wildlife

A Bee on Every Flower

Bees on wild asters
Bees on wild asters

There is a beautiful clump of brightly coloured asters that grows wild down the side of our drive. Every time I walk by it is buzzing with bees and a closer look shows that every flower has a bee. As one tires of the bloom and flies to the next, a new bee takes its place. The cars going by on the road below cause a constant wind that blows bees and blooms around, making it difficult to catch a still moment to photograph. I did manage this time.

Originally posted on Google+ October 30, 2014 Image re-edited October 2020

(Probably) Immature Wood Duck

 

Until I learn otherwise, I am saying that it is probably an immature female wood duck, as identified by +Mike Goodwin and seconded by +Stephen Thackeray – thanks a lot you two! I will change the title once we are 100% sure.

Another young bird photographed on the same overcast rainy day in Miner's Marsh in August. I thought it was a young mallard, but I see more clearly now that it probably isn't, as there seem to be no photographs of mallards with white stripes around the eyes and the base of the bill is not the right colour. There are many wrong things about it (not wrong, of course, just wrong for mallard) in my thinking, so I am stumped here. My bird app has not come up with an answer. Can you?

If you can identify it I will amend the title with the species name and credit you with the identification! (Now there's incentive for you! 😉 – it can be a real claim to fame. LOL)

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#hqspbirds +HQSP Birds curated by +Suzi Harr +Mark Rayner +Andy Brown
#waterbirdwednesday +Water Bird Wednesday by +Margaret Tompkins
#webbywednesday +WebbyWednesday by +Celeste Odono
#wildlifewednesday by +Mike Spinak +Morkel Erasmus

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Immature Pied-Billed Grebe

 

I walked around the Kentville Miner's Marsh area a few weeks ago, on a dull day and managed to see quite a number of wildfowl, many of which were too far away to get decent photographs especially as the light was poor and it was windy. This youngster was swimming and diving not too far from the shore and I got several of him. I thought at the time that when he went underwater it was almost as if he didn't so much dive as simply submerge out of sight. Almost as if he sank underwater.

He was a little hard for me to identify and even another (much better) bird photographer didn't have any idea what he might be, looking at my photographs. I was a little disheartened (feeling that my images had not done the bird justice) until I found it on my bird identification app and the images of it were no better than this one. He looks very odd, quite like a clown as the article below says.

Today I found this information about the species, which is the second smallest grebe found in North America. http://ecobirder.blogspot.ca/2010/11/adventures-of-clown-duck.html

Are you not able to comment on Google+ because you don't belong? Would you prefer to comment on my blog? It's right here with all my G+ posts on it: https://www.elliekennard.ca .

#hqspbirds +HQSP Birds curated by +Suzi Harr +Mark Rayner +Andy Brown
#waterbirdwednesday +Water Bird Wednesday by +Margaret Tompkins
#webbywednesday +WebbyWednesday by +Celeste Odono
#wildlifewednesday by +Mike Spinak +Morkel Erasmus

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Legs Heavy with Pollen

This bee looks almost as if he is wearing jodhpurs, his leg sacks are so packed with pollen. If you look at the centres of the flowers, you see the ones that he has stripped as they are almost white. The ones waiting for his visit are the same golden colour as he is carrying on his legs.

For #beethursday  +Bee Thursday curated by +Dorothy Pugh .
The Bee Thursday theme was the theme featured for this Thursday by the +Public Calendar of Daily Photography Themes – the source of all of your every day and day specific themes. Check it out and enjoy posting your images to all of these diverse themes.

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