nature photography – Page 9

Saturday Snapshot Nov. 29: Brrr… arred

It’s -24C now as I type, and it’s not even winter yet.

I haven’t ventured out to the woods in such temperatures. But I’m happy to report that a few days ago, I made a couple of first-time sightings. The title is a big hint. I’ve posted The Great Horned Owl before, but never this one. This is the first time I see…

A Barred Owl:

Here’s the sequence how it (not sure if she/he) turns its head almost 180 degrees from left to right:

The Barred Owl has been described as ‘handsome’, with ‘soulful’ eyes. I’d say this one looks ghostly, or, a bit like a colourless Russian Doll. It blends so well with the bare branches under the dull, grey sky.

Another first for me is spotting the American Three-toed Woodpecker. It was high up on a spruce tree, so couldn’t actually count the number of toes. But, from its plumage I knew I’d just seen something relatively rare, for us anyway.

I can ID her from her barred ‘laddered’ back, black wings, and the lighter-barred sides. It’s a female because the male would have a yellow cap on his crown. Now that would be more photogenic with a spot of colour in a black-and-white landscape, but I’m glad just the same:

The head is blurry because she was pecking away.

Not a colourful collection of photos but my wish was fulfilled with this part of the woods, sighting two new (for me) species of birds for which I’ve been searching these past weeks, upon tips from other birders. Another amazing evidence of the richness of life in the woods even when shrouded in cold and grey.

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

All Photos in this Post Taken by

Arti of Ripple Effects

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Saturday Snapshot November 22: The Woods are Lovely Still

How a couple of weeks have changed the whole landscape. The Boreal forest that’s my neck of the woods has turned into a winter wonderland.

Cattails in the late afternoon light:

Snow may cover the ground, the woods are lovely still, teeming with life.

Official greeter, The Red Squirrel:

Winter’s friendly ambassador. Take a bow:

But this baby deer doesn’t look too happy… of course, where’s mama?

A Red-breasted Nuthatch, beautiful against the evening sun:

A seed in the beak is better than two in the snow:

Seed or no seed, this Pileated Woodpecker is busy pecking up the right tree:

But the most fascinating of all is my discovery of a Snowy Koala, a rare sighting indeed:

I’d rather be Down Under taking photos of his cousins, but this little tree hugger just made my wintry day more bearable.

The woods are lovely, still.

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

All Photos in this post taken by Arti of Ripple Effects

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Saturday Snapshot Nov. 8: Those that stay

Not everyone loves hot weather. Sure there are many who migrate to warmer climates, but there are also those who stay here above the 49th Parallel, at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

A walk through the woods in the last couple of days allowed me to check out who my winter friends are. I say friends because, for some of them, they would fly straight to me, greeting and calling. Yes, I know, they all want treats. But hey, not many choose to stay. So, for those that do, they deserve a free lunch.

Here are some of my winter pals. We’re in it together, come snow and storm in the coming weeks and months. The Black-capped Chickadee:

The White-breasted Nuthatch, like the Chickadees, official greeters whenever I visit:

So, a treat for you all:

Female Downy Woodpecker:

The Red Squirrel:

Red Squirel Breakfast time

Of course, there are those who’d want to strike out on their own:

The elusive Blue Jay. Yes I hear their calls all the time, but very hard to actually get a photo:

Here’s a Red-breasted Nuthatch in the evening light:

But my greatest catch is this. From afar, a gigantic furry ball high on a tree:

I thot I thaw a pussy cat, but when he turned his head 180 degrees, almost, then I knew what I thaw was a Great Horned Owl! I’ve followed an Owl Family for a few years now, always thought they fly to warmer places in the winter.

Of course, he didn’t care for my free lunch of sunflower seeds. Looks like he’s captured his prey, keeping it close by his side, uh… looks like a squirrel. His look speaks volumes. I know, I should have brought a bigger lunch:

I can see there are lots of winter birding adventures ahead.

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY ARTI OF RIPPLE EFFECTS

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Here are posts on the Great Horned Owl Family I’ve been stalking every Spring:

The Parents

The Babies

Saturday Snapshot November 1: One Fine Day

Yes, it’s still fall. Other than the snow storm we had in early September, we have been getting relatively fine weather, considering it’s November already.

Just two days ago, it was one fine, fall day. The temperature reached 13C (55F) when I took these photos, which is very warm for us, especially with the sun bursting in full force. Joggers were wearing shorts and T-shirts.

The glorious golden yellow has changed to brown now, and tree branches are bare…

but the sun remains the unwavering source of light and warmth:

and the river as blue as ever, matching the clear, open sky:

Gulls linger, who’d want to fly south with weather like this?

At the pond, these Canada Geese agree. Just hanging out for a while longer:

Too comfy here, this Bonaparte’s Gull is not flying away any time soon:

Nor the Lesser Scaup:

Mrs. Mallard is having so much fun here… I don’t want to go, she yelps:

And I add my voice, don’t leave just yet.

We’re not going anywhere, Dear, Mr. Mallard assures her.

