Mute Swan family

Red breasted nuthatch baby begging for food

anemone in my garden

Ambush bug on a black eyed Susan

Hummingbird moth on a butterfly bush in my garden

Great Blue Heron taking off! Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park

And the landing!

The last two photos are from a canoe trip we took- the heron was more cooperative than most of the ones I have come across, and I was able to capture its beautiful feather patterns as it flew around the marsh.

Thanks for following along in my 2020 wanderings! More to come. Leslie

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Pied Billed Grebes at sunset on Brighton Bay

Pied Billed Grebe with some kind of spiky fish

The same Grebe with another fish, racing across the water

Pied Billed Grebe family

Look how different the sizes of the babies are! This is quite common in the bird world.

Family feeding in the cattails

One evening while observing the Grebes, I got a chance to see a Least Bittern take flight. I love the beautiful colours in its wing feathers.

Least Bittern

Another local spot I visited twice in May was the Murray Marsh, about 20 minutes north east of where I live. I was treated to a great show.

Common Yellowthroat

American Bittern

Yellow Warbler

Murray Marsh

Back at home on my corner there was still lots of action, including a Belted Kingfisher hunting on my pond, and a rare Lawrence’s Warbler singing on the corner.

Belted Kingfisher

Lawrence’s Warbler 

On Victoria Day weekend, the third week in May, Ontario Parks including Presqu’ile Park opened back up to the public. I headed down there and walked down the road by the lighthouse, one of the best places to see migratory birds in May. All the local birders I know were on the exact same road, enjoying the show.

I didn’t take any photos that day. I just watched and listened to the birds all around me, and chatted a bit with folks I hadn’t seen for awhile. It all seemed almost normal. And it was.

The post 2020 Wanderings – Late May appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Hepatica: A spring ephemeral flower that reminds us that nothing lasts forever

This year has been challenging, of course. But it has also given me the time and space to really tune in to the rhythms of nature around me. I have slowed down, looked deeper, learned and listened more. I have had surreal moments like when I was walking on top of a hill looking at the sky and there were no jet trails at all. I realized I had not seen or heard an airplane in the sky for many days.

Wake Robin Trillium

This spring I was so grateful that I live in a very quiet part of the world, where I can just go out into the woods at any time.  With so many places closed this spring, including provincial and local parks, I spent a lot of time around home, poking around in the forest.

Spring Beauty

I got to know the patterns and behaviours of local wildlife even better, and was home to witness the return of local birds to their breeding territories, some after long northern migrations.

A pair of Hooded Mergansers on our pond

Turkey Vultures in love – nest in the barn across the street after returning from Central America

Eastern Bluebirds overwinter here, but go looking for homes as early as April

Red Bellied Woodpeckers stay the winter here but start to look for the perfect tree hole in the spring

Trout Lily

By late April things really started to change, with the first warblers of the season and an influx of tiny kinglets (those are birds!).   The photos below are from the beaver pond across the street.

Palm Warbler

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

In the days ahead I am going to be sorting out my photos from this year and making more blogs. I invite you to follow along on my wanderings.

Nature reminds us that no matter what things are like at the moment, they will always change.

Perhaps a little retrospective wander through nature in the year of the pandemic will help us keep that in mind.

Leslie

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Each year I devote one entire day to birdwatching – I line it up with the Global Big Day – where people all over the world go out one day in early May and locate as many  birds as they can in a 24 hour period.    The birds are recorded in the eBird database, run by the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology.   This year, that day in early May just served to get my birding obsession all fired up again for the spring.

Mute Swan resting in her nest.

May 4 this year was cold, cloudy, and windy and I spent most of the day bundled up in my fleecy. I started out my day before sunrise, and was able to hear some night singers such as Whip-poor-wills, Woodcocks, and Turkeys. I spent an early breakfast watching my feeders, then headed out to my usual haunts- Presqu’ile Park and Brighton Constructed Wetlands.

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Many typical spring birds such as Grey Catbirds, Baltimore Orioles, and Hummingbirds, were not back yet, but a few warblers were starting to trickle in.

