Baby birds now?  Amazingly, yes.   While many other birds are well on their way south for the winter, American Goldfinches are still dutifully raising their babies.

“Feed me, feed me”

One of the sounds of the fall garden here at my house is the insistent “feed me, feed me” from the baby goldfinches. Listen to the calls here.  Maybe you have heard this sound around your house.

You’re not feeding me fast enough!

Why do Goldfinches wait so long to have their families?  The food and nesting material they like the best are available later in the year.

Seed eater

By late August and September, many flowers have gone to seed.   American Goldfinches are almost exclusively seed eaters, which is actually quite unique. Most birds in our area feed their young a diet full of insects.   The only time a Goldfinch will eat a bug is by mistake.

Thistle down

The soft down of thistles and milkweed is used by Goldfinches for nesting material, and they eat the seeds as well.

Collecting materials for the nest

If you take a look in fields or roadsides, you may see Goldfinches perched on top of thistles, pulling the down out for their nests.

September garden

You can attract American Goldfinches to your garden by planting flowers like purple coneflowers and black eyed susans, then letting them go to seed in the late summer.

mmmm…breakfast!

You have to be willing to let a certain amount of neatness and perfection go, and let your garden mature and go a bit wild in the late summer, but it is totally worth it.

Wildlife Garden

Before you know it, you’ll have goldfinches stopping by.

Bright yellow male

Once the goldfinches find you, they will keep coming back.

Hi

And they might even bring their babies!

Thanks for visiting my blog!   Next time, I will be writing more about the rewards of gardening for wildlife.

For more on American Goldfinches, or any other bird you may be interested in, take a look at Cornell University’s excellent All About Birds website.

The post Baby Goldfinches appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

3 chicks with dad

All 3 chicks are alive and well.  They have had  lot of changes in their lives over the past couple of weeks.

Right leg orange, left leg yellow

When the chicks were a couple of weeks old,  they received identification leg bands.   All three have the same colour combination- orange on right leg and yellow on left leg.   Then they each have a silver band with its own unique ID number.

Dad brooding chick

Another big change is that they are being looked after by just the dad now.   Mom left when they were about a week and a half old.  We thought she had taken off for Florida but she has been seen at Darlington beach to the west of here.  She also returned to Presqu’ile last Wednesday but was chased off by the dad, who is claiming sole custody of the chicks at this point.

Chick getting ready to fly

Dad has a lot on his plate, as the chicks are starting to take short flights up and down the beach, and running all over the place.

Watching for flying predators

When he perceives a threat, dad calls in his distinctive “piping” call, and rushes to collect the babies near him.

Can you find 3 Plovers in this picture?

Last Saturday evening I was babysitting the plovers, and everything started out pretty quietly.  All 4 family members were resting on the beach.

Preening

A little preening, a little wing stretching and flapping, but pretty mellow.

Ahhh – nice stretch

Look at those beautiful primary feathers.

nap time

Two of the chicks stayed together, pretty sleepy. Sometimes it’s really hard to find all 3, they are so well hidden.

Perfect spot for a nap

There’s number 3.   I love this scene.  What perfect camouflage.

AH there you are

stepping out

While dad and the other chicks slept, one of the chicks ran down to the water’s edge and started to feed.    It stayed down there for about 40 minutes on its own.   This was the first time I had seen one of the chicks at the water- they usually stayed further up on the beach.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Dad did not seem too concerned.

I’m awake!

Eventually around 8:00 pm dad and the other two chicks woke up and joined the first chick down at the water’s edge.

Sundown on Presqu’lie Beach

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the 4 Piping Plovers were still feeding at the water’s edge.   In another week or so the chicks will be flying well enough to go wherever they like.   Then at some point in August, our Piping Plover family will begin to head for their winter home in Florida.

Presqu’ile Piping Plover Chick

With help from the Park staff and over 50 volunteers, the Piping Plovers have had a very successful nesting season here in Brighton.

