I live a 10 minute walk from the north end of Mill Creek Ravine Park, so when I need some urban forest trails, that is where I usually go. Occasionally, I see a lone coyote and sometimes I see a pair. Coyotes here are not fond of human gazes. When they see me, and I see them, they watch me warily. Then they walk away … Continue reading Coyote in the snow
When I returned to the yellow warbler nest two days later, on June 25th, it was empty. But the next day, Mrs. Yellow was sitting on her nest! I found a new “viewing tunnel” to take this photo, from an intersecting trail. When I visited on June 28th, Mrs. Yellow was doing some more nest sitting. Photo 1 is from the June 23rd … Continue reading A Yellow Warbler Nest: Part 2
Yay! The two week super chill has left the city! I celebrated by going for a walk through the forest in a balmy -6 ℃. Though I visit the north end of Mill Creek Ravine Park regularly and often hear nuthatches (Red-breasted or White-breasted… I can’t always differentiate their calls), I don’t usually get a good look at them and I rarely get … Continue reading Warmer weather and a Red-breasted Nuthatch
June 23 2018, 10:38 AM. A trail through a ribbon of urban forest on the south of shore of the North Saskatchewan River, in the Edmonton River Valley. I spotted some movement in the forest shrubs. A female Yellow Warbler. She was building a nest! She moved about in the nest for a while, then sat in it as if incubating eggs, testing its fit. … Continue reading A Yellow Warbler Nest: Part 1
Today was my final exam for principles of ecology. The snowshoe hare came up in a few of the exam questions, so I thought this would be a good day to publish a post I started earlier this year and finished a few weeks ago. A little after sunset, on December 9th 2017, the white rabbit appeared, well a hare actually, or more precisely a … Continue reading Last December…
On July 15th, 2017, around 3 PM, I walked along the trail leading to the Cooper’s Hawk nest. The first fledgling I saw was the youngest looking. Another fledgling, of seemingly intermediate maturity (less remaining white down than one sibling but more than the other), was calling its parents repeatedly, because it was hungry, or because it was not comfortable with my presence. It called … Continue reading The Coopers: Part 3
According to eBird data, Common Redpolls are not seen in the Edmonton area between June and September, except for the sighting of a single bird on July 5th, 2014. Their breeding grounds are north of Alberta, in Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta (Semenchuk 1992) does mention occasional nesting in Edmonton. This species also breeds in … Continue reading They’re back!
Winter started early in Edmonton this year. We had a few snow days in mid-September and a few more in early October. The last two weeks though, have been relatively warm, with sunny afternoons in the low to mid-10s (Celcius). Early afternoons aren’t the birdiest in the Mill Creek Ravine woods, but I usually bring my camera just in case. Yesterday, I saw a Wilson’s … Continue reading Fall feathers
Two male Mallards on North Saskatchewan River. October 14, 2018. Henrietta Muir Edwards Park, Edmonton, Alberta. Continue reading Synchronized preening
It was warmish and sunny in Edmonton this afternoon, so I walked home through Queen Elizabeth Park. While I was taking photos of some juncos rummaging through leaf litter and beaking off chunks of red osier berries, a snowshoe hare darted across the path. Three times in a minute! I missed the leftward bounds, but got a few snaps of the two sprints to the … Continue reading Darting across the path
I was pretty excited about seeing white fluff in the nest on June 27th, so I visited again two days later with hopes of glimpsing wee beaks and eyes. My photo adventure started at 12:41 PM and my first photo was not promising. White fluff??? I watched for two minutes, but no wee hawks appeared. Another cute creature caught my attention though. A nearby yellow … Continue reading The Coopers: Part 2
The red squirrels looked particularly red today. Was it just because of the quality of the sunlight? Or did it have something to do with the season too? They always look my way when I approach. And then they usually move. Sometimes they disappear, and sometimes they yell at me and keep yelling until I walk away. For some reason, this little fellow only yelled … Continue reading Furry Friday
