This magnificent nest sits empty all winter, waiting for their return: Osprey. This afternoon I found this one sitting on the nest! How lovely it is.
Camera Critters is a meme that features critters, any kind, any size. To see more of this meme please click on the CC logo which can be found on the right sidebar on this page. A happy weekend to all.
I went out early this morning looking for CommonMergansers and found them in their usual place. And they did their usual thing.They flew away. When downloading these pictures I was very taken with their posture! Look at how straight they hold their bodies while in the air. Beautiful! perfectly designed!
Waiting for the orb to appear, we know its coming by the colouring in the sky.The dawning of a new day!
Ahhh: the enjoyment of a new view, we have been replacing old windows in our house this week and this morning's new view from our dining room included the rising sun, the joy of it all!
The meme'Looking at the sky on Friday invites you to share your view of the sky. To learn moreof this meme, please click on the icon on the right sidebar.
This little mammal,a Chipmunk, is a member of the squirrel family and it has 5 very noticeable stripes on its back., 5 dark ones and two light ones. I felt that the photo above displays this feature well enough for the viewer(you) to count the stripes to verify their number.
Another physical feature of this sweet little creature often seen is its bulging cheeks. See the photo above. The Chipmunk has internal cheek pouches which allows it to carry large amounts of seeds and berries all at once. They sometimes look like they are stuffed!
This little fellow has been very bus yout and about our yard the past few days, scurrying here and there, It seems to favour dashing for our neighbor's woodpile to seek cover when we are outdoors. It is very fast. It just seems to zip, here and there. I suspect it may have spent the winter in the woodpile or else under our garden shed, This little animal is a seasonal favourite of ours. The photo I took while sitting by the window in our sunroom.
Thursday challenge is a meme with a new theme each week. This week's theme is 'small animals.' To learn more or to participate in this weekly meme please click on the icon(Chipmunk picture) on the side bar on the right on this page. Happy picture taking all taking to all!
A good place to watch for birds (Osprey, Spotted Sandpipers and Common Mergansers or to have a picnic or just a nice walk
Soon this location at The Falls will be full of activity.
as Gaspereau make their way over the falls and go upriver to spawn. The gulls
and Osprey take full advantage of the tiring, struggling fish
as they attempt to leap the falls
Outdoor Wednesday is a delightful meme where you can enjoy almost any aspect of outdoors. This meme offers a wide choice of topic. To view contributions of others or to post your own contribution, please click on the Outdoor Wednesday pic on the right sidebar on this page and enjoy. A Happy Wednesday wish to all.
To see other contributions to the watery Wednesday meme, please scroll up the right hand side of this page until you come to the watery Wednesday icon, then click on it to add your contribution to Mr. Linky or to see contributions of others. Happy Wednesday to all.
This morning for my early morning drive I decided to check the river first for ducks. I stopped at an observation deck to look for mergansers and first saw one male. Then two males!
As I was on the opposite side of the river I wanted to get closer to these ducks so I waited at the bend in the river , 
just before the highway bridge crossed the river., so I went back to my car and drove to a parking area further down the river where I knew I would be able to watch the ducks when they swam down river. Finally I saw one male coming down the river
Then, I watched it as it hit the rough water under the highway bridge, then I lost sight of it.
I sat and waited for more mergansers but I saw no more come around the bend!, but where did they go? While waiting for more ducks I kept hearing an Eastern Phoebe singing.so I decided to check it out. there is an inviting walking path that goes under the bridge so I walked along it.
And no, I didn't find the phoebe, but I did find the mergansers! 4 or 5 of them!!!! , in the water under and by the bridge and they immediately took off when they saw me!How had they gotten by without me seeing them?!
There was a female among the males, the female does not have a white body as the male mergansers do! 
An Eastern Phoebe above, in the same location where it always is each year
Spring is bursting out sll over. The Easter weekend was 3 glorious days of warm, high temperatures with sightings of returning birds everywhere. We have had lots of hungry cowbirds in our yard. Lots of them, both male anf female. And we have our Tree Swallow house painted and cleaned in preparation for this year's occupants.
We have never had a spring vacancy, it depends on who gets here first. They are lovely little backyard residents. We expect a pair to arrie any day now.
Yesterday I had requested help in confirming my id of the moth shown in the photo directly sbove. You can access the post by scrolling down on this page. I had concluded the moth in question was called 'The Infant' and gave reasons for my conclusion in yesterday's post .
