Patience Pays Off

All summer I have been watching for this guy. We have seen the grass move, and Daphne has chased something through the very tall grass. The Town cut back the grass from the pathway, and today we caught him out in the open. He was fast and this is the only shot I got of him.

Anybody know what type of critter this is? I think it is a ground squirrel, but am not sure what type.

Any help in identifying this critter would be appreciated!

Bits and Pieces

Once again I am behind on my blogging! Daphne was very interested in the Geese, but realized that she could not get at them. Its just as well, because the Athabasca is still running high and fast.

I caught this Red Squirrel eyeing Daphnia and myself closely.

I tried and tried to catch this Red Winged Blackbird in flight but he was too fast for me. I also discovered a new den in the are, possibly a badger or wolf. I will be back to check it out.

 Here is a Song Sparrow ( I think) but in poor light conditions

 Then I came across this new born calf. He looked so grumpy, I had to take a picture. I kept a close eye on the other cows whose territory I was trespassing on. They watched me closely.

Google is not letting comments through to my posts. They say they are working on it.

Now it Feels Like Spring!

We have all sorts of geese and things showing up now that the weather is warm. There were several hundred on the Athabasca River today.

 
 The fields along the river were also full

 

 

They were having a good feed until I showed up.

 
Even a squirrel showed up and let me know he was not happy with my presence. (Or maybe it was Daphne that he was upset with)

This is our equivalent of an iceberg flowing down the river.

A few ducks showed up. I don't know if they had migrated or overwintered in the open water.

 
Geese, geese everywhere

It was a nice balmy day at +12C or 54F for those that are not bilingual.

Had to throw in this Redpoll. He kept following me.

The Walk

Lots of ducks and critters in the swamp today!

Common Goldeneye

Buffleheads

Ring-Necked Ducks

Red Squirrel

Song Sparrow?

Sand Hill Crane

Tamarack (European Larch)

Tamarack ( Starting to flower) 

Daphne (forground) Brooklyn (in distance)

First Day Out Hunting

It was a beautiful last day of summer with lots of colours.

 In some cases it was painful to the eyes.

 The only thing wrong with the day was the difficulty in seeing anything in the bush. The grass was waist high.

 The first critter to show up was this Red Squirrel. He was a very noisy squirrel!

 I decided to sit for a while overlooking a ravine, a likely choice for  deer to follow.

 I was looking for a big buck, so let them pass.

 Note: No critters were harmed on this trip! I think I will wait a few days for the leaves to fall before going out again.

My Bird Dog

How long is she going to keep me up here?

I was just trying to steal sneak a treat from the bird feeder.

 Honest, let me down and I will go away and be a good squirrel.

You know, I almost had that squirrel! I could have used a little help you know. The varmint was cornered. How could I know it would run under my belly?