Wildlife at Home, the Wetlands and Lakeside Park

I had the perfect location. I was well camouflaged behind two tree trunks, with one small window between the trees from which to point my camera lens. The kingfisher was here and was sure to land on the dead branches directly in front of me. I heard the kingfisher's calls and sure enough, it flew upstream from Shoemaker Creek. The kingfisher hadn't seen me at all, it gave no warning as it approached. The kingfisher then continued, it flew straight past my position, landed on another branch further along the edge of the lake, swiftly caught a fish and then much to my dismay disappeared back along Shoemaker Creek! I thought that perhaps the belted kingfisher might return after a little while. No such luck, but in the course of waiting I did see other wild birds. A white-throated sparrow perched just to my left. I also saw yellow-rumped warblers that were just out of the reach of my lens. And there was more activity, from behind me. Birds that I would not normally have a chan...

I was headed to the top edge of Lakeside Park this morning. I had noticed a small predator flying from the treetops as I looked over the lake while standing at the main seated area: Whatever the predator was, it was small and very fast. I observed it chasing the smaller resident birds, matching their movements with unerring accuracy. The bird of prey was unable to catch anything this time and after flying restlessly from one perch to the next, it eventually settled in the branches of a dead tree in the top corner of the lake. Of course, it would be in a really boggy area. I snapped a few photos, edging my way closer until I had to give up any thought of keeping my boots dry, and ventured into the reeds. Through the blurred leaves of a willow tree, I was able to capture a photo of this beautiful little merlin: The merlin attracted the attention of a blue jay who also seemed well aware of my presence: The blue jay soon flew off, as did the merlin on another hunting fo...

A very overcast morning had me second guessing if I should venture to the lake. No light at all for really detailed photos, but then again, these are the types of days when I tend to see more wildlife than usual. Also, I thought, as I'm on holiday for the week, the bike ride there and back would do me good, and so it was decided. True to form, I saw much more than usual and I was able to take very little of what I saw, as it was so dark. What I did manage to salvage from my grainy photos was this tiny little woodpecker: A downy woodpecker I believe: Sorry, I had to add another. It is just too damn cute: Lots of activity in the trees of which some are providing lots of fruit for our feathered friends. The young robins love mulberries (This one appears to be surrounded): As does the blue jay and as you can see, they are both sticky and delicious: Copyright  ©  wildlakeside.blogpot.com 2019 Scott Atkinson All Rights Reserved.