I just took a pause in editing the photos for this post for some breakfast, and spotted a pair of deer in the yard. It’s overcast and they are heading deeper into the bush, so no sense in trying to get a photo to add to the post.
This week, I’ve got some slightly better photos of the red breasted sapsucker that is hanging out at the top of my street, as well as some photos of a yellow bellied sapsucker (at least, to the best of my identification abilities, that is what it is, though they aren’t supposed to be in my area at all.
Here are my choices for the week, I hope you enjoy.
On my Saturday morning walk, I heard the loveliest singing from the trees, but was really having a hard time seeing the bird to get an ID. Once I loaded the photos onto the computer, I realized it was the yellow rumped warbler.A yellow bellied sapsucker?I believe this is a yellow bellied sapsucker… but if you have other ideas, please let me know!The red breasted sapsucker.The red breasted sapsucker loves to hang around the utility poles and make quite the racket.I was surprised that this bunny hopped out of the bushes and close to the road when he/she could easily see Spencer and I walking along. I snapped this just before a car came along; luckily it hopped back into the bush and not the other direction.
The back yard continues to get busier, as more and more birds are heading into town. The warm weather has also meant trips to the garden centre to start sprucing up the yard, and getting some colourful flowers to contrast the sea of green.
This weekend has flown by, and there is still much to do, so I will leave it at that and get to the photos.
Wishing everyone a wonderful week!
Not the sharpest photo, but nice to have evidence of a few rufous hummingbirds getting along, and sharing the feeder.A pileated woodpecker seen on a morning walk.The purple finches have arrived, and along with the yellow pumped warbler, are filling the yard with lovely songs.The yellow pumped warbler – he’s quite a shy one!From the trunk up… I have no idea what type of tree this is, but it was one of the things that caught my eye while doing a photo walk downtown early this week with my local photo club.Lovely blossoms, but again I ave no idea what variety.I saw three deer while out on my bike Sunday afternoon, and then this single one spent a great deal of time in the yard on Monday.I snapped a few quick photos of this bird before it flew away; I was unable to tell until I got it on the computer that it is a red breasted sapsucker.Another view of the lovely deer that visited on Monday.Enjoying the backyard salt lick.
When going through some photos today, I took notice of the variety of landscapes that I saw zebras in during my last trip. From scrubby desert to the vast wetlands of the Okavango Delta, everywhere they seemed to be thriving. They really are such beautiful animals; I hope you enjoy.
Mom and youngster on watch as the heat of the day builds. Sabi Sands, May 2015.A dazzle of zebra gather on the airstrip in the late afternoon. The youngsters of this group were particularly tiny. Sabi Sands, May 2015One zebra pauses to take notice of us overhead, while the rest of the group continues their journey through the Okavango Delta. April, 2015The late afternoon sun provides lovely backlighting on a pair of zebra. Okavango Delta, April 2015.A dazzle of zebra in Sossusvlei, Nambia, April 2015. The youngsters in this group were particularly boisterous, running circles around the adults a few minutes before I snapped this photo.A group of zebra grazing as the light of the afternoon fades away. We watched this group for some time as we stopped nearby for a sundowner 🙂 Sossusvlei, April 2015
It’s been a great week for birds around the neighbourhood, especially yesterday, when I managed to capture photos of 5 different species in one morning walk (plus 3 different bunnies).
Wishing everyone a wonderful week 🙂
I actually saw a pair of flickers yesterday, and while they conveniently perched together in a tree, I didn’t manage to get any shots of the two together worth sharing, as they were so high up, and I didn’t have to big lens. This one was working hard tapping at this dead tree; I heard it long before I saw it.A hairy woodpecker pauses from pecking between the tree branches early yesterday morning.A sure sign of spring are the robins singing from the treetops every morning. I caught this one searching for worms on the roadside.Earlier this week, I saw frantic activity below a large pine tree; I snapped loads of photos just so I could try to identify the birds. This was the best that I managed, but I include it here as it was a new species for me, a white winged crossbill.The juncos are back in town, but generally don’t visit the feeder; they are part of the clean up crew that keeps that area beneath the feeder tidy (thanks guys!).The pileated woodpecker was tapping away at the top of this pole, making quite the racket.One of the 3 bunnies I saw yesterday; this one was right next to my driveway at the end of our walk. Luckily, Spencer only barks at them about 1 in 10 times that he sees them. Mostly he just patiently waits for me to finish taking a photograph.I’ve been hearing the ruffed grouse drumming for some time now, but this was the first time I’ve seen one this year. This beauty hung around under the bird feeder, cleaning up fallen sunflower seeds.I was happy I was able to quietly sneak outside and get a few photos (I was hiding behind the garden hose reel so I didn’t disturb the grouse browsing).Sunflower seed success.
