Enjoying springtime along Rideau Canal

The weather has been so nice lately that I walked along the canal several times this past week.

Last Sunday (17th)

Many people were out in summer clothes.

Going outside and waiting for Spring

With rising temperature and melting snowpack, it is difficult not to think about Spring.  Nowadays, I try to go outside whenever the weather is nice and I need a break from computer work so that I can discover that first hint of Spring (from a flower, insect, bird call, anything!).

Almost a week ago, it was still pretty cold when I was walking along the Rideau River.

Male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

May update

I am departing for Colorado tomorrow morning, so this will be the only post for the next couple of weeks until I arrive, get settled, start my field season, and maybe take a break to upload my photos and update this blog.

Until then, here are some of the photo I took the last few days.

On Friday (May 1st), I biked to school and saw this raccoon washing its paws in the ditch.  I stopped to take its photo, but it decided to wander back into the shrubs instead.

Birding in Presqu'ile Provincial Park

Sorry for the delay, but here are the photos from last Sunday when I was birding at Presqu'ile Provincial Park with Trent's ornithology class.

Waking up early and waiting for the school bus just after 6am.

Visiting Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG)

In the morning, we had a quick introduction of all the participants - mostly graduate students from US (two from UK), two scientists from China, a apiary owner, etc, we went straight to learning about the zoological diversity of pollinators - ranging from springtails to giraffes!


 In the afternoon, we were given a quick tour of the Missouri Botanical Garden - the second largest botanical garden in the world (after Royal Botanic Gardens in UK).

Ottawa's Museum of Nature

Thursday evenings are supposedly "museum nights" here in Ottawa and they are free during this time of the week. So, after 16:00, many of the course participants packed up for the day and headed out to the Museum of Nature.

The entrance. The building from the outside looks like a castle.

Revisiting Jackson Park and the day/night before

First week of grad school went by very fast. Yesterday, we had WHMIS training in the morning (not really applicable to us biologists who uses very few chemicals in the lab) and more TA training in the afternoon (more applicable this time as it applied to situations in biology and during field works). Plus we got to know other graduate students and their research projects.

Nice weather yesterday.

Then in the evening, there was the second annual Pub Crawl hosted by Trent's Graduate Student Association (GSA). It was pretty fun because there were free or cheap beer and it was great getting to know and hanging out with people in my research lab.

Pretty good day - wildlife-wise

This Glaucous-winged Gull was staring at me when I arrived at Phoenix Pond in Steveston. Looking around, I realized there was a dead salmon in the water below.

The best day in Spring (so far)

Today was just amazing in terms of the bird species saw! Plus, it was sunny and cloudless and even warm! There were even some people running around in shorts and T-shirts. Anyways, lots of photos to show you guys. So enjoy!

First birds saw were this pair of Bald Eagles. The bottom one is definitely the adult, and I think the top one is a sub-adult in its third year, or at least that's what a third year looks like in my field guide.

Close-up on the sub-adult. No full white head yet.

Northern Shovelers arrived in Terra Nova again.

I am pretty sure this is the same Great Blue Heron that I saw fish-catching a few days ago. It is a master! Look at the size of that fish! Is that a catfish? The heron already had the fish in its bill when I spotted it. It then threw the fish on the ground and stabbed it a few times before getting it in the right position and swallowing it.

Fish in the throat.

Food enjoyed. First time I have ever seen a heron ruffing its feathers like that. Anyone know what that means?

And Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)! I saw them two days in this field. But I had no success in photographing them as they were too quick. Thankfully, they stopped for chit-chatting.

First time I paid attention to these fellows since I got into birding this year. What a pretty looking bird. It is identifiable by its blue-green back and white breast. I think I like looking at them gliding in the sky because they remind me of bats in Taiwan.

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Flowering Willows (Salix sp.) are very common right now.

A Muskrat was observed in the Terra Nova Slough. First time I see them in this area. Not too much vegetation for them here though, I don't think.

A difficult to photograph Belted Kingfisher was also observed. I chased it back and forth and this was the only image I got. I hope to see it again soon.

I just like the colors in this picture. Orangy-yellow and baby blue are my favorite colors.

And what is that sweet song in the air! Listening and looking for a while, I finally spotted this beautiful yellow bird. I didn't know what it was then, but I know now! It's an American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)! It spent at least ten minutes perched at the same willow (Salix sp.) branch singing away its beautiful cheerful song. Sadly, no one answered back.

According to Nature BC (by James Kavanagh), American Goldfinch is "one of the last birds to arrive in spring." Does this mean Spring is finally here for good? I mean, I also saw bees and other insects today.

Returning home, a Bald Eagle caught a prey and was removing its feathers. There were crows surrounding this eagle but I don't think they were after its food. In fact, I think the Bald Eagle was eating a crow.

The feathers that the Bald Eagle was removing were all black, but it was too far away for me to see clearly through my binocular or camera. Today was the best Spring day (so far)!
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Food and Birds

Another beautiful afternoon today, and seems that will be the case for the weekend too. What a great news!

Anyways, when I passed by this Great Blue Heron, it already caught this fish (I think) and started to swallow it already. Such a shame that I didn't see the whole thing.

Another bird eating. This time, it was a Golden-crowned Sparrow eating young budding leaves from this plant. I didn't know leaves are a part of their diet too.

Nothing about food or bird in this next photo. But I spotted a Muskrat again! When I see them, it usually means that the weather next day is going to be bad. Hmm.

