Pelee Island

I spent today on Pelee Island with Shooters Photography Club.  We were going there to shoot pictures of the winery, vineyard and harvest.  Unfortunately, we didn`t get to shoot a harvest, but we had a great time anyway.  I was also happy to get a few pictures of some birds that I particularly liked...I hope you like them too :)

Taken from the Ferry on the way to Pelee Island

I love groups of gulls....always makes me chuckle :)

Peek-a-book Nuthatch

Sweet :)

Upside down!

 We went to the vineyard after visiting the winery (where the Nuthatch was found) and to the area the machines are kept...saw these birds there:

Cedar Waxwing...there were several!  Most of them juvenile.

I also got a life bird today....

Horned Lark!

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 It was a great day!

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!