For the love of all wild things: forest

Showing posts with label forest. Show all posts

2014/09/01

Mud Lake, Ottawa revisited

Given that school begins tomorrow and I now have a valid bus pass, I decided to go to Mud Lake today to do some wildlife-watching before the hectic school semester begins. The last time I was there was almost nine months ago, so everything are different now, especially temperature-wise. To read more about the different types of wildlife one can encounter at Mud Lake at different times of the year, read this post at the blog The Pathless Wood.

A true summer (sunny, hot, and humid) day today.

Bee flies, bumble bees, and butterflies

Went out for a walk in McCarthy Woods this afternoon.

A lot of new growth are sprouting out from the forest floor.

More flowers and bees in McCarthy Woods

The weather was suppose to be poor this weekend, so when I saw some sunny breaks this afternoon, I quickly grabbed my camera and headed to McCarthy Woods to take some photos.

I saw more Trout-lilies (Erythronium americanum) in flower.

Snowy Owl (still) in Ottawa

Got some photos to share from last Monday and today. Last Monday, I went out for a stroll at McCarthy Woods near where I live.

All the snow are gone, but nothing flowering yet.

[Photo series] Black dog in a white landscape

As mentioned before, I took care of my friend's pets during my time in Peterborough. Since I took the dog (Bronte) out walking everyday and couldn't see anything (exciting) to photograph, I ended up taking a lot of photos of Bronte playing and just being a dog in the snow. There were a lot of photos, so I compiled them all into this one post.

Sticks. Bronte just love sticks.

Holiday update #3

I just returned back to Ottawa around midnight today, after spending a couple of hours driving from Peterborough and "mudpuppying". I will post about it shortly, but here are three of the photos I took on Christmas and Boxing Day.

Morning snowy shadows

Snowy walk to school

Found another dead honey bee on the snow. Rest in peace. [Note: I just found this YouTube video and blog explaining that living bees perform cleansing flights in the winter to remove dead bees (from both natural and unnatural causes) from the hive. All part of the nature's ingenious design to keep everything in balance.]

2013/05/29

Herping at Oliver Centre

There are many Flatheaded Mayflies (Heptageniidae) flying around lately. One was seen outside my office window today with its old exoskeleton nearby.

Leucrocuta sp.

In the afternoon, I was helping out with the herpetology class with their salamander surveys at the Oliver Ecological Centre. The students were comparing different methods of surveying for salamanders (i.e., transects, quadrats, random walks, and cover-boards).

Windy Pines Conference Centre

Windy Pine Conference Centre on the shore of Lake Kushog consists of 6 cabins owned by the Canadian Studies Department of Trent University. For more information, please visit the official site.

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to help out with season-opening of the centre, as well as exploring this area for the first time.

Back of the main cabin. The cabin has a very homely feel to it, with a functional kitchen, bathroom, fireplace, bedroom, and more.

Snow Day in Bethany Hills

After last night's snowstorm, today was absolutely gorgeous with blue sky and no clouds at all. Perfect day to attend the Snow Day in Bethany Hills, an event hosted by Kawartha Heritage Conservancy and its sponsors.

Waiting for carpooling.

Upon arriving at South Pond Farms, we were greeted by friendly volunteers where we registered for the event, received a brief introduction, and borrowed ski and snowshoe equipments. It has been a while since I skied and I did not go very far (although I fell a lot) with the cross-country. In the end, I opted for the easier snowshoeing and began my hike through the land. After yesterday's snow, the land was pristine and gorgeous. Everyone I meet were extremely cheerful and appreciative for the event and the beauty of nature in general. Unfortunately, not much wildlife was heard or seen today, except for some tracks and sparrows that I saw and the chickadees that I heard.

Here are some photos taken along the trail.

Hiking around Canal Nature Area at Trent University

The weather here in Peterborough has been quite similar to the typical weather that Vancouver gets at this time of the weather - overcast, rainy, and depressing. So you can imagine my surprise and excitement when I saw nothing but blue sky when I opened the window in the morning.

As I grabbed my bike and headed to school, I kept debating if I should do work in my office or at least spend a few hours outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. In the end, I decided to do the latter before I go working in my office. Last year, around this time of the year, I was hiking on the other side of the road, this time, I visited the Canal Nature Area.

Sign.

Autumn in Jackson Park - Take 2

I wasn't overly satisfied with the photos that I took on Monday because the leaves were not bright enough! I went back to Jackson Park today hoping to see a more expressive forest, and I was right.

Combined with the sunlight, the leaves produced a blend of beautiful colors worthy of being photographed.

Torch of tree.

Getting outside again

I finally did something outdoorsy this week. Went to school on Sunday, but not before I went for a walk through the Lady Eaton drumlin next to the campus.

Unknown kill. Pigeon feathers?

Ganaraska Forest & Biked to Lakefield sewage lagoon

Another busy week gone by without any free time to take any photos or find anything interesting enough to blog about. Well, I tried Red Lobster for the first time yesterday, it was salty but I definitely had a good time.

This morning, I helped a lab-mate with her research project in Ganaraska Forest. It is a very nice forest - quiet and peaceful. I'd imagine it is livelier in the summer with all the birds and people, but I think I enjoy this time of the year more.

A small part of the forest.

Happy Taiwan Day & Sad Farewell Party

Today is Taiwan National Day (10/10), and my supervisor invited me and fellow co-workers and friends to her house for a party.

Dahu Park MRT Station

Dahu Park

My co-workers and I met at the MRT station first and strolled around in Dahu Park before we headed to the host's home.

Little Egret with an injured leg.

There were some fishermen in the fishing area. Near the fishermen were Intermediate and Little Egrets waiting for get little fishes that the fishermen do not want.

Intermediate Egret

Intermediate Egret preparing to take off when we got too close.

Afterwards, we walked to our supervisor's home, where we had a great feast and wonderful time together. They even presented me with a surprise gift. After a wonderful lunch and a satisfied belly, we hiked to a mountain trail behind the house and headed towards a waterfall promised to be a wonderful scenic view. And indeed it was.