Rabbit and Ruffed Grouse

While out last evening I passed the same location where I had seen a Rabbit the previous evening; and it was there again; feeding nearby a Ruffed Grouse. The Ruffed Grouse had been present the night before too but I hadn't noted it as the focus of my posting (and camera) had been on the Rabbit. I am now curious to see if I find this companiable pair again; feeding nearby each other again for the third evening in a row.
editing note: May 04, 6:15 pm; the Rabbit is feeding at the same spot this evening as usual, but there was no sign of the Ruffed Grouse.

editing note: May 05: we saw 6 Rabbits today along a secondary road

Rabbit

My spouse had gone for a walk and mentioned upon returning that a Rabbit (Varying Hare) had been feeding alongside an old road along the way. So, about an hour after the sighting I decided to take a short drive in that direction and see if it was still there. It was! I don't often see many rabbits like I used to but I have heard recently that their numbers seem to be up a bit this year.

Picture above: one of my favourite Rabbit pictures taken a few years ago.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

I had been watching a pond as a couple of Wood Ducks landed on its waters and so I edged closer to a bordering line of bushes to try to get a better look when I heard a bird song closeby. I looked toward the sound and suddenly I was loooking at my first warbler sighting of the spring; a handsome male adult breeding Yellow-rumped Warbler. This beautiful little feathered creature features a yellow rump and this can be partially seen between its wing spread shown above.

Wood Ducks

male Common Merganser

While crossing a bridge over the North Oromocto I saw a couple of male Common Mergansers at a bend in the river further upstream. After taking a few, very long distance pictures, which were more landscape than wildlife orientated, I noticed that the mergansers had moved slightly downriver closer to my position so I decided to wait on the bridge above to see if I could get a closer view of these very attractive ducks. This fish-eating duck's colouring, in its male adult breeding stage, is rather spectacular I think. Having a white belly and breast, dark green head, red bill and feet, dark eyes, grey rump and a black back; the colours appear intense with their striking contrast.

Common Mergansers prefer open water of rivers and lakes . As can be seen in the photo above; the fast river current was pushing quite stongly against the merganser's body.

When these male mergansers got closer to the bridge I was able to get a few overhead pictures before the 'burst of clicking' from my camera alerted them of my presence.

Savannah Sparrow

The richness of yellow in the area above the eye of this Savannah Sparrow allowed for a quick identification of this little song bird.

White-throated Sparrows

Early morning visitors today were two White-throated Sparrows This was the first appear -ance of this sparrow species in our feeder area this spring. Two easily identifiable markings to look for on a White-throated Sparrow are its 'yellow lores' and the 'white bib' at its throat. This year's first sighting was a bit later than last year's which was on Apr. 24.

editing note: since this morning's count we now have 5 White-throated Sparrows at our feeders.

Great Blue Herons in the Evening Light

In the early evening this Great Blue Heron is standing watch at the river's edge.

Chipping Sparrow

Another returning song bird to our feeder area yesterday: a Chipping Sparrow. Other sparrows present at our feeders today were a couple of Song Sparrows and one lingering Tree Sparrow. Earlier this week I also found a Savannah Sparrow in our yard. And although I did not see it this morning; I heard a White-throated Sparrow calling nearby. Migrant Fox Sparrows spent a few days at our feeders around the first of the month before continuing on with their northward journey, and I am now hoping to find White-crowned Sparrows in our feeder area some day soon.

Ring-necked Ducks

I wait each year for these Ring -necked Ducks to appear. The pond where I always find them had an ice covering over it until just a week or so ago and I had wondered if I would find them again this year; yesterday we caught our first glimpse. The white outline seen at the along the bottom edge on the bill of the male Ring-neck to the upper left is a character -istic of the adult male breeding stage. The female Ring-necked duck is pictured to the right.

American Kestrel

We had spotted two American Kestrels on power lines adjacent to a meadow this morning while driving to a nearby community. The light was just right but, as has often been my experience when trying to capture a photo of a Kestrel, they hastily flew away with the slowing down of our car. Deciding that they could probably be found again near the same location upon our return trip home; we continued on. And as we had hoped, on our way home, there they were; the two American Kestrels at the same location on the power lines as before. The picture I took of this adult male Kestrel is not sharp with crisp details but its markings are clear enough to recognize the spotted flanks and blue-grey wings of the male; also the two vertical black stripes on its cheeks are easily seen. The Kestrel is the smallest falcon found in our region and is often found perched on power lines near open fields and meadows. This was our first of the season sighting of an American Kestrel.

Female Brown-headed Cowbird

Newly arrived at our feeder area today; a female Brown-headed Cowbird.

Tree Swallows Are Back!

Mid-afternoon today was highlighted with the arrival of a couple of Tree Swallows flying over our back yard. This was our first sighting of these birds this spring but it won't be our last. We have a Tree Swallow nesting house available for occupancy and each year, for the past several, we have watched the sequence of activities surround -ing their nesting habits; from the claiming of the house to the fledging of the young swallows sometime around the first week of July.

Paw Prints in the Silt

Its a match! Usually Raccoons don't leave such a clear sign of having been there, for often its empty feeders hanging at a kilter, or perhaps a missing suet feeder, later found on the ground a short distance away that tells me one has been around. However these paw prints I found yesterday, in the silt along a walking trail, are clear evidence of a Raccoon having been there before me.

Four White-tailed Deer

While driving through Quispamsis I noticed a White-tailed Deer standing on the corner of an un- developed lot. While stopping the car, my spouse said, "Oh, look, there's another to its left!". Confusing right for left, I saw not only one more, but two. In all, a total of four beautiful
White-tailed Deer.

A Gulp of Cormorants

I had my FOS (first of the season sighting) of Double-crested Cormorants on April 10th at Oromocto. Found in open waters, both fresh and salt, these cormorants are pre-dominately fish eaters. I have seen several groups since then and have noticed a couple of times that some were hitching rides. Yesterday we spotted three standing on a log floating down the Saint John and last week I watched as a group, along with a few gulls, shared an ice floe floating down the river. Yesterday we found a large gulp of Double-crested Cormorants near the mouth of the Oromocto River. Bunched too close together to get an accurate count, they were an amazing sight as they all took to the sky.

Double-crested Cormorant in Flight

Green-winged Teal

My photo experience with Green-winged Teal is quite limited, for whenever I had seen one in the past, and it had seen me; it had swam or flown away quickly. However on Thursday of this week (April 12) such was not the case. This very small duck, a male Green-winged Teal, the smallest duck species in our region, just gave me the cold shoulder and walked away ! We had found four Green-winged Teal and two Black Ducks standing on the ice of the Mactaquac Headpond near the causeway. This encounter also presented an opportunity to compare the size of this small teal to that of a Black Duck.

Northern Harrier

Today, while driving along highway #105, at Keswick Ridge, we suddenly saw a harrier rise out of the ditch directly alongside of our car and fly over the adjacent field holding steadfast to its prey. We knew it was going to land soon and so I quickly pulled over and grabbed for my camera and just kept on clicking! What a grand photo opportunity presented to us of this handsome adult male Northern Harrier. This was my second harrier sighting of the week. On Tuesday (April 10th) I had seen another adult male in a field along highway#105 near Sheffield. (see photo below)

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Blue In A Black Duck's Wing

Today, while driving along the Golden Grove Road in Saint John, I had to stop my car momentarily to allow a couple of Black Ducks to cross the road in front of me. They appeared to be rather ordinary, nondescript looking sort of ducks to me; that is, until I captured a glimpse of the beautiful blue hidden within their wings.