Some Jay glory

Winter is gone. In actual fact it never did quite arrive and Spring just waltzed in. But this seems to have completely confused all my precious flora and fauna. The blue jays for one were around all winter and now they are here in flocks. 

The best way to lure Jays - peanuts!

 

I usually wait with much anticipation in early May for the beautiful blue creatures, but they got here a few weeks ago. Or, like I said, probably never left. I wonder what this means for them? Anyhow, this little post is not so much a musing of their plight but more of my efforts to take pictures of them in all their glory. 

The picture that started it all, I am going to be working on this for a while

It is a work in progress, and I am scouring the website for any information their might be in my efforts to photograph them in flight. 

Eerie landing shots - I kind of like the effect of the contrasting shades

This must be accomplished with my limited paraphernalia as I simply refuse to spend money on anything other than essentials right now. If you must know it is more out of need than a matter of principle. 

My personal favourite

I am also for once quite grateful for technological advancement, and digital cameras in particular. I snapped nearly 198 shots, that with a film camera would have cost me an arm and a leg, perhaps even my head in the current climes! Not to mention I will not be posting this for at least another month.

Just look at the form, the colours...

I love birds, fuzzy sleepy heads, angry faces and all, but I do believe they are most beautiful doing what we admire them most for, flying. Perhaps we will all look our best if we were doing what we are all meant to be doing. Pity it isn't as simple for us humans to figure out with the slightly more evolved brains.

Speaking of hummingbirds

If there is one thing I would like to do before I die (actually there is plenty I would like to do before I die) it would be to take a national geographic quality picture of a hummingbird. I won't do much with it, perhaps post it on a blog, if blogs exist until then and frame and hang it up for myself. Sometimes you just do things because you want to do it...no need for rhyme or reason.

This is one of my early efforts to photograph the smallest bird ever to flit around this beautiful planet. Squint a little and tilt your head slightly to the left and you should see the bird. I will try and work on it more this Summer so you won't have to squint or work out your left from right.

Cedar Waxwings

It is always fantastic to spot a bird you've never seen in the wild before. I am getting rather good at spotting new species of birds, if I may say so myself. Here's proof of the flock of cedar waxwings we saw over the weekend. 

My first ever picture of a cedar waxwing

 The pictures are misleading, it did take a 300mm zoom and some editing to see them as clearly.

They were quite restless, there was a fair bit of human traffic where we were so they kept flitting about. I never quite got a look at the red tips older birds have on the wings. I have to assume that they were all young.

Tad windy there!

I also managed a few shots of their so called amazing aeronautic capabilities. If I could I would have sat their all afternoon watching these beautiful creatures. 

Just look at the pattern on their tails!

 

Soaring weekend

The weekend we put the clocks forward is always tiring, at least since the Offspring arrived. We also pushed our luck with him a bit trying to get a few things done which ended in a scream fest, but all in all it turned out to be a half decent weekend.

To be honest I have to force myself to remember what we did because everything is overshadowed by the fabulous pictures (by my standards/capabilities) I got of my feathred friends. Looks like I don't have to entirely give up on wildlife photography, I just have to be more realistic and perhaps happy with one grand shot for a season.

Sunday morning, lounging in the backyard with my little monkey eating 'snack' and sipping tea we spotted a red-tailed hawk. Not easy to photograph and not with an excited little boy at my feet. This was the end result, not as sharp, but you can identify it. We need to take care of these guys because according to my bird book they have thinning egg shells, a sign that we have too much pesticides in this area. I will stick to my garlic and vinegar in our yard this summer

I did meet yet another fabulous bird, will post as soon as I get the chance to go through hundred odd pictures to pick the best ones!

So much for the calendar

Last winter I was counting down to Spring, desperate for warmer weather. It had been a nasty one, we had all been ill throughout and it was a trying time in general. As always I waited for the robins, and they finally showed up in mid-March. This year, they arrived in mid-February!

American Robin

For once I was not waiting for the robins, I know not to look for them until the ground is beginning to thaw, but the poor dears are here. I wonder what could have brought them back so early? It is not yet Spring, definitely not. What is making these birds think that Spring will be here soon? They are working with a different calendar to what we have. Humans are so out of sync that I am worried about the planet, the changing climate and what it means for the world my son will live in.

It isn't just the robins, the red-winged black bird is here. I saw an American goldfinch today, not yet quite the fabulous gold, but they are here, still in their shabby winter plumage. I am keeping the feeder filled and hoping they survive the next couple of weeks before the world warms up a tad for us.

American Goldfinch enjoying some catmint

What is even more shocking to me is that my tulips are coming up. The crocuses are pushing through, but to see tulips in March in Toronto is not normal. Ah well, while concerned, my heart did skip a happy beat at the sight of the bulbs pushing through.

First of the crocus in 2011

Blue

I love Blue, just all shades of blue. Since I am pressed for time to play with words, I figured I would share with you some recent pictures of this handsome bird.

This is the most I have seen of these fellas in the autumn. A feeder is a great way to meet them while they are in transit. Sadly they have sent my smaller visitors flying. Blue jays are very territorial.

We're almost there

Spring is almost here folks! I am not basing this on calendars, the groundhog or the weather person. My most reliable source, the American Robin, arrived two days ago. At first I thought it might be the random one that had come back, but I have seen them two days in a row and now I hear them singing.

American Robin

I made a few lame attempt at using my new 300mm to record the arrival of the first of my migratory feathered friends. I might have to lift weights to steady the arm if I want to keep using this lens!

Resident Mrs Cardinal 

And off they'll go!

It seems like Mrs MD has increased her reproductive fitness having successfully hatched two broods and her second batch of offspring will soon be off. I am so glad for her and thankful that she provided our offspring with some entertainment.

Mrs MD's second batch of babies.
You can tell by the colour of the leaves that summer left us a while ago.

Mrs MD

You might remember the post about the mourning dove that picked the tree in our front yard to nest this year. She had two chicks and then she was gone. Or so I was told. I was away for a month and couldn't stalk her like I had been doing since she showed up.

Mrs MD with her chicks, they look rather scary

When I returned my neighbour mentioned she was back and calling for her chicks. I knew she was not that stupid. And guess what? She is nesting again!! The best part about it that our toddler is learning to quietly watch her every day and says, "hi biddie." 

I hope "biddie" gets her chicks out of the eggs and is off in good time. It is getting a bit chilly now.

Yay for Mrs Mourning Dove!

Why they are called mourning doves beats me. I love these quiet birds. It is always nice to see them in the yard. They are not pesky like the red-winged black birds or the grackle for that matter. Anyways, my neighbour pointed out a nest Mrs MD had built right in front of our house. She was nesting in a really low branch and seemed quite content when I saw her two days ago and took this picture.

Since then I have checked on her everyday to make sure she was there and hadn't abandoned her babies-to-be. Yesterday I was really concerned for her when the weather guys forecast gale force winds and tornadoes. We had also experienced a teeny bit of seismic activity earlier in the day. So naturally, me being me, was super concerned. When heavy rain woke me up at 4:00 am I actually though of her before I thought of my son sleeping in his room.

Well, she seems to be doing fine and sit sitting pretty. Keep your fingers and toes and whatever else crossed for my Mrs MD.