridge of hair along his backbone.<br />
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I had been watching this Snowy Egret for a while when it finally made a movement to grab a biite to eat.<br />
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So here is the result of its effort, a tastely little morsel.<br />
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Here is the same bird a little later. It was nice to capture it in mid air.<br />
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In the same waterway I spotted this juvenile. It looks very much like a Black-crowned Night Heron. I just love shooting these water birds.<br />
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We decided to try and approach the big water from a different angle so we swung around a compound and started walking towards the beach. Along the trail I was lucky enough to cath this Side-Blotched Lizard in the sage brush.<br />
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Then just a few feet away this gorgeous White-crowned Sparrow "popped out" and I was quick enough for a good capture.<br />
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I also really enjoy shooting the Whimbrels when they are about. They have the striped head of the Wilson Snipe and a long curved bill very much like the LB Curlew.<br />
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Last time I was here ( In Cali.) I had good luck shooting the local California Towhee. Neil and I found this very cooperative bird, and I doubt I will ever get a better shot of one.<br />
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With the Sage and sand I was very surprised to spot a Butterfly in the area, but there were flowers in the area. I don't know which Flutterbye this unit is, but thought I should include it in the post.<br />
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As the day wore on the Sun was starting to peek out from the clouds every now and then. We came across some Western Bluebirds but they were even more wary of our presence walking, versus being in a vehicle.<br />
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We also spent a little time with a couple of flighty Western Kingbirds.<br />
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This wrapped up our exploring for this day. Another fabulous day in the warm California Sun. Take some time and put a little "wild" in your life!<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-26842115973630061392016-11-04T19:15:00.003-07:002016-11-04T19:15:30.164-07:00tarantula, Lark Sparrow, California Thrasher.(20161015) A visit to the Solvang area pays off. I was up earlier than everyone else this morning so I thought I would grab the camera and head out to the end of laneway for our AirBnb spot. There was fog in the air and the ground was damp. There were a lot of little Bushtits flitting about, but I had to wait for more light. I did manage to find this Scrub Jay, this is one of the birds that was on my list to get better shots of this trip.<br />
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As I headed back to the house I spotted this Red-shouldered Hawk. It was a long way off so this is not such a good shot.<br />
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So the morning produced, even close to camp! Another bird I was hoping to get better images of were Acorn Woodpeckers, and I achieved that before getting back to the house. The large Oak tree (with about a 7 or 8 foot diameter) hosted at least a pair of these beauties most of the day.<br />
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A visit to Solvang was in order, as appartently this is one place you have to visit in the area. We grabbed some breakfast, then Neil and I left the ladies to do the tourist thing while we walked one of the local parks. It didn't take long for the park to produce. Here is my first ever California Thrasher.<br />
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We were able to grab another new bird for me a Northern Mockingbird. Although they can be found in Nova Scotia, I haven't spotted any yet. So this is a first here for the blog, just like the thrasher.<br />
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Our next spot was this little Spotted Towhee. It would turn out to be just the first of many that I would see on the trip. But this is likely the best image I have.<br />
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Here is the second of at least three Thrashers that we found this afternoon. I like to have two images of blog "first timers".<br />
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I felt really fortunate to capture this Scrub Jay foraging in the area. I have a number of great shots of it. Here is just one action shot.<br />
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We spent some time touring the area. Then Neil and I headed out for a bit of an evening cruise. As you can see from the sky of other shots the day threatened rain all day, so the light was pretty bad. As always I was shooting first and asking questions later. This shot is the first Lark Sparrow that I have ever seen.<br />
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Here is a second shot of this new bird to the blog.<br />
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It was really nice to see some Western Kingbirds. They proved to be just as tough to capture here as in Alberta.<br />
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Then came the surprise of the trip. I was driving along and couldn't believe what I spotted on the roadway. This is my first ever sighting of a Tarantula. Apparently they come out in the fall evenings.<br />
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It was also nice to find some Western Bluebirds this evening, but they too proved to be very skittish and could only be captured from a distance.<br />
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So this turned out to be a great day with four new to the blog (and myself personally) sightings. Take the time today to put a little "wild" in your life.<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-49816346683569018412016-11-04T13:17:00.000-07:002016-11-04T13:17:02.963-07:00Green Heron, Night Heron, Redtailed Hawk (20161014) Day 1 of California, headed to Santa Barbara area.Well after a 3<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1/2</span> year sabbatical we have managed to return to California to visit with Laurel and Neil. We had an early morning to get there, it was almost not "early" enough. Anyway we made it on Thursday, Friday morning we headed out to the Santa Barbara area to spend the weekend. Although the skies were not pleasant, before we even left the parking lot we found this cooperative Red-shouldered Hawk. We were hoping it was a good omen for the day.<br />
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Neil had done just a ton of preparation for our visit and we had a number of options on the way to our AirBnB. We stopped into a park with a small "lake" and the ladies took a stroll with us. The local Osprey put on a show for them.<br />
