Bohemian Waxwings for Saturday Critters

 We have had an adundant crop of American Bittersweet berries this fall. Recently we have seen a wandering flock of Waxwings making sporadic visits to the bittersweet berries. These berries have an outer coat of yellow. They swoop in to feed but then suddenly are gone again. As the outer yellow skin peels of the inner undercoat is seen as red!the berries and Waxwings create a beautiful sight! I am posting this morning to Eileen’s meme of Saturday Critters which can be found at viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com

Have a wonderful, safe and healthy weekend everyone!

A Handsome Common Grackle for Saturday Critters

 We had few  Common Grackles visit Bird Alley this spring and so I was especially pleased to welcome one at our feeders this November. It only appeared for the one day but on that day I took advantage of the sun shining on its beautiful iridescent feathers when I took the photos. 

                   

I am posting today to Eileen's Saturday critters which can be found at viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot,ca                   

Have a wonderful safe and healthy weekend everyone!

Evening Grosbeaks foe Saturday Critters

 This morning and prviously one day this week we were invaded by a small horde of Evening Grosbeaks.  The big lure was amall black oiled sunflower seeds! shown below are ten Grosbeaks on the ground. There were often many at a feeder at the same time!

The males are the ones with the bright yellow colouring!

The female do not exhibit the bright yellow on their body but rather they exhibit a soft, light gray in their coloring as shown directly below!.

I am posting today to Eileen's Saturday Critters which can be found at viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com

Have a safe and healthy weekend everyone!

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A Female wood Duck for Saturday Critters

 I don't know how long they stay around but I found this female wood duck earlier this week in oue local lagoon.  Perhaps it is the last glimpse I will get of thes species until

il March 2021! I have always been very attracted to this female Duck because of her distinctive white eye!  I think it is quite beautiful!!! I am linking today to Eileen's Meme, Saturday Critters.  which can be found at viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca

Have a safe and healthy Halloween weekend!

Feeding Robin for Saturday Critters

 Its that time of year again when the Robins flock to our yard to deed on the abundant berries of our flowering crab apple trees,  American Bittersweet berries  and the many. many rose hips!

This morning this early feeder was seen in  our flowering crab apple tree.  Some of the little crab apples

can also be seen. I am posting this morning to Eileen's Saturday Critters which can be found at

viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca

Having a wonderful , safe and healthy weekend everyone!

A Yellow Rumped Warbler for Saturday Critters

 We don't often see warblers in our feeder area , so it was a  very pleasant surprise to see this little Yellow Rumped visitor flitting about our trees a few days ago. At first I was confused about its id, but upon downloading the pictures I saw an unmistakable yellow showing under its folded wings on its lower back!

  Ah ha! it has a yellow rump!

A double check in a bird field guide and I was confident in identifying this sweet bird as a Yellow -rumped Warbler!

I am posting today to Eileen's Saturday Critters, which can be found at 

viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca

Enjoy your weekend everyone

A White Pigeon for Saturday Critters

 I often see  a pigeon that looks all white , however there is often a shade of back or darkness somewhere on the bird's body BUT this week I took a picture of a pigeon that appears to be all white. I cannot find a shade of black or otherwise on it.  It is a thing of beauty o being all white!

 I am posting this morning to Eileen's meme of Saturday Critters which can be found 

viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca

Have a wonderful safe and healthy weekend everyone!

A Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar for Saturday Critters.

On August 17th. we found two Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars! We collected them both and placed them in a plastic cage for our purpose of observation of them throughout their completion stages to reach the final stage of an becoming adult Monarch Butterflys! This morning they  have both achieved the pupa or chrysalis stage. I am assuming that

they shall both be adult Monarch butterflies by or around September the first!
These caterpillars have been great eaters and every morning I removed the remnants of chewed   and eaten leaves as the caterpillars grew rapidly. on August the 21 I posted this update of their development.

Monarch butterfly caterpillar update:

Our two caterpillars ,which we have been observing are now preparing to enter the last stage of stage of their being caterpillars Overnight they have attached their bodies to the cage with a glue like substance that they have secreted from their bodies. They are now both hanging in a ‘J’

shape. One caterpillar is attached to the top of the cage, The and the other caterpillar-has attached itself to

the side of the cage Probably by

tomorrow these caterpillars will have left their caterpillar stage and will be in their pupa (chrysalis) stage. To exit the caterpillar stage, the caterpillar will make its body move

very rapidly in a motion until it’s skin falls off. Underneath the skin is a soft green body. This soft green body when exposed to the air will harden and it becomes the hard green outer covering of the chrysalis. Within 10 to 14days a adult Monarch butterfly will emerge from the green shell of the chrysalis.