Next May when migration is in full swing, we will all be keeping our eyes open for newly arrived Piping Plovers. Especially three young adults with an orange band on the left leg, and yellow band on the right leg.   Bon voyage little chicks!   Hope to see you in the spring.

If you are like me and can’t get enough about Piping Plovers, Check out these links:

-Watch this cute video by Anja showing the chicks at a couple of weeks old!  They are so funny!   Anja has done a great job capturing them as they scoot all over the place. More videos of the plovers on her Youtube channel: Brighton Events

-Hear an interview with Presqu’ile’s David Bree and Elizabeth Steadman on CBC Radio Morning:

– Revisit Protecting Piping Plovers :  my blog from when they were just a few days old.

The post Presqu’ile Piping Plover Update: Flapping and Napping! appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Barred owlet, about 4 weeks old.

The parents start to call loudly to each other in the sugar bush in March, just as maple syrup time is rolling full tilt.  The sugar bush is a mixed hardwood forest, with lots of sugar maples, as well as hemlocks, swampy areas, and old dead beech trees like the one they use for their nest.

Can you see the white fluff of the baby?

Timings have varied from year to year, but this year the mother sat on the eggs in the nest for the month of April, looked after the babies for a few weeks in early May with help from the dad, and then the little owls came out of the nest in late May.

First baby out!

I was quite surprised how early the owlets came out this year.   When I went into the woods for only the second time in May to check the nest, there was already an owlet out, climbing around in the hemlock tree next to the nest.

Hiding

I don’t think I would have known it was there if I hadn’t heard it quietly screeching for food, as they do all day unless they are sleeping!

owlet number 2

Owlet number two was in a tree not far away.   They always see me before I see them.

not ready to fly yet

This little one could barely keep its eyes open, and kept falling asleep.   It’s hard being a baby owl.   They don’t fly yet, and move around by climbing around in the trees using their beaks and talons.   At this stage of development they are called “branchers.”   They begin to fly short distances on their own in a couple more weeks.

Checking out the traffic.

The morning after I found the owlets, I got quite a surprise as I was walking my dog.  An owlet was sitting in a tree right by the side of the road.   Luckily our road is not very busy, and the owl was pretty high up the tree.

close up

Regardless, I got a chance to take a great look at the little owl without being in the sugar bush, which, as much as I love it, is full of biting insects.

Later in the day, the owlet had moved back into the woods.    And though I heard the little ones calling, and the parents hooting, I never saw the owlets again this year.   We went away on a trip, and when we got back the owlets would be flying around quite well on their own.

sleepy

I am so happy that our neighbourhood Barred Owls are such great parents.   We sometimes hear owls hooting as we walk, or when we sit out at night.   Not sure which ones they are, but they probably started off their lives in the sugar bush.

For more on this owl family over the years, see my posts from:

2014:
2015:

This post is brought to you by:

Papa Owl

and

Mama Owl

The post Owls in the Sugar Bush appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Who have we here?  Someone pretty special, that’s for sure.

Piping Plover chick at one week old

We have great news here in Brighton.  Piping Plovers, an endangered species of shorebird, are raising a family on the beach at Presqu’ile Provincial Park for the first time in 100 years.

Two day old chick and parent

Protection Plans in the US and Canada have been working to increase the population of Piping Plovers since 1986.   Action steps include protecting sandy habitats that Plovers need to nest, and public education programs.  Biologists have also installed enclosures over Piping Plover nests to protect them from predators.  This consists of a cage that has spaces large enough for the plovers to move freely in and out, but small enough to keep out predators like gulls and raccoons. Without the predator enclosures, about 37% of the eggs laid will hatch, but with the enclosures the success rate is 72%, almost a 100% increase.

Look out world, I’m here!

Here at Presqu’ile, a contingent of over 60 volunteers is keeping an eye on the plover family, taking shifts from early morning until sundown.  The idea is to observe the plovers and record their activity, as well as educate the public on this busy beach about the Piping Plovers, and really, just make sure these little ones don’t get stepped on.

Volunteer Coordinator Elizabeth putting out a driftwood shelter she made for the plovers

Funding has also allowed for the hiring of a Volunteer Coordinator, to oversee the scheduling of volunteers and helping in a major way with the public education aspect of the Piping Plover monitoring.

Trying out those wings! It will take four weeks for the chicks to learn to fly.

So of course I signed up to volunteer to monitor the little Piping Plover family.   I look forward to my shifts so much!   And all the other volunteers I have met out there feel exactly the same way.   We are privileged to be able to spend time with these rare and beautiful birds.

Shift change

It has been fascinating watching the family and their behaviour.  Here are Mom and Dad.  Mom is on the right, with a plain band on her left leg.   Dad is on the left, and has a yellow/orange/yellow striped band on the bottom of his left leg.    Both parents are one year old birds, born on Wasaga Beach on Georgian Bay last summer.

Dad and two chicks. Third is underneath…

Mom and Dad switch off chick rearing duties.   Even though the chicks start to eat on their own right from when they start walking around, the parents still keep an eye out for them.  They like to keep the chicks fairly close to them, and call out with gentle peeps when the chicks go too far.

Hurry hurry

This doesn’t always work.  The chicks are little speed demons, tearing all over the place like cotton balls on toothpicks.  Especially when they first hatched it was really hard for us humans to keep track of them, even armed with binoculars and a spotting scope.

Dad brooding chicks

One of the neatest behaviours I have observed while spending time with the Piping Plovers is how the parents brood the chicks.  Here’s a little sequence to show you how it all progresses.

Let me in

Dad is already brooding one chick (hence the multi-legged look) when number two comes along.

Move over

Number two just shoves itself in underneath, head first.  As the chicks get bigger, this becomes more and more comical.

me too

So now as number 3 arrives, it checks out the possibilities.

This is pretty good

For now it decides to snuggle up to its multi-legged dad and wait for a spot. This all happens quite quickly.  Once one chick dives underneath, the others are right behind.

Full.

Here’s dad brooding all 3 chicks in another spot on the beach.   Look at all those legs!  I hope he is enjoying himself because apparently mom will be migrating back to down to Florida soon after the chicks turn a week old!  Then dad will be on his own with them until they learn to fly, in about 3 more weeks.

Woo hoo!

Just as quickly as the chicks shove their way under, they pop right back out again!  Great stretching and wing flapping ensues.

Off I go again

Then more running around on the beach 3 different directions eating, eating, then running some more.

I took 600 shots in one evening. Maybe you can see why…

How cute is that?  Really?   I had the hardest time writing this blog because I couldn’t  choose the  photos.   Blogs can’t have 600 photos in them.  But I whittled it down.  Eventually.

Preparing for nighttime

As the sun was setting yesterday evening and my volunteer shift with the Piping Plovers was coming to a close, I watched as the little chicks gathered around the mother.

Safe for the night

All tucked in, right in the middle of a huge beach, you would hardly know they were there.  After watching them so closely it was hard to turn and walk away.

I’ve got the early shift tomorrow morning.   Can’t wait!

The post Protecting Piping Plovers appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Lake Superior.   Now I get it.  For years people have been telling me how gorgeous it is and how much I would love it there.  I listened, but the 12 hour drive always kept me away. Now that I have been there, I understand.

Superior.  This lake is serious stuff.  It’s huge!  Cold. Gorgeous.  Eternally moody.

So, Lake Superior, I finally made your acquaintance.  Walter, Brendon, and I arrived at Rock Island Lodge near Wawa, Ontario in early June.  The lodge is located on a point of land at the mouth of the Michipicoten River, and specializes in paddle sports through Naturally Superior Adventures. The staff, food, and accommodations are superb.   If you ever get a chance, go there!

