Black Tern Attack...and other shots :)

Monday was a gorgeous day!  My brother and his son were in town from Ottawa, so we headed out to Point Pelee to enjoy the wonderful weather we were blessed with.  We walked the Marsh Boardwalk and spotted a Common Yellow throat (still no picture of one) blowing with the wind on the reeds, and enjoyed watching several Black Terns flying about.  It looked like they were enjoying the wind!  At one point, we stopped to watch a Black Tern that was on a mat in the water not too far from the edge.   It flew around and came right at Ryan.  We thought it was going to land on him!  It came around again, and the third time it came around, I managed to get a picture.  Here he is...

We were amazed at how close he got!  We thought maybe he didn`t see Ryan...then, he came around again for the fourth time...

And again....

Each time it seems he got a little bit closer!  Best we can tell, Ryan was standing near a nest and he didn`t like his sunglasses, because he didn`t come anywhere near me :)  Once we moved a little further up the Boardwalk, the Tern left Ryan alone.  Is it weird that I was jealous??

After the marsh, we headed to the Tip.  It was nice to see that the Tip is considerably longer than the last time I saw it.  The east side of Tip was really rough, which I thought was strange.  I only ever see the west side rough.  Anyway, there were lots of gulls and Double Crested Cormorants at the tip and surrounding waters.  Here are a few pics that I really liked...

I really like this next picture of the Grackle....most of the time I think of them as a nuisance bird constantly eating the suet I put out for the Downy and scaring off my preferred birds from the feeder.  The lighting was perfect to show just how beautiful Grackles really are.

East side of the tip...very rough!

Ryan and Elliot at the tip...I love the sand under his shoe :)

While waiting for the shuttle, we checked out the Barn Swallows....so happy to get these shots....

Look at that face!

Mom (or dad) came by with some food ;)

Oh...while on the Marsh Boardwalk, I also got a really good picture of a Viceroy...

After our 4+ hours at Point Pelee, we went to a little diner in Kingsville for dinner, stopped to see one of Ryan's friends in Harrow, then headed to Navy Yard Park in Amherstburg for ice cream.  When we got home, Mike took Mackenzie and Elliot to the river to watch the fire works.  It was a great day!

Peregrine Falcon Fledglings :)

Mike and I have been volunteering with the Canadian Peregrine Foundation a few times a week to keep an eye on the nest at the Ambassador Bridge.  It is amazing how these 6 birds (and other like-minded people) have become such a big part of our life latety!  For those unfamiliar with "our" peregrines, the parents are Voltaire (mom), Freddy (dad) and their four youngsters, Twitter (f), General Brock (m), Viper (f) and Eddie (f).  Twitter and General Brock fledged last Wednesday and Thursday repsectively.  Today, Mike got up at 5am and couldn't get back to sleep so he decided to go to the nest to see what has happening, as Viper and Eddie (4 days younger than the rest) were doing.  Well, he got there early enough to see both Viper and Eddie fledge!  He brought my camera....enjoy the pictures he got while trying to get the birds to a safer area.    I wish I could have it for myself, but who gets up at 5am on Sunday??

These pictures are of Viper....

 

Up off the ground....a little safer!

Viper calling up to a parent.

Viper

These next pictures are of Eddie (pronounced "Eee Dee"...originally thought she was boy).  You will notice all the downy feather she still has :)  Makes her look a bit like a chicken, in my opinion :)

Eddie looking up at the next box.

Since both birds landed on the ground, Mike had to shoo them to a safer place.  Viper shooed easily and hopped up on a fence.  Eddie showed no fear and walked right beside Mike.  A woman actually stopped and took a picture of him out walking his Peregrine!  At one point, Eddie headed right for him instead of going around him.

Eddie heading right for Mike...he had to move out of her way.

By the way, none of these photos have been cropped at all...they were that close!