It was nice to get back out.

I had some time free on Friday morning to get out with the camera so I went to down to T.O. lakefront because last year I really enjoyed watching the long-tailed ducks and red-necked grebes as they fought for the ladies and put on a nice courting display. The sound of the long tailed duck echoed through the park the entire time and although the lighting wasn't the best I managed to snap off a few that I like so here they are.

That is right, I’M BACK!!!!!

So as plans came together for a wildlife photography outing I became very excited to get back to it. I charged the camera battery, cleaned my lenses and packed my camera bag. One restless sleep later and a few friends and I hit the road in hopes of seeing something wild and wow we ended up being very successful. We had no real location in mind other than a general destination of Hamilton. Once there we checked out most of the areas that had open water and they were very rich with waterfowl. Of course there was a lot of mallards and Canada geese but within their flocks we had wonderful views of common golden eyes, two different types of mergansers, buffleheads, tons of american coots, pintails, northern shovelers a few cormorants, a white winged scoter and two snow geese. I have never seen a snow goose before so that was very exciting. It was totally worth the drive. Four more days and I should be out and about again and I can’t wait.

Consumerism

With a heavy heart I would like to talk about consumerism. My girlfriend and I have just recently made the difficult decision to go our separate ways in life which has left us with the task of sorting through and separating our household items. This activity has inspired me to write today’s post.


It just astounds me to see how much stuff we have accumulated over the years and even more to see how little of it we actually use. We have been taking on one room at a time and our process is basically sorting everything into four different piles; one with her stuff, one with mine, one for garage sale items and one for garbage.

Let’s start with the items destined for the garbage. It is just mind-blowing to see how much stuff is garbage. If it is garbage why have we allowed ourselves to sit around it day in and day out? Where did it all come from in the first place and where will it go? Now I understand a little more when I hear people say that we as a species create so much waste.

Now for the garage sale items; First of all it amazes me that we have anything that we need to get rid of. If you think for a second that we both need items to fill a space of our own and yet we still have stuff left over we don’t want. I think of the contrast between us and many people who live without all this stuff. This point is made much more apparent to me because I am currently thick into a book called “Life of Pi”. In a nutshell the book is a story about a man stuck at sea, in a life boat with a tiger for seven months. It sure wasn’t a good seven months for him but it clearly defines basic needs to sustain life. Not that I want to live like that but we clearly have much much more than we need. This idea will stay with me every time I set foot in a store from this day forth.

This book also talks a bit about once he has made land. He started hording food due to a fear of going without. I think consumerism is much like this. You see other people having stuff and we feel we need this stuff too. An excellent movie about this topic is called “The Joneses”. It is a good watch if you are interested.

Anyway, going forward I would like to challenge myself to fight these urges to not buy something just to follow the normal and to make sure I am only buying things I really need. Wish me luck. Despite his my opinion on consumerism, I am hoping that everyone will be affected by consumerism this Saturday so I can sell all of my stuff at our garage sale.

Mowing the lawn!!!!

Personally I hate mowing the lawn. Not that it is hard work or anything but to me it just seems pointless. With just a look around the neighborhood or out for a drive, I can tell a lot of people don’t share the same sentiment. A lot of people have huge and I mean HUGE lawns that they mow all the time. One of my neighbors has two lawnmowers and he and his son mow at the same time. Mind you some of the lawns I see really do look beautiful but do they really use this lawn for anything other than appearance. My lawn is roughly 30’ x 70’ and I really only use a small path in our backyard. I hear a lot of people talking at work about lawn mowing and a common phrase abouot people that don't mow their lawns seems to be “don’t they have a sense of pride”.

To answer this question it is not really easy to answer without some explanation.

So let me offer up some food for thought;

First let me talk about the possibility of not mowing the lawn at all. Last year I put the lawn mowing responsibility aside for some fun instead. Needless to say the grass ending up getting a little long and I actually got a notice from the city that cited the city bylaw. It said that if I didn’t keep my lawn at a height of 6” or less than I would end up getting issued a citation that would cost me $25.00 and one could be issued every day. Is it just me or does this seem so silly. I don’t know about you but I was brought up to believe that appearances don’t really matter and that it is what is on inside that is more important. At a time when our planet’s natural spaces for wildlife to live in are rapidly declining, wouldn’t you think that a natural landscape is something that would actually benefit the planet as a whole and be something that a municipal government should adapt and embrace? Our town’s imagine seems to be very natural and concerned for its natural spaces but after hearing about this bylaw their image just seems a little superficial.