From June 5 – 9 Brendon organized a paddling and yoga retreat based out of the lodge.

Despite the cold, rainy weather, we had a blast with the 11 wonderful people who came out for this retreat.   We explored the Michipicoten River by kayak,. This area is bursting with history- First Nations, Voyageurs, fur trading posts.    Our guide even found a small piece of blue and white pottery embedded in the constantly shifting bank of the river from the time of the fur trading posts.

Our next big adventure on the water was a trip in a massive 660 pound Voyageur-style canoe to a remote beach for a camping overnight.

The wind was up and the water was pretty choppy, but despite my initial trepidation I found that the canoe was a tank.  There was no stopping us.

With everyone working we made it to the campsite after a couple of hours of hard paddling into the wind.   A bit damp (or soaked, depending on where we were sitting) but safe and sound.

This campsite on the beach was totally worth the effort!

In one direction we had a sheltered sunny beach surrounded by rock outcrops and hidden crevasses to use for a warming rest.

Looking back the other way, there was an absolutely gushing waterfall.   I have never seen such a volume of water coming over a falls.

After a long paddle, yoga on the beach felt great!

Our little campsite was memorable in so many ways, such as how beautiful little plants were growing out of rocks in the harshest conditions.

Even more memorable was when two of the people on our trip came back from an after dinner walk to join us at the campfire and announced they had just gotten engaged!   How cool is that?

Our paddle back to the lodge was much calmer, and we were able to check out some really beautiful groups of islands.

We also visited a beach perfectly suited for rock hunting.

Every rock on the beaches of Lake Superior is beautiful and unique.   I wish I could have taken them all home with me.

Some folks liked to dig right in to feel the rocks with their feet.   I was too chilly to do that, but definitely appreciated the blue nail polish on these toes!

Arriving back at the lodge we had to do quite the team effort with our paddling to get us through the current of the Michipicoten River, which was trying its best to push us back out into the lake!  But we made it, and were treated to a delicious dinner and lots of laughs as we enjoyed each others company on our last night at the lake.

The great thing about being so far north is that the sunsets don’t start until late, and they last forever.   So, before bed many of us headed down to the water for a walk and to watch the sky change.

Pleased to meet you, Lake Superior.   I’ll be back.

Website for Rock Island Lodge here

The post Discovering Lake Superior appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Wellers Bay Freeze Up

Canadian Kids

Tree Rubies

Presqu’ile Ice Volcanoes

Ice Sculpture- Lake Ontario

Long Tailed Duck Takes Off

Frozen Bubbles

Bubble Sculpture

Success

There’s lots to love about winter!

The post Fire and Ice appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

This morning I got up early and headed down to Presqu’ile Park for a hike out to Gull Island.

Right now, Gull Island looks like this.  Required footwear for the hike varies, but today it consisted of tall rubber boots with ice cleats strapped on to them.    A very fashionable ensemble.

Hiking out the the island I am never alone, as the lake is teeming with waterfowl such as these little Long Tailed Ducks.

And mallards….woah, look out behind you!!!!

Each year, a female Snowy makes Gull Island her home.   I don’t really know if it is always the same one.    But I do know that many Snowy Owls enjoy winter territories around the Great Lakes each year.    It’s the easy access to waterfowl that keeps them coming back.

Today I initially found the Queen sitting on a duck blind.   Isn’t it nice of the park staff to set these up for her?    She checked me out, then fell back to sleep.

Snowy Owls are wild, and do not tolerate people if we get too close.   I have learned to stay far back, stay still, and then the owl will just go about its business instead of flying away.    My long lens helps, as does heavily cropping photos when I get home.

I always take a plastic garbage bag in my backpack so I can sit down on it and wait, and watch, without soaking my pants.   Eventually the owl took off right over me to go hunt over the lake.