Yellow Warbler

These little jewels are a highlight of migration for me. When I am doing a birding Big Day, the morning always moves along quite well, and I can rack up quite a few species in a short amount of time. For example, I heard and saw almost 50 different species of birds before I even left my house on that Saturday morning. Typically, the afternoon birds come much more slowly. I drove around looking for an American Kestrel that always sits on a certain telephone wire. Found it. I was thinking- Ospreys are back- where can I go to find one?

Osprey on my road

And as day turned into evening and I headed home to look for Ruffed Grouse, there was an Osprey sitting up in a tree at the side of my road. Never seen one on my road in all the time I have lived here, but there it was.

Bathing on the beach

I finished up my day with the gulls and terns down at the beach at Presqu’ile, where the sun peeked out for a bit before going down. All told, I found 95 species of birds on May 4. This is right around my average for the past 4 years- the bird count always hovers around 100.

Least Flycatcher

Guess what!? The next morning I got up really early, drove down to Prince Edward County, picked up a friend and her dad, and went birding at Prince Edward Point Bird observatory. This IBA (Important Birding Area) is a peninsula on the southeast side of Prince Edward County, and since it is an hour south of here, they are a bit ahead of us as far as seeing newly arrived species. There were quite a few flycatchers, like the one above.

Grey Catbird

They also had Grey Catbirds – who really say “meow” at the end of their calls. This is a common spring bird here who was conspicuously missing from my “Big Day” list. Despite their plain appearance, catbirds are feisty songsters, who mimic other birds calls and can produce a symphony of slightly buzzy imitations to impress their potential mates. Love them.

Cliff Swallows gathering mud for their nests

Home sweet home! So cute!

We were treated to the sight of dozens of Cliff Swallows building their nests, squeaking and congregating around a large mud puddle.

Eastern Towhee

The constant call of “drink your teeeeeee” told us that there were Eastern Towhees in the undergrowth. Towhees are members of the sparrow family, with round bodies and lovely rusty red, white, and black colouring.  Prince Edward Point did not disappoint, and it was fun to share my day with friends.

Cutleaf toothwort

I finished off the week with a Mother’s Day weekend in Dundas with my daughter and her boyfriend. When we weren’t at the Hamilton Buttertart Festival or eating tacos, we spent time on the Royal Botanical Garden trails, where the wildflowers were in bloom, and the birds were singing their hearts out.

Tree Swallows making a home

The RBG had some open fields with nest boxes, being used by Swallows, Bluebirds, and Wrens.

Downy Woodpecker

There were also magical wooded areas where the leaves were just beginning to emerge. On one little path we discovered a woman feeding a Downy Woodpecker peanuts from her hand! I have heard of feeding chickadees before, but never woodpeckers! A little boy and his mom were walking by and he got to feed the woodpecker from his hand too. He was thrilled.

At the same time, two beautiful deer grazed peacefully in the woods just in front of us.

“Bald Eagle” Sure. It is!

Once out of the woods we were treated to the view over a beautiful marshland at the far western end of Lake Ontario. There was a Bald Eagle near its nest and flying around. Sooo cool! Eagle was far away and backlit so it just looks like a blob haha. But if you look at the exact centre of this photo you can see the eagle’s nest- an impressively huge structure anchored in a pine tree.

Cormorant Island

Much easier to photograph were the Double Crested Cormorants inhabiting a tiny island out in the lake. Their poop kills all vegetation, as you can see.

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Back in the woods, we were treated to the sight of a Red Bellied Woodpecker working on a nest in a tree hole.

Magnolias

To cap off a lovely day, we entered a fairy tale meadow full of magnolia trees in full bloom.

Birding is so much more than birding, really.  It’s being outside, discovering what’s there, and spending time with family and friends, or some quiet time to myself.

May is not over yet.  I’m still birding!

Thanks for visiting my blog. Enjoy the spring!

