Wildlife at Home, the Wetlands and Lakeside Park

The rain has kept me away from my mornings at Lakeside Park. I have gone but been forced to leave with the torrential rain we have had. Yesterday though after the rain had stopped, my wife and I ventured out for a walk around the park and of course, no walk is complete without a camera. A T-shirt-wearing 16 degrees had everyone out walking too, so we headed off the beaten track, mindful of social distancing. A walk through the grass beside the pollinator meadow would have been uneventful had the grass not moved. I have seen garter snakes at Lakeside Park before but never actually managed to take a photo. They don't usually hang around. This garter snake did though and mindful of my encounter in October of 2019, I decided to keep my distance:  https://wildlakeside.blogspot.com/2019/10/watch-your-step.html . Garter snakes are well camouflaged and I'm sure had it not been for its movement we would not have noticed it at all. The unusually mild weather and the heat o...

It rained last night and then rained a little more this morning. A stay at home day I thought. But the day brightened up and the clouds became broken. Time for some fresh air and a walk with my cameras around the Borden Wetlands. I took a shortcut this time, through the undergrowth, along a steeply sloped drainage ditch. I saw two small birds, one which I was unable to identify or photograph had a speckled chest, the other was this ruby-crowned kinglet: The walk took a fraction of the time. I stood at the edge of the trees and looked past the shade, into the dappled light. The wetlands seemed more inviting today: The sunlight lit up the fall leaves in stark contrast to the tall, slender tree trunks: An unusually warm day for October which brought the insects to life. These dragonflies were everywhere: They jostled for position to bask in the sun: I'm not one to stay on the beaten track really, and it was during my walk through the undergrowth that I came ac...

Chores at home have kept me away from my photography, but today I was determined to get some fresh air and take my cameras with me. I set off on foot in the direction of the Borden Wetlands which are but a stone's throw away from my house, although the walk is much further as I have to walk around the seemingly endless wall which borders the Fischer Hallman road: The wetlands are not really user-friendly and I honestly did not hold much hope of seeing anything other than this little chickadee, which I photographed as it performed acrobatics in its attempts at getting to the seeds in the photos: The wetlands are just that, very wet in the open areas and elsewhere are shrouded by a high canopy of leaves held up on the branches of some really tall trees. It does not have the same friendly feel as Lakeside Park. Every step you take comes with the snap of a broken twig or rustle of dead leaves. The ducks and geese there are very wary of any noise or movement, and rightly...