This morning when I checked on the caterpillars, they were no more. Overnight they had entered their green chrysalis stage! If all goes well they will next be adult Monarch butterflies.

I am posting this morning to Eileen's Saturday Critters which can be found at viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and stay safe and healthy!

An Eagle for Saturday Critters

                           
I am posting this morning to eileen's Saturday Critters , which can be found at viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca

A White Pigeon for Saturday Critters

I often see a white Pigeon in my area. It is never all totally white , which I sometimes think it is, but when it turns or moves I often see that it has black makings also.

I am posting today to Eileen's Saturday Critters which can be found at

viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca

An unusual coloured frog for Saturday Critters.

 We saw an unusual coloured frog yesterday morning at the Fredericton Botanic Gardens. "It has rare colouring -- it is missing the yellow pigment in its skin. It is a minty greenish/turquoise colour . Its expanding chin/neck is white instead of yellow.  Its like it has reverse xanthochroism.."
This last picture shows a regular looking frog,  seen at the same pond, displaying its yellow chin.

I am posting this morning to Eileen's Saturday Critters which can be found at viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com

Another hot day is scheduled for today.  Have a warm, safe weekend folks. Stay healthy out there everyone!

Fawn Triplets for SaturdayCritters

i have been watching these three fawns all week, every morning that I could find them. Mama Whitetail must be so busy and so patient. All three trying to feed at the same time must be so demanding for this wonderful doe.

 

i am linking this morning to Eileen's Saturday Critters which can be found at : 

viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca.

White-tailed deer for Saturday Critters

Oh deer! What a wonderful sighting I have had this morning!

Thee fawns and only one adult female! Possibility all in one family?

I have only one photo showing all three fawns together in the picture! he fawns were beautiful! lively and frisky!

I will be watching for them again all next week hoping to get a good family grouping of all four!
I am linking this morning to Eileen's weekly meme Saturday Critters which can be found at:
viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot,ca
Have a wo0nderful safe and wonderful weekend everyone! Ann

This morning's Nature Adventure~

I  have had a wonderful start to my day this morning when I went out on my morning drive, At my first stop at Peterson's Rocks

I watched a Merganser family swimming upstream and climb over the rapids there.! I think this was the merganser family Tess, Eli and I had found a week or so ago. The adult merganser was with the group this morning.

My next stop was the lagoon where I found Wood Ducks. Most of them took off in flight as I approached them. I only got a picture of one male near the shore. Then on to Blissville where there are a couple of ponds there. It was a bonus location!

I found three Great Blue Heron and caught a picture of one in flight as I had startled it! Also at Blissville

I found three family groups of Canada Geese, each group being shepherded by both adults, one at each end of the younger ones. Unfortunately I missed a beautiful picture of a male Red-winged Blackbird showing its beautiful red epaulets in flight.
Have a wonderful day everyone! Its a it damp here this morning, but we need the rain and the temperature just just right.

Re -visiting a Black Duck Family

Yesterday morning I had found a handsome Black Duck,

but it appeared to be alone, after taking a couple of pictures of it. I moved on. 
However after downloading photos at home I discovered that duck had ducklings at her side!

I should have stayed around a bit longer to investigate! And  so today  I started the day with a purpose. I had determined I would find that duck family again this morning!

And I did! They were at the same location where I had seen them yesterday morning. Today I took my time watching and taking pictures from my car This was a fun adventure!

I discovered there were actually three ducklings, instead of the two that I had counted in yesterday's pictures!
Birding often holds huge surprises for us! That is one of the reasons why I believe that always having my camera with me is important!
As I start each day at this pond location I shall continue to track this Black Duck and her family.  I note that there seems to only be the one adult duck attached to these three ducklings. Mama duck has a huge job ahead of her, on her own, to safely raise these three ducklings and to teach them to feed, fly and to keep safe.  They already appear to be swimmers.
I am posting this morning to Anni's meme "I'd Rather Be Birding" found at http://id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot.com/