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Within the first couple of minutes of being here we had spotted a Green Heron. This has be a bit of a nemesis bird for me. I spotted one last time we were in California, but I didn't manage any shots. Here is a shot of a Green and a juvvie Black-crowned Night Heron.<br />
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A little later I was able to get a bit better image of the Green, so here it is.<br />
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There were some early migrants showing up in the area like this Pied-billed Grebe.<br />
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While the Green wa our most exotic bird on this stop, Red-tailed's are always a pleasure to shoot.<br />
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A great memory of the Calgary area, American White Pelicans are not something we get in Nova Scotia. It seems they like to cruise around with their wings in this position.<br />
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Another of the Heron family were also present, this Great Blue did a couple of Fly-by's.<br />
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I expect that this is one of the parents of the juvenile bird we spotted earlier.<br />
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As always I am trying to achieve the perfect Mallard drake shot. Here is my latest entry,<br />
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This American Coot made an appearance that demanded an image, or two.<br />
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One of the major attractions of California in the spring is the great Anna's and Allan's Hummingbirds. In the fall the colours are somewhat less impressive.<br />
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That wrapped up our little outing. So we headed off to our weekend "home" and got some wonderful dinner prepared. While only one new bird for me today, it was a super start to our time in Cali.<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-14411234251729173582016-11-02T17:37:00.001-07:002016-11-02T17:37:29.353-07:00Snapper, Eastern Smooth Green, White-throated Sparrow (201610-early) Last saved snapper of the season.Getting caught up on my early October track treks. This first set of shots was taken on the 4th, when Clarence and I did a "patrol". While it was a pretty light day this young White-throated Sparrow posed for us in the large clear cut.<br />
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Next up Clarence found this tiny Eastern Smooth Green Snake. He was quick enough to be able to pick it up so I could grab a couple of shots.<br />
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Here is a second shot that gives more perspective on the size of this little fella. It was only about 6 or 7 inches long. <br />
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I thought I might throw in a couple of shots of what the lake is starting to look like here early in October.<br />
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And a smaller portion, with some nice reflection.<br />
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On the fifth, I was once again on my own with the puppy and we had a super day. It was beautiful with sun and Snakes, like this larger Eastern Smooth Green.<br />
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We also found a couple of Maritime Garters. I selected this one to post as I had the better shots.<br />
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I thought I would include a shot of this snake's torso as it appears to have a couple of lumps in it indicating a successful hunter. I also really enjoy the patterning on this particular unit.<br />
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The sixth had me out at Len's spot for a bit, we put his big boat away for the winter. He had been having some fun with Blue Jays and peanuts on his back deck so I took a couple of minutes to experiment.<br />
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I am pretty happy with the results so I may try these units at home.<br />
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The eleventh had Bizzy and I out for our last patrol of the season as the day was promising and a storm was due tomorrow. Our day started with a bang as we picked up this beautiful Maritime Garter early.<br />
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As on previous days we were able to find a few migrating Sparrows like this beautiful White-throated.<br />
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On our return walk we found this little unit on the tracks, I don't know how I missed it on the first pass. This little fella looked like he was in pretty bad shape.<br />
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This little guy made the last couple of walks all worth while. I was able to get him safely to water and gave him some sunshine to get his motor running full-tilt once again. Here he is headed off of his release log.<br />
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Note the curly tail. Every other turtle I have found has had an absolutely straight tail. I take this curly unit as a sign of extreme stress in the little guy. I hope he makes it!<br />
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I hope that this last little story will inspire you to put a little "wild" in your life, no telling what you might find.<br />
Turbo<br />
<br />Paul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-78363756100266060072016-11-01T16:56:00.001-07:002016-11-01T16:56:32.111-07:00Fungus, Snake, White-throated Sparrow (20160930&1003) Autumn is in full swing. Well, I am in trouble with a lot of my long time visitors. It has been almost a month since I posted anything. My apologies, I have been out of the country for a couple of weeks and have been sick since I got back. Anyhow, I am waaay behing in my updating and I hope that you will bear with me as I attempt to get caught up.<br />
On September 30th I was watching a group of pheasants in the back yard. When a hen went up into one of the spruce trees I went and got the camera. I managed to capture this shot of one of the Roosters that flew in right below her. I love the purple on the breast of this bird.<br />
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While Bizzy and I were on patrol we ran into a few Common Yellowthroats This young male was quite cooperative.<br />
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We were also very fortunate to find a small group of White-thoated sparrows. These are some of my favourite of the sparrow family that we are able to find here.<br />
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While on the stroll home Bizzy met up with this little Meadow Vole. It is her first encounter with a critter that she would normally be hunting. She just wanted to play with it.<br />