From where I saw the Muskrat, this handsome American Robin sat patiently on this branch looking for something. What exactly, I am not certain. But I certainly got some great pictures of it.

Then nearby, the same Great Blue Heron (I think) struck again, and this time I was fortunate enough to see the whole thing.

Splash!

Look at the size of that fish - at least 10-cm long! I didn't know the fishes in the ditches can grow that big.

The heron brought it onto land and throw it down and jabbed it a few times.

Then it was just a matter of positioning the fish so that it can properly slide down the heron's throat.

Afterwards, the heron kept its bill clean by rubbing against this wooden post (or grassy reeds in the first time).

A satiated bird is a happy bird, and that makes me a happy birder too. What a day!
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Orchid Island Revisited (Aug 18 - 20, 2008) - Part 2

Continued from yesterday's post about my trip to Orchid Island, Taiwan.

The next morning (August 19, 2008), this was the beautiful island view welcoming us. I could get use to this island life.

After our breakfast, my friend and I headed to a nearby beach to enjoy the ocean.

A dead crab in one of the tidal pools. Probably too hot and cooked to death.

Afterwards, the hostel host brought out to the sea to do some snorkeling. The world underneath the sea surface looked so different with different type of corals and tropical fishes. The host pointed out some corals for us, but after a while, we had enough of the rocking of the waves and decided to call it a day. The host, on the other hand, continued to snokel to catch some fish for dinner.

While we were resting on the beach, a local fisherman was hammering a rock against another. Creeping closer, we realized that he was breaking the shells of a whole bunch of hermit crabs. We asked him what those were for, and he explained that these are their natural baits for catching tropical fishes. Make sense, I guess.

When we headed back to the hostel for more resting. I came across this beautiful bug crawling on the floor. It was missing several limbs, so I guess it won't be alive for long.

Calliphara nobilis

Our friend returned from his collecting and he showed us this little fellow. For the local people, Pachyrhynchus tobafolius is considered a "lucky bug". Why? Because women all want to marry a man who could squish this hardy little bugs with his fingers. Sounds like a stupid folktale, but it may be the reason why there are so few only these bugs around.

Pachyrhynchus tobafolius

Afterwards, we headed to check out the lighthouse on the island, which is considered the highest lighthouse in all of Taiwan because it is placed at the mountain top. The scenes to the lighthouse were just incredible and awing.

Unknown bird species.

That's the lighthouse. But the gate to it was locked at the time, so we couldn't go any further. Too bad.

Along the route, we came across more insects.

Phyllophorina kotoshoensis

Molted exoskeleton of Cryptotympana kotoshoensis

So Blue!

Later, we went to check out another high point on the island.

When we came down (by mopeds), we stopped by a nearby beach to check out the intertidal zones.

Some guppy-like fish were swimming in the pools, as well as some seastars hiding away.

Like this one. I did not rip its arms off. It was already like that when I picked it up, I swear.

Gorgeous view.

Another roadkilled animal. This time, a crab.

Now, one thing to know about Taiwan (and most of Asia) during summer is the numerous typhoons (or hurricanes) that we receive. So, while we planned for a four-day trip here on Orchid Island, a typhoon was approaching us from the Philippines. Therefore, we could either stay on the island for an extended period if the typhoon does hit us, or we could cut our trip short and head back at the next available flight that we can catch. Not wanting to take any chances, we decided to take the latter plan. So, today could be our last night here on Orchid Island (and it was), and we decided to go check out the sunset before we head for dinner.

We came to this wide plain field to view the sunsets, and the views were again gorgeous. I seriously believe there are very few things in this world that are more beautiful than the clouds of tropics, especially the ones before a typhoon.

Now, after the skywatching, my friend and I were trying to find the Master student and his companions. But there was no luck, so we went for dinner on our own. As we later found out, our friend (the Master student) was hit by a construction truck and he was quite seriously injuried (e.g. gashed thighs, arms, etc). Long story short, the hospital on the island was ill-equiped so while my friend received the required treatments, he needed to go back to Taiwan mainland first thing tomorrow morning to get adequate check-ups.

Since we weren't the only tourists on the island and the typhoon was approaching, many needed to leave the island unscheduled. Therefore, people actually need to come to the airport after it closes, write their names and contact numbers on boxes or carboards papers, line them up in front of the door, and hope to get their names on the waitlist for tomorrow's flight.

Anyways, we basically spend the entire next day (August 20, 2008) in the airport hoping to go back to Taiwan. The waitlist was long - about 100 or more passengers waiting for 5 flights that carry 20 people each (actually, three or four flights only because the first few were cancelled). Can't say it was the most exciting way to end the trip but our friend's health was more important, and we can always come again next time.

The view from our hostel that morning.

Took a picture of a dead millipede outside the airport while I was bored.

Airport runway. You can sort of see the waves crashing against the rocks in the picture.

Some ladies were bring these juicy-looking lobsters back to Taiwan mainland. I think it's okay since we are still in the same country and they go into our stomach anyways.

A plane arriving from mainland means one more plane going back to the mainland.

Some angel-wing like clouds. Don't be fooled by it, a typhoon was really coming.

A friend that we made in the airport. The island stray dog. Everybody knows him and cares for him. Such is the life of an island stray dog. I wish my life is like that too.

Anyways, that's my summer story for this holiday season. Feliz Navidad and Hauoli Makahiki Hou!!
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