Long Shots of the first Arrivals I have seen this Year
Went for a drive to three locations today, two in the city and one at a provincial park to see what may be arriving.It was a pleasant surprise. I did not get a shot, but rather a quick glimpse of a small group, maybe a dozen, of white birds with black wings, they may have been snow geese. (I was driving).These sightings made for a great day and it was hot and sunny to boot.Some of these photos are not the first I have seen this year, i.e. Ring-billed Gull and Canada Geese
Canada Geese in Tandem
unmistakable pose of a displaying male Goldeneye
Female Merlin
A Pair of Northern Shovellers (sorry I couldn’t get the female in the photo)
Female Mallard
Male Mallard
A Pair of Common Merganzers
Red-Necked Grebe
The Three Tenors
These three were very vocal in their expressions, now that they have come back to the province, always consider gulls a harbinger of spring.
They were resplendent in their breeding plumage and their three part harmony astounding. Take a bow, gentlemen!
Curiousity
The chickadees are more approachable as are the squirrels and gulls as they gather food and seek handouts. These are favourites of a young Ring-billed Gull, a Black-capped Chickadee and a Red Squirrel seen in the parks in the city. I did not feed them, they just came to check me out and let me take their photo..
A Big Swallow
No, I am not talking about a large size of bird species, I am referring to the large chunks of bread that was thrown to the birds at the park. The people were happily feeding their feathered friends but I wonder if they would have shown some restraint if they saw this one struggling with its bounty.This young Ring-billed gull got the prize but I am curious what it was thinking as it seemed uncomfortable with the morsel it caught.Bread is not good for birds, but tell that to the birds, or to the people who feed them.
Ring-billed Gulls and a Surprise
The gulls’ voices were echoing in the sky for a few days so I went to the park to get up close. Here is a nice photo of one proud adult in breeding plumage. I also took a few shots of the geese hanging out at a big puddle that temporarily serves as a pond. Something showed up in post processing that was not apparent in the initial scene. Surprise! It was the presence of a male mallard, maybe two. Welcome back, ducks!
1/1250 sec@f/5.6 ISO 400, 240 mm
1/200 sec @f/7.1, ISO 400, 190 mm
I Want to Be in Pictures!
This is one gull who walked back and forth in front of us, showing off his “stuff”. Nothing
shy about this one. he is an immature ring-billed gull.
By the Lake Park, Wetaskiwin, Alberta
I rendezvoused with a friend here on my day off for a walk around this pretty lake .It was nice to see the birds again, has been a long time since I have seen any. There were a few hold-outs among the geese, an adolescent ring-billed gull that posed for us and a double-crested cormorant.
As you saw in the first picture, the leaves are changing colour. But let’s not rush things!
Touching Down
While at Elk Island National Park the other Day, I was observing different activities and practising panning the camera as birds flew by. This black-ringed gull touched down quickly one, two, three times then flew up. I followed it and was happy to get the ripples left behind where it had touched down as well as its reflection. Taken with 300mm zoom. Also got a shot of a red-necked grebe in grebe bay at Astotin Lake, alittle difficult to capture in the afternoon glow where the light was harsh..
©Jane Chesebrough
My Heartsong 