wildlife

Spider in her Larder

Posted by Ellie
Spider in waiting
This year for the first time I have noticed these spiders on this peony plant. There have been several of them, distinctive with their red strips and white, almost translucent bodies. They are mostly to be found on the flowers like this that are white, with splashes or edges of red or pink. It’s not a bad camouflage, though it makes them elusive models. The bug you see on the right is dead. From what I could see, the spider lay in wait for bugs that passed by all unawares, then she would kill them. She then stashed them between the petals of the peony. It is as if she was storing them in her food locker or larder.

I did make some macro photographs of this little lady, one of which I might share later.

Surf Scoters (95/365)

Posted by Ellie

The last of the wildlife photographs for today, this one was another 'lifer' for me, as I had never seen surf scoters before this trip. They were spotted off Corkum's Island, very near where I saw the snowy egret, on "First South".

I was very taken with the faces of these diving ducks (see a couple diving on the right side), as they had wonderful markings that reminded me of a fashion statement that is made by some young people. They put a huge grommet in their ear or nose and it looks as if it is a round black hole. I find it a rather odd look for a human being (and I have had trouble trying to stop staring at it when being served by a shop assistant sporting one or more of these). For a diving duck it seems somehow just right. 

(You have this photograph instead of one of construction work, as somehow I think you will find it more interesting!)

#365project +G+ 365 Project by +Simon Davis-Oakley +Patricia dos Santos Paton

HQSP Birds  curated by  +Anja Wessels +Philippe Avenel +Suzi Harr +Mark Rayner +Andy Brown #hqspbirds +HQSP Birds


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Muskrat With Tail Visible (94/365)

Posted by Ellie

The next trip I took into Miner's Marsh gave me another first for bird viewing, a pair of Bufflehead, which were both too far from me to photograph well, but enough to get a photo to use for identification.  Striking black and white diving ducks, they are not rare around the coast, but not common inland nor on our side of the Province. 

The muskrat were out that day, busy doing whatever muskrat do and this one was near enough for me to study in a bit more detail. At one point as my camera was pressed to my eye I realized that (s)he was swimming rapidly towards me and I was a bit worried. They can be very nasty when provoked. I felt sure that I was not particularly threatening in my behaviour, so I held my ground. Eventually this one came to rest and I was particularly pleased to see how clearly the rat-like tail was visible. When it is swimming, the tail seems to act as a rudder, looking almost like an undulating snake behind the furry body. The little paws look cute as it holds whatever it is nibbling, but the claws would be not be so cute if they were used in defence, I suspect. I have never seen these creatures so close up, so was really pleased to be able to show you another photograph of the muskrat.

#365project +G+ 365 Project by +Simon Davis-Oakley +Patricia dos Santos Paton

HQSP Animals  curated by  +Anja Wessels +Alejandro J. Soto +Krystina Isabella Brion +Andy Smith #hqspanimals +HQSP Animals

Wildlife Photos  curated by  +Robert SKREINER +Mladen Janjetovic #wildlifephotos +WILDLIFE Photos


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Great Blue Heron and Snowy Egret (93/365)

Posted by Ellie

The Sunday of April 14th was a red letter day for me. I saw two birds that were firsts for me. One was this snowy egret, which is a rarity in our part of the world, the other was an unusual bird whose photograph I will post shortly (one per day for the project, so it has to be for another day). During the week before, I had been hearing about the snowy egret sightings that had been announced on our rare bird watch group and was feeling frustrated as they were all a fair distance away from where we live. On top of that, the renovations going on in the house meant that it was impossible to go for a long drive and just abandon the work. And of course going for a drive to a 'last sighted' location, over 1 hour drive away did not guarantee a sighting – it could have been a wild goose egret chase. So I kept quiet and said nothing and, I guess, felt a bit sorry for myself.

On Sunday another sighting came in and this time, with the work temporarily halted, I mentioned it to Steven. In no time at all I found myself in the car and on the way across the province. It was a dull grey day, with a drizzle falling at times, but it was nice to get away from the dust and rubble, even if we hadn't sighted the egret. As you see here, of course when we got there, it was still feeding along the banks of the bay. I couldn't get as close as I wanted as it was a good way across the water, but I did get a good number of photographs of it. A great blue heron was keeping it company and it was lovely to just sit in the car and watch this rare visitor.

#waterbirdwednesday +Water Bird Wednesday by +Ray Bilcliff +Sherry McBriar +Margaret Tompkins
#birds4all +Birds4All by +Walter Soestbergen
#birdloversworldwide +BIRD Lovers & WILDLIFE by +Robert SKREINER
#thirstythursdaypics by +Giuseppe Basile +Mark Esguerra
#365project +G+ 365 Project by +Simon Davis-Oakley +Patricia dos Santos Paton


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