Critters

Finally after days of not seeing any critters on our walks along the Red River, Chester and I found a nice variety yesterday. 

There was a Robin, so high up at the top of a tree that I didn’t know what it was.  I actually thought it was a much larger bird – so maybe it is a giant Robin.  I was thinking hawk or falcon perched up there, but once I uploaded the pