Bald Eagles!

I heard about some nesting Bald Eagles about 5 minutes from my home in East Windsor, so I decided to take a look.  The large nest made it easy to spot!  These pictures are really cropped as they were quite aways away from the edge of the road.  I didn't trepass into the field, but opted to sit in the grass at the edge of the field.  I was really hoping to see the mate return to the nest and possibly see some interaction between the two eagles, but after about an hour, all I got to see was the mate do a fly by with what looked like a fish in its talons....hard to tell in the picture, but clear through my binoculars. 

Bald Eagle guarding its nest.

The mate with what looked like a fish in its talons...just did a fly-by and left.

Blenheim Lagoons

I went to the Blenheim Lagoons yesterday (April 19) for the first time.  These are some shots of some of the birds there.  If the Canada Geese hadn't announced my arrive so loudly and continuously, I may have been able to get some better shots, but, because they decided to cause such a raucous, all the ducks either swam to the far side of the lagoon or took off.  With the ducks being so far away, I couldn't get my camera to auto-focus on the birds I wanted, so I had to switch to manual focus....I learned something though....I am really bad at manual focus!

Male and Female Bonaparte`s Gulls

 Everytime I have seen Buffleheads, they run away.  Here is the first time I saw them...running away.

Female Bufflehead

Another female Bufflehead

And another...

 I was really surprised to see the next few photos turned out as well as they did....not only was the lens on manual, but I was panning as well.  Blurry, yes, but better than expected :)  Life bird too!

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

 There were several Northern Shovelers in the water too...this is the best shot I got of one.  Another life bird!

Northern Shoveler in the middle

 This next bird I am not sure of its identity.  To me, it looks closest to a Meadowlark, but the position of the bird makes it tough to be certain....any ideas??


Blonde moment...female Red-winged Blackbird..thanks Karen :)

 And these ducks...there were quite a few of them in the water too, but I can't tell what they are.  I got several shots, but none any clearer than this....any ideas??

Possible Ring-necked Ducks...thanks Karen :)

I really enjoyed visiting the Lagoons....I was there all by myself for about 1.25 hours, just sitting on the edge of the lagoon (in a rare goose poop free area), watching the swallows perform their acrobatics and watching all the ducks and geese.  Very peaceful place...aside from the Canada Geese that is :)

Tree Swallows

I went out to the Blenheim Lagoons for the first time today.....awesome!  The Canada Geese, however, sounded the alarm and many ducks swam or flew out of good picture taking range.  Here are some Tree Swallow pictures that turned out satisfactory....hard to capture clearly!  There is more to come from today`s trip.....

Speedy little flyer!

Love the wing and body position!

Swallows and their reflections :)

A Walk in the Woods

On Easter Monday, my brother's sister-in-law suggested we go to a wooded area near the Brittania Water Purification Plant (still in Ottawa).  She mentioned that the chickadees there eagerly feed from your hands....that was enough for me!  I was so excited to go!  It was beautiful!  Lots of evidence of woodpeckers and beavers, but none were spotted.  We did see lots of Canada Geese and Mallards and a tonnes of Chickadees who were very happy to take our sunflower seeds :)  None of wildlife was shy....they all came right up to us as soon as they heard us!  We fed everyone! 

American Black Ducks that came up from the water as soon as they heard us coming!  They stayed with us until a jealous Canada Goose chased them off!

American Black Duck

American Black Duck

The jealous Canada Goose who chased of the ducks...he had been chased out of the water, onto the trail by another goose!

Black-capped Chickadee

A Black-capped Chickadee eating out of my hand!!!

Closer...

I love Mallards....probably my favourite duck.

Mallard female

Love this pic!!

Smiling for the camera!

Cutest squirrel EVER!

Isn't he sweet?  Came right up to me!

Pileated Woodpecker

For Easter Weekend, I headed to Ottawa to visit my brother.  We went for a walk on Easter Sunday through the Arboretum and I saw a Pileated Woodpecker way off in the distance through my binoculars.  It flew to a tree where another one was.  I was thrilled!  It was too far off for photos though.  A little while later, while walking in the rocks at the edge of Dow's Lake, I turned and saw this guy 6 feet in front of me!!  I took 100+ pictures...here are two :)

Pileated Woodpecker

Perfect picture....only took 100+ tries :)

Ducks at Erieau

On March 13, 2012 I went to check out McGeachy Pond and Erieau while my daughter was swimming in Blenheim.  I didn't think I saw anything new until I checked out all my pictures....to my surprise, there was a Canvasback and a Ruddy Duck (both life birds!) in the mix of what I thought were all gulls and mergansers.  There were Ring-billed, Herring and Bonaparte's...included is a picture I found rather humerous ;)

Canvasback

Cast of Characters :)

Killdeer...not a life bird, but first photos of one.

Killdeer

Ruddy Duck

Sharp-shinned Hawk??

I saw this guy from my dining room window when he landed in my neighbour's tree...I am thinking he is a Sharpie..what do you think?