There are so many ways not mowing could help our planet get back to a healthy status. Here are just a couple of examples.

1. How many people have run over a snake with the lawn mower by accident? Currently 18 of Ontario’s 25 species of reptiles are on Ontario’s species at risk list. Their numbers are declining drastically and replacing our lawns with nature areas and not mowing would provide them with safer places for refuge and most likely help their population numbers increase.

2. How about the big one of using gas and electricity. Everyone is aware of the issue of the energy companies struggle to meet the consumer’s demand for oil and gasoline. Imagine how much gas and oil we could save if everyone stopped mowing the parts of their lawns that they don’t actually use. As for electricity, the energy companies have just introduced the use of smart meters which basically charge us more for using electricity during the day. I can’t really mow the lawn before 6am or after 11 pm can I? Energy companies have such a hard time meeting demands in the summer months they even schedule what they call rolling blackouts. A period of time where they turn off the electricty to a section and then move on to another section after the allotted time is up.

3. I don’t know if every one knows but the once plentiful Monarch butterfly was added to the species at risk list this year due to some very nasty weather that occurred in their wintering zone. Milkweed grows naturally here in Ontario and since the monarch butterfly uses this plant for food I am sure this could seriously help their number replenish much faster if we allowed this plant to be an addition to our backyards.

4. How about our bats. Right now our bats are struggling with a disease called white nose syndrome. Basically this disease causes them to wake up a lot during their hibernation which causes them to use up energy looking for food and water and since it is winter they have a hard time finding food and water so they basically they are starving to death. This disease is expected to affect something like 99% of our bat populations. Anyway back to the lawns, there are a lot of bugs that hang out in a field looking for shelter and the longer the plants in that field the higher the bug population could be. This wouldn’t eliminate the disease from spreading but it definitely would increase the bats breeding since their food source would be plentiful. I imagine in the long term it would give them a greater chance of survival.

5. How about watering, fertilizing and seeding the lawn. There is a cost to all of this as well as what a waste of time just to try and force something to go that doesn’t naturally belong there. I could understand this kind of effort if it was for food. Also where do all of these chemicals go that we put on our lawns to stop weeds from growing or to help the grass grow better? I suspect it goes back into our water system.

6. For me another big one is time and money. The cost of the lawnmower, electricity, extension cords and it takes me anywhere from 20 mins to one hour depending on the length of the grass. Personally I have other things I’d rather spend my time and money on.

I am also lucky to have a significant other that feels the same as I do regarding our lawn. So much so that she even affectionately calls it our heritage meadow.

So I guess I do have a sense of pride but just in much more important issues than appearance. I feel proud of helping wildlife, saving money and my time, reducing my carbon footprint.

RACE DAY!!!

So I have a friend that just competed in a Triathlonand that inspired me to get out and compete at something as well so I researched and found an event that just suited me completely and then signed up.

First of all, the event was local. It was held at the Mono Cliffs Provincial Park. It is so beautiful there. I have spent a lot of time there in the past running the trails.

Secondly, it was for a great cause. The funds raised from the event are going towards securing 100 acres of land in the Boyne Valley Corridor which will be used for the Bruce trail.

Thirdly, this is a green event. So carpooling and bringing your own water bottle is strongly encouraged. Everything from the event that can be recycled or composted was. They also had local sponsors there that brought local food and products.

Now for the race information. I have been trying to run as often as I can for about four weeks now and for the most part I have been able to run 6 days per week but I normally only run 4 – 5 kms each time. I researched men’s 8 km race results and found that first place winner had a time of 29 mins. So on Tuesday night I ran my first 8 km and I timed myself and managed to make it in 36 mins. I was very happy with those results but I wanted to see if I could get that a little better but my legs hurt a lot so I didn’t run again until race day. I did however walk the course on Friday to see what I was getting myself into. It was a tough course even to walk. There were a few really steep hills and narrow trails with large rocks in the path but I was excited for race day.