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Here is a shot of it back on its feet. It successfully was able to get through a hole before Bizzy figured out what she should really be doing with this type of critter.<br />
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When we got home I thought it was time to finally take a shot of the bride's Croacacima. Apparently this is supposed to be a spring flower, but it only now, at the end of September, has finally begun to bloom.<br />
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On October 3, we did another another rail stroll and for the first time I found this "stuff", which is Coral Hedgehog, a type of Mushroom.<br />
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We did also find this smaller Maritime Garter snake. It is really quite small.<br />
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While the shot above makes it look quite dark, this side view shows that it is actually quite a light colouration, with beautiful markings.<br />
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Of course the caterpillers are still rolling about and this Fingered Dagger made an easy subject.<br />
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It is always nice when you can get a two-fer. So this shot with a Clouded Sulphur and this Orange-eyed fly makes the last shot for this post.<br />
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Take some time and put a little "wild" in your life! You will be better for it.<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-45654272793219162182016-10-04T08:27:00.002-07:002016-10-04T08:27:56.466-07:00Snakes, Toad, Snapper (20160929) Yet another stroll along the tracks. With the recent successes of finding baby Snappers along the tracks another stroll is definitely in order. So Clarence and I decided to do a trip around 2:00 p.m. Not too long into our journey we found this sweet litle Maritime Garter.<br />
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Just 10 minutes later we almost stepped on this gathering of wasps, this largest one looks like she might be the queen.<br />
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We were well along our stroll when we spotted this little Pickerel Frog. I am really enjoying finding these little beauties.<br />
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Our next find was this gorgeous Darner. My first capture was unable to provide the firldmarks to determine precise specie.<br />
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Then I spotted this bug, which of course Clarence knew the name of. So I took a shot for the blog to share the knowledge.<br />
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We then found this nest which we believed was predated. but when I look at this shot I see one egg not yet hatched and what looks like two or three eggs which may have hatched.<br />
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As we headed back to our strting point Clarence adeptly avoided stepping on this little sweetheart!<br />
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Further along we find this beautiful Maritime Garter, our second snake of the day.<br />
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This was a new to the route Caterpiller, so I thought I would grab and image and hopefully get a proper name for it.<br />
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It seems that almost every time out now we are finding one or more American Toads. Today was no different with this fella putting in an appearance.<br />
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Here is a shot of Snappy on his release log. Clarence and I watched intently as he made his way to the safety of the water.<br />
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During our previous walks Clarence and I had a discussion regarding moths and butterflies. He explained that new findings eliminated the thoughts that only butterflies held their wings upright, and only moths laid their wings down. Here is a creature that Clarence noted flew like a butterfly so I took a shot and am hoping to get a identification on it.<br />
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We finished out walk in this area with this very beautiful Maritime Garter. Our third snake of the day and a very light colouration speciman. I also found the patterning on this snake to be very unique!<br />
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This final shot was taken our second location walk, which wildlife wise was very scarce. This is a beautiful example of death giving life as this log hosts several small maple trees.<br />
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I also love the colouring on these young trees getting ready to face what is likely their first winter. Put some "wild" in your life, it will do you good!<br />
Turbo<br />
<br />Paul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-84354833414613369292016-10-02T09:39:00.002-07:002016-10-03T15:58:02.163-07:00Song Sparrow, Blue-headed Vireo, Palm Warbler. (20160928) An outing to a new area for turtles. I ducked out of the house quickly this morning as I noticed little birds out in the front bushes. Unfortunately all I could find was this little Song Sparrow to get a photo of. I shouldn't say unfortunately at all.<br />
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A few days later Clarence offered to show me another turtle area so we headed out on a little 5 kilometer stroll. While we found a fair amount of turtle sign, no little critters were found. We did manage to happen upon a small band of Warblers. I was happy to grab a few shots, like this Palm Warbler.<br />
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And this might be my only Blue-headed Vireo I have been able to capture this year. The light was pretty bad, so I am happy with these.<br />
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While I wasn't able to capture the Blackpoll Warbler, which would have been a blog first, I did manage an okay image of this young Northern Parula.<br />
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While no turtles were found we did spot this beautiful young American Toad.<br />
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Here is another more natural environment shot of this little toad which shows its back very nicely.<br />
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We also found a new caterpillar for me. This little fellow needs to be identified by Clarence. And he has done so <span style="background-color: #f1f0f0; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Lawrence Tiger.</span><br />
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We both had some wonderful "wild" life added out our life, how did you do?<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-77549662816340746482016-09-26T16:55:00.002-07:002016-09-26T16:56:16.014-07:00Katydid, Caterpillars, Snapper Babies, (20160924) Clarence and I take a stroll. One of the locals has sent me a photo of a fresh-out-of-the-egg baby snapper climbing out of its nest hole. With an enticement like that Clarence and I hit the tracks hoping to find more stragglers. Our first encounter was not direct wildlife, but the results thereof. This honeycomb, which Clarence assures me is of the Honeybee, was likely left on thetracks by a raiding raccoon.<br />
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Not too far along our journey I took a couple of shots of this beautiful Wooly Bear. It was the second of these we spotted.<br />
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Our next siting that I captured was this beautiful Katydid.<br />
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As this is a Blog first here is a second angle of this new to me creature. For those that are not familiar this is a fairly large insect, that when it first landed I took for some sort of a Grasshopper. Take a little time and look up the is little creature.<br />
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On our stroll back down the tracks Clarence did spot this little unit struggling along between the rails.<br />
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Clarence was pretty taken with the little guy and refuse to let me be his transport. I took this image of his underside. What I really enjoy is the eyes of these incredible creatures.<br />
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I am amazed at how well they represent their parents in every detail, save some algae, so accurately! We also found a number of these beauties buzzing about.<br />
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When we arrived at our "release point" I couldn't help but notice this yound maple sprouting from a rotting log.<br />
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We also had a little buddy for our Snapper. This is one of three little Green Frogs that live in the area.<br />
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Here is our little buddy on the release log. We hung around for a while to see that he made the water okay. While we were wating I happened to spot another baby Snapper in the water. That sighting made my entire season! I cropped this image and left the subject high so that you could see his shadow on the log.<br />
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We wrapped the evening up with this American Dagger Moth.<br />
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Then there was this Fingered Dagger Moth caterpiller.<br />
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As I finish up this post I will toss in a couple of images of a very large male Snapper crossing over the tracks from the pond to the lake.<br />
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This is quite easily the largest turtle I have ever had the privilege to run across.<br />
I am certian that he was large enough to cover the top of a garbage can.<br />
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He looked to be at least 8 inches thick, and I just love those front foot CLAWS!<br />
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This critter could be 60 or 70 years old. Just a magestic "Nova Scotia Grizzly"!<br />
Take some time and put some "wild" in your life!<br />
Turbo<br />
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<br />Paul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-421476287662501924.post-26954573692005228042016-09-24T10:13:00.001-07:002016-09-28T16:03:38.965-07:00Baby Snappers, caterpillars, Toad (20160921) Victory for the persistent!Well ANOTHER day on the tracks. Me and the Bizzer have been at this for 3 weeks now and no real sign of baby turtles. But like the line from the Outlaw Josie Wales mentions we will "endeavour to persevere"! Then I spot a small leeaf like object in the dark shade, well away from any water. A hatchling, a baby snapper, finally. First order of business is to get him to some water. Then find a little something to provide scale, so a handy $1 Canadian coin, called a Loonie and we are all set.<br />
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Then a shot of him on the beach, what amazes me beside the small size is the length of tail in comparison to the shell.<br />
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Then before I place him in what I believe is a safe place in the lake I notice how perfectly his claws look. This is just a perfect miniature! He he is in his new aquatic home, safe from between the rails where he would likely have perished.<br />
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I am exhalted. I make a few phone calls to those that I think might be interested. Mostly to let them know tha I found one, who knows it might be the only one I ever find. Then back on the tracks for more searching, and I spot #2, Outstanding!<br />
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Here is a close up of the hind foot and tail. I just love how perfectly formed they are.<br />
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As I continue my search I believ I find a nest hole, this would be where these little ones might have crawled out of.<br />
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Then I spot a third! What a terrific day this is turning into!<br />
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Laurie Ann and Wesley decided to come out and get in on the bonanza. Neither had see baby Snappers before so this was quite a treat.<br />
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They have those neat Macro lenses that let them get right up close to their subjects. Not like my big tele.<br />
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Then I learned tht you don't ask anyone to hold your camera while you go on a little side mission. Laurie Ann took this shot of me and Bizzy with my own camera.<br />
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Here is the first of two caterpillars, This one is the Fingered Dagger Moth caterpillar.<br />
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Here is number 2 Caterpillar. the young of the <span style="background-color: white; color: #4b4f56; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Banded Tussock Moth.</span></span><br />
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I'll wrap this post up with a shot of the largest American Toad we spotted all day. This fella was easily 30 times larger than the other little hoppers that were around. And, there were many of them out and about on this day.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AqpxUq47elA/V-a0BZGLSoI/AAAAAAAATOs/xK9sy3t4ARsPj9ao7VA4yr65A2nUZmMMgCLcB/s1600/20160921%2Bbig%2Bboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AqpxUq47elA/V-a0BZGLSoI/AAAAAAAATOs/xK9sy3t4ARsPj9ao7VA4yr65A2nUZmMMgCLcB/s320/20160921%2Bbig%2Bboy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Take some time to day and put a little "wild" in your life, I will!<br />
TurboPaul Turbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758768278205631021noreply@blogger.com1