A Happy Grey Squirrel for Camera Critters

Have you ever seen a squirrel smiling? This Grey Squirrel above and below appears to be a really happy fellow! Can you see the expression on its face? Wouldn't you be happy to find a whole pile of your favourite foods and no one came along to bother you while you were eating it!

Smile on fellow, I will provide more of the same today!.

Camera Critters is a meme that features critters, any kind, any size. To see more of this meme please click on the CC logo which can be found on the right sidebar on this page or please click here.http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

Weekend Reflections at Oromocto

Above in the distance, a reflection of the Burton Bridge ,where it crosses the Saint john river near the mouth of the Oromocto is seen reflecting in the river water.
We always go down to the waterfront when visiting Oromocto looking for ducks. Yesterday our search was rewarded with the sighting of many mallards as in this handsome pair shown below.
above, the head of the male Mallard is reflected in the river water. although the reflection shows that the duck has its bill open it is not so. Perhaps this puzzling reflection was caused by the rippling effect of the water?!
The closed bill of this female Mallard remains closed in its reflection, no mystery there to confuse us.

Weekend Reflections:http://weekendreflection.blogspot.ca/is a meme where you can view beautiful reflections captured by others. Just click on the logo on the right to see what others have captured with their cameras

Birdcam Blue Jays in flight

The product name of my birdcam is Wingscape and considering these two action photos of Blue Jays in flight; the name wingscape seems totally appropriate. I was delighted to see the flight action captured in both of these photos. The fun thing about the birdcam is the surprise you encounter sometimes when you download the photos. Directly above the Blue Jay at the top of the photo appears to be in total flight as it flys away. And the photo below was captured this morning. I applied a photoshop filter to this photo. The filter I used was in the strokes category called 'zigzag' and I liked the wavy motion this filter gave to the edges of the Blue Jays wings. Just click on the photo to enlarge it and you can see what I mean.

Birdcam Grackles for Worldbird Wednesday

Shawled in an iridescent glossy purplish sheen,
looking about with a pale yellowed eye gleam
foraging in a leaf littered scene
Common Grackle

Got pictures of birds you would like to share? Why not post them on Worldbird
Wednesday? http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/To
find out how, please scroll down the right hand side of this page until you come
to the worldbird logo, click on it and follow the directions from there
And lastly adding a new grackle photo just taken this afternoon. I call this one, 'sinister grackle', don't you think he looks just a little evil?!

The Red on a Woodpecker's Head for Ruby Tuesday 2

This little male downy woodpecker is a daily visitor. The female of this species is often present also, but I only feature the male here as it is only the male that has the red markings on the back of its head. This little fellow had been hungry when our peanut feeder was empty, he would actually go to the other bird feeders to eat. Just as soon as the peanut feeder was filled he showed up right away. Perhaps I'll add more pictures of this little fellow today when he shows up this morning.




Ruby Tuesday 2 meme features photos with red of any subject. To contribute to this meme please go to;
http://rubytuesday2.blogspot.com/
or just click on the Ruby Tuesday 2 badge at the top of the column on the right hand side of this blog page.

And yes, this little male downy is at my feeders again this morning in Bird Alley: Here he is:

Birdcam Yellow

Lots of Goldfinch and one Pine Siskin

A Yellow Duck Bill for Mellow Yellow Monday

This yellow bill of the male Mallard duck easily fits the bill for the yellow theme of this meme. Yesterday morning I found two pair of Mallard ducks of a handsome male and a not so striking female; as seems to be so characteristic of decks.: a handsome male and a not so beautiful female.Got pictures with yellow that you would like to share? Why not post them on Mellow Yellow Monday, a delightful meme that focuses on the colour yellow?Just clink here:http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/ to access this meme

A Mallard Pair for scenic Sunday

what can be more beautiful and scenic than a pair of ducks side by side on an old fallen tree .
branch?!


