For Watery Wednesday:

Happy April Fool's Day!

Gator Amongst Ice in The Kennebecasis River...

I couldn't resist a little photo editing silliness in the spirit of April Fool's Day.

The photo does show the Kennebecasis River near the Gondola Point Ferry crossing, taken this past weekend ... BUT ... the gator is actually a baby gator I photographed several years ago during a swamp tour near New Orleans.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel. The theme of Watery Wednesday is water; for a wonderful variety of watery scenes from other bloggers around the world, just click on its name.

Robin

The Fine Line Between Winter and Spring...

I have been wanting to take a picture of a Robin for weeks, and I finally had my camera with me when I saw this one (in a flock of many) this evening. As you can see, he has found the divide between snowy winter and the grass of spring. I like that he is sitting on the the spring side. I take it as a good sign.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel. The Robin was photographed in Quispamsis, New Brunswick, Canada.

Bullfrog in a Pond: For Watery Wednesday

This bullfrog was photographed in a pond near Fredericton Junction, New Brunswick, Canada. The picture was taken years ago with my good old Sony Mavica camera.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel. The theme of Watery Wednesday is water; for a wonderful variety of watery scenes from other bloggers around the world, just click on its name.

Duckling: For Mellow Yellow Monday

This is another picture taken years ago with my Sony Mavica camera. This little duckling was photographed at the Sackville Waterfowl Park in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel. My thanks to Mellow Yellow Monday. To see other yellow-themed photos from bloggers around the world, just click on the link below.

Followers

After I uploaded this new header photo I had to laugh at how much it reminded me of the "Followers" grid on the sidebar ... although I guess in this case it isn't the deer who follow me, but me who follows them.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel.

Welcome Spring

Flowering Almond

It will still likely be almost two months until this Flowering Almond tree in my front yard blooms this year, but on this sunny first day of Spring the wait doesn't seem so long at all.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

For Ruby Tuesday ...

This photo showing a Rose-breasted Grosbeak in an oak tree is another one that I took years ago with my 0.3-Megapixel-disk-taking-"vintage"-digital Sony Mavica camera. This bird was photographed near Fredericton Junction, NB. He's got his red breast for Ruby Tuesday and is surrounded by lots of green leaves for St. Patrick's Day.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel. To check out other Ruby Tuesday postings from other bloggers around the world, just click HERE, or click on the Ruby on the side bar. My appreciative thanks to Mary/the teach for hosting this site.

Lesser Yellowlegs

For Mellow Yellow Monday ...

This cute little guy called the Lesser Yellowlegs (with of course yellow legs!) was photographed on Grand Manan Island, NB way back in 2003. I took the picture with my first digital camera, a Sony Mavica. I believe the camera had a whopping 0.3 megapixels and it used a full-sized disk to store the photos. How far digital camera technology has come since then!

Posted By: "Guest Blogger" Riel. Thanks to Mellow Yellow Monday. To see other yellow-themed posts from other bloggers around the world, just click the icon below.

Spring Ahead: Almost Tulip Time: Take 2

For Mellow Yellow Monday ...

I couldn't resist posting a few more photos from last year's Ottawa Tulip Festival. Thinking of how many gorgeous flowers were there just makes me feel cheery -- even with all our snow still outside!

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel. Thanks to Mellow Yellow Monday. To see other yellow-themed posts from other bloggers around the world, just click on the link below.

All Deer, All the Time: Take 4

I saw this pretty little deer (one of eight) when I was walking yesterday. The deer was in a partially cleared area near the forest edge.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel

Kennebecasis River, Gondola Point, NB

For Watery Wednesday ...

A view from the Gondola Point ferry while crossing the Kennebecasis River ... taken in the fall.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel. The theme of Watery Wednesday is water; for a variety of wet and wonderful scenes from other bloggers around the world just click on its name!

Northern Shrike Sighting

Please Note: This item is from the archives. It was originally posted two years ago, in early March, 2007. Riel

I have only had two Northern Shrike sightings this winter and both were in the exact, same location where I had seen this shrike yesterday. My other sighting had been in mid-December. I would think that it most likely was the same bird. It was perched right at the very tip top of a very tall, dead tree. The photo to the far left shows only about a third of the height of the tree. A passerby would most likely not even have noticed it but when driving by yesterday I had purposely looked up to the top of the tree and saw a small, light grayish sort of fluffly looking blob at its very top. At first we could only see its light gray underbelly but when it turned its head sideways we were able to see its characteristic narrow black mask and knew it was a Northern Shrike we were looking at.

To view a previous posting on Northern Shrike go to:
http://naturetales.blogspot.com/2007/01/northern-shrike.html

All Deer, All the Time: Take 3

I was pleased to see a group of six deer yesterday in a wooded area near my home. I went for a walk with the purpose of photographing them, so I was glad they cooperated and were where I expected them to be. They seemed curious as I talked to them, eventually coming a little closer.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel.

