Wishing a Happy hallowwe'n to All

Thr Ghost pumpkin wishes that you :
Have a happy and safe celebration!. We usually have about 120 trick or treaters. The trick is not to eat too much candy!

A Spruce Grouse found!

Today was a lucky day for me.the first time ever that I have taken pictures of a Spruce Grouse.
I have been hoping to find a Ruffed Grouse, the species that I am most familiar with. But when I saw the black an white colourpatterning on this grouse I saw this morning I knew it wasn't a Ruffed Grouse:. the red cpmb above its eye was a dead give away that this was something different! It was quite a handsome looking bird! I had driven past it at first when I saw it walking on the gravel shoulder at Three Tree Creek. So when I spied it I drove on and turned and then came back to it. The sun was in my eyes so I got out of my car and walked up to it. These grouse do not frighten away easily.Being quite close allowed me to get a good picture of its rufus tipped tail feathers. This colour feature helped me to id this bird as an adult male taigia Spruce Grouse.What fun it was to find something a bit different to add to my collection of bird photos.

White-tailed Deer

Its deer hunting season in New Brunswick. I saw this young male yesterday standing alone at the edge of a clearing.I was able to drive very close to it and shoot it with my camera before it turned around and with its signature WHITE TAIL UP IT FLED AND DISAPPEARED INTO THE WOODS. DON'T Be TOO FRIENDLY AND CURIOUS DEAR DEER!

American Robin and other birdspecies in Bird Alley

The variety of species are starting to increase in Bird Alley. the colours of this Robin Red Breast blended in well with the colour of the leaves in our ornamental crabapple today. This afternoon two look alike birds, a black-capped Chickadee and a White-breasted Nuthatch were feeding side by side at the peanut feederThe numbers of Mourning Doves are increasing daily and a couple of Grackles are proving to be very elusive with their availability for photo shots. Sparrows are represented by a few Song Sparrows and sometimes a Chipping Sparrow is seen . And of course Blue Jays are daily visitors,:As is Gray Squirrel also and Hairy Woodpecker.Each day I am drawn to my window to watch the birds and they are spectatular beautiful little creatures to watch and enjoy.A male Hairy Woodpecker with a mouthful of peanuts
Song Sparrow above and a handsome Black-capped Chickadee below

Found another ring-billed gull with orange wing tags

On |October 8th. I had found a ring-billed gull with orange flour scent tags on its wings. You can see the post Iwroteabout it at: http://naturetales.blogspot.com/2009/10/ring-billed-gull-with-tags.html. Yesterday(Oct .26th.) was the first I had been back to the Carleton Park location and hoped I might see another tagged gull and I did! # 455. Ishall have to make Carleton Park a regular stop for the next while.Above is a view of Fredericton from Carleton |Park. The park is on the north side of the Saint john River.A gull's view of Fredericton.

Geese in the sky for skywatch Friday

The formation these Canada Geese is lacking in its usualbeautiful organized ;V' formation.something must have surprised them for as we drove down the highway, they rose in mass creating a tumbling sort of formation in the sky Happy skywatch Friday to all. My appreciative thanks to Sandy, Klaus, Ivar, Wren and Fishing Guyand Louise for hosting Sky Watch Friday

Autumn Gold for Mellow Yellow Monday

A golden photo memory from Autumn 2003.
Happy Monday to all To view a wonderful variety of yellow-themed photos from other bloggers around the world, just click on the link below

"Rock in a hole" a timely story

I didn't go geese hunting this morning but decided to post this picture which fascinated me when I found it this past summer. It is part of an old sea wall and the force of the incoming and outgoing tides must cause the bigger rock in the middle to go spinning around in the hole causing it to gradually get larger each day with rock and tide rotations.

Frost on the landscape!

A few Canada Geese were in the frost covered corn fields this morning. Frost is quite beautiful and at least its not snow!

Geese on the water with colour!

The rising morning sun threw reflections of autum colour all over the waters.
I had found them(Canada Geese) early this morning where I had hoped they would be... on the water; back on the pond. They were there before eight; as was I. I had assumed they would have spent the night there.Their sounds drifted across the beautiful water. What a wonderful way to start the day! This is wimages of nature!

Out and About at the end of the day: Pileated Woodpecker

I heard it before I saw it.I just let my eyes find the source of the sound!I haven't been using my 100-500mm lens as it is too heavy and my left arn cannot hold it very well to keep it steady.. I shall have to start getting back to it soon and try for more detail in my bird photos.
Its been an interesting birding day. Hopefully more interesting sightings await me tomorrow.