Scenic Sunday:a meme of beautiful scenery. To learn more about scenic Sunday please go to:http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/ or to post your own contribution, please click on the link within this post.

More ducks, male Common Mergansers

Two male common Mergansers riding the waves in the rough water of the North Oromocto River

ducks at a distance

Another title for this post might be, Why it is useful having a zoom lens.! We visited with our daughter on Wednesday and she drove us around her community of Quispamsis looking for ducks. We found some, but they were a distance away, difficult to identify. see the white speck midway in the upper half of the picture? (ducks! yes!) We were guessing, Common Goldeneye or Common Merganser, both males of this species have a white body. As I had my Canon 55-250 mm zoom lens , I wasn't too worried about learning of their id. It turns out after downloading and cropping, there were two ducks there, not one.It was a pair of Common Goldeneye, The female of this species has a brown head and the characteristic white dot on the face (cheek) of the male can easily be seen. And the white of the body was that of the male common Goldeneye. ID solved.

Another pair of ducks didn't give us too much of a problem. In this watery location above you can still see ice on the water and along the shore in the forefront. the opposite treed shore is reflected in the water. Can you see the trail of water made by two ducks in the lower mid section of the picture? ducks? Yes!, but what species, not a big problem to solve. The ducks were a pair of Mallards!

Its fun hunting for ducks!Thanks for the duck finding Riel! and the great day we had.

A pink cloud for Sky watch Friday

This was rather different. I had gone outdoors because I had seen a hint of a sunrise in the east to my right. when I got outside the sunrise was not very prominent in the sky, then turning to the left, looking more in a westerly direction I saw this beautiful pink cloud over our village. the beautiful colour from the struggling sunrise must have been picked up and reflected in the cloud.

My thanks to the hosts of Skywatch Fridayhttp://skyley.blogspot.com/ for continuing to host this very popular Friday skywatch meme. If you would like to post your own photos or just enjoy looking to see the photographic offerings of others, please scroll down this page and look upon the righ hand side to click on the skywatch logo to go to the meme. A happy Friday to all.

Mallard 'green' for Thursday Challenge

Distinctly green is the head of a male Mallard Duck. If you click on the photo below to enlarge it you will see three green heads of male Mallards seen on this clump or mound of earth seen yesterday at Ritchie Lake in Quispamsis. I wonder if there is a crayon colour called Mallard Green?
Green is this week's photographic theme for Thursday's Challenge. To view more photos posted on this theme, or to join in on the fun yourself, just 'click' on the highlighted name.

first Grackle of spring!

Late yesterday afternoon we finally had our first Grackle sighting in Bird Alley. we have been waiting our turn for a long while, ever since the first report of them being seen in the province.
For years now grackles have been my spring harbingers bringing hope to me of a winter being gone. This year's sighting was timed so perfectly for us it arriving on the first day of spring!!!
Have a great day everyone!

Welcome Spring!!!!!

To me a way to spell spring is 'd u c k'. I look for them with eagerness each March. This year my first sighting of returning ducks were Common Goldeneye ) above) last week on March 13th. Seen at their usual expected place this was an exciting spring discovery!
Yesterday, more ducks!Spring! How sweet it is, and what beautiful creatures await your eyes and your camera! Yesterday afternoon I found a small group of Hooded Mergansers. Last year I had found this species on March 17th, and so yesterday on March 19th;they were two days later than last year. And yes, I do find them in the same location each year. ( knowledge is power! Will I go back there today? You bet!
above : a handsome male Hooded Merganser!

first day of spring update! I went out this morning and found two more duck species out there. The first handsome one I found was a male Common Merganser, the guy duck with the red bill.
The next duck I think is a hybrid Black duck of some kind. Just look at the colour of its bill!

Welcome Spring
Oh Happy Day! The first day of spring! Good bye winter, I am not sorry to see you go although your presence the last few days has been gentle. My apologies to those who have read this before. I wrote this several springs ago but it has become my welcome acknowledgement to this delightful season every since.