So race day came and I was pumped up. We made our way over to the event, signed in and then waited. I was checking out the other runners to see how I thought I would compare. I figured I would be around half so when it came time to line up at the starting position I placed myself about halfway. As soon as it started it was so crowded that I had to walk until it thinned out. Once we were able to run I still had to wait awhile until I could get to the speed I was comfortable with. I ended up passing 18 people and had a blast. I ran pretty much neck and neck with two other runners. That in itself was a lot of fun. I constantly felt pushed to go faster to either catch the person in front or just fend off the person behind me. I ended up finishing 7th overall at 40 mins and 3rd for my age group. I seriously feel I could have done better if it wasn’t for my poor choice of positions in the beginning. I still wouldn’t have been able to get first though. That guy was 7.5 mins ahead of me. FUN!! I want to do another race in October!!!

You can see my results here if you like. You just have to click "Mono Cliffs Run 2010 Results" twice to be able to see them.

Awenda Provincial Park

It was a good weekend at the lovely Awenda Provincial Park. This was my second time there and I really enjoyed myself once again. I didn’t have much time to pursue wildlife pictures but that didn’t stop me from seeing and enjoying it anyway.
As soon as we were set up at our campsite we decided to walk to the beach for a swim. Just as we started walking we saw a red-tailed hawk perched on a tree that overhung the road only two campsites down from ours. I didn’t have my large lens with me so no great pictures this time but it was still cool to see.

While we were at the beach we saw a tern, some seagulls, a kingfisher, a squirrel and we heard a loon off in the distance. We also had four chipmunks hanging around our campsite that were fun to watch. I know that chipmunks are a regular sight at campsites around Ontario but this time I found myself being surprised by their actions. I kept seeing them gathering leaves in their mouths and taking them into a hole in the ground. I have never seen this before and it was neat to watch.

We went back down to the beach late at night to enjoy the stars and they were amazing. With the moon almost completely dark, we were easily able to see them. I snapped a few pictures but without a remote it is had to get great pictures.

One of my favorite things to do at campgrounds is to check out the moths in the bathrooms. There are always so many different types and ones I have never seen before. I didn’t take my camera in for obvious reasons but there were some really cool ones in there.

On Sunday I woke up really early and was able to hear what I think was a great horned owl calling quite close to our campsite. I wasn’t able to find it but it was nice to know it was there. It also might explain why I didn’t see any other animals like raccoons, rabbits or skunks which are usually as common as the chipmunks in our parks.

Anyway I had a great time and highly recommend Awenda as a camping destination.

Canada Day Weekend

I was really busy this weekend but I managed squeeze in some wildlife stuff. I had the pleasure of being able to sit and watch a female coyote hunt in a recently plowed field for at least 20 mins. It is so nice when they don't just turn tail and run.

I found two cottontail wabbits and watched them from a close distance as they had some breakfast. They are so cute and so much different from the snowshoe hares.

I also found a few Kingfishers this weekend. The first two were really camera shy but the last one I found was very close and fine with it. I got a few nice shots from the encounter.

Going to see my photo on display in Montreal!!

So I left on Friday and made my way over to Montreal to take in the last part of my prize for winning a photo contest. It is my photo being on display at the Biosphere for one year as part of a biodiversity theme. So on Saturday morning I woke up, got ready, grabbed some breakfast and took the metro to the Biosphere.

The moment I got off the Metro I started to feel very excited and anxious. As I walked outside and started to make my way to the Biosphere I caught a glimpse of my photo on display. It was much bigger than I expected. I stood there for a while with friends grinning from ear to ear and every now and then letting out a surprised little giggle. The whole photo was such luck but it has just given me so many happy feelings since. It is such a beautiful exhibition and I love the fact that it is outside too because I feel it fits very well into the theme. It was beautiful to see all those pictures lining the walkway as I headed towards the Biosphere. What an amazing experience.

