Wildlife at Home, the Wetlands and Lakeside Park

I was late leaving work this morning and also had to be home in a hurry, so I was a little more rushed than normal. Plenty of activity though at Lakeside Park. Lots of young red-winged blackbirds squawking for their parents to feed them. The kingbirds are still guarding the surrounding area of the tree they are nesting in. A large hawk flew over the trees from the far bank, carrying prey in its talons. That caused a huge stir among the neighborhood birds. I had hoped to see the night herons again, but there was no sign of them, or they were tucked away, well out of sight in the willow trees. I hurriedly visited my usual vantage points, missing way more shots than I took, and then a beautiful little goldfinch came to rest in front of me and started to sing: My time was almost up and so I quickly switched location. A little red squirrel was really curious to see what I was doing. Peering from around the side of a tree, it came so close that its tail was completely cropped out...

Very rarely am I ever gifted the chance of taking any half-decent photos of the belted kingfishers. That all changed this morning: Busy watching the great blue heron, I was hiding in the undergrowth, feeding the resident mosquitoes and snapping a photo here and there: I could quite clearly hear the kingfishers and was thinking to myself; "That's awesome guys, you always let me know you're there and that you know where I am, but you don't ever let me take any photos". Well, this little guy must have read my mind and promptly came to rest just above me: Then moved over to the other bank and quite happily posed for me: As it was so overcast this morning, I took a ridiculous amount of photos. I at least wanted to be sure by chance alone that I had one or two decent shots out of what I took: Going through the photos took hours this morning. I may never want to see another kingfisher photo again: Just kidding... they are stunningly beautif...

Do birds play? Young animals do, so why not birds? This family of young wrens appeared to be having a great time playing this morning: Darting in and out of cover, chasing each other. Perhaps honing their survival skills: The split in a dead tree trunk, which looked as if it had been folded in half, made the perfect hiding place: I am no expert when it comes to Canadian birds. You can probably tell from my accent that I am from the UK, and I am still learning all about the birds in Ontario. So, if anyone can help identify this bird then please let me know: A juvenile, but I am not sure if it is a flycatcher or an oriole? It was seen feeding on the same mulberry bushes as in my post yesterday. I also found a few bushes at the side of the trail on my way home with some fruit within arms reach. I picked what I could and left what I couldn't reach for the birds. I love mulberries too: My post titled "Catbird Sings" showed a photo of a coopers hawk ...