Out and About: Finding Wood Ducks

It might be easier to id these ducks if you click to enlarge them. You can see both female and male Wood Ducks[the female is furthest to the right in the photo above.These ducks were quietly feeding until I opened the car door, then, "whoosh" they were on the wing. My favourite shot of the ducks are when they are flying high! The maleWood Duck is the highest, the clsest to the top of the photo.

Out and about part:two:an Eagle

By far my most rewarding drive this morning was whenI photographed an American Bald Eagle. I was driving along the highway and when coming upon a curve I noticed a group of Crows had gathered and were feeding upon some road kill. All the birds were not crows. I spied a white head among the group and knew an Eagle was there also. All of the birds dispersed as I slowed down. I sat in my car on the shoulder a bit hoping the eagle might return. It didn't , so I decided to scan the area ahead hoping I might spot it. I did! It was standing in the field just past the curve. As the eagle flew off it perched on the top of a tree.
Ihope I have another exciting find this afternoon. I will certainly try!

OUT AND ABOUT TODAY

My day started with a cheery" hey look at me", chirp from this male Hairy Woodpecker .He was visiting my back deck. There was no mistaking its sharp call.
After having scrapped the frost from my car's windshield I drove down the highway to the lower end od our village and interrupted the plans of these two white tailed deer that planned on crossing the highway in front of my car. Change of plans."Go back to the woods deer!""Stay away from highways"Be safe, avoid hunters if you can!"
Next I decided to drive to my favourite pond; a daily destination of mine. Although it doesn't show in this photo there was a huge flock of Canada Geese near the opposite shore a couple of days ago when this photo was taken.I found the Canadas this morning. I figured they might still be in the area. They had settled in a corn field that had recently been harvested. Hopefully, when I check this area next they will next be on the water where I prefer to photograph them.I think I will go for another drive soon to see what I can find next. I am hopping for a Ruffed Grouse sighting soon. Snow is forecast for this evening in our area! " Too soon!I' am not ready yet for winter's cold weather and winter driving conditions."

The Schogomoc for Scenic Sunday

A tributary of the Saint John River
To view other beautiful scenes drop by Scenic Sunday and take a look.

Storm Clouds Over trhe Valley for Skywatch Friday

More rain is forecast for today bringing more beautiful dark skies:Above the Saint John River Valley

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

Ring -billed gull with tags

My husband,David and I both enjoy bird watching and always having a camera with me helps a lot when wanting to tell of one of our bird adventures. Last weekend on October4th. We were at Carleton Park on the north side of Fredericton when we saw a gull that appeared to have an orange sticker on its wing. The sticker had a number 5 on it. Was this gull 50 % off? Had it been rummaging around a carelessly thrown away bit of garbage? or did someone stick the tag onto the gull?Hmmmm?. We noticed that the gull had tags on both sides of its body How did this happen ? We had stumbled upon a mystery! note: I have known that birds are often tagged with leg bands but I had never seen this kind before, It sure makes them easier to read!Even when in flight we saw that the tags were on both wings and the gull could fly well. So after downloading the photos at home I decided to do a google search and obviously stumbled upon the correct search words for I found a website in Massachusetts that had tagged this gull. On Monday I reported my sighting and discovered that this gull had been around and had been sighted in Fredericton before. It had also been seen in Presqule Isle , Maine and at Port Daniel, Quebec. Mystery solved!, and it hadn't been that difficult after all.We were happy that we had found a way to report this sighting, The End!

Want to know about this gull tagging operation? Read about it here:http://www.mass.gov/dcr/waterSupply/watershed/study/index.htm

A rainbow for Watery Wednesday

Driving home on a watery Tuesday evening on a rainy Trans-Canada we suddenly saw a rainbow! Can you see it?Look to the right of the highway. It is best to click to enlarge. Happy Wednesday everyone!
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.

Beautiful red everywhere for Ruby Tuesday

The above pgoto calls to mind Bliss Carman's stirring and beautiful autumn poem, A Vagabond Song. To read his words, please click on the same photo on the right side bar, just look to your right for it.

*snow *CoveredRed Berries for Ruby Tuesday

NOT MY PICTURE , but rather belonging to my brother Roger of Airdrie, Alberta where some of the*white stuff****fell* *on the weekend.

To check out other postings on Ruby Tuesday just click on the Ruby logo on the side bar. My appreciative thanks to Mary/the teach for hosting this meme.

A waterfall for Scenic Sunday

Wirral Falls. The rapid descent of water fills the pool underneath the yellow awning of leaves. creating a scene of peace and tranquility.To better appreciate the beauty please click on the photo to enlarge.

To view other beautiful scenes drop by Scenic Sunday and take a look.