Today I took this photo (shown above) of the same species of the moth I had shown yesterday. Yesterday's photo did not have so much orange showing in the photo.Please compare the white markings on the outer wings in both photos to see the similarities. A reader had suggested that I contact Bug guide for their help. Today I went to Bugguide and did a search on their home page for "the infant". The page that it provided in response to my search was an obvious visual match to the photo I had taken today so that is why I am confirming the id that I had guessed at yesterday. The Bugguide page that matched my moth photo can be found at can be found at: http://bugguide.net/node/view/46830
Its really this kind of day, something to sing about. My yellow tomato plants that I have started inside are stretching their green sprouts upward to the sun shining brightly in my windows. I went out for an early drive looking to see if an Osprey has claimed the old nest that is used by Osprey each year. I saw no sign of habitation, but yesterday we watched an Osprey hunting over the river yesterday. Soon we will discover where it will nest this season. Perhaps its mate hasn't arrived yet. My first nature sighting this morning were three White-tailed Deer in s field. This one of the three It looked both healthy and curious.
Next I came to a favourite pond that has just recently shed its winter covering of ice. I could see two ducks at the back end of the pond but had to wait until downloading to determine that they were Black Ducks. The sun was very strong and bright and created many reflections of the bushes surrounding the pondon the water.. This setting was very picturesque.
Next I returned to our village and checked the river for Osprey and I was very lucky to find a pair of Common Mergansers there, The white of the male made it very outstanding on the water.
Upon returning home I heard and then saw this little Song Sparrow singing in our Russian Mountain Ash tree. The temperature reading on our outdoor thermometer reads +25 degrees celcuis. Next I zm going to check out the river again from the footpath of the old railroad bridge, then an old woods road where I saw lots of butterflies yesterday which all evaded my camera. My main nature focus today will be to find another Osprey. Have a great day everyone. It is glorious here.
This patch of bright, cherry , sunny yellow Coltsfoot was a welcome find on the weekend. It mstched the warmth and sunny skies of the weekend. Then to make the sighting even more joyous I found a coltsfoot in blossomin my own yard.
Also fitting in so well with the festive weather and bright yellows of the season we found this very friendly Ester bunny wearing a bright yellow vest at the mall with a basket of Easter eggs to pass out to visiting children. No matter what direction I looked in I saw this waving bunny cheerily doing his job!
To see other posts featuring yellow, or to post your own please click on the mellow yellow icon on thr righthand side to go to the hosting site. Harpy Monday to all.
Fot the past few days my husband has been returning home from walks near wooded areas telling me of a small orange butterfly he is seeing often. He had decided it was probably a moth. I have considered sending along my camera with him for he seems to see this small orange flying species often,. This morning while sitting in our truck along some birches along a wooded highway, I saw a small orange butterfly fly by and land in a small sized birch!. I didn't stay in my truck long when I saw it land on a birch tree. Grabbing my camera and changing to a macro setting I searched the birch limbs and finally found a brownish moth there. the moth had white markings on its outer wings. Then I noticed a beautiful orange colouring that seemed to be underneath. I could not get a clear photo showing the orange feature of this moth well. I was so disappointed, but the two photos following do include a bit of orange in each.
Where to start searching for its id?I determined to search through every illustration in my" A Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America" by Charles V. Covell Jr. but what a difficult chore that would be. I vaguely recalled a posting to a Nb nature, a nature mailing list fairly recently and the mention of a moth called "The Infant" .. so I decided to google "The Infant" (moth). What really stood out for me was mention that this moth often resembled an orange butterfly when flying, and secondly and of importance to me, the fact "Bingo"! that it was found on birch trees. both facts I concluded were very significant factors to me in id'ing this moth. Next I looked at images of The Infant on line and some looked very similar to my first two photos posted here. I would be most happy if anyone could help in verifying this id which I have decided is an Infant moth. What a lovely find! As soon as I post this, my camera and I are going out to hang around some birch trees along an old woods road. Maybe I can find some more.of these beautiful little creatures there.
What a beautiful day it is today!!!! Quiet solitude accented this scene upon the water this morning.
Scenic Sunday is an opportunity to share your scenic surroundings with others. To learn more of this meme or to share your own contribution please click on the scenic Sunday icon on the right of this page. Have a great Sunday everyone.
The most common duck sightings Iasm seeing lately is groups feeding in wet fields. They are very elusive though for as soon as see my vehicle stopped on the roadway adjacent to the field, they immediately take off. What species? mostly Mallards and Black Ducks and I think there weere a couple of male Wood Ducks in the last picture.