Cool. Let’s get cold together.

*Note: The Mallards are some of the birds I still see in the colder months. With others who stay, they make winter a bit more enjoyable.

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

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ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY ARTI OF RIPPLE EFFECTS

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Saturday Snapshot October 18: Unknown Subjects

As a birder who has just barely passed the novice level, my code of operation when I go on nature hikes is to shoot first, ask questions later. Especially for birds, I must point and shoot in the nick of time. When I get home, I’ll have lots of time to find out what it is that I’ve captured.

The resulting effect is… I’ve accumulated many unknown subjects.

Ignorance is no bliss when it comes to appreciating nature. Could you help me then in identifying some of them… You who are living in the warmer south among flowers and trees, birds and bees, fruits and fungi.

First off, what happened to this tree trunk and what are these growing out of it?

And for fruits, I can only identify them by their colours. But I’m sure they all have a name. Here are the red berries:

white berries:

purple berries:

and these orange ones like strings of Christmas lights hanging on the branches,

Here’s a close-up of these succulent orange berries:

What is this creature? A centipede? Name? I can’t make head or tail out of it, which side is which:

Or this unknown bird that I’d stalked but could not get closer before it flew away. It walked most of the time…

Here’s another unidentified flying subject taking off:

Or a name for these fungi:

… knowledge is bliss when it comes to appreciating nature.

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

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All Photos Taken by Arti of Ripple Effects

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Saturday Snapshot Oct. 11: Shades of Yellow

In last week’s Saturday Snapshot I mentioned that yellow was our fall default colour. Sure I’d like to see more spectacular red, but yellow is by no means a uniform colour. Recently I’ve been savouring the various shades of yellow, a sumptuous visual feast.

A lighter shade of yellow:

Rusty yellow against solid blue:

Wabi-sabi yellow, see the half-fallen tree on top, aftermath of the snow storm:

Faraway yellow in the morning mist:

Close-up yellow back lit:

Yellow against dark green coniferous:

Luminous deciduous delight:

Everywhere I turn, I’m seeing yellow… even kayaks and canoes rise to the occasion:

As a birder, I was delighted to spot a yellow rump amidst yellow leaves:

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY ARTI OF RIPPLE EFFECTS

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Saturday Snapshot Oct. 4: Autumn

Living in the Prairies, I don’t get to see the kaleidoscope of Autumn colours as the East or the West coast. The fall plethora of fiery red foliage remains only a longing. Indeed, an Autumn road trip through the New England states has yet to be realized.

The default colour here is golden yellow with a dash of rusty orange. While less dramatic, I do feel a personal connection. I’ve learned to appreciate our Autumn… simple, crisp and clear, minimal glamour, not ostentatious. Above all else, we always have the big blue sky.

After attending TIFF in Toronto, I came home to the aftermath of a debilitating snowstorm. Power down, trails closed, thousands of trees destroyed. That was only the first week of September.

Broken…

and bent. A Wabi-sabi moment:

Autumn eventually shows its beautiful side… golden leaves spread like wild fire:

Blue and yellow go well together:

Canada Geese take their leave:

This young buck feels right at home:

But a most delightful find for me is spotting a host of Yellow-rumped Warblers still lingering at the pond, albeit the next day when I went back there, they were gone:

Here’s one munching on a bug:

This one a little camera shy:

How do I know they are Yellow-rumped Warbler? Here it is… the yellow rump:

With this my first sighting of the Yellow-rumped Warblers—albeit hard to capture in photos—I’ve had a fruitful harvest.

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

ALL PHOTOS on this post taken by Arti of Ripple Effects.

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The Yellow Warbler

The Mountain Blue Bird

The Western Tanager

Saturday Snapshot September 20: Ward’s Island

My ten-day trip to Toronto was not only about films. I brought along my camera and my ‘birding lens’, hoping to catch some birds in migration. Before I left, I read about the hotspots for birding on Ward’s Island, and printed some pages off the Internet.

Ward’s Island is just a 15-minute ferry ride south from the Toronto Harbourfront. As soon as I got off the boat, I realized I’d forgotten to bring along the birding pages. Why was I not surprised? No matter, without the guide sheets, I was in for a fresh exploration and a mental exercise in information retrieval. So much the better.

It turned out that the first week of September happened to be a little too early for bird migration. Temperature is also a factor. The day I visited the island, it was 30C (86F). But instead of birds, I did take some photos on that piece of tranquility a stone throw from the busy metropolis.

The Toronto skyline viewed from Ward’s Island:

The Boardwalk along the periphery of Lake Ontario:

House boat or was it boat house on the canal… serene and reclusive:

I’ve never been to Monet’s flower gardens at Giverny, but I can imagine it looking at the canal. Just like to name these photos the Monet Effects:

Ok, don’t rub it in. I appreciate the irony. But here’s the interesting thing: Look carefully and you’ll see the reflection is sharper than the subject, use ‘Chaos’ as the guiding light.

When I was just about given up on photographing birds, I sat down at the outdoor garden of The Island Café near the pier and had my breakfast. And what did I see? My very first sighting of Monarch Butterflies!

The Monarch 3

The Monarch, more than enough to compensate for my lack of bird sightings. A new burst of enthusiasm led me to retrace my steps along the canal to look more carefully for birds, but thanks to some overzealous fire ants successfully targeting my feet, I had to retreat after spending a fruitful four hours on Ward’s Island. A half day of total serenity.

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

Photos in this post taken by Arti of Ripple Effects, September, 2014.
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Saturday Snapshot August 16: Serendipitous Supermoon

Again, it was pure serendipity. I was driving by a natural area on my way home last Sunday, August 10, when I just casually looked out my side window. The moon was mesmerizing. I did not have my camera with me, but I knew I needed to stop and capture the moment.

I parked my car along the road, got out and took these photos using my iPhone. I’m posting them just as they are, with no editing.

At 9:20 p.m.

9:21 p.m.

9:23 p.m.

Interesting, isn’t it? The sky seemed to have brightened as time passed.

Here’s the view as I turned around, the ‘opposite side’ of the evening sky:

Only after I got home and watched the news did I realize that was the Supermoon, the brightest celestial beauty we could see this summer. That night, the moon was up to 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than a regular full moon.

And with this, I suddenly realized something … Serendipity is more likely to come to those who are uninformed. No wonder they say ignorance is bliss.

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY ARTI OF RIPPLE EFFECTS.

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Saturday Snapshot August 9: Small is Beautiful

In my last Saturday Snapshot, I posted my serendipitous sighting of a Pelican. One of the largest flying birds, the Pelican has a wingspan of 9 feet, and some weigh close to 30 pounds. The Pelican can fly, amazing at 30 pounds; a butterfly can fly too, equally amazing at 0.5 gram, wingspan averaging 5 cm. I’d love to see the Monarch butterfly. They don’t come by here. Maybe I’ll be able to see some one day when I travel to the east coast. Aren’t they just as mind-boggling? Flying as many as 2,000 miles in migration with such a minuscule body? Where do they put their GPS? Something even smaller… What caught my attention are the two seeds like stars. How small and delicate they look compared to the dragonfly: Here’s another kind of small. Succulent, plump and colourful. Real food for the birds, imaginary treats for me. Don’t they look like round scoops of ice cream? And the small songbirds in the woods are my favourites. This House Wren is not adorned with bright colours, but a closer look at the different layers of down and feathers you can see the various shades of colours and pattern. And this juvenile looks charming to me: Yes, the Pelican is majestic, mesmerizing when it flies. But a tiny Yellow Warbler can make my day too. Looks like the feeling is mutual:

I don’t get to see a Pelican everyday, but these tiny creatures can tide me over till the next serendipity.

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. Click Here to see what others have posted.

ALL PHOTOS iN THIS POST TAKEN BY ARTI OF RIPPLE EFFECTS.

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Saturday Snapshot July 26: Serendipity

It has always been one of my favourite words, serendipity. But now, I love it even more.

While birding in the woods a few days ago, I saw in the not too distant sky a huge bird slowly gliding. I remember two words conjured up in my mind: mythical, and mystical. I was trying to decide which one was more apt to describe my sighting. It looked like a crane or maybe a swan; my imagination at that instant had just gone haywire with excitement.

She (or he) glided gracefully, lowering and finally landing somewhere, disappearing from my view. With my stalking instinct automatically kicked into overdrive, I made a 400 m. dash and lo and behold, found a little stormwater pond behind a grassy berm, a pond I was not aware of before.

What I saw was magical. Swimming slowly on the serene water was this calm and solitary Pelican, a huge contrast to the exuberant paparazzo nearby, huffing and puffing behind the bushes:

I watched her quietly … preening:

Gulping down her lunch. She dipped her beak into the water and came up with her prey. I could see the shape of a fish in her large pouch; the next second it was gone, swallowed up whole:

After some time, she suddenly decided to take off. The following sequence was probably the most rewarding for any nature paparazzo:

I later found out that the American White Pelican is one of the largest birds in North America. Averaging about 16 pounds, but some grow to as large as 30 pounds. They are among the heaviest flying birds in the world. Their 9-foot wing span, snowy white body and contrasting black wing tip give them their majestic look and graceful flight in the sky. They are gregarious, hanging out in groups.

That’s why I love my serendipitous find even more, a solitary Pelican, quiet and serene, and not along the ocean shore, but right in my neck of the woods at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted. In addition, this is also a Weekend Reflections post. CLICK HERE to see other reflections.

All Photos on this post are taken by Arti of Ripple Effects, July, 2014.

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Saturday Snapshot July 12: Love Is In The Air

At first I thought, “how interesting, two dragonflies piggybacking.” Not until I got home and loaded my photos did I realize what sort of sequence I’d shot:

Definitely more affective than just practising for the Cirque du Soleil:

Love is in the air, can it be more obvious?

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

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Photos on this post taken by Arti of Ripple Effects, July 2014.
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