Looking on the Bright Side

I usually try to look on the bright side.  So when the trees begin to loose their brightly-colored leaves and the snow flurries start to fly, I tell myself it's a good thing because now we can see things we haven't been able to see when the leaves were on.

Like the paper wasp nest that's been there for awhile, from the size of it, but that I'm just now seeing.

 The mallards that I would have been able to hear as I walk along, but now can see as well, since the leaves are gone.

This day, I am out looking for birds.  I'd like to see some of the birds I missed during spring migration or ones that I haven't seen during the year, that I normally do.  

So I check out every bird I see.  I'm hoping for a golden-crowned kinglet (but only see a ruby-crowned).  Also, hoping for a brown creeper.  Instead, there is a small flock of white-throated sparrows flitting along ahead of me.  They are pretty and I admire them thru my binoculars then move on.  

A little ways farther, I see something in a tree and raise my binoculars to check it out.  Turns out, it's not a bird... but a chipmunk!

A very busy chipmunk! 

He or she was really filling its cheeks with seeds.

It would really stretch out to reach them.

Then, after several minutes of collecting, it turned and headed for the ground.

Down it goes... cheeks full!

These are the seeds it was gathering:

My 'tree guy' identified it for me as hop-hornbeam.  The seeds are pretty small, it would be interesting to know how many the chipmunk was able to fit in its' cheek pouches.

I had fun watching this little chipmunk, even though it was not one of the birds I was looking for.  Later, back in the house, I was pleased to see-- right from our windows, a flock of warblers in our woods.  They were yellow-rumped warblers, which are common but still I had somehow missed them in the spring.  So, I did add a bird to our list after all.

Reflections

Our beaver swamp, which we are enjoying from the level of a kayak, is a fairly silent place this time of year (compared to spring and summer when the geese, ducks, kingfishers, and herons are doing much more honking, quacking, rattling, and squawking).  

 Or is it?

You will go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
    will clap their hands.

Isaiah 55:12

Let's be silent and listen closely to the trees and even to their reflections.

Reflections in reverse.... I like the way the ripples from my paddle blurred this in the water and I wanted to see what it looked like upside-down.  The actual photo was taken of the water, as in the next one.

Down at Water Level

We are blessed to have a beaver swamp across the road from our house.  Looking out our front windows, we can see the water and watch for wildlife.  Right from our living room, we have seen many birds - herons, ducks, and other water birds of various kinds, and in recent years, even an occasional bald eagle.  Besides birds, we have watched beavers, muskrats, and the more rare river otters. 

Looking down from our vantage point is often a good thing, like being able to see the white markings on the back of this northern harrier as he happened to be going by.

 It is wonderful to be able to look down on sights like that, but I also love to get right down on the water when I get a chance.  Last Saturday afternoon was one of those times.... so, come along with me in the kayak. 

 It was a glorious autumn day, and actually not one of the nicest ones we've had (it's been a wonderful fall here!).  The leaves were probably a little past prime since many had come off the trees in a recent rain storm.  Still... beautiful!

In the kayak, you can glide along almost silently except for the occasional paddle noise, to see who else is out in the swamp.

 This juvenile great blue heron was hungry and looking for lunch.

 I watched him for quite awhile and he finally took a stab!  If he came up with something, it was too small for me to see.  He flew to a different spot in the swamp and I went on to watch a pair of mallards before turning my kayak around.  

Heading back in the opposite direction, I saw the young heron again.  The pose in the next photo is not a real common one for a heron.  When you read about them, you often see the term "majestic" or "stately" - well, not exactly, in this photo at least!

 I searched a bit to see what the reason for this pose is, and of course, no one knows for sure (except the herons!) but it is probably for drying damp wings or warming in the sun.

Not the amphomorphic reason I read into it which was that this teenage heron was "rolling his eyes" at me.  And then, in this next photo, he sticks out his tongue!

Though he didn't make a sound, in the next photo, he seems to be ready to.  If you'd like to read more about great blue herons, click here for a very interesting page about them.  Or to listen to recording of the sounds they make, click here.

You can see how he'd be able to swallow a fairly large fish whole!

 Well, time to move on... for both the heron and us.

His wingspan of up to 6' looks really huge from down on this level!

As I slowly paddle toward the other end of the swamp, I see another heron (an adult) sitting on a hemlock branch.  There are also two kingfishers chasing each other around.  They don't seem too concerned about me, probably partly because I'm in the kayak but maybe more so because neither of them want to share the swamp with another kingfisher.

 They are extremely hard to photograph because they don't let me come close and because they are fast!  I watched them dive into the water a couple of times but there was no way I was going to be fast enough to catch that in a still photograph!  It is really cool to see them hover over the water, high up, for a few seconds before they plunge into the water for their prey!

Moving on to the far end of the swamp, here's another shot of a kingfisher on a dead limb in front of one of my favorite trees.  It's probably not brighter than the other trees in its' fall colors, but being alone in front of the darker hemlocks makes it seem so.

 In my next post, I'm planning to continue on with our kayaking afternoon and show you some more of the beautiful trees!

Fall Hidden Pictures: Part 2 - the answers!

First of all, this post will be revealing the answers to the hidden pictures in my last one.  So, if you have not seen that one and are interested in 'hunting' - don't look any further, but click here first!

Photo 1 was not too hard if you looked for an eye... a chipmunk eye, that is!

Photo 2 was the heron.  Did you see him and his reflection in the water?

 Photo 2 also had two ducks in it, but they weren't the ducks on the list of things to find, since you'd have a pretty hard time picking them out from that photo.  Look for these 'bonus ducks' in this next close-up.

 Photo 3 was the LBB (little brown bird).  I didn't want to make a mistake identifying it... but if there are any birders reading this who know for sure what it is, I'd be happy if you'd leave a comment.

Here's a close-up:

Photo 4 was pretty easy, it was the 2 deer:

Photo 5 was chipmunk number 2 (just a different photo of the same animal).  I have to admit this one was pretty hard... sometimes I had trouble finding it myself!  But once you see where it is, you can pick out the stripe and the head.

He's easier to see in the next photo:

 Photo 6 was our beloved Ruby!

Photo 7 was a kingfisher and one of the ducks:

Kind of looks like there is a turtle in this one, too.... but it's just a log!

Photo 8 is the crocus.... we have quite a few fall-blooming crocus in our yard.

The bees like them!

Photo 9 was the junco:

This one is much easier to see on the deck.

Photo 10 was the other duck:

There you have it.  I hope you enjoyed my hidden pictures!

Fall Hidden Pictures, part 1

When I was a child, I actually liked going to the dentist.  Oh, I'm sure I didn't enjoy the time I spent in my dentist's chair.  But I liked his waiting room because he had Highlights magazine, which I loved.  Especially the hidden pictures page.  I still think it's fun hunting for things (in real life and in pictures), so I'm going to post some fall photos for you to hunt for the following items:

Crocus   Chipmunks(2)   Deer(2)   Junco   Heron   Kingfisher   LBB (little brown bird)   Ruby   Ducks(2) 

The other thing I liked about going to the dentist when I was little was that after my appointment, I got to choose a prize from the treasure box.  Sorry, no prizes this time, but hopefully some fun for you as you search the photos!

In my next post, there will be close-up photos to show where each hidden thing is. 

Photo 1:

 Photo 2:

 Photo 3:

 Photo 4:

 Photo 5:

 Photo 6:

Photo 7:

 Photo 8:

Photo 9:

Photo 10: