A Couple of Surprises

Daphne and I took to the bush today to try and get out 5 miles per day in. On one of the trails, Daphne put up this Roughed Grouse and it perched right beside me in a tree.

We also came across a herd of about 15 Elk. I could not get a shot through the bush, so we moved down the road and waited for them to cross. I guessed to crossing point quite well. They came single file, in a hurry.

We also found a few geese in the slough.

All in all, not a bad day in the bush!

A Day on Carson Lake

 It started out as a bright , sunny day, just right for some ice fishing. I drilled the allowed holes and set two lines baited with maggots. Yecht!

 Carson Lake is part of the Carson-Pegasus Provincial Park. They stock the lake with about 5000? Rainbow Trout each year. The trout show up in a tanker trailer and are pumped into the lake.

There was some worry about whether the ice was thick enough yet. It was and remind me to get new blades for the auger. There was about 12 inches of ice over 25 feet of water where I was fishing.

My trusty sidekick enjoyed the day out and was very well behaved. Daphne tended to lie in the shelter of my pail/chair and my back pack out of the wind. Speaking of wind, it started to blow about 30 miles/hour right down the lake becoming very miserable.

We didn't catch any fish and after about 3 hours of blowing snow, we packed it up. I figure on trying again Thursday.

Two Partridge or Roughed Grouse showed up on the way home and co-operated even though the light was not ideal. Still, it was  a good outing.

And a Partridge in a Poplar tree

Sorry, too cold for pear trees

Wordless Wednesday

Ruffed Grouse in the Willows

A warm day and lots of willow buds to munch on.

The Ruffed Grouse

I caught this little guy while driving along a county road in a light snow/drizzle.

She was not shy and just kept working her way along the bush line, enjoying another mild day.

I am not sure what she was eating

 She was in no hurry to get off the clearing.

 They have many names from, Ruffed Grouse, to Partridge, to Fool's Hen (also applied to Spruce Hens) to last but not least "Chicken"

Wildlife Walk

I decided to continue looking for an active beaver pond. Alas, the pond on the Heustis Forest trail was empty. Someone from the County was in with a clam digger and got rid of the beaver dam and lake. Why they would do that is beyond me. It used to be full of ducks, beavers and other wild life. End of rant!

 To make up for it, sort of, I found a Whisky Jack or Gray Jay, or Camp Robber. The link below gives some interesting info on them.

 http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/columnists/story.html?id=eb430142-1fcb-4cd5-bcf5-ea80fa876477

 In the fall if you are out and about, a fire draws them like a magnet. They are quite tame, hence the name Camp Robber. I have had them land on my shoulder and peck at my hat when hunting.

The Partridge or as we know it "chicken" is also quite tame  and also very tasty.

Then, of course, what would a walk in the bush be like without a Red Squirrel or two chattering at you.

I was hoping to run across a bear, but no such luck. I have an agreement with them. "I don't hunt bears, and they don't hunt me." Just as well I didn't see any . I left my bear spray at home.

Soggy Thursday!

Hiding in the weeds

Ruffed Grouse