2015/08/31

(Wild)life back in Ottawa

I have not done a lot of wildlife-watching since I returned from Baltimore - mainly because I do not have a valid bus pass yet and I only try to go to places within walk- and bike-able distances.  Besides where I live, the other places I go to for the past two weeks are: Sawmill Creek Wetland, the Arboretum, McCarthy Woods, and the university.  Here are some interesting things that I photographed.

Sawmill Creek Wetland

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Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillar (Euchaetes egle)


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Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

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American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

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Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)

Eastern Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Eastern Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis)

The Arboretum

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Trees along the Rideau Canal slowly changing to their autumn colours.

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Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica)

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A megachilid bee visiting knapweed flowers.

Unknown sparrow
Unknown sparrow.

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A goldfinch fledgling begging for food from its parent.

Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)
Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) sleeping on a log.

McCarthy Woods

Dog-day cicada (Tibicen canicularis)
 Found this dead and dried-up Dog-day cicada (genus Neotibicen) on the sidewalk.  I brought it home and took some photos.
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Dense canopy cover within McCarthy Woods.

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Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

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Unknown wasp, I think it is some kind of a potter wasp in the subfamily Eumeninae.

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Bees visiting Tall Rattlesnakeroot (Nabalus altissimus)

Bees visiting Tall Rattlesnakeroot (Nabalus altissimus)

Bumblebee visiting Tall Rattlesnakeroot (Nabalus altissimus)

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Red mushroom.

While walking in the woods, I saw flipped over some rocks that I thought might cover some interesting critters. And I was right!  I flipped over three rocks and found three different Blue-spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma laterale).  This is the most successful (unintentional) rock-flipping and salamander-searching expedition ever!

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Blue-spotted Salamander (Ambystoma laterale)

Blue-spotted Salamander (Ambystoma laterale)
Adorable.

I will have a valid student bus pass starting tomorrow.  I will try to venture outside my usual locations to see more wildlife before school begins again next Tuesday.

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