Just Ducky

We went camping with good friends Rob and Linda at Westward Ho last week and enjoyed our riverside campsite. The weather co-operated so we could hike, swim, play botchee ball and make blueberry bushpies.

One of my goals is always to take some pictures of birds that I don't have yet, and this is one of them - they are female Common Mergansers. The males have green heads. I like the way the red heads are all fluffy. Apparently when they take off they run with their feet on the surface of the water until they are airborne.

I got this picture in Crossfield. It is a Horned Grebe, and so far it is my prize duck picture. Notice the feathers by the red eye - they stick out and look like a fancy hairdo! If you can't see it clearly, double click on it to enlarge the picture.

This is a Ruddy Duck, and it's claim to fame is its blue bill!

I took this picture in Coaldale.

This is a blue-winged teal pair.

I can't believe how many different kinds of ducks there are, and some so unusual! Now that I've got the Horned Grebe, my next big prize would be to photograph the Hooded Merganser or the Wood Duck. The Wood Ducks are very colorful and nest in trees. The Hooded Mergansers have totally wild hairdos - He is black and white and she reddish.

Another two months to find these birds!

Baby Robin Visit

Mal was drying some of his shoes on the railing of our deck,

and a baby robin settled right in between them.

He decided he might as well make himself comfortable.

Mamma came once to feed him, but that picture didn't turn out.

After awhile he hopped right into the shoe!

Then he flew to the other railing.

He hung out here with his mouth open,

so Mal decided he must be hungry and fed him some strawberry.

He took a bit, and then flew off.

His visit lasted about two hours.

Birds of Prey

I've been wanting to get some pictures of owls and eagles, and I finally did it! However, I feel a little like I cheated. They were not in the wild, but at the Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale. We really enjoyed our visit, in spite of the rain.
Here Mal is holding a Burrowing Owl.

A Bald Eagle.
I had trouble uploading the pictures, but I may add more pictures later.