Spending more time outside now

Yesterday I was outside at a natural area (i.e., Gatineau Park) for the first time in a couple of months helping my labmate counting flowers.  Most of the park are snow-free, but everything seems to be emerging later than in Ottawa.  We didn't count many flowers but we did see some interesting wildlife.

The first was this Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) walking away from us nonchalantly.

An afternoon at Fletcher Wildlife Garden with M.Zuiko 75-300mm F4.8-6.7 II

Compared to the last few days, today's weather was a bit more agreeable - sunny and not too frigid, so I went to Fletcher Wildlife Garden to test out my new lens.

Because of the sunny weather, I was able to increase the ISO to get faster shutter speeds and increase the depth of field, resulting in sharp images.  The auto-focus was also speedy and accurate, which was the main reason why I got this new lens.

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) enjoying the sumac.

Wildlife around Mud Lake - lifers!

This morning I brought my mother to Mud Lake, which she thought was the nicest place in Ottawa I showed her so far.

The first bird that welcomed us was this American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis).

Birds around Sawmill Wetland (Ottawa)

I returned back to Canada on Wednesday night, and since then I had been searching for my own place (and not sharing with any roommates or landlords) for the remainder of my degree (another 1.5 years left).  I submitted a rental application on Friday and now I am just waiting to hear back from the apartment manager.  This afternoon, I walked around Sawmill Wetland (maybe for the final time) and looked at the birds around the wetland.

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Waxwings in backyard & Photo updates

There was a large museum of waxwings (about 200 individuals - mostly Bohemian and some Cedar) hanging out in my backyard this morning.  I left my E-M1 camera at school yesterday so I had to use my phone and E-620 to document them eating the berries in the backyard.

Mostly Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus).

Winter bird-watching at Fletcher Wildlife Garden

I went to the Fletcher Wildlife Garden today hoping to see some birds (especially this one recorded from two weeks ago).  I did not see the owl but ended up seeing many regular wintering species, and most of them were hanging around feeders or trees with fruits.

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Bird-watching at Arboretum in a (still) snow-free December

Compared to previous years (2013 and 2014), December so far has been very mild which makes being outside (for humans and creatures alike) more enjoyable.  Before going to school today to grade some lab reports, I made a detour to the Arboretum to do some bird-watching.  I came across a spot where several species of birds were bathing and enjoying whatever food they can find.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) taking a bird bath.

(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

Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillar (Euchaetes egle)

Spring is here because of flowers and pollinators

Last night, I was planning where to go today and considered taking the bus to Stony Swamp, a natural area southwest of Ottawa where photos of interesting animals are frequently shared on Facebook, such as Black-backed Woodpecker during the winter, porcupines, frogs, etc.  But the thought of the trip taking almost two hours, while it is located 15.6 km west of where I live, is kind of ridiculous (Ottawa transit system is quite poor compare to the Metro Vancouver transit system).  Anyways, I decided to walk to the bus station (via Sawmill Creek Constructed Wetland) and visit the Arboretum in the end.

Little did I know I would see several interesting things today.

First was this pair of Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) - first of the year!

Wildlife observed (so far) this week

Now that the weather is getting warmer and sunnier, I went out to a few different spots this week and brought my camera with me.

Strathcona Park (Tuesday)

I went out to Strathcona Park during lunch break.  I had the 40-150 lens on my camera, and I was practicing the continuous auto-focus (with tracking) on the gulls.

Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)

Mid-week birding - hints of spring returning

I recently learned that McCarthy Woods near where I live also extend to the other side of McCarthy Road and wildlife is more active on that side of the road (probably because that part is behind houses and some people have put up feeders).  I walked through there two Saturdays ago, but it was drizzling so I didn't took any photographs.  I did a lot of errands today, and before I went to the grocery store in the afternoon, I detoured to that area and did some bird-watching.

Unidentified finches - either house or purple.  I am never good at telling them apart.

Return back to Ottawa & receiving my new camera - Olympus E-M1

I flew out of Vancouver on Monday night and arrived at Ottawa after midnight on Tuesday.

 

Goodbye, Richmond.

