Ferrari, fox, moose (20150531) A quick return to Alberta

Well with the house in Calgary sold, and a bplace in Nova Scotia purchased it was time for me to fly back to Alberta and deal with packing for the movers. The bride had already did a lot of the packing, and a primary reason to fly back was so that we could do the drive together. So the first day back I was able to get out with Tim for an early, and very long, track. We headed into grizzly country hoping to scare up a bear or two. Very early in our drive we came across this youngster. Unlike a fair number of my bears this unit is tagged and collared.

So the start of the day was SUPER, isn't it great to be back in bear country? Next up was this young bull moose we found wading in a pond. Jamie is always after me to get him one of these!

Just up the road a bit and we found another bull. The boys antlers look like he is mature enough to breed this year.

Then as weswung through a really quite part of the park we heard this piece of anal fabric. I don't know who owns the car, but just because it is 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning and there isn't likely to be anyone on the road it doesn't mean you can rip around at 80 or 90 KPH. Especially in an a 40 kph zone. If anyone out there knows who this clown is, please let me know. BTW I really like the blue tape holding the rig together.

Things were quite uneventful for a while. At the end of the "rabbit road" Tim and I decided to spend a little time with a Least Chipmunk. This might be the best portrait I have of one.

It won't be long, and I will be missing the ability to make this run on a regular basis. The Columbian groundsquirrels will be missed as well. Folks think that Bears have claws, these little guys out do any bruin with thier equipment!

The "rabbit road" has always been my "go to" spot to find Wilson's Warblers, today it didn't let me down. What a terrific environment in this area.

We had also spotted a couple of cow moose and a real nice Whitetail buck that just wouldn't present an acceptable shot (what can I say, even I have posting standards for regular subjects :). We headed out to the Pica place but instead ended up spending 30 minutes with this Hoary Marmot.

We started out quite a long distance away but were able to approach to the distance that I was able to take my teleconverter off and shoot it at 300mm. The morning was shaping up nicely!

We spent some time with this Western Meadowlark. These too are gorgeous birds. It is hard to get them to face you and show you their lovely yellow breast and black necklace.

We will always take the time to get a good image of a bird of prey, and this American Kestrel deserved our attention.

Staying with the bird theme for a bit, I captured what is likely my best ever American Goldfinch on this trip. Jamie and I had been in position on a couple of occasions, but capturing him showing him eating  dandelion seeds to be is just great!

While I'd like to get more Green-winged Teal shots I just can't seem to find them all that often, so I will settled for their more forgiving and approachable cousin, the Blue-winged.

Here is a bird that doesn't often make the blog for whatever reason. I couldn't pass up the chance to post this pair of Ring-neckeds. They just look comical in my eyes.

This next image is a shot that I try to get more often now. While Mushrats are great subjects, I find that shooting them when they are under water a real challenge. I hope you enjoy this image.

I'll wrap up this rather long post with this outstaning subject: a Red Fox. They appear from time to time, but not nearly often enough for my liking.

As it was a long day, so it was a long post. It is great to get back to Alberta to do some shooting. As always, find some time to put a little "wild" in your life!   Turbo

Bull frog, Yellow Warbler, Black-and-white (20150529) Walk in the park.

Len and I decided, due to the nice weather, to take a stroll in the park today with hopes of finding more of the great warblers he had been spotting. He's not really into the "frog scene", but hey, whenever I can add to blog it is a good day. It wasn't until I was reviewing the images that I found the mosquitoe on this fellas's hind leg. Looks like it is ready to burst.

While didn't find any of our targetted warblers this lovely Black-and-white put in an appearance.

I am finding these birds to actually be a pleasure to shoot and can tell that they will become a mainstay here on the blog. I caught this one showing the Tamarack just beginning to leaf.

I spent a little more time searching around the pond, thinking of Kerri knowing she would love to have spot like this with bullfrogs.

On the walk home we were able to track down the local pair of Yellow Warblers.

Even the Missus was up to putting in an appearance. We see these birds all the time as we drive off of the pennisula near Len's place.

A final shot of the male to close out this post. I am finding that even here in Nova Scotia wildlife is just a short walk away. Make the effort and put a little"wild" in your life!
Turbo

Porcupine, woodcock, Black-and-White (2015o524) first fishing trip of the year.

A couple of years ago while we in Nova Scotia for a Wedding, I think it may have been Len's youngest daughter, we gathered up brother Bill and headed in search of a mysterious trout lake. After many hours of searching and driving back roads we had to admit defeat and pack it in and go home. Well in the meantime Len has located the lake, and that is where we were off to today. On the drive things started to pick up about 45 minutes in when we found this Porcupine feeding in the tree tops.

While we were anxious to get to the lake, we did stop and spend a little time with critter.

These are pretty slow moing animals while they are in the trees. They are not supposed to be killed, as they are the only animal that a person lost in the woods is able to run down and kill should they need to. Not a subject that I had a lot of encounters with during my time in Alberta.

