Rondeau Ric

Blue on green , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Dragonflies are amazing to watch. A little like hummingbirds, they can hover,backup and fly with incredible manoeuvrability. Their colours are interesting as well.

White throated sparrow. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. As far as bird names go this one is fairly accurate. It does have white stripes on its head and yellow eye brows (yellow lores) but the bright white throat is the main filed identifier for me. zonotrichia albicollis

Long-billed Curlew , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. I just love the bill on this bid. The bill can be up to 8 1/2 inches long. Numenius americanus

Northern pintail , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. This is one of the easier ducks to identify. It does have long thin pin feathers in breeding plumage. An easier id is the white line going up the side of the neck. Anas acuta

Tree kangaroo , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. This is one of many species of tree kangaroos in Australia. We were lucky enough to find this one up a tree. Looks odd up there doesn't he?

PAradise shell duck chicks , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. This is an older photo from our trip to New Zealand in 2009. We found a family of shell ducks working a shallow stream along the roadside. The parents were nearby and were paying close attention to their brood.

Northern saw-whet owl , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. A friend found this saw-whet roosting in a tree in the campground at Rondeau Provincial Park. He must have investigated every pine tree becuase this owl was very well hidden and difficult to photograph. He was looking at something of to the right so I couldn't get a full face shot. aegolius acadicus

The Buck stopped here. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. This is probably the largest deer we have seen in the park and certainly the largest seen from the yard. He casually feed while keeping an eye on the cottage. Seen through the wonderful wildlife window.

Tiger swallowtail. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. After a week of grey skies, high winds and rain I felt the need for some colour.

White winged cross bill , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. While this is not a great photo it does show the various field marks including the wing bars yellow batch on the rump and the crossed bill. Taken through a dirty window in poor light. Loxia leucoptera

Full of evening grosbeaks , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. We have had an influx of evening grosbeaks today. We had two or three earlier in the week. They don't come into our area often however this seems to be one of the times. Taken through the dirty double pained wonderful wildlife window in poor light. All in all not to bad. coccothraustes vespertinus

Every morning my human scrapes the fur off his face. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. He's funny that way. I admit that this is plagiarism. I saw the wording on a bill board somewhere and couldn't resist using it.

Does not play well with others. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. days

The trees were leaking colour all over the road , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. It always seems to be such a waste that all that colour is used up in a few weeks. The aftermath is months of greys and browns.

On the beach , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. I took turtle researchers out on a quiet summers day. We were able to beach the boat so the could access the areas they were studying. It usually isn't this calm on the south beach at Rondeau so it was a treat for me to be able to leave the boat and watch the researchers. Normally I stay with the boat the entire time.

Hermit Thrush , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Another fall visitor to our little pond. We have had two at the same time and there are probably more in the area. Catharus guttatus

A pound and a half of butter butts , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. One of the nick names for yellow rumped warblers is butter butt because of the big yellow patch just above the tail. We have been swarmed by yellow rumps for the past week. At times they take over the pond and nothing else comes in.

Altamira Oriole , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. We saw these gorgeous birds when we were in Texas last winter. I am partially colour blind but I can still see the intensity of colour on this bird. Icterus gularis

Well, I guess we will find out. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Whether pigs can fly. I mistyped whether as wether. Turns out a wether is a castrated ram. Who knew?

Ring-necked duck , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. I've not seen the ring aroung the neck. It does have a ring around its bill. So, why isn't it the ringed bill duck? Aythya collaris Peaked head, dark back, pale spur on sides behind neck, gray on the sides