Personifications of Spring
spring whispered and I listened

as trees swung their bare branches in welcome

pussy willows basked in warm sunlight

lulled by blended sounds of mating melodies

singing ageless songs of hopeful renewal

spring sighed and I watched

as melting snow created lawn ponds

awakened roots in the moist earth

quenched their frozen winter thirst

and yearned to stretch their green shoots upward

spring shouted and I felt its power

as disintegrating river ice abandoned its frozen grasp

pelting rains and furious winds spurned slothful winter

and rivers swelled their banks with prideful freedom

while egg laden fish dreamed of journeying home

spring returned today and I smiled

and was content,

secure in my knowledge of its enduring loyalty

A Red-breasted Nuthatch for Ruby Tuesday 2

What a lovely surprise late yesterday afternoon while looking out into Bird Alley when I saw this sweet little red-breasted Nuthatch at our feeders. It has been a long time since having seen this species in our yard. I do hope it returns today! A delightful bird sighting for this first day of spring!
Ruby Tuesday 2 meme features photos with red of any subject. To contribute to this meme please go to;
http://rubytuesday2.blogspot.com/
or just click on the Ruby Tuesday 2 badge at the top of the column on the right hand side of this blog page.

Coltsfoot blossoms for Mellow Yellow Monday

Coltsfoot is the first wildflower blossom I look for each spring. these are early blossoms although they were not found by me, but in her dooryard by my writer daughter,Riel Nason
(please see the link to her website to the right) thanks for sharing Riel!

Got pictures with yellow that you would like to share? Why not post them on Mellow Yellow Monday, a delightful meme that focuses on the colour yellow?Just click here:http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/ to access this meme

Red Squirrel in Bird Alley

This little red Squirrel has found a treasure of food. i had added cut pieces of a red apple but it doesn't seem to very interested in that. I made what I thought might be an appetizing pile of birdfood in case a Grackle or Red-winged blackbird bird passing by might be enticed into dropping by. However,despite many reports of these two birds having been seen in the province I have had not luck at seeing them yet,, my turn must be soon . Maybe today? I'm sure this little squirrel will return,
a great day is wished everyone today!

A Song Sparrow for Camera Critters

Welcome Song Sparrow,
Its been so long since we've heard your song.
Now that you're back to stay,
maybe the snow will soon go away!

Awonderful spring like message this week in Bird Alley came in the appearance of a Song Sparrow and it has been here every day since. Presently our yard is full of snow again, but we hope that Bird Alley will soon look as invitational and inviting as it has looked in the past. what can be lovelier on this St. Patrick.s Day than to recall green memories of a beautiful green Bird Alley. Have a great day everyone!

Camera Critters is a meme that features critters, any kind, any size. To see more of this meme please click on the CC logo which can be found on the right sidebar on this page or please click here.http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

Food for Thursday's Challenge

I am putting an avian curve on the topic of the Thursday's Challenge for today of food. while sitting watching my bird feeders on this snowy day I became aware how important bird food was to the little and big birds during a day of hostile weather. A bird feeder presented bird seed readily available and there were plenty of birds taking advantage of the offered feast as you can see below.Above, this male Purple Finch is turning over a striped sunflower seed in its strong beak which was designed for crushing. Look carefully and you will see a tiny seed on top opf the sunflower seed!, yum , yum!
Blue Jays loves peanuts! Oh yes, they do!, no matter what kind of weather day it is!

This little Tree Sparrow has selected the tiniest seed offered.
Another little bird who prefers tiny seeds is this Pine Siskin shown above. got Bird food?, Watch to watch some delightful viewing? Buy a bird feeder and fill it with birdfood and hang it outside your window. enjoy and grab your camera during your viewing session. Both you and the birds will have an enjoyable time. Feed the Birds!

Food is this week's photographic theme for Thursday's Challenge. To view more photos posted on this theme, or to join in on the fun yourself, just 'click' on the highlighted name.