Wrens

These guys are still hanging around and bringing lots of bugs into the nest.

They certainly do not sit still for long!

Saturday outing

The Monsoons let up for a bit and I was able to get out for a few hours. It is amazing how fast the wildflowers have bloomed given all the water. The Wild Roses are still going strong.

 The Heartleaf Anica is appearing

 The Indian Paintbrush is also out. Its early for this.

 There are also lots of Streamside Bluebells

 Meanwhile the Tree Swallows are still attempting to nest.

My friends the Great Blue Herons are also now in the swamps

Life is good in the boonies!

Private Shows

I was out with Daphne sleuthing around the back country when I was treated to several shows

The first was Daphne hot on the trail of a Whitetail Deer. Unfortunately, things happened too fast to adjust the camera to get both in the picture. Here is the south end of a north-bound deer.

The next shots were of my very own air show. I was walking along a oil/gas right of way when this chopper showed up to check on the sample spot.

He came around the corner. I could hear the chopper, but not see it

 

 The inspection place was the white post between the orange and blue poles.






And lift-off. 

That was the only exciting things I saw after almost two hours of walking.

I will try again tomorrow 

How to Annoy a Bird or Two

This was really fun (for me), but probably not for the wren. I updated my Audubon iPhone app and found out that the new version not only has all the field guide notes and pictures, but now has bird calls. So,,, by playing the wren calls I found that I could really get some aggressive behaviour out of them. They would fly right up to me, land and get their tails up and take a wild posture. Oh, yeah and give a real case of Stink Eye. Tomorrow, if the lighting is better, I will try for some photos. How to be annoying and have fun at the same time!

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.

Update

Its been quite a time since my last Blog posting. A lot has happened! Spring has finally turned to HOT summer (it seems). The yard work is complete and the gardens planted. The trees have been trimmed and the flowers are coming up. I figured I would take a break and compute.

Our eldest grandson graduated this spring. That meant 4 days in Red Deer enjoying the event. He is off to Red Deer University in the fall. Its close to home and the living is good

 

Our bird houses were cleaned out and put back up. I put them on 2 foot galvanized pipe on top of the fence posts to discourage our neighbours cat. We will see if that works or not. So far we have a House Wren settled in. She is not spooky at all. 

House Wren

Also we have a Black Capped Chickadee in the nest at the peak of the garage. Smart bird! No cats will get up there. The male is bringing food to her, so perhaps she has already laid eggs.



Black Capped Chickadee

The other nests are being fought over by two pairs of Tree Swallows. We will see how that works out! Hopefully, your yard or acreage is bloom!







Spring Outing

I decided to take a bit of a walk/drive today. The bush is drying up and the critters are starting to move around. The Whitetail Deer look healthy.

I suspect there were a couple of fawns near by, but I didn't want to disturb them.

Some of them were hard to pick out. They blend right in.

There are still a few single geese around. Not a lot of other birds have arrived back yet. Due to the weather, I figure they are about a month behind normal.

 

Spring Flooding

With the warm weather comes the break-up of ice on the Athabasca River. We made the national news with the flooding this year, the worst in 4 decades. The ice piled on the shore at the confluence of the McLeod and Athabasca Rivers gives some idea of how high the water was, and the power of the water. The boat launch is slightly unusable for a while!

On the Athabasca itself, ice and debris was piled high. The roads were closed to the major flooded area, so I was limited the dams that broke.

Here is a picture of a slough that was full of ice forced in by the Athabasca. I have taken lots of pictures in this area in the past.

 The walking trail was ice choked and impassible!

A Quick Update

Our snow has almost gone! The last two weeks have been spent cleaning up outside.


The patio furniture has been unstacked, washed and placed into the summer position.


The garage has been cleaned out of all the winter accumulation and junk, including the multi pounds of sand that came in with the cars.


The fruit trees have all been pruned back, including our ornamental crab apple. I took about 1/3 of the branches off it as it was getting very scraggly looking.


The dog, Daphne has me trained in two walks a day for a total of about 6 miles. It is much better now that the snow is gone and it is warm.

Even with a sprained foot (mine) she insisted on her walks. It was funny in that I went to get it x-rayed, due to the possibility of a bone in the foot being broken then the next day, rolled it again. The foot swelling went done, but I cant find my ankle bone.

We did get out for some bush walks. Read this as soaked, cold and very miserable walking. I managed to find most trails flooded, but Daphne insisted. She rules, you know. Nobody ever told her that she was a dog! Anyway I did find this critter. He/she was just out of hibernation and a little ratty looking. I had to chase her about 100 meters before she would stop

 and take a picture. As you can see, she was not very happy! I stayed just out of spray range.

I was looking for shots of skunks for about years. Patience is great!

Finally!

After 167 days of being below 0C or 32F, we have crossed over, I hope. It was +10C today and I got out with the camera to see what has developed on the river.
There were lots of Mallards hanging around and taking it easy. It almost looks like they have paired up already.

There were plenty of drake Buffleheads also with just a few females.

There were a lot more Canada Geese also. They are definitely paired!

This one was displaying some territorial behaviour!

Its not an iceberg, just left over ice in the river.

Two Common Goldeneyes.

 Across the river was a flock of sea gulls resting up with two guardians

All in all, it was a great hour!

Yep, Its Spring in Whitecourt!

You would never know it though. We have had a major dump of snow almost twice a week. We are also running out of places to put the stuff!

I am thankful that my snow blower didn't sell as I have used it more times this winter than in the previous 5 years. 

I did take Daphne down to the river this afternoon. We did not go far because the snow made tough walking



 The major purpose was to see how the geese were doing, and to play out Daphne with the Kong on a Rope.

 There were lots of geese, mostly sleeping in the shallows or on shore. More than one must be wondering why they came back so soon!

Happy Easter Everybody!

It Doesnt Matter....

That we are about to get 10 to 20 cm of snow by the weekend. The geese have declared that it is spring!

 There is not a lot of open water on the Athabasca yet, but I guess its enough, at least for a rest

 A few Goldeneyes have also appeared. I don't think these were the ones that over wintered

 All in all, its nice to see the birds coming back. It gives hope that winter is coming to an end!

Happy Spring! Finally!

Today, I found a new arrival, a Merganser!

There were a few more Mallards also

 Stretching and preening after a long flight

Welcome back!