The whole thing made me think of a time about a year and a half ago when I went to the Detroit zoo with some friends. They were also interested in wildlife photography and while we looked at some nature photos on display there we said "soon that will be our pictures on display". Funny how things come true. Honestly I never thought it would actually happen but as I stood there grinning like a crazy person I felt very proud to have succeeded. Even though the odds are against me I would love to experience something like that again. It was just wonderful!!!!

More trouble with the strong arm of the law!!

On Friday we went to conduct the grassland bird survey for the last time this year. The area we were sent to was a great place for birds but really bad for seeing the birds. There was a lot of limited visibility and the views we did get were general looking into the sun so the birds were more often silhouetted.

This time I spent more time sitting and hoping for the birds to come out for a photo opportunity. They didn’t but while I was waiting for the birds to make an appearance, I caught a glimpse of something very small moving on the country road that I was standing on. I turned and looked to see a mouse. It was running from one side of the road to the other very quickly and it would stop on the side to check for safety before darting out again and it was heading right toward me. It swam through a water filled tire track and then ran right between my feet. I lost sight of it after that. I managed to get a few pictures but I had the camera settings set for birds in the trees so I had to fix them each photo up in Photoshop even to make the mouse visible. We also got to see quite a few American Redstarts. They were very flighty though, making it hard to photograph them.

Okay now for the funny part, this road we were on runs right beside a military tank range. Yep you probably know where this is going. Each time we have gone to this location it has been silent other than the birds but on Friday there were tons of cars and people.

So, there we were in camouflage, standing beside a fence, looking into a military tank range with binoculars and cameras with large lenses and then this truck was motoring down the road towards us but on the opposite side of the fence. The truck was marked Military Police. They buzz by us and then all of a sudden they slammed on their brakes and slammed it into reverse only to slam on the brakes again once directly in front of us. The officer closest to us throws his door open and flies out of the truck and quickly made his way towards us asking what we were up to. Once we calmed him down with our birding story and showed him proof of the birding study along with our personal information they left with funny stories to tell friends.

Lessons learnt.

1. Don’t stand beside a farmer’s field at night photographing fireflies.
2. Don’t look into a tank range with binos and cameras.
3. To be determined. (Maybe next weekend)

My butt is on fire!

So on Sunday night we were in Guelph and didn’t leave until late so it was dark for our drive home. It was still a good drive though. We got to see a momma raccoon with four of her babies. They were very small and really cute to watch as they followed her around.

We also stumbled across this field that was just filled with fireflies. I shut the car lights off and just watched in amazement for a minute but I was so tired that I didn’t want to stop for a photo but last night I went back. It was so amazing to see how many bugs were in this field. I watched as the light slowly started to disappear and the bugs started to emit this amazing spectacle. It took me a while to figure out how to photograph these bugs but I was able to catch a few shots that I am pretty happy with.

There is more to this story though. I always seem to attract some attention whenever I am out. People always seem to be confused as to what I am doing. They will slow down and looked very puzzled as they drive by slowly and then they often leave still scratching their heads. I have been approached a few times by property owners asking what I was up to. On the weekend I had someone stop to see if I was broken down because he saw me sitting in my car for an hour. That time I was watching a fox den but back to the case in hand.

So all of a sudden a car drives by slowly and then they turn and park right beside me so I turn and look and it was the O.P.P. So I headed up to talk with them. It was a very nice lady and as I approached her car she said are you taking pictures of the fireflies. I guess she must have seen my equipment at the edge of the field. I explained what I was up to and she proceeded to tell me that the reason she was here was that she had a call of a suspicious looking vehicle and person at this location. I said yep that is me. She asked for my name, address and phone number and then left saying enjoy the bugs.

I was there just over an hour and a half and I had such a fun time. I learnt so much about my camera in that short little time and seeing the bugs were just amazing. These guys were really challenging subjects and I really want to go back again for another stab at it. Even though I was really tired it took me a while to get to sleep because I was so excited about the fun I just had. It is kind of funny to have so much fun with bugs especially after me freaking out about the ticks.

Discovery Phobias!!!!

