Bluejay in a Cage

We had had  such success and good luck on trapping a Grey Squirrel in a live cage the previous day we decided to try it again as we had another Grey squirrel visiting today.  We set up the cage in Bird Alley and waited and waited for the squirrel to show some interest, but no, we did not

have an immediate result.

That is until my husband checked our cage and found a Bluejay in it! and the Bluejay was not too pleased about its predicament!!! Again we observed a very happy release!! We had baited the trap with peanut butter and sunflower seeds.

We have had many bird species visiting Bird Alley the past week Among  few surprises  and welcome visitors have been:  Goldfinch , Junco, White-breasted Nuthatch and a Red-winged Blackbird.
Yesterday I listed 12 different species in my Bird Alley daily journal.

a White-breasted Nuthatch above

Gray Squirrel going on a Trip for SaturdayCritters.

 We found a Grey squirrel in our live trap cage yesterday morning. You can see its little paw holding onto the wire of the cage.  It seemed to be a bit upset and I felt sorry for the Squirrel but the live trap cage had done its job nicely, and no one had gotten hurt..  We have several large Grey Squirrels which have become a daily nuisance in Bird Alley, so we have decided to relocate the squirrels.  This is our first experience doing this. Yesterday morning we took the squirrel in the cage out to a wooded area and released it.  Wow,!!! did it ever move  FAST!! out of the cage  when the cage door was opened!  Hopefully, all is well that ends well and the squirrel has now adjusted to its new home and has found lots of food. "Don't worry little squirrel , if we are lucky, you will be getting company soon  as we hope to trap more of your furry buddies" and" DON'T COME BACK!"
Today I am linking to Eileen's Saturday Critters,  
http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca/ 
Have a wonderful day everyone!

Chipmunk... Just Sitting Around

Earlier this week, Bird alley got a visit from this cute little Chipmunk.  It was just sitting on a bird

feeder pole in the beginning, then it explored the top of a bird feeder but I don't think it got any food and this is the time of year that |Chipmunks are gathering food for their winter storehouse. Here are a few pictures to view.

Red-breasted Nuthatch returns to Bird Alley

Just recently I have returned to mointering Bird Alley daily and it is such a joy to see the old familiar  speccies returning,. Over the summer months I do not refill the feeders often as it only encourages raccoons to raid the feeders overnight. We presently have three sparrow species visiting daily: Song Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows and a few White-throated Sparrows.  Also a pair of Purple Finches, a pair of Hairy woodpeckers and one lone Downy Woodpecker.  Earlier this week we had many visits from a small flock of Grackles, and we also see Mourning Doves daily And the earliest and most frequent visitors are the little Black-capped Chickadees and Blue Jays.
Yesterday we had a Red-breasted Nuthatch visit several times. The big attraction for the Nuthatch is  is the peanut feeder.

i love the rufus colouring of its underbely breast and they are often seen in an upside down position.
The upturn at the end of its beak can be easily noted in the photo below. 

I I do hope we get a visit from a White-breasted Nuthatch soon.

A Gray Jay

A bird of many names, this Gray Jay also is known as the Whiskey Jack, a Canada Jay, and Camp Robber. The name 'Camp Robber', being derived from its habit of hanging around wood's camps and helping itself to any available food it might find there. Here in New Brunswick this jay is commonly referred to as a Gorby or Moosebird.

But I always call it  a Gray Jay.  This gray and white bird, one of the smallest jays, is a bird found in our coniferous forests all year round.

On Friday I had seen a couple of Gray Jays in a rural area nearby, but I didn't get their pictures..  I don't often see a Gray Jay, so this sighting was a real treat for me, and so I decided that I would find it on Saturday again and get its picture!  Yesterday morning I found some old blueberry muffins going stale and also took along 3 or four slices of cinnamon and raisin bread with me and my camera when I went out to the wooded rural area where I had seen the jay on Friday! At first I didn't see the jay , but after turning homeward I found one perched in a small tree ( spruce or fir? I'm not sure which. I even got out of my car to take its picture and the jay was not too skittish as I stood there beside my car, pointing my camera at it.