Leslie

The post Birding Marathon 2019 appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Red bee balm is one of the stars of the summer wildlife garden

That’s on purpose.  Gardening for wildlife is so much fun.  Pick some native flowers, shrubs, and trees.  Add in some your favourite flowers that have lots of pollen and nectar, and enjoy the show.

Plant coneflowers and black eyed susans for their seed, and bee balm for its pollen and nectar

Even though we had the worst drought in years this summer, my garden is going strong. Native plants are tough, even if they can’t get watered regularly.  When I first thought of making my garden, I planned it to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.    It does!   But I have discovered a whole lot more about all the different creatures who benefit from having a wild garden like I have created.

Jewelweed and loosestrife  by the creek

We’ve allowed the edges of our property to go wild, and stopped cutting grass down by the creek.    This time of year the wildflowers are covered in pollinators, and the seeds from the weeds are being devoured by birds.

American Goldfinches use thistle seeds for their nests, and they eat them too.

I love watching the American Goldfinches flying all over our property this time of year.

lounging painted turtle

Turtles love the rocks and long grass.   I love their exquisite patterns.

Prince Hummingbird on his zinnia throne

Hummingbirds are the bosses of my wildlife garden.   They love the zinnias I have planted.

Hummingbird zoning in on some bee balm

Zinnias aside, their absolute favourite flower is bee balm (monarda) which blooms steadily for over 2 months.   Once the bee balm comes out, I put away my sugar and water hummingbird feeders.   Unnecessary.

Hummingbird moth

The tiny hummingbird moth looks and acts like a hummingbird- it loves the bee balm too.

Honeybee on anenome

Our honeybees have their favourite flowers too.   This varies throughout the summer, but right now they are all over the anenomes, which are loaded with pollen.

syrphid fly on wild aster

Bee mimics like this syrphid fly are around most of the summer as well.

Monarch on monk’s hood

When I step outside on a sunny day from May until October, there are always butterflies in my garden.   They make the garden come alive as they flit around with their different shapes, sizes and colours.

Gorgeous

Butterflies love the purple coneflowers, the sedum, and the bee balm as well.

Philadelphia vireo in an apple tree

Migration season is on right now, and I have had lots of little visitors around the wild edges of my garden.

Red eyed vireo

They are stopping by for a meal of insects on their way south.   Native plants host far more insects that are eaten by birds than non-native plants.

Black throated green warbler

A whole flock of little warblers was eating insects from my birch tree the other morning.

Nashville warbler hiding in the goldenrod

I’ve started to let goldenrod grow right in my flowerbeds.    I notice some nurseries are even selling it.    The more we can plant species of plants that support the local wildlife in the area, the more wildlife friendly our gardens will be.

Gray tree frog

You never know who might stop by.

For more on wildlife gardening, see my blog:  The Number One Flower for Attracting Just About Everything

To check out a comprehensive planning checklist from Ontario Nature look here.

Happy gardening!

The post The Joys of Gardening for Wildlife appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Baby birds now?  Amazingly, yes.   While many other birds are well on their way south for the winter, American Goldfinches are still dutifully raising their babies.

“Feed me, feed me”

One of the sounds of the fall garden here at my house is the insistent “feed me, feed me” from the baby goldfinches. Listen to the calls here.  Maybe you have heard this sound around your house.

You’re not feeding me fast enough!

Why do Goldfinches wait so long to have their families?  The food and nesting material they like the best are available later in the year.

Seed eater

By late August and September, many flowers have gone to seed.   American Goldfinches are almost exclusively seed eaters, which is actually quite unique. Most birds in our area feed their young a diet full of insects.   The only time a Goldfinch will eat a bug is by mistake.

Thistle down

The soft down of thistles and milkweed is used by Goldfinches for nesting material, and they eat the seeds as well.

Collecting materials for the nest

If you take a look in fields or roadsides, you may see Goldfinches perched on top of thistles, pulling the down out for their nests.

September garden

You can attract American Goldfinches to your garden by planting flowers like purple coneflowers and black eyed susans, then letting them go to seed in the late summer.

mmmm…breakfast!

