Gull Identification: Iceland Gull

I took a photo of this gull last Thursday (Nov. 13), mainly because I hadn't seen much of anything else and I think it was all by itself in a field, an easy photo to capture. It was only this morning that I have really looked at it seriously and now realize I don't know what it is? I am used to seeing Herring Gulls and Ring-billed and Great Black-backed ones. This one is different from those I have mentioned. It does not have black tail feathers and its eye appears black. Its colour is more uniform overall without a strong contrast in patterning. And the black on its bill appears to be graduated.
Any help or suggestions as to its identification would be appreciated. Iceland Gull? Glacous Gull?

Red-tailed Hawk: for Ruby Tuesday

Ah ha!
You can't fool me
I see you in that tree
With a mouse in your beak
And your red tail hanging down
I spied you along the highway
on my way to town

I really should have known better and slowed and stopped when I first saw the shape in the tree top, but while driving I was thinking, "That's a hawk, maybe? I wonder if it is?", and then when driving by I achieved immediate recognition, "It is a hawk!" I do that sort of thing too often, waiting for verification before realizing I should have been camera ready and following up my hunch by stopping anyway, just to be sure. Well, I had to go back. I could see it was still sitting there, beautifully posing for my hungry camera.

But then of course it followed the pattern of all hunted prey. It immediately left before I even had my camera settings ready so I took what I could get in those fleeting moments; a blurry image of a most magnificent red tail!!

Having already celebrated our Canadian Thanksgiving in October, I chose to alter Mary's suggestion of a Thanksgiving theme for this week and have chosen hawk instead of turkey. To check out other Ruby Tuesday postings, just click HERE, or click on the Ruby on the side bar. My appreciative thanks to Mary/the teach for hosting this site.

Shadows in the November Woods: for Shadow Shot Sunday

Westward wake-up stretch
I cannot find them at noon
Some days they sleep in

There is a special fragility about the shadows in a November woods. Shifting and changing in their positioning and size throughout the day; somedays they are not even there at all!

My appreciative thanks to Tracey, at Hey Harriet, the host of Shadow Shot Sunday for this interesting idea; for more information on this shadow meme,please click on the icon in the side bar.

Blue Jay Portraits: for Camera Critters

I think Blue Jays are magnificent, handsome birds but they are so common around our feeder area that I don't often think to highlight them.

I had been playing around with a recent picture of one I had taken this week, using filters, experimenting with the artistic choices on Photo Shop and I tried the rough pastels option. I liked the results, so much so that I had an urge to search through my art supplies for my oil pastels and make my own creation, sans computer.
Lacking the time, I set aside that idea for another day and instead scanned a watercolour I had painted two years ago of a Blue Jay enjoying a feast of peanuts.
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My appreciative thanks to Misty for hosting this site. To see other participant's photo contributions just click HERE or on the Camera Critters logo on the side panel.

Smoggy Sunset: for Skywatch Friday

Usually this blog focus on a New Brunswick theme but I went a bit out of province for this Skywatch posting. While in the Montreal area last week there was a smog warning on Nov. 6th caused by the unseasonably mild conditions and at the end of the day I was able to capture this spectacular sunset.

My appreciative thanks to Sandy, Klaus, Ivar, Wren and Fishing Guy for hosting Sky Watch Friday .

Rows of Birds

When visiting Gina's Space this morning I noticed she had posted some very interesting photos of a thematic series of pictures on things in rows. It looked like fun and sent me scurrying into my photo archives to find some of my own. Here are a few of my favourite bird photos that I found fitting within this week's theme, rows. If you want to join in on this weekly thematic photographic meme you can find it by clicking on its higlighted name.
These first two photos are a couple of my favourite bird family 'row' photos; above a family of Common Mergansers and secondly a family of Canada Geese.
Perched on rocks off Sunset Beach at Marathon in the Florida Keys, is this row of Brown Pelicans.

Two rows in one, Herring Gulls on a row of posts.
A very common sight in our feeder area in the winter, Mourning Doves lined up on the railing of our garden bridge.
And here a double row of female Common Mergansers closing up the ranks.

Bye, bye Coromorants, hello Snowbirds!

