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 all set to leave Lakeside Park this morning without many photos. I'd seriously underestimated the weather and how cold it was going to be. I was literally shivering in my rubber boots and heading to the warmth of my little car when the smallest of movements caught my eye. You'd be forgiven for thinking that a small piece of bark was moving up this tree. This bird's colouring is designed to seamlessly blend into the surface on which it hunts. I'm more used to seeing brown creepers moving through the trees in groups of other small birds, for safety during the winter months. This brown creeper, however, was hunting over the jigsaw puzzle of cracks and crevices in this tree's bark all on its own. Only when a brown creeper is silhouetted on the side of a tree's trunk does it really stand out to the naked eye. It appears I'm writing this post last first, so I'll continue in reverse with this photo of a northern flicker. T...

When you consider the density of wildlife present at Lakeside Park, it is not surprising that the park also attracts lots of predators. Aerial predators are energy conscious and can oftentimes be hard to locate, as they are hidden from sight, watching and waiting for an opportunity that will not be a wasted effort. Sometimes, the lack of activity from the squirrels and birds is a giveaway; other times it is the overactivity, the noisy complaints targetted at the predator that gives away its location. It was the cawing of crows that made me look up as they mobbed this red-tailed hawk, forcing it to circle up and away from the park. Hearing, I find at times to be much more useful than sight when it comes to birdwatching. I know; it does seem to be a contradiction, but I was led to my next predator by listening to the complaints of chickadees. I was fortunate that the bright morning sunlight lit up the chest feathers of this Cooper's hawk, making it fairly easy to locate amo...

I have posted a few photos of the white-throated sparrows at Lakeside Park already and now find myself posting one more. I seem unable to not take a photo of these colourful sparrows: This bird is a brown creeper. I don't believe I have posted a photo of a brown creeper before, but it is not a new bird for me. I am well acquainted with these birds from my time birdwatching in England, although we do call them treecreepers in the UK: Squirrels appear to be everywhere at the moment. In the canopy dropping walnuts and on the ground hiding their stash: The red squirrels appear to be very aggressive towards their larger cousins, driving them off their walnut tree: I see painted turtles all the time at Lakeside Park, and I guess that is why I don't really take any photos of them. This is October though and for that reason alone, I took this photo of a painted turtle basking in the sun: Copyright  ©  wildlakeside.blogpot.com 2019 Scott Atkinson All Rights Re...

I am surprised that there are still lots of insects at Lakeside Park. The milkweed plants at the bottom edge of the lake have provided food for many different insects. These aptly named milkweed bugs are seen feasting on the milkweed seed pods: They are displayed in their different stages in the next photo. One adult is pictured toward the top, it is the only milkweed bug with wings and a different pattern on its back: This hickory tussock moth caterpillar is fattening up before the cold weather arrives: Red squirrels and grey squirrels are busily harvesting and hiding walnuts: I love the colours on the white-throated sparrows. This one is enjoying the bounty of seeds from the goldenrod plants: And one more photo of the great blue heron: Copyright  ©  wildlakeside.blogpot.com 2019 Scott Atkinson All Rights Reserved.