You have to be willing to let a certain amount of neatness and perfection go, and let your garden mature and go a bit wild in the late summer, but it is totally worth it.

Wildlife Garden

Before you know it, you’ll have goldfinches stopping by.

Bright yellow male

Once the goldfinches find you, they will keep coming back.

Hi

And they might even bring their babies!

Thanks for visiting my blog!   Next time, I will be writing more about the rewards of gardening for wildlife.

For more on American Goldfinches, or any other bird you may be interested in, take a look at Cornell University’s excellent All About Birds website.

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Who are you?

I admit it.  The first time a hummingbird moth buzzed past me in my garden, I thought it was a baby hummingbird.  I watched closely, trying to follow this speedy little creature as it hovered and zoomed between flowers.  I noticed its long curved proboscis curling in and out as it collected nectar from our flowers, and I realized it must be some kind of butterfly or moth.

Curly proboscis finds nectar

Meet the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. Sure enough, these little moths are considered hummingbird mimics, and act in many of the same ways that hummingbirds do.   However, their life cycle is completely different, as they are moths, not birds!

Enjoying some Mexican Hyssop

In the fall, the caterpillars burrow into the soil to spend the winter as a brown, hard shelled pupae.  As spring days grow warmer, they emerge as adult moths.  The moths lay their little green eggs on the underside of leaves.   These eggs will hatch in about a week, and take about four weeks to become full sized caterpillars.  In Canada, the moths usually only go through one breeding cycle per year.

Bee balm is their all time favourite in my garden

Invite Hummingbird Moths to Your Garden. It’s easy!   Two very hardy, long-blooming and beautiful flowers are absolute favourites of these beauties.    Plant some Red Bee Balm and Mexican Hyssop, sit back, and enjoy the show!

The post It’s Not a Hummingbird…But What is it? appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Good Morning Presqu’ile!   Oh how I love you!

There are so many reasons to love Presqu’ile Park, no matter when you visit.You can show up early on a hazy fall morning, and observe as Presqu’ile’s beaches and offshore islands start to come alive with sound and activity.

Migrating shorebirds start to wake up, and begin their daily search for food.

If you sit or lie down very still, the shorebirds will walk right past you as they are feeding.   It is endlessly entertaining to watch them.

A fall drive around the park may reveal a Ruffed Grouse, foraging at the side of the road for breakfast.  Look at those gorgeous feather patterns!

As seasons change and the weather turns colder, the park becomes very quiet.    I think winter is when Presqu’ile really shows its magic.

Little by little the lake freezes over.   Depending on the wind and the waves, the lakeshore looks different every time I visit in the winter, and each time is spectacular.Presqu’ile is famous for its ice volcanoes.   When the wind is just right, water from the waves will spray up through these holes in the ice.  I like them best at sunset, when they are lit up like some alien landscape.   Snowy owls love to use the offshore islands to hunt. Even in the dead of winter there is so much beauty to be found at Presqu’ile.Spring comes to Presqu’ile, and with it, the busiest time of year.A walk along the boardwalk in Jobes Woods reveals little sprouts of green, and some unexpected company.Look who’s watching you now!Early spring also brings the arrival of waterfowl, who are great show-offs for their potential mates.   What characters. As the ice moves out of Presqu’ile Bay, huge “rafts” of waterfowl can be seen feeding along the ice edge.Spring also brings bugs- lots of them!   But isn’t that perfect timing? The migratory birds are on their way back north.

Lots and lots and lots of them!.   How exciting to be at the park when the trees and bushes are just full of colourful birds singing and eating and flying about.  I am very grateful to have met some very experienced and knowledgeable birders at the park, who can help me learn about all these birds, their names, and their habits.     The diversity of species at Presqu’ile is amazing!

One day I got stuck out in a thunderstorm down by the lighthouse so went into the duck viewing shelter to get out of the rain.   In the tree next to me were so many different kinds of little birds I could barely keep track of them.   Above is a little Yellow Warbler shaking off the rain.Oh, and “fallouts!”   A fallout is when weather or wind conditions cause many thousands of birds to come to the same area all at once.   I will never forget being at Owen Point early on a May morning this year, and experiencing a fallout of shorebirds.   They were everywhere the eye could see, in flocks in the hundreds, soaring around, and feeding on the beaches.

I think I took over 1000 photographs that day!    It was so great because the Ontario Field Ornithologists Young Birders were at Owen Point that morning too, and this enthusiastic group of young people got to experience this spectacle as well. I don’t think any of us will ever forget it.

Did I mention you could see a fox at Presqu’ile?   And if that’s not enough for you…How about watching a fox walk down the road and then having a deer cross right in front of it, say “Good Morning” and carry on.   Is this the Bambi movie? I don’t know.    Presqu’ile is so cool.On the first hot hazy days of the year, the momma snapping turtles will come out of the mud and start to lay their eggs at the side of the roads.     A couple of years I have been down there on just the right day and seen 4 or 5 of these beauties all in the same trip.  I love their long sharp claws!Of course, Presqu’ile is for recreation too!   Walter loves to swim and run on the rocky beach.    The sandy beach is for the shorebirds, and of course all the campers and day trippers that flock to Presqu’ile in the summer.No matter when I visit, Presqu’ile always has something beautiful to offer.    I’m never disappointed.

Presqu’ile Provincial Park is located on the north shore of Lake Ontario, just south of Brighton.   Check it out!

The post Why I Love Presqu’ile! appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Want wildlife to come to your garden?  Plant purple coneflowers!

Aren’t I gorgeous?

Honey bee collecting pollen

Purple Coneflowers, also known as Echinacea purpurea are absolutely loaded with pollen.   So besides being gorgeous, they are like a giant dinner table for all kinds of critters.

Butterflies love them

Look how this butterfly is eating with its curvy proboscis.

Dinner is served

This one is giving me the eye while it eats.    Have you ever looked closely at a butterfly eye?   They are fascinating.   But I digress.

This butterfly looks like a little dead leaf

I cannot tell you how much butterflies love these flowers.

Skipper

By early afternoon each day, when the sun has warmed things up, my garden is alive with butterflies, bees, and lots more.

Grasshopper

I am not sure if this grasshopper is having a meal, or waiting for one to stop by, but one thing is for sure, grasshoppers love these flowers.

Ambush bug stalking a honey bee

Life’s little dramas play out over and over again, as so many creatures find this flower irresistible.

American Goldfinch eating coneflower seeds

Purple coneflower seeds make great bird food, too, as the summer and the flowers begin to fade.

blooming wonder

Plant a garden full of these easy care, beautiful native flowers.

Set the table 

You will not be disappointed!

The post The Number One Flower for Attracting Just About Everything appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Dragonfly

Come take a walk in my garden.

Rudbeckia

My flower garden has been designed specifically in order to attract wildlife.   Flowers such as these rudbeckia provide seeds for birds in the fall.

Purple coneflower on grass

Purple coneflowers attract bees and butterflies in the summer, and goldfinches in the fall, who devour their seeds.

Morning dew on purple coneflower

Here’s a new purple coneflower, just coming out.

Morning grasshopper

I get all kinds of tiny visitors to the garden.  Last week,  little fresh grasshoppers were all over the place.

Grasshopper moult

I even found a skin that one had moulted.

Assassin

Meet the assassin bug, who lies in wait until an unsuspecting insect crosses its path, then captures it and uses its long proboscis to ingest its prey.

Honeysuckle vine

I have a number of vines around the garden, including honeysuckle.  Hummingbirds love them!   Their tendrils curve and wrap around anything they can climb up.  They also hold a drop of water in spectacular fashion.

Coreopsis line up

This is coreopsis, or tickseed.   The seeds are another favourite of birds in the fall.   I love the colours, and how it blooms all summer.

This is summer

Summer.  A time to enjoy the small wonders just out the back door.  Look closely, you never know what you might find.

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