Category: birdwatching

Feathered Elegance

~ V.J. Knutson ~ 18 Comments

Rumours of the Tundra Swans in our neighbourhood lure us out. They migrate through here in early spring and linger for a week or two. We head to the drive along the river where the Common Mergansers are currently doing their mating dances.

Caught this female in the midst of the ritual. Love the hairdo.

Further downstream, we spotted a newcomer to town: Hooded Merganser.

Such a beautiful bird.

The swans were nowhere in sight, so we decided to drive to a nearby town. On the way, I spotted a few large white birds on a local pond:

Elegance with feathers.

( For Eugi’s Causerie weekly prompt: elegance.)

Boom, Boom, Bye, Bye

~ V.J. Knutson ~ 6 Comments

I’m focusing my lens when we both hear it – duck and I – a boom, like from a cannon.

Rattled, Mallard prepares for take off, while I try to shake off the nerves and get the shot.

The boom comes again. A hunter in our midst.

This duck escapes unmarred, as I do I. Luckily.

A Blessed Thaw

~ V.J. Knutson ~ 17 Comments

Recent activity coupled with the onset of a cold, has my body begging for more rest, but the sun is shining and a sudden mild spell has melted the snow, and my camera is begging.

Ric, whose man cold surpasses mine, hunkers in with a box of Kleenex and his flannel pjs. I’m on my own.

I take my walker and head for the trestle bridge. Judging by the loud chorus of geese, they are also enjoying the day.

A young man and his toddler pass me on the path. He’s loaded down with binoculars and fancy camera equipment.

I raise my lens to capture a chickadee and he chirps: “Just a chickadee. We spotted a fox sparrow, and now I’m on the hunt for a Snow Goose.”

Suddenly, I’m feeling very amateur, but he means well. They move along quickly, and I carry on at my snail’s pace. By the time I reach the bridge, they have stopped again, the young man very excited.

“Do you see it?” He points at a field, across the river, where hoards of geese gather and hands me his binoculars.

A snow goose. I am only able to capture this grainy image.

They move on and I snap a few pictures and head back, pleased with myself that I’ve made the effort.

Now home to rest.

(Thursdays is my day of gratitude.)

Blessed Curiosity

~ V.J. Knutson ~ 20 Comments

“Do you know what Grandpa and I saw yesterday, at the lake? Swans! That was a first for me.”

“Grandma, I’ve never even seen a swan.”

“Well, we will just have to do something about that.”

So we took a little drive into Stratford where the swans are permanent residents.

While Mom was nosing about on the grass, her two young ones decided to get a closer look at us.

Blessed curiosity.

(Thursdays are dedicated to gratitude and blessings. I am also linking up with Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: circles, curves, and arches._

Feathered Blessings

~ V.J. Knutson ~ 6 Comments

My sick bed – where I was confined for three years – was on the main floor, with a window at my feet. Just outside, my husband installed bird feeders – a condominium of choices to draw feathered friends.

Now, I am able to get outside, and commune with the birds in their own settings, but still, two feeders hang outside the window, and I love to sit on the porch and watch as sparrows and finches vie for a perch.

Feathered blessings never get old.