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).

First (bird-watching) day of 2016

I drove to Steveston with my mother today for an afternoon walk.  We stopped at a couple of places to do some bird-watching.

I miss this view.

Christmas Bird Count 2014 - Ottawa

Today I did the Christmas Bird Count with people whom I have gotten to know this semester that enjoy bird-watching too.  It has been a while since I bird-watched with other naturalists, and I have forgotten how fun it can be (and less awkward compared to birding by myself in the suburbs and/or parks with children around).

Focusing on the Goldeneyes on the Rideau River.

We saw a total of 26 different species (the others kept actual counts for each species), and below were the more interesting species that we observed and that I photographed.

Egret and deer at Sawmill Creek

I went for a bike ride around Sawmill Creek Constructed Wetland this afternoon.  While scanning the edge of the wetland for birds, I first saw an egret!

This is the first time I seen a Great Egret (Ardea alba) in Canada, even though I had seen it before in Taiwan and New Orleans.  According to members in the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club Facebook page, egrets can be seen along the Ottawa River and sometimes a bit inland (such as here) as well.

Bird-watching at Sawmill Creek Constructed Wetland

I was debating where to spend some time outside this long weekend, especially because the public transit schedule is different every single day.  Looking at eBird, I realized there was a bird-watching spot very close to where I live called Sawmill Creek Constructed Wetland, so I searched for instructions on how to get there this morning and walked there right after.

The main purposes of this man-made wetland are to collect run-off water and de-silt the water before it flows into Sawmill Creek.

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.

Windy day so calmer waters on the wharf

Today was sunny but extremely windy, which made biking to the dyke quite a workout.

Biking to Terra Nova

When I was pedaling towards the dyke this afternoon, for some reason, I felt so out of shape. Maybe it was because I was moving against the wind or maybe I just need to work out more regularly.

Anyways, today was relatively sunny with blue skies.

First bike ride to the dyke of 2011

Hope everyone is having a good 2011 so far. Yesterday, I went out for a short walk with my mom around the neighborhood. Today, I biked to Steveston and then to West Dyke Trail to watch the eagles, then back home.

I gave my new jacket and pants a test today. Very warm, I didn't even feel cold at all today - maybe because today is warmer than the last couple of days.

One of the first photos of the year - photographs of Lesser Yellowlegs at the beach across from London Farm.

Looking down below.

Franklin's Gull, where are you?

I rarely, if ever, dedicate my outing just to see a rare bird or a lifer. That would involve too much effort and time, which is something I do not want to do during a relaxing free day. However, last week when I saw photos and a blog post that there is a Franklin's Gull somewhere in Steveston (here and here), I decided to go out one of these days to check it out myself. But it seemed that I underestimated the gulls' population in Steveston (or overestimated my ability to find a gull which is sometime I don't do) and couldn't find it today. Oh well, maybe it was not meant to be.

On the other hand, I did saw other birds...

Saw my first two eagles since coming back to BC!

A super cute-looking Pied-billed Grebe.

Walked along Iona jetty

I drove to Iona this afternoon and decided to walk the entire way along the jetty, which I haven't done before.

Definitely a nice day to take on this task.

Saw a grebe along the jetty. Probably a Western Grebe.

Visiting Steveston on a Sunday

I bought a monthly transit pass this January and so today my mother and I visited Steveston using the Sunday special (one family per monthly pass).

Even though it wasn't sunny, the weather was dry and many people visited the harbour.

A black and white shot of the harbour.


There were many boats as usual. This is suppose to be a colored image, but for some reason only the boat in the middle stood out from the seemly black-and-white surroundings. Nice unintended effect, no?

Sky-watching

Gull on Patrol

While photographing, I noticed something on the water surface. Turned out to be a Harbour Seal, Phoca vitulina, swimming among the boats.

It never raised more than its eyes and nose above the surface, but my mother and I had a great time trying to spot this mammal. Last time I saw a seal was about a year ago at the same spot.

On the other hand, the visitors focused more on the magnificent and attractive Mute Swan.

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

Someone brought a huge bag of bread loaf sides and was feeding them.

Having enough of people feeding wild animals, my mother and I walked to the other side of the harbour.

A magnificent ship - Ku'ulakai.

Someone sailing away, I wonder where to.