Arctic/alpine pollination workshop in Kluane National Park, Yukon - Part 1

Hello all, my lengthy summer travels concluded on Friday when we drove about 2,000 km from New Orleans to Peterborough, Ontario in 36 hours.  I am slowly sorting through all of my photos from my trips, starting with the workshop titled "Pollination, Climate Change and Invasive Species in Arctic and Alpine Ecosystems" in Kluane Research Station in Yukon.  There will be at least one official document reporting on the outcomes of the workshop, so I will not comment on the specifics. The general conclusion is that researchers (from both Canada and US), the Yukon government, local First Nations groups, and independent scientists all agree about the importance of climate change and pollination and the limited information currently present about Arctic and alpine regions.  Therefore, we will try to incorporate scientific communities and citizens in northern communities to start documenting zoological and botanical changes in various spatiotemporal scales.

Below are photos from the first two days of my Yukon trip (21st to 22nd).

Arriving in Whitehorse on July 21st.  The weather was miserable and rainy.

Photos from last Saturday - Pollinators, Waxwings, and Groundhog

A week of field course has gone by and left me with a new appreciation for plants and tons of photos.  Another week will start tomorrow at Algonquin Provincial Park and I will be away from technology during that time.

I have not yet sorted out my photos from this past week, and I only just finished the ones from last Saturday (June 8th).  Here they are.

I went over to Trent's Ward Garden last week to test myself on plant identification using the field guide.

Came across a wasp on the stairs with many red mites crawling all over the rocky surface (one is to the left of the wasp).

Mayfly, Beetle, and Waxwings

Some photos from yesterday and today.

Close-up of a dead mayfly found in my office.

Sneaking nature outing into a busy life

Almost a week has gone by without me taking any photos.  Life has been just incredibly busy with my data analysis, teaching assistantship (teaching R program to undergraduates and graduates.  How on earth did I end up with this gig!?), among many other things.

Anyways, I went out for a short bike ride on Saturday after spending most of my day inside the house.

Young Waxwings on tree tops.

UBC Botanical Garden & Greenheart Canopy Walkway

The past few days has been quite rewarding - volunteering at two different sessions, listening to different researches, and not stressing over the presentations like most of the presenters.  I saw presentations discussing from lizard diversity in Chile to genetically identifying shark species all over the world to the threats to Japanese Giant Salamanders.  Today was the last day of the conference (to be followed by the huge bird conference - NAOC), and I was assigned to help out with the registration table.  A few days ago, I saw a special discount for going to the UBC Botanical Garden plus walking the Greenheart Canopy Walkway for only $11.  I bought the ticket right away and thought this afternoon would be a good time to use it.

A Barn Swallow nest right outside the gift store at the botanical garden.  The parent(s) were flying in and out feeding the young chicks.

Birds, insects, and flowers of the community garden

I tried to look for the hummingbird again this afternoon at the community garden.  It might had been too hot because very few things were active, except for insects and a few birds.  Here are some of them.

Young unknown sparrow.

Raccoon Family at Lost Lagoon

I accompanied my mother to downtown Vancouver today to pick up prizes that she had won from a local newspaper contest.  Afterwards, while it was still early, we decided to bus to Stanley Park and walked around the Lost Lagoon.  According to this post (the photos from that post have all been taken down by the server, sorry), the last time I was there was more than three years ago!?

Anyways, today was a nice day to be out - although there were too many people to our likings.

Several Mute Swans around the lagoon.

Birding in Ottawa/Gatineau - Waxwings Edition

This and the next post will be out of (chronological) order simply because I took way too many photos of the following animals - many Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) and one Cedar Waxwing (B. cedrorum), and I want to post them first. Yesterday was our only day-off in the course, and the course instructor nicely took some of the "birders" in the group to go birding in the Ottawa region.

Towards the end of the trip, we were at Britannia Water Treatment Facility and we saw a large group of Bohemian Waxwings and one Cedar Waxwing. We were able to get fairly close to the birds and so I clicked away with my camera. And as you will see, the rest is indescribable of how beautiful these birds are.

Read this post to tell the two species apart. I got too much "insects" on my mind to figure out who's who in my photos. Maybe when I am less occupied.