Wildlife Encounter: Eastern Cottontail

Eastern Cottontail

Although I love birds, birds aren't my only photographic subject when I head out on bird watch.  Guess I'm a real shutterbug.  I take photos of anything of interest and anything that moves.  This little cottontail surprised me just as I was tucking my camera away and heading home from the river valley.  So I only managed to get the one photo, before he bolted for, and disappeared into the undergrowth.

Snowshoe hare

I'd never encountered this species before and so I had to do some research.  He definitely does not belong to the Snowshoe hare category of species, which is what I see most often.  He is much smaller in size and a uniform brown in color except for his white belly and tail, which I glimpsed briefly as he fled.  His ears are also much shorter and more rounded in shape.

Unidentified cottontail

The only other cotton tail I have ever come across lived near a pond in my old neighborhood.   At the time I mistook it for a hybrid or juvenile Snowshoe.   But it never grew any bigger, even by it's second year,


although it's coloring remained similar to that of the Snowshoe hare in summer.  Apparently it is not possible for this little one to be a hybrid, and by that, I mean a cross between a Snowshoe and a domestic rabbit and I never did identify it as a specific species.

Although there are many species of Cottontail rabbits, the Eastern Cottontail is the most common to be found from Canada to South America.  Cottontail rabbits range in color from rusty brown to gray but all have a white cottontail.  You will find cottontails on the edge of open spaces such as fields, meadows, farms and city parks, amongst bushes and hedges, or deadwood.  They forage for food at night on grasses and herbs, but also love peas and lettuce.

Enjoy,
Guni

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Edmonton birds: Osprey

Osprey's arrival

Last year I was delightfully surprised to see an Osprey fishing in a local pond.  At the time I didn't think Ospreys made their homes in Alberta.  I saw the Osprey again just this week.  He was circling above my head at the same pond.  It seems he has developed a taste for the goldfish someone has released, who have survived very well, and have grown enormous as a result.

Osprey circling above

Osprey a close- up

Enjoy,
Guni

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The Cats meow?

Catbird in shadow

Every animal has it's own voice, so it is expected that a dog will bark and a horse whinny.   This is in part how we recognize the animals around us.  However, as I recently learned, sometimes what you hear may be in a place where you do not expect it, nor connect with what you know, and eventually see.  In this case I was surprised to hear a cat's repeated meow as I was concentrating on photographing some Red Tailed hawks.  What would a cat be doing near a hawk's nest after all?

Gray Catbird just a glimpse

So the meow was a sound I just couldn't ignore, and not only because it was insistent.  It was very distracting, coming as it was from a dense group of dogwood bushes very near me.  Naturally I looked low to the ground for the "cat" and under the bushes, only to realize that the meow was coming from the top.  Here I glimpsed a fair sized gray bird with a long tail and a brief flash of red, and as I searched, the meow became more alarmed than insistent.  It didn't take long for me to realize that the meow was being voiced by this bird.   I was immediately enchanted, especially since I am always on the lookout for something new to me.

Gray Catbird clear image

I learned later, this is a Gray Catbird, and the meow is a natural part of the male's territorial song.  The flash of red I saw, was the Catbird flashing his red under tail coverts.   This particular bird, wouldn't come out of hiding, so I only managed to get a few shadowy images.  However, I lucked out this week, when I saw a member of the species in another location, where I surprised both myself, and the Catbird by capturing its image.

Gray Catbird a close-up

The Gray Catbird, as you may have guessed, does not like to come out into the open.  This bird is overall gray in color with a black cap and rusty red patch beneath it's tail.   They have a slim, straight bill and a long rounded tail, which is black. They are known, in addition for their meow, to mimic other birds, much like the Mockingbird to whom they are related.  They prefer dense bushes, such as dogwood to forage for food, but also forage on the ground.   Their diet consists of mainly insects.  When the male sings, the female will sometimes sing the song back to him.  The male's song can last for up to ten minutes during courtship.

Enjoy,
Guni

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Wildlife Portrait: September

Red-winged Blackbird photo modified

Enjoy,
Guni

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Cedar Waxwing's hummingbird hover

Sometimes when I am out on bird watch, I see the most amazing things.   Who knew, for instance, that Cedar waxwings are capable of hovering like a hummingbird for even an instant.  It's a good thing I had my camera ready at eye-level, otherwise I would not have been able to capture the following images for you to see, as moments like this typically happen in the blink of an eye.

Cedar Waxwing swooping down

Cedar waxwing going up

Up and Under

Reaching for the fruit

Successful gleaning

Enjoy,
Guni

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Edmonton River Valley: Trip two

The Edmonton river valley has many trails to explore, both paved and unpaved.  On this trip I explored some of the unpaved trails used mainly by people on bikes.  I am very glad that I did, because the bird song here indicated various species.  As it happens these birds were not shy about showing themselves.  The following photos represent just some of the bird species I came across.

Red-eyed Vireo frontal

Red-eyed Vireo

The Golden Crowned Kinglet, below was difficult to capture due to it's size.  About the size of the length of my thumb. It was also constantly in motion.

Golden Crowned Kinglet

Golden Crowned Kinglet side view

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler male

The crowning jewel of this trip was the Peregrine Falcon I spotted as I explored a trail right next to the river itself.   My attention was captured by a flock of seagulls, who were in panicked flight.  When I moved closer to the edge of the embankment, I spotted the falcon in the river, where he was in the act of drowning his prey, and then later at the top of a tree. 

Peregrine Falcon on a Sandbank in the river

Peregrine Falcon Close-up

Enjoy,
Guni

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Jeweled Wings, Masks and Cinnamon

Pair of Cedar Waxwings

At the very beginning of this year our neighborhood was blessed with the presence of gorgeous Bohemian waxwings for several months.  Shortly after they departed for more northerly climes in late April, their cousins, the equally gorgeous Cedar waxwings moved in to take their place.  This neighborhood, you see, has an abundance of the foods that both of these birds favor, and that is fruit and berries.   Fruit and berries, in turn attract many insects, a food source that the Cedar Waxwing seeks out mainly during the breeding season.

Cedar Waxwing jeweled wings

If it weren't for their red jeweled wings, and rakish black mask, this species of bird would be rather plain.  As it is, these two physical features of the Cedar Waxwing enhance their light cinnamon and yellow coloring to produce an absolutely gorgeous bird.   Male and female are colored alike, unlike many bird species.

Cedar Waxwing rakish mask

Cedar Waxwing yellow edged tail

Their cinnamon crest and yellow edged tail only add to their beauty and render them more noticeable.  Once noticed, the Cedar Waxwing is also a delight to watch, because they are very social creatures that have the habit of cooperation down.  For example, if all of the fruit on a branch is clustered at the end of the branch, one Cedar Waxwing will pass the fruit down to its neighbor, who will pass it along until all have had a taste.  You will see them giving each other gifts of feathers and flower petals, or just passing them back and forth as if at play. 

Enjoy,
Guni

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