  So, as it wasn't too frightened I reached for my food stash and scattered it there in front of the jay along the roadside.  I then drove away, turned and parked on the road opposite of where I had scattered the food.  I didn't have to wait long and the bird reappeared approaching the food stash and taking a few bites from the bread.  This was a wonderful photo shoot! I  I might try again today as this is such a sweet bird to observe!

 

 And today we are celebrating our Canadian Thanksgiving so it 's a good day to share with the birds as their viewing and habits give us so much pleasure and we have so much to be thankful for! Surely I can trade some more bread for another picture.  Have a wonderful day everyone!

Wood Ducks for Saturday Critters

I was hoping to find a few Canadas, but luck was, or wasn't with me and instead I found a beautiful pair of Wood Ducks in my favourite pond yesterday.

They were both so very colourful and I had never glimpsed the speckled breast of the female before!!  The water was slightly reflective and the male was doubly handsome! His white portions were so very crisply clean looking.

As is characteristic of ducks most times, but especially in the fall they were very skittish and flighty

and when they became aware of me they took off immediately, Above the white eye of the female separates the pair easily as to who is in the lead.

When they separated the male was easily identified!

With cropping I have separated the birds  from the photo above to see them better separately

.  The speckled underwing or breast of the female is really outstanding above!

And  the underwing part of the male is beige too, but unlike the female,  it is unspeckled!
Today I am linking to Viewing Nature with Eileen  at her Camera Critters.
http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca/
Have a great day everyone, its such a wonderful time of year that I will be out there with my camera hoping to find some of Mother Natures Treasures.

Three Deer Found This Morning

Early this morning I grabbed my camera and car keys and set out with an agenda: To find some deer. Usually I can find a few at the same specific time each morning.  Three deer were feeding in an open field. They saw my car approach and stop, and my presence set them moving about, although usually a presence will cause them to speed with their white tails up flying heedlessly across the road.  Not this morning though as they stayed put in the field where they were grazing. I was very happy about that fact.

Peek -a- boo

  It is a large meadow where I usually find them and they have lots of room to run about and feed.

Before I returned home I drove on to a favourite stream of mine.  It is very beautiful there at  this time of year. In 1783 my 3rd. great grandfather from Maryland arrived at Saint John NB with the fall fleet of Loyalists, and my Loyalist ancestor was granted a land grant for his service and loyalty to the King at the mouth of this stream. I should like to walk to the mouth of this stream some day to see if I can detect any hint or remains of a homestead having been built there.  It is a lovely beautiful  fall day today as you can see in the pictures below. 

                             

Double -crested Coromorant for Saturday Critters

Yesterday morning we visited the Irving Nature Park in Saint John, New Brunswick.The previous evening we had attended a Fog Lit event called Words and Wine, which was hosted by our daughter.  It was a wonderful event which we enjoyed immensely.  On our way home we visited the  Irving nature park and walked out on the boardwalk there which extends out over Saints Rest Marsh.  The  Marsh grasses are very beautiful at this time of year,  highlighting a vivid combination of colours of fall,  sunshiny yellows, thirst -quenched greens, mud browns, salt and peppered with warm  earthy tones swaying with the breezes  coming off the Bay of Fundy at Sandy Cove.

.                           the boardwalk over the multicolored marsh grasses

                     At the end of the boardwalk we found an area of mud, water and grasses and three ducks

As we walked out on the boardwalk we saw very few birds or signs of movements until we came to the end of the boardwalk where we saw a catch basin of water that had not left with the tide. The area was a muddy basin surrounded by marsh grass.  When I began to accept my disappointment at not having found any subjects  to capture with my camera I spied a large dark object in the water in front of us. The vivid orange and yellow billed  face  of a Double-crested Cormorant was very exciting  to see!

 I took pictures of its take off in the water in front of us!

Today I am linking to Saturday Critters , which is graciously hosted by Eileen at:http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca/