The weather stayed pretty spectacular for us until the very last day when we ended up driving home in torrential rain.
The cabin is situated among tall Pine Trees and Aspen , so as soon as day broke, I was out walking the forest trail looking for birds and wildlife while keeping my eyes peeled for Bears.
Our last day was spent at Isle a La Crosse which is further north still.
Here are the highlights followed by some photos :
Canada Warbler - A brief sighting and many listens to its fine song -this is another lifer for 2008 ( I'm gradually ticking off the Warbler species as the years roll by)
Blackburnian Warbler - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Ovenbird - 3 or 4 - responding very well to my calls !
Western Tanager - 3 or 4 but staying hidden high in the canopy
Red-eyed Vireo - 7
Philadelphia Vireo - 1 (new year bird)
Winter Wren - 2 near the cabin site singing on territory.
Belted Kingfisher - 1
Spotted Sandpiper - 2 adults plus 5 chicks
Barred Owl - I didn't think I'd get to see one this year, but found
one on my first early morning walk in the forest. It even gave me a few hoots :-)
Hermit Thrush - 3 . These were singing their beautiful song in the early evening.
Swainson's Thrush - I found 2 birds singing in the forest on my second morning walk.
Ruffed Grouse - 2
American Beaver - 1 building a huge dam along the edge of the lake
Water Vole - 1 scurrying around as I waited for a photo of the Beaver
Red Squirrel - everywhere
At Isle a La Crosse :
Bald Eagle - 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 3
Palm Warbler - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 2
Caspian Tern - 2 birds diving and catching fish along the beach.
Least Chipmunk
Here are some photos...
Barred Owl :
Winter Wren :
Ruffed Grouse :
Ovenbird :
Wood Lily :
White Admiral :
Spotted Sandpiper :
American Beaver :
Least Chipmunk :
Harebell :
Caspian Tern :
Red Squirrel :
9 comments:
Such a great variety of wildlife there - a great place to vacation! The barred owl was spectacular!
It's so much fun to come by and visit, when you post! And you never do disappoint! Excellent variety you're showing today! Kudos and Hat's off to you!
Cheers, Klaus
Thanks very much guys. The Barred Owl was the icing on the cake for me on that trip, and to think I got him on the very first morning I was there too :-)
Loved those beaver shots. It's common to see them from the kayak but they usually slap there tail and they're gone. I'd love to see an owl during the day, I have zero photographs of an owl.
When I saw the owl, I was thinking nothing else was going to match it - then the next...and the next DID....all so beautiful!
that owl is such a funny-looking creature. fantastic.
and fantastic photos. i love your blog.
Thanks very much guys.
Those Beavers really are funny animals.
I sat by the waters edge for perhaps an hour to get those shots,hiding behind a rotted tree stump. All the while he was eyeing me up as he was swimming along. He'd occasionally slap his tail and dive, then resurface a little bit closer each time making absolutely no noise.
Somebody asked me about the ' plain' backgrounds for the Winter Wren and the Ruffed Grouse this morning and if I'd used Photoshop to obtain that look.
The background on all three of those images is as it was when I took the photo.
It was just a case of composing the shot before pressing the shutter to obtain the best angle without anything distracting behind the subject.
Of course, most of the time my photography consists of me being on the move and I'll shoot what I see, when I see it regardless, so its nice when, sometimes your subject actually sits still for more than 2 seconds :-)
Just to add :
The first photo of the Winter Wren was taken around 8:30 in the evening using my external flash within the forest, hence the very dark background.
The second one was taken about 5pm in better light and did not need the flash.
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