Two Starlings

Note: This item is from the archives. It was first posted in February, 2007.

Yesterday, these two European Starlings were perched side by side on a branch in our feeder area, and they illustrate well the two different adult breeding stages. The Starling on the left is of an adult nonbreeding status, still displaying its winter, white-flecked plumage; while the one on the right displays characteristics of the adult breeding stage. Differences in the bill colour and plumage patterns can be easily noted. To the right, the adult breeding Starling's bill is yellow, while to the left, the adult nonbreeding Starling's bill has yet to change colour significantly. Also the nonbreeding Starling (left)still displays white dotting on its plumage overall while the white dots of the adult breeding Starling (right) have worn off and the adult breeding Starling now displays a glossy black plumage.
The composite photo to the right shows two Starlings taken at different times of the year; the photo of the Starling on the left was taken on Nov. 5, 2004, and the one on the right was taken February 13th, 2007. On p. 416, of his book, The Sibley Guide to Birds , David Sibley gives the adult nonbreeding period as lasting from Sept - Feb.

All Deer, All the Time: Take 2

I wasn't kidding ...

Another deer photo to add to the collection. When I saw this one the other day, it was standing in perfect profile for me.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel

Little Boy, Big Rock

For Watery Wednesday ...

There may be snow all around, but I am remembering warmer weather fun. I guess today's "nature" on Nature Tales and Camera Trails is "human nature" ... in particular, the determination children have to take on a challenging task without question. This little boy I know is throwing a comparatively very large rock (of his own choosing) into New Brunswick's Bay of Fundy. This photo was taken at St. Martin's, NB.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel. Thanks to Watery Wednesday. The theme of Watery Wednesday is water, and for a wonderful variety of watery scenes from other bloggers around the world just click on its name!

Spring Ahead

For Mellow Yellow Monday ...

With up to 35 centimetres (13.78 inches) of snow forecast for our area overnight and into tomorrow, I thought I'd focus on the positive: Spring is coming. Eventually. In the meantime, I figured these colourful tulips were a hopeful reminder of what lies ahead. These photos were taken last year at the Ottawa Tulip Festival.

There really were tulips as far as you could see. Thousands and thousands. Very beautiful.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel. Thanks to Mellow Yellow Monday. To see more yellow themed photos from other bloggers, just click on the icon on the sidebar.

Common Goldeneye in the River

I saw some Common Goldeneye Ducks today in a section of open river near the Westfield, NB ferry crossing. I would say at least fifteen to twenty of them hastily retreated as soon as I got out of my car, even though I was far from the water. The distant duck in the first photo below (click to enlarge) was a bolder little fellow. This picture makes me think that he figured he and I were having some sort of standoff. He didn't fly away even though I know he saw me. I could feel his icy stare. Maybe he noticed that I didn't have my coat on and correctly guessed that I wouldn't last long in the blowing wind and freezing temperatures (perhaps that was the real cause of the icy feeling). I was just happy he stayed put so I could get his picture. I was also happy to get the other photo below. I don't have good luck getting bird photos because, well, they fly away, you know.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel

All Deer, All the Time

It really might just be "All Deer, All the Time" here on Nature Tales and Camera Trails -- at least for the next little while with me as guest blogger. Unlike my mother, I don't seem to have the ability to attract a variety of animals (rare or common) to within my camera's viewfinder. (Of course when I saw my first lynx outside of captivity last week, my camera was sitting safely at home beside the computer).

But I do see deer. Lots and lots of deer. Nearly every day. In fact, if for some reason in some alternate reality, anyone ever wanted to pay me an admission fee to drive around the Quispamsis and Saint John, New Brunswick area to see deer, I would be happy and confident to offer a 100% money-back guarantee if we didn't see any.

Anyway, yesterday I saw a mere eight deer -- two groups of four in two separate locations. I took these photos in the afternoon. These deer were in a wooded area not far from the UNBSJ campus. I had my camera as I was en route to a Doodlebops concert with my children (aged 3 and 1/2 and 1 and 1/2) ... but that is another story. I pulled the van over to the side of a one-way street exiting the university and took the photos. The deer didn't seem to mind. They also didn't seem to mind my son yelling out to them "We love you deer!" or his loud inquiries to me as to why none of the other cars going by were stopping to look at the deer or take pictures. (I suggested maybe they didn't have their cameras with them.)


The deer were nibbling on cedar branches. The group of four deer I saw later in the evening were just out for a stroll in an open field, but it was too dark to take photos.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel

Waterfall Ice Strands

For Watery Wednesday ...

For lack of a better name I am calling these ice strands ... they delicately dangle off a birch log in a waterfall near Bloomfield, NB.

Posted by: "Guest Blogger" Riel. Thanks to "Watery Wednesday." To see more "Watery Wednesday" posts from other bloggers around the world, just click the icon on the sidebar.