A little further along we had a nice round black bear jump out into the road and run infront of us for a bit. It was headed somewhere and didn't want anything to do with us so we wer unable to get any images.  Just as we came up to the lake we also spotted a Spruce Grouse, it flushed and we couldn't find it. So we got to the fishing part of the day and enjoyed some success. I will need to remember to bring along a shorter lens for shot opportunities in the boat.
While we on the shore stretching our legs for a bit we did notice a few warblers in the area and took note. Upon our return to the truck we thought we sould do a little warbler investigation prior to heading home. This nice Black-and-white was cooperative enough to show.

These are "flitty" little birds that are as bad a Chickadees for always being on the move, so I am pretty happy with my images today.

On the road home we were treated to another maritime treasure. This is Len's first ever Woodcock.

H couldn't stop chuckling over the way the bird walked. Here is a little video that I found on YouTube that demonstrates their "shuffle". I'd like to thank Susan Remmie for posting this video!
These are very difficult birds typically to find because they are so well camouflaged.

As this is a "first ever" on the blog, I don't mind sharing a few more images of this bird in its natural habitat with you.

There is just no telling when, if ever I will be able to post this specie again.

So whenever you get a chance, be certain to put a little "wild" in your day!
Turbo

Redstart, Yellow Rumped Warbler, Pheasant (20150523) A quick trip to town and the local park

Well it was a wet miserable night that put a very dreary look to the day. Len and I headed over to "town" to pick up a few things to get ready for a fishing trip tomorrow. On the way over Len spotted this rooster as we drove passed it. We had to spin around and go back passed the bird, then re-approach with cameras ready. I was sitting in the passenger seat, and we shot these while still in the truck right on the highway :)

He explained to me that they didn't like getting their feet wet, so in really wet weather he would often find them in trees. From this angle you can reall see his "horn".

On the way home we thought we would stop in the local provincial park. While I had been visiting Mom, he had found some warblers, so we thought we would give it a try. We did manage to spot this Yellow-rump.

While I was in position to grab this fellow, Len got a Black-throated Green warbler. Here is a little better shot of the Yellow-rump.

Next thing I new there was a new flash of a a different colour. We spent about 10 minutes hunting and looking throuhg the thick tangled masses and came up with a brand new bird for for me, and the blog, an American Redstart.

While it is my custome to post two images of a new subject, sorry to say that this was the ony "usuable" image that I was able to get of this little beauty. That was it for the day, so I will end off here. This week be certain to put some "wild" in your life!  Turbo

Cardinal, Ruby throated Hummer, Black-and-white(20150517and18) A visit to mom's.

One of our primary reasons to move to the east coast was to be closer to family. That means pretty regular visits to Mom's house. SO we decided to pop over for an over nighter and have a visit. We were sitting around have a cuppa when I spied this little gem outside on one of her oak trees. This is the first time mom has seen a Black-and-white warbler in her yard.

It is not a very good image, but evidence material. I had to shoot through the sun room windows :)
Another popular pasttime is trying to capture the Humming birds that flit around her azalea bush.

It was a very poor day and it was actually raining when I took these images, so light was at a premium.

The next day we had some better light. ALong with the light came some different visitors, like apair of cardinals. I shot this female between the deck railings while she was in the sun.

I missed the close up shot of the male head on, but managed to capture the colour and crest from the back.

Here he is in all his glory in a nicer setting.

I also snapped this bee, I don't know which variety, it could be a wasp. I just really liked the striking black and yellow stripes.

I wasn't able to get any hummer shots in this beautiful light, some other time. Here is a portrait of one of mom's crows. She feeds them almost every day.

This just shows that you don't have to go too far in order to put a little wild in your day!
Turbo

Blackbacked woodpecker, American Robin, Blue Jay(20150511 and 15) A nice surprise out at Len's

Well now that I am settling in at Len's place for a bit the first job is to build a boat rack so we can go fishing! We picked up some lumber in the morning. The day was cool and damp with little waves of heavy mist moving through from time to time. We were working in the garage having a few beverages as this construction does not require exacting measurements and cuts. After a bit I was off to the back of the lot to utilize the facilities when a dark popped up into a dead tree. I hunted around a little and found this beautiful female.

This is the first Black backed woodpecker I had been able to find in Nova Scotia so far, not that I had really been looking. So I yelled to Len to get the cameras. We spent a few minutes with her while she worked the tree.

 It was the first time Len had ever seen one anywhere let alone his yard. I have a nice little video of a male working a log in Bebo Grove in Calgary, it is found here.
This female was looking for, and finding grubs in the tree.

With the dampness of the day, making for very poor conditions we headed back to work in the damp conditions. My Nova Scotia move was starting to bear fruit, so to speak-- a Black backed Woodpecker!

A couple of days later, my birthday actually, we had much nicer weather and I spent a little time in the back yard. Of course the Blue Jays were  present.

I also spent some time with this beautiful American Robin, a much over looked bird here in Canada.

I couldn't help posting a second image of such a beautiful bird.

Still catching up on the back log--Still in May so I have a little ground to cover. Today, do me a favour and put a little wild in your life.
Turbo