February 24, 2012

The Woodpecker!

Hello Everyone!

This week I'm doing an early and quick post! I'm tuckered out today after attending a Hedley concert last night..totally worth it though! Tomorrow I have my 2 neices coming to stay over (ages 3 and 6mos), so plan to clean the house and prepare for them! On Sunday I have a scrapbook party to attend and then getting ready to head to Oneida to do some training on Mon-Tues!

Wow, so not looking forward to being so busy...oh well, maybe I can sleep in tomorrow!

We did get to the zoo as hoped on Monday (Family Day)..Of course every family in Toronto also decided to do the same thing! Anyway, I did not get any pictures of the baby polar bear..And I must make a correction to my last post, he was born in October of last year, not the previous December as I had mentioned. Anyway, I did get some different pics than I usually do, but have not had time to go through them all yet.

So this week, I'm including some photos of the woodpecker that we saw in Lemoine's Point. He landed right on Kevin's hand. We were surprised that he took bread as they usually eat insects! I believe this one is called the Downy Woodpecker.

Enjoy...more pics next week!



February 19, 2012

The Nuthatch

Here are some more shots from our visit to Lemoine's Point a few weeks ago...This week I'm sharing my shots of the Nuthatch. A cute little fellow who is funny to watch come down the side of a tree...He looks like he's bent in half at times...Maybe it's to keep an eye out for predators! Anyway, he's a very cute bird and has a very distinctive chirp as well. You can hear them coming!

Here's a bit about the nuthatch, again from Wikipedia (one of my favourite sites to visit):

The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs. Most species exhibit grey or bluish upperparts and a black eye stripe.
Most nuthatches breed in the temperate or montane woodlands of the Northern Hemisphere, although two species have adapted to rocky habitats in the warmer and drier regions of Eurasia. However, the greatest diversity is in Southern Asia, and similarities between the species have made it difficult to identify distinct species. All members of this genus nest in holes or crevices. Most species are non-migratory and live in their habitat year-round, although the North American Red-breasted Nuthatch migrates to warmer regions during the winter. A few nuthatch species have restricted ranges and face threats from deforestation.
Nuthatches are omnivorous, eating mostly insects, nuts and seeds. They forage for insects hidden in or under bark by climbing along tree trunks and branches, sometimes upside-down. They forage within their territories when breeding, but may join mixed feeding flocks at other times. Their habit of wedging a large food item in a crevice and then hacking at it with their strong bills gives this group its English name.

We are off to the Zoo tomorrow...Hopefully I'll get some shots of the baby polar bear (born Dec 2010). He just went on display the end of January, so I'm looking forward to seeing him!

Happy Family Day!


 



February 12, 2012

The Chickadee

cHere are some shots of Chickadees that we took last week while walking in Lemoine's Point Conservation Area, in Kingston. As you can see they are very tame...and fast too! I tried to get a shot of them in the trees, but they were too quick for me, so I only have them eating from Kevin's hand.

We were feeding them seeds and bread and apparently they like peanuts as well!

Here is some info from Wikipedia again about the chickadee:

The Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a small, North American songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is the state bird of both Maine and Massachusetts in the United States, and the provincial bird of New Brunswick in Canada. It is notable for its capacity to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (they can feed from the hand). Its French name is Mésange à tête noire.

On another Photography Note:
I submitted a photo of a Heron for the Conservation Ontario-2011 Photo Contest...Anyway, I didn't win, but my picture was awarded an Honourable Mention! Here is the link if you want to check it out...It's down at the very bottom:







February 5, 2012

Barred Owl

Yesterday Kevin and I went hiking at Lemoine's Point in Kingston..it was a beautiful day and we were rewarded with seeing and feeding chickadees, nuthatches and even a woodpecker...But our greatest sight of the day was this owl below. We were near the end of the trail and saw this family staring up into the trees, so we looked too and saw this Barred Owl sitting on a branch. The first picture below is our first view of him...not that great! So, we went into the forest where he would be facing us to get some shots...He was not afraid of us at all...mind you we didn't get too close anyway as we didn't want to scare him!

Here's a bit of info about the Barred Owl for you from Wikipedia:

The Barred Owl (Strix varia) is a large typical owl native to North America. It goes by many other names, including Eight Hooter, Rain Owl, Wood Owl, and Striped Owl, but is probably best known as the Hoot Owl based on its call.
The adult is 40–63 cm (16–25 in) long with a 96–125 cm (38–49 in) wingspan. Weight in this species is 500 to 1050 grams (1.1-2.3 lbs). It has a pale face with dark rings around the eyes, a yellow beak and brown eyes. It is the only typical owl of the eastern United States which has brown eyes; all others have yellow eyes. The head is round and lacks ear tufts, a distinction from the Short-eared Owl. The upper parts are mottled gray-brown. The underparts are light with markings; the chest is barred horizontally while the belly is streaked vertically. The legs and feet are covered in feathers up to the talons.


Next week I'll have some photos of the other birds we saw...Have a GREAT week!







February 2, 2012

Oh How You've Grown....

Wishing my darling, Brookie a VERY happy 17th Birthday (February 3rd)!
Love you lots and lots "Boo Bear"!

Sorry for the poor quality of photos but my scanner sucks! lol

1995 (3 weeks old)

2012