So after reading some news of the abundance of the red-headed woodpeckers and the tufted titmice down at the Pinery Provincial Park, we decided to make a last minute camping trip. We headed down on Friday after work with hopes of seeing both species of birds. The weather was very nice, which made birding a breeze. On the way we stopped at the Mitchell sewage lagoons for a very short walk and saw for the first time a bunch of semi-palmated sandpipers. Then back into the car.

Once at the Pinery we saw lots of birds fluttering all around as we explored the park. We ended up heading to an area where I heard the red-headed woodpeckers had a nest but as soon as we got there we discovered it was in fact a pileated woodpecker's nest. It was very neat to see but I was a little disappointed because I was super excited to see the red-headed and at a nest too. Anyway, so I move in for a closer look at the nest. We watched, as the adult returned with some food then the babies would pop their little heads out begging for the food. It feed the babies and then went to go get more food. All of a sudden I feel something crawling up my leg. I look down and it was a TICK!! I quickly tried to brush it off but it had a firm grip. So I quickly picked him off and before I could look through my lens again I felt something crawling up my other leg. It was ANOTHER TICK!!! I repeated the above steps and grabbed all my stuff and quickly got out of dodge. I realize now the very low possibility of actually getting lyme disease but at the time I was definitely not thinking so positively. I was just freaked out. I asked my girlfriend to check my legs again and they where fine. We continued down the trail but I walked funny the entire way back as I tried to not touch anything and anytime I did accidentally touch something I had to check to see if there was a tick there. My girlfriend was laughing most of the way back. For some weird reason I lost the ability to be calm and rational. It is strange how that happens sometimes. I wonder if seeing a sign that stated "STAY CALM" would have helped me then.

Anyway, we continued exploring the park but where are the abundant birds we were looking for? We didn't see them anywhere. Finally my girlfriend catches a glimpse of a red-headed woodpecker. We followed it and watch it for a while but it is so quick and flew long distances between landing and when it did land it was always at the top of the tree. All this made it very hard to get any good pictures. I got a couple for proof but I am not going to bother posting them.

So now comes Saturday. We wake up early and started exploring again. The weather was not as kind to us but we still got to see a lot of birds. Unfortunately we still were not seeing the abundance of those two species and in fact we still had not seen a tufted titmouse. Finally near the end of our stay we hear a strange call so we stop to listen and try to find the bird. There it was, a tufted titmouse at the top of a tree and once again not an easy bird to photograph. It was jumping all over the tree and then all of a sudden gone.

So all and all it was a good trip. We saw lots of birds including three more new ones ffor me.

Another fun drive to work.

Today I left a little early since I woke up early. I did my normal drive and thought I would share some of my sightings with you. I first got to see a few savannah sparrows. I didn't know which sparrows were which until this year. For me they are really easy to identify now because of their neat little call. It sounds like they are saying "take take take it easy". I also saw a lot of cottontail rabbits. I saw one get really scared and jump higher than the hood of my car. I have never seen a rabbit jump that high before. I love early morning because there are always so many wildlife encounters.

Three new birds and a lot of fun.

First let me start by saying what amazing weather this weekend. Finally!! I was able to get out every morning and I ended up seeing tons of stuff. The list is way too big to mention everything but there were some more new ones, and they were a black-billed cuckoo, a great-crested flycatcher, and a pair of least flycatchers.

A few fun encounters happened this weekend as well and the first one came as I was walking through a field. I stumbled across a skunk that was so focused on foraging it failed to see me. It walked straight towards me and ended up coming only five feet away from me. I had to do something so I didn't end up smelling more funky than I already do so I started walking backwards at which point it looked up and got scared, turned and ran.

The other fun encounters were watching a raccoon feel for stuff at the bottom of a river, sitting and watching a bittern as it called over its territory, close fly bys from an osprey and a trumpeter swan and watching a female northern harrier hunt over a field.

I also love seeing the birds return. This week brought back the catbirds and the house wrens so now they have joined the common yellow throat and yellow warblers making the side roads very musical. Anyway there are lots more stories but here are some of the pictures.

Luck was on my side this morning.