Window Birdwatching

We like to view the beauty of nature from inside our home as well as outside, so when the weather grows colder and the summer blooms have left our garden, we begin to spend more time inside and turn our focus upon our many bird feeders which are close to our windows. The closeness to windows and a telescopic lens creates a wonderful opportunity for bird photography and I take many pictures each day. Yesterday I studied this Red-breasted Nuthatch performing its upside down feeding habit as it explored the peanut feeder.
This male Hairy Wood- pecker, another uply-downly feathered acrobatic, was eating in an upside down fashion as it held onto the suet cage enjoying my offering of homemade bird suet of peanut butter and cornmeal.
A few years ago we designed and built a pillar for our garden, decorating it with humming -birds, butterflies and dragonflies seen in our yard. We usually put it away for the winter, but this year we decided to place it on our deck, close to our windows, where it can easily be seen from inside. It has turned out to be a favourite stopping place for Blue Jays and each day I place sunflower seeds on its top.
As the weather changes and the temperatures lower I find one of the best places for birdwatching at this time of year is in my own back yard. And as well as upside down birds there are a few upside down Gray Squirrels to entertain the window viewers as well!

Oh Deer!

Oh Deer, this is more like home! After having spent a week in a large Canadian city, it is so refreshing to look out my window and see two White-tailed Deer approaching our feeder area. Not that we want them at our feeders, for we don't, but it seems their route across the road and on to the river seems to be the boundary between our property and our neighbours.
The special treat about this sighting this morning was that of seeing a White-tailed buck, which was easily identified by its antlers. I don't often see the male species of this deer.
Whenever I see a deer in our yard I always freeze into a motionless position (except for the pressing of my camera shutter) for I do not want to startle them and cause them to run haphazardly onto the street,(which doubles as a highway), in front of our house. These two I saw this morning however are not novices at crossing streets for both stopped and looked before taking that first step onto the road.Safely across to the other side they will make their way down to the river and browse through the stand of trees there. Perhaps I'll see
them again when I go on my morning walk.

Skeins of Snowgeese

Collectivity they can be referred to as a blizzard, but I would much prefer the word blanket, for seen at a distance they appear like a blanket of snow lying in the field. Only the movement of a few flying above the stationary flock alert you to the deception of white when you first see them. Enroute on a recent road trip to Montreal, it was a pleasant diversion to see a 'blanket of snow' in the fields adjacent to the highway about mid-way during our long 823 km trip. This was a sighting I had been hoping for and as we stopped for a moment they arose from the field by large numbers, probably hundreds or so.

As they arose to the sky the skein of Snowgeese formed arcs and curves as they shifted about in changing patterns while crossing the highway and fields.One other species that we saw quite frequently were white phase Rough-legged Hawks. These were beautiful birds and they were often perched on a branch or post overlooking the highway. I shall have to check very soon in an area nearby where they can be found during the late fall and winter months in New Brunswick.

Our return trip was accompained by dark and cloudy skies showering us frequently with rain and enveloping us in fog for the latter half of our eleven hour drive. Its good to be back home again. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be back to regular posting and responding to comments.

Crossing Paths

Me, driving west, Snowgeese flying south.

note: posted from Montreal

White-breasted Nuthatch

This is a little bird that I used to get mixed up with a Black-capped Chickadee. The first time I noticed one around our feeders I thought it was a Chickadee but then I had that 'somethings not right here' question hovering in my mind. When you see a Chickadee and a Nuthatch together you will immediately notice that the White-breasted Nuthatch does not have the distinctive black chin of a Chickadee, but I had been just seeing the Nuthatch's black cap, white face and gray back.
Another distinctive feature of the White-breasted Nuthatch is the irregular patterned, rufus colouring on its underside. Their feeding habits are noticeably different too as in most cases you will see a Nuthatch feeding upside down! They often go head first down the branch or trunk of a tree, feeding on insects as they go with their long, pointed, slightly upturned bill.
This was another return this week of a long time seasonal resident of Bird Alley. Welcome back little Nuthatch!

Female Indigo Bunting: for Camera Critters

I had been looking at this little bird for a couple of days now and there seemed to be some sort of question hovering in my mind about it; but I wasn't sure what it was. We have so many drab looking female American Goldfinch around our feeders at this time of year that I had just assumed that's what it was. Yesterday though, it was all by its self, and I started to look at it closer, then I took a few pictures of it so I could really examine it closely, while at the same time looking through my bird guide books.I noticed that it had a faintly streaked breast, and Goldfinch don't have streaked breasts! Also its bill seemed larger than I had expected and its wing bars were not really as distinct as a female American Goldfinch's is and its eyes seemed a bit beady. Searching through Sibley's Guide to Birds (2000), (p-468,) I found its match!! It is a female Indigo Bunting. This is not a bird we have here frequently, or perhaps I had just not recognized the female before?

We have had a male Indigo Bunting visiting our feeders a couple of times but never for long and I have only gotten fleeting glimpses of this blue, handsome, male counterpart and just a couple of pictures of it.

This was a real treat to have discovered a female Indigo Bunting at our feeders on the last day of October. It was a great addition to my October Yard Bird List.

My appreciative thanks to Misty for hosting this site. To see other participant's photo contributions just click HERE or on the Camera Critters logo on the side panel.