It was a nice warm day for a hike at Cold Creek Conservation Area in Nobleton. I visited this park with my friend @nigelbanks57 today and as the day progressed it got pretty hot out.
Turtles
This could be why we spotted so many painted turtles sunning themselves on floating logs in the pond. This is the best one I was able to get. I definitely had the wrong lens with me to get shots of them.
Yellow flowers
But, I did have the right one for this great macro shot of the Marsh Marigolds.
Today I headed out to Claireville to take photos at the feeders just off the main trail/road.
The Old Bridge
I had to get some shots of the bridge. It’s one of the more interesting things to photograph here in Claireville. The shadows from the late day sun from vines and the other side give this photo a lot of character.
Posing
At the feeder, the nuthatches were flying back and forth getting their food for the day.
Grabbing a Snack
They are even willing to land on your hand if you have some seeds to share with them.
I had a lot of fun getting photos of the birds and always look forward to the cold temps when it’s okay to feed them like this. In summer they are too busy to be bothered with us and our seeds when there is so much more to eat.
My friend Nigel and I went out for a hike at Lynde Shores today. The trails at Lynde Shores are full of wildlife, most likely because they have several feeders on one of their popular trails. The Chickadee trail is only 500m long. On most winter days, you can find wild turkeys, chickadees, nuthatches, squirrels and more on this trail.
Goose Stretch
Under the walking bridge by the parking lot, ducks and geese were congregating in the river below. I got lucky when this goose decided to wash his feathers and put on quite the display doing so.
Mourning Dove
Starting on the Chickadee Trail, we spotted this Mourning Dove sitting on one of the trail fences.
Caught Red-Handed
The feeders are quite popular, and you won’t just see birds here. This squirrel was taking advantage of the free food. Do you think he looks a little worried that we’ve discovered him inside the feeder?
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
We stopped a little further down the trail and decided to take out the seed Nigel brought with him to feed the chickadees. Little did we know that this Red-breasted Nuthatch preferred to be feed by hand. When we put the seed on a nearby bench, to be able to free our hands to photograph, he scolded us from a branch above us. It wasn’t until we put the seed in our hand that he stopped scolding us and came down to eat. Someone’s a little spoiled.
Red Squirrel
We continued hiking, eventually coming to LeVay’s Lane trail, which looped us back towards the parking lot. On LeVay’s trail, we found this cute red squirrel, who couldn’t decide if we were friends or foes. After overcoming some of its fear, it came a little closer, and we were able to get a few photos.
The creek is split in two until it reaches the high school. One arm of it flows from behind my house while the other flows from the train tracks about 1/2 a kilometre away. As you know I walk the section behind my house a lot but sometimes I venture to the other arm of the creek for a slightly longer walk. On the walk over to this second arm, someone has planted some gorgeous irises in their front yard.
English Iris
Walking down the creek path to the high school and over to the other arm I noticed this tree/bush covered in these starburst-shaped things. I believe these are the remnants of the flowers after the petals have fallen. Or maybe they are seed pods that have opened. I can’t seem to find anything to tell me what they are.
Starburst
Whatever they are, they are interesting enough to photograph, and sometimes that’s all that matters. As I explored a little further down the path I came across this snail slowly making his way up a very large leaf.
Snail on Leaf
Snails are so darn weird. Their eyeballs are at the end of what would be antennae on an insect. So odd and so very cool.
I’ve mentioned a catwalk that enters the creek area from my street but there’s another catwalk around the corner, That catwalk takes you to the opposite side of the creek. It’s the one I used to get into trouble over when I took it coming home from elementary school. I wonder why it was such a big deal?
Catwalk
That catwalk was not so overgrown when I walked it back in the day. They used to cut down all the new growth leaving it wide open. I’m glad they decided to let it go back to a more natural habitat. I mean where else would I see something like this so close to home:
Catbird
Or even this lovely swallowtail?
Swallowtail
Okay so, I would probably see the swallowtails as they usually come to my garden every summer but who’s to say if they would without all those Dame’s Rockets it seems to love feeding on so close by. It is a lot more fun to explore this overgrown creek and would have been so much better when we played hide and seek back in school.
I felt that it was time for a little change to the routine to keep the creative juices flowing so, today I brought my birding lens with me on my walk. My goal is to capture some of the birds that are feeding and nesting in the creek behind the house.
Black Squirrel
As I walked down the path I noticed this little squirrel taking a break on a branch. He seems quite comfortable there. My presence didn’t seem to disturb him in the least so I snapped a couple photos and moved on eager to find those elusive birds.
Blue Jay
The first bird I spotted was this Blue Jay. He seemed interested enough in me, so much so that he stuck around on this branch for quite some time. Needless to say I have more than enough shots of him. But the surprise of the day was this American Pipit.
American Pipit
Although I didn’t know it at the time that I was photographing him, this little bird was only migrating through our area. Talk about a lucky capture. That’s the second bird I’ve found here that I’ve never seen before and that seems to be passing through. Although secretly I hope that the grosbeaks stay the summer. Bringing my long lens with me today gave me a fun break from that macro lens I’ve been using all spring.