Today I saw tons of stuff and a lot of it was so close, which allowed me to be able to get some of the best pictures so far of the different species. My first sighting was of a wilson's snipe. Such weird looking birds but it is always really neat to see them. It sat on top of a fence post and didn't mind me being there at all. I was right beside it and watched it for quite a while as it called across the fields. Next was a eastern kingbird. This bird I have seen before as well but I have never been able to get so close and have the right lighting to boot.

Now for the best part, a pair of snowshoe hares. I love seeing this guys but they always turn and run as soon as they see me and man can they run fast but again not today. They actually came towards me. I sat and watched them for about an hour as they kept coming closer and closer to me. They ate some dandelions, cleaned themselves, rested for a bit and also made time for a little bit of hare love. The one was very pregnant and her mate stayed very close to her they entire time. Just awesome to see.

There was so much out and about this morning. I was also rewarded with a close encounter to a sandhill crane and then the stuff just kept coming. I also got to see a coyote, a porcupine, indigo buntings, cedar waxwings, common yellowthroats, yellow warblers, northern harriers, red-tailed hawkes, a cooper's hawk, Osprey with a chick and one more new bird called the arcdian flycatcher which kept its distance but there was so much more to be excited about. What a day!!!!

Piping Plover Guardian

In the winter while doing some research I stumbled across info on the piping plover. It looks like they used to be around Ontario in large numbers but then all of a sudden they were all gone. The reason seems to be that they nest on our popular sandy beaches with hardly any cover which makes it really easy for foxes, raccoons, dogs and yes people to find and disturb this bird. They are currently global threatened and endangered and sightings are extremely rare.

So after thirty some odd years all of a sudden a breeding pair made their way back into Ontario in 2007 and set up a nest. This got the ball rolling for some intense assistance. A barrier was set up around the nesting area to keep the people at a distance, which would give the birds their space. Then an exclosure was erected directly over the nest, which allows the birds to get through, but keeps the predators out. A volunteer based monitoring program was also set up to keep an eye on these birds and to mediate between the plovers and the people using the beach. There has been successful breeding every year since and not just from that pair and now the piping plovers are back again.

I really like the idea of helping this species get back on its feet again since human interaction has a huge part to play on their disappearance from Ontario. So I contacted the coordinators of the program and offered up some of my time. I wanted to see this bird and I couldn’t think of a better way to do so. So I made my way up there this morning.

Once at the location I got to see two pairs and possibly one more male. One pair put on quite a show not that far away from us. It was so neat to see their courtship dance. The male quickly made a scrape in the sand, which the female quickly came to check out. While she was inspecting it he then displayed his feathers for her and then he stood up tall and proudly proceeded to do what looked like the can-can. I wish I could do the can-can with that much confidence around the ladies. Then it was business time. Hopefully that means one more breeding pair. We also got to see two merlins fly by which was very excited to see but means more struggles for these birds. One year a merlin took one of the adult males and another year one took one of the chicks. Hopefully this year they keep their distance. Time will tell.

So to sum up it was so neat to see a new bird and very nice to be able to help out. I was really impressed at what the volunteers have done so far and I am looking forward to going back again to help out some more.

More new sightings

I had to work Friday morning but I got out for a quick drive in the afternoon to see what I could find. Even though the sun was out, it was really windy which didn’t make it favorable to see stuff. I did come across a snowshoe hare and snapped a few pictures as a turkey walked right in front of it. Saturday the weather wasn’t nice at all so I just stayed home but on Sunday the sun came out making it impossible for me to stay home. So I packed up the car and headed to the lakefront. There we found many warblers some of which I have seen before but the new ones were blackburnia, palm, chestnut-sided, black-throated blue and magnolia. Other new ones that I also got to see were a warbling vireo, dunlin, canvasback ducks and a spiny soft-shell turtle. I neat thing about the canvasback duck is that their numbers were so low in the 80's they ended up being protected but their number increased greatly in the 90's due to hunting being stopped of this species and protection of their breeding grounds. It was really cool to see the spiny soft-shell turtle as well because it is currently on the species at risk. I didn't even know that they were this far east. That was a very exciting surprise and it was big too. I would say roughly about the same size as a snapping turtle if not larger. Very Cool!! Can't wait until next weekend.