Then we walked along the waterfronts and saw this male Common Goldeneye (because of the rounder white spot). It swam farther and farther away from us as I was trying to attach my teleconverter lens to the camera.

Bald Eagles on the other side of the bank.

Resting a bit.

Enjoying the golden reflection

A lone male Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) was found.


It played catching-up with us, and I had a difficult photographing it.

We also saw this cute Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) in winter plumage.

It swam farther away from us. We saw it eventually again on the other side of the waterfront as we were heading to the bus stop, and it was continuing swimming towards the harbour.

What a great day!

Back to work tomorrow. Hooray! (but not really).

365 days ago (2009-01-03) ...
.

Opportunities (Missed and Achieved)

Quite a nice outing today. Although they were a couple of missed moments - mostly caused by crows! Darn them crows.

Cloudless and blue sky. Can't ask for anything better as we approach the weekend.

Spotted the Muskrat again. Look at its blade-like tail! Strong and powerful for an aquatic rodent.

The only photograph I got of a Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) as it dived away afterwards. I can't believe how sharply-focused this image is despite the distance away. Lucky me!

Only when I put this photo on the computer did I realized that there was a Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) in the nest box. Lovely.

I finally successful photographed my first (two) butterflies of the year. They were Cabbage White Butterflies (Pieris rapae). One was a male, and this is the female - as identified by the two spots on her wings (males have one spot).

The flowers in the community garden are coming along nicely. Look at these bright red flowers!

This looks like an oil painting with the way the light bouncing off the glossy red petals. Beautiful!

I also spotted these two Scaups (left - female; right - male). I think they are Greater Scaups (Aythya marila) with the rounder head. But I could be wrong.

Coming back, I (think I) saw a Peregrine Falcon hovering above the Terra Nova Natureal Area. But it was being hounded by a crow, so they flew back and forth over the field - not enabling me to get a good look at the bird. But there was a couple of times when the falcon would "hover" in the air looking down.

Then it was time to head home. The birds on Sturgeon Bank at this time of the year are: Tree Swallows, Eurpean Starlings, Red-winged Blackbirds, Mallards, Wrens (pictured below), and Sparrows. As you can tell, I am not too confident with the identification of the little brown birds that I saw on the marsh.

Is this a Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) or a Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)? I think a Marsh Wren, no?

At the steps near Francis Road, on the telephone was this immature Bald Eagle - looking quite mysterious with the dark band over its eyes. Having a bird of such power doesn't sit well with the crows in the area, and it was chased off by three crows immediately. Darn them crows!
.

Rewarding birding day: Belted Kingfisher and Western Grebe

This afternoon, I drove my parents to Steveston to do some grocery shopping. After we were done, my mother and I walked along the walkway towards the Britannia Heritage Shipyard, and we saw four Double-crested Cormorants, many Mallards and American Wigeons, many Gulls, one male Red-breasted Merganser, a few Pigeons, and others.

The "others" were the highlights of the day.

Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) out at sea.

Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) with a very unique headstyle.


A very lucky shot of a Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) taking off and running across the water.

But what really kept our attention was this female Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) rattling and diving in a large "pond". This is my first time seeing it this year (last time was at Boundary Bay of last November) and my mother's first time ever. So she was pretty excited to see this beautiful special-looking bird.

There it was - feeding on a small fish between its heavy bill. It kept flying across the pond and feeding - not giving me a very good opportunity of taking its pictures.

This is a female because Belted Kingfisher is one of the few bird species in which the female is more colorful than the male (reverse sexual dimorphism). In this species, the female has a rufous band running across the upper belly, while the male does not.

A better view of this beautiful bird. I think Kingfishers are my favorite group of birds, especially with the more colorful species in Southeast Asia. I think they are just so cool-looking with that headstyle and that dangerous-looking bill. Too bad only this species is common across North America.

Later, I walked from Terra Nova back to home (while my parents drove the car back), and I saw the pair of Bald Eagle resting in their nest. But then a crow flew onto a adjacent tree and was causing some tension. So one eagle flew to that tree to warn it off. Then it was joined by its mate.

Looked as if they were talking to each other. I wonder about what.

What a loving pair!

Saw this pair of Hooded Mergansers when I was about to exit from the trail. Another happy couple.
.