She flew back to the island and landed on the “Access Prohibited” sign, then gave me a little wink.   OK, I am anthropomorphizing here.   Again.

After swooping down over the island looking for rodents she landed back up on a post.  I love how her feathers were blowing in the wind, and how I can see the fuzz on her face when she turns sideways.  Once again, I waited to see what would happen.

Off she flew, right over me! What a beauty! New Year’s Eve is always kind of like Thanksgiving for me.   I look back on the year, and think about all the things I am thankful for.

I am so fortunate that I live in such a beautiful part of the world, where I can visit wild creatures like the Snowy Owl who fill me with such awe.   I can’t think of a better way to spend the last day of 2015.

Thank you for sharing my journey with me, and Happy New Year!

You can subscribe to my blog by submitting your email address under the “Subscribe to this Website” button at the top right of this page.   You will receive an email when a new blog is posted.

The post Queen of the Island: My Favourite Snowy Owl appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Who are you?

I admit it.  The first time a hummingbird moth buzzed past me in my garden, I thought it was a baby hummingbird.  I watched closely, trying to follow this speedy little creature as it hovered and zoomed between flowers.  I noticed its long curved proboscis curling in and out as it collected nectar from our flowers, and I realized it must be some kind of butterfly or moth.

Curly proboscis finds nectar

Meet the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. Sure enough, these little moths are considered hummingbird mimics, and act in many of the same ways that hummingbirds do.   However, their life cycle is completely different, as they are moths, not birds!

Enjoying some Mexican Hyssop

In the fall, the caterpillars burrow into the soil to spend the winter as a brown, hard shelled pupae.  As spring days grow warmer, they emerge as adult moths.  The moths lay their little green eggs on the underside of leaves.   These eggs will hatch in about a week, and take about four weeks to become full sized caterpillars.  In Canada, the moths usually only go through one breeding cycle per year.

Bee balm is their all time favourite in my garden

Invite Hummingbird Moths to Your Garden. It’s easy!   Two very hardy, long-blooming and beautiful flowers are absolute favourites of these beauties.    Plant some Red Bee Balm and Mexican Hyssop, sit back, and enjoy the show!

The post It’s Not a Hummingbird…But What is it? appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Good Morning Presqu’ile!   Oh how I love you!

There are so many reasons to love Presqu’ile Park, no matter when you visit.You can show up early on a hazy fall morning, and observe as Presqu’ile’s beaches and offshore islands start to come alive with sound and activity.

Migrating shorebirds start to wake up, and begin their daily search for food.

If you sit or lie down very still, the shorebirds will walk right past you as they are feeding.   It is endlessly entertaining to watch them.

A fall drive around the park may reveal a Ruffed Grouse, foraging at the side of the road for breakfast.  Look at those gorgeous feather patterns!

As seasons change and the weather turns colder, the park becomes very quiet.    I think winter is when Presqu’ile really shows its magic.

Little by little the lake freezes over.   Depending on the wind and the waves, the lakeshore looks different every time I visit in the winter, and each time is spectacular.Presqu’ile is famous for its ice volcanoes.   When the wind is just right, water from the waves will spray up through these holes in the ice.  I like them best at sunset, when they are lit up like some alien landscape.   Snowy owls love to use the offshore islands to hunt. Even in the dead of winter there is so much beauty to be found at Presqu’ile.Spring comes to Presqu’ile, and with it, the busiest time of year.A walk along the boardwalk in Jobes Woods reveals little sprouts of green, and some unexpected company.Look who’s watching you now!Early spring also brings the arrival of waterfowl, who are great show-offs for their potential mates.   What characters. As the ice moves out of Presqu’ile Bay, huge “rafts” of waterfowl can be seen feeding along the ice edge.Spring also brings bugs- lots of them!   But isn’t that perfect timing? The migratory birds are on their way back north.

Lots and lots and lots of them!.   How exciting to be at the park when the trees and bushes are just full of colourful birds singing and eating and flying about.  I am very grateful to have met some very experienced and knowledgeable birders at the park, who can help me learn about all these birds, their names, and their habits.     The diversity of species at Presqu’ile is amazing!

One day I got stuck out in a thunderstorm down by the lighthouse so went into the duck viewing shelter to get out of the rain.   In the tree next to me were so many different kinds of little birds I could barely keep track of them.   Above is a little Yellow Warbler shaking off the rain.Oh, and “fallouts!”   A fallout is when weather or wind conditions cause many thousands of birds to come to the same area all at once.   I will never forget being at Owen Point early on a May morning this year, and experiencing a fallout of shorebirds.   They were everywhere the eye could see, in flocks in the hundreds, soaring around, and feeding on the beaches.

I think I took over 1000 photographs that day!    It was so great because the Ontario Field Ornithologists Young Birders were at Owen Point that morning too, and this enthusiastic group of young people got to experience this spectacle as well. I don’t think any of us will ever forget it.

Did I mention you could see a fox at Presqu’ile?   And if that’s not enough for you…How about watching a fox walk down the road and then having a deer cross right in front of it, say “Good Morning” and carry on.   Is this the Bambi movie? I don’t know.    Presqu’ile is so cool.On the first hot hazy days of the year, the momma snapping turtles will come out of the mud and start to lay their eggs at the side of the roads.     A couple of years I have been down there on just the right day and seen 4 or 5 of these beauties all in the same trip.  I love their long sharp claws!Of course, Presqu’ile is for recreation too!   Walter loves to swim and run on the rocky beach.    The sandy beach is for the shorebirds, and of course all the campers and day trippers that flock to Presqu’ile in the summer.No matter when I visit, Presqu’ile always has something beautiful to offer.    I’m never disappointed.

Presqu’ile Provincial Park is located on the north shore of Lake Ontario, just south of Brighton.   Check it out!

The post Why I Love Presqu’ile! appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Red Eyed Vireo

Though we may think of migration in terms of the louder, bigger species like Canada Geese, what we may not notice is that there are a whole lot of little birds on their way by too.

Young Indigo Bunting will head far south for the winter

The numbers are astounding! In the spring, 3 billion birds migrate north to breed, and in the fall 5 billion birds pass by again, on their way to the southern US,  Mexico, and Central and South America.

Magnolia Warbler

Many of them are tiny little birds, like this Magnolia Warbler.

Common Yellowthroat

Or these Common Yellowthroats, who breed around here as well as further north.

Flycatcher (Eastern Wood Peewee?)

I think of the epic journeys these little birds have to make, and it astounds me.   One of the first big obstacles they face in this area is crossing Lake Ontario.    That’s why it is often fruitful to look for groups of these little birds in trees along the lakeshore.   They are feeding and getting ready for the next leg of their journey.

Chestnut Sided Warbler having a meal

And eat they do.   If you are lucky, you may come across a tree just full of little birds, chowing down on bugs.     Another good place to look is in trees along a stream, as migrating birds are attracted to the sound of running water, and will follow along the path of a stream as they travel.

Red Eyed Vireo eating a caterpillar by our stream

Yum yum!

Black and White Warbler

So, keep your eyes and ears open these days.    You might hear sounds you’re not accustomed to having around.   Or you might spot a whole lot of movement up in a tree.    If you’re lucky, you’ve found a little pocket of birds, just passing by on their way south.

American Redstart

When’s the best time to look?  Most importantly, when the wind is from the north.   Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Common Yellowthroat

Morning is the best time to look, but it doesn’t even have to be that early.   Birds need a bit of time to warm up and wake up and get going for the day, just like we do.

So, as our beautiful summer winds down, and you enjoy the great outdoors, keep a look out for some of these little, but mighty, migrants.      Good luck!

Don’t forget about me!!

Yes, shorebirds are migrating too- more on them in my next blog!

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