It’s time for Nightjar’s next chapter.
We have reached the top of the East Hill and so has this weevil, which found the perfect place to sunbathe. There aren’t many insects around this time of the year (November), visiting in spring or summer would certainly be better for insect watching purposes.
©Nightjar, all rights reserved
©voyager, all rights reserved
Yesterday’s walk by the river was a little more challenging than I bargained for so today Jack and I chose an easier walk and went to our quiet little path in the forest. This spot is another of my happy places. Ive been coming here for 15 years, initially with our first dog Lucy and then adding Jack to our pack. I know every bend of the path, each tree and stump and if I close my eyes I can walk the entire path in my mind. I know where the trilliums grow and the special spots where the red trilliums hide. I’ve walked this path with only the light of the moon and my every sense was heightened, I know it in each season, the ebb and flow of green, white, yellow, orange and red. I’ve watched young trees grow strong and old trees grow weak and I grieved the year that 18 grandmother trees toppled together from the weight of ice. It’s familiar and a comfort and today it was a welcome break from being a voyageur.
Preening Ibises from Lofty.
©Lofty, all rights reserved
I would totally have tried to get that feather later.
©voyager, all rights reserved
Jack and I put on our voyageur berets this morning and went hunting for beavers in the wetlands of Canada. The morning air was frosty and a constant westerly wind bit at our cheeks as it blew past us. Conditions on the ground were challenging with large muddy areas lightly covered by a wafer thin sheet of snow and ice that easily buckled under the weight of the dog. We picked our way upstream with me slipping and sliding and Jack looking anxiously over his shoulder to make sure I was still upright. We didn’t get too far though when the route became clogged with tangled brush and reeds that ultimately forced us to retrace our steps in retreat. I think we were getting close to the lodge in this area. We found several gnawed trees and a whole patch of gnawed off saplings. At first, I thought the sapling patch would lead straight to the den, but nope. The beavers haven’t set up shop here, but I think they’re close by. Maybe tomorrow we’ll try the other bank of the river to see if we can get farther.
Well nested, ©voyager, all rights reserved
This tree sits at the crossroad of several paths and is obviously well-favoured by some type of smallish bird. Jack and I pass this way often, but we’ve never seen an actual bird here only the nests. Maybe the birds are tucked up inside or maybe they’re out searching for food or maybe they’ve gone to Florida and won’t return until spring. We’ll keep looking, but something tells me I won’t see birds here any time soon.
A Zitting Cisticola from Nightjar, for the need of blue skies
©Nightjar, all rights reserved
It looks a bit like a duckling that flew too high.
©Nightjar, all rights reserved
©Nightjar, all rights reserved
©Nightjar, all rights reserved
Even my favorite resting spot seems uninviting today. ©voyager, all rights reserved
The warm, welcome sunshine of yesterday has given way to dark and gloomy skies today. It’s hard to tell what time it is outside because it always looks the same. There isn’t even any grainy mist or fog to enhance the mood. It didn’t seem worth going back to the river because the ground is still muddy so Jack and I went exploring around the neighbourhood instead. I hope it gets colder soon (wow, I can’t believe I just said that!) because I think I know which direction the beaver den is, but I need firmer ground to get there. It’s winter. In Canada. It’s supposed to be cold.
The mark of the Eager Beaver, ©voyager, all rights reserved
Jack and I went down to the river today looking for beavers, but we didn’t have any luck. It was just too difficult to get off the path because the area is quite boggy right now. I fell 3 times (I’m dirty, but OK) before I finally decided to try again another day. We did see evidence of beavers, though, including this tree that some eager beaver started to gnaw and then abandoned. Maybe he’s coming back with a few friends to help. That looks like a mighty big tree for a single beaver to fell, even if it is an eager beaver.
I could have sworn i had scheduled these for last Monday, but they did not appear. There isn’t even a draft, which is something WordPress saves about every 30 seconds. the only explanation i have is that yes, actually dreamed it.
Yet the pics already have tags and alt text, so I’m going to blame it on WordPress eating the post.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
©Giliell, all rights reserved
©Giliell, all rights reserved
Molli did not want to hold still for a pic.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
Sunshine at last, ©voyager, all rights reserved
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine headin’ my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
We have many wonderful reader contributions which I’ll post the next week (no, I haven’t forgotten those). For now it’s the rest of the birds that I met walking through a Winter Wonderland.
On the first day I walked past a shrubbery that is always full of birds, but as we were approaching they all flew away, but all in a certain direction. Some landed in that shrubbery and then took off as well. we soon spotted the reason for this:
©Giliell, all rights reserved
It’s a common buzzard, but they are not frequent in this particular area as it offers little space for soaring.
Walking further we then saw our usual small friends.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
I cannot quite decide between sparrow and lady chaffinch with the back and tail being hidden.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
Crows are always slightly out of focus, I’m afraid.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
Or hiding.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
Or leaving.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
But you can always count on the tits.
One of the secret to great tit pics is to feed them well. You can buy “tit balls”, but for several reasons I prefer to make my own.
The first is that they are relatively expensive, costing around 30 to 50 ct apiece. More importantly, they are usually in a green plastic mesh that can get lost and end up in nature. They’re quick and easy to make, so if you want to try your hand at them, here’s how to.
I use some silicone baking forms for this. the small Gugelhupf forms are the best, since they have a hole in the middle already, but I only have four of them. Standard muffin forms work nicely as well. What you absolutely need is some ring as a centre for the suet to stick to, otherwise they will fall apart after the first pecks. I just use some rattan, but anything goes.
I just fill them halfway with birdseed and then add the ring.
Those that don’t have something to form a hole need something to make that, otherwise hanging them up gets difficult. I use some straws or an ice cream stick.
Birdseed popsicles
Finally I just fill them with suet. Don’t be shy, the birds won’t mind some extra. Now all I have to do is wait for them to get hard again and the next two weeks are covered.
Filled up with important winter calories.
I know there are controversions about whether or not to feed birds in winter, but one undeniable advantage is that we get a lot of organic fertiliser…
©voyager, all rights reserved
We had sunshine today! It didn’t last long and by the time Jack and I got outside it had gone behind the clouds again, but I saw it. And it was a grand, blinking beacon of hope in the long tunnel of winter. This photo was taken at Pittock Lake. It’s part of a water management system and the water level in the lake is lowered every year over the winter. During the rest of the year the water line is up near the trees. Normally what little water remains in January is frozen over, but so far not much has been normal about this winter. You can just see the dam on the horizon line at the right.