Rondeau Ric

A bench for people with REALLY long legs. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Your Wednesday smile.

Happy Easter Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur

Bad moon rising Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur The moon came up over Lake Erie in Technicolor. A half hour later it was bright white

Spring in the sloughs Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur he frogs are out in their thousands calling for a mate. The sound is amazingly loud.. A slough (slew) is a feature of Rondeau Provincial Park. The park has ridges, sand bars that are now above water, and troughs - sloughs. Different vegitation grows on the bars - dry roots, than in the troughs which are usually wet.

BEHAVE! or I'll sit on your head. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur This is a blue penguin with a chick at a private preserve. For a fee they take you around in covered trenches, so you don't disturb the birds. This was the only chick we saw in New Zealand.

Gross Out Alert Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Original title "Tastes Like Chicken" This is the bald eagle from the raptor show at Rondeau last weekend. It was snack time and the handler fed it a quail leg. A bit gruesome but interesting.

Enraptured with a raptor. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur As part of the Wings of Spring Festival held at Rondeau Provincial Park, The Friends brought in a raptor show. This included a barn owl, bald eagle and a Harris hawk. People were allowed to touch the owl and hawk but not the eagle. The children were fascinated.

Start them young Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur it is our best chance to help the environment. This past weekend was the Wings of Spring Festival at Rondeau Provincial Park. For the first time in 6 years we had good weather AND birds. Usually the if we get reasonable weather we don't have birds and if we have birds the weather is wet and wild. The Friends of Rondeau had two viewing stations set up and we had a reasonable number of people stop by including this young enthusiast.

White breasted nuthatch with a chestnut belly. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Put up a small suet feeder and this nuthatch as the first to check it out. Love the colour on the belly.

Just as the swallows return to Capistrano Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur So do the Tundra Swans and waterfowl return to Rondeau. Hundreds of tundra swans have been sitting on Rondeau Bay, near the shore and the weather has been sunny and seasonally warm. The Wings of Spring festival is being held at Rondeau Provincial Park this weekend, March 20 and 21. Viewing stations with spotting scopes will be set up along the bay, in the Park. On Saturday a raptor show will be held at 1.00 pm. Also there is a craft show and bird house building for children, plus other activities. If you come, look me up, I’ll be manning one of the scopes both days. Take exit 101 off the 401 and follow the signs to the park

The boys Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur We are adopting 2 males from the local humane society. Maggie the Warbling Cat seems to be lonely. We will see what happens. They came in as a pair and we don't want to see them separated. They are being neutered Thursday and we pick them up next Monday.

VACANCY Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Priority given to returning customers. The heron nests on Rondeau Bay are still empty. Maybe this is the empty nest syndrome.

The Sunday Paper Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur The Queen and Al Qaeda? Headlines and photos don't necessarily go together. I did a double take on this one.

Handyman Special Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur A real fixer upper. This barn has been falling down in slow motion for years. I guess it finally got tired of fighting gravity.

Handyman Special Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur A real fixer upper. This barn has been falling down in slow motion for years. I guess it finally got tired of fighting gravity.

Come on in, the water's fine Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur If the road and the trail are washed out wouldn't that mean you are going for a swim?

Manly Removals Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur as compared to those Wimpy Movers. Amazing the differences in the English language. Supposedly England, Canada, United States, New Zealand and Australia all speak the same language. Another thing, to get the operator in New Zealand you dial 010, I think. never did get through. In north america we have movers, sown under the have removers.

Summertime Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur when the livin is easy... Coming soon to a season near you

Alice's White Squirrel Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur You've heard of Alice's White Rabbit, you know the one who was late, but have you heard of the white squirrel? He wasn't late, just gathering nuts and he ran into a hole in the tree. Alas, Alice followed the rabbit and the rest is history.

Another reason to avoid the dentist Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Wasn't it bad enough just going to the dentist? Evidently you can legal cause bodily harm. Who knew?

It's important to get your vegetables. Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur I saw this squirrel eating his carrot last week. Good eye sight is important.

Watching for the longear Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur Lets see if I can balance on this tiny tree in the middle of a snow storm. After we found the longeared owl we saw this hawk on the way out. Not as skittish as usual, it got to about 20 feet before it flew. Hawks and owls don't get along. Maybe he was watching for the longeared too.

Darwin at work Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur I really like the attitude in New Zealand. They tell you there is a hazard and then you are on your own. If you are stupid enough to ignore the sign, please leave a marker on the trail so we know where to find your body. No point in littering the country side.

Looking for Longear Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur A friend gave us the directions to the location of a group of long-eared owls. This was a life bird for both of us and the photo was just a bonus.

DIVE!! Originally uploaded by ricmcarthur While in Toronto I went out with I.P.S. and makeupanid. At Humber Park East we had bufflehead in close. Once I got home I realized I could see this male under the water. Snow, sleet, rain, repeat. It still was a fun day. Thanks to Ian, Anne and I got to see longeared owls. Life bird for both of us. I'll post those later in the week. The bufflehead - is one of the scarcest ducks in North America - has a courtship display that includes a "water-skiing" posture that displays the feet as well as the plumage - stores up to 115 g of fat—more than a quarter of its body weight—as fuel for the migration flight - is the only tree-nesting duck small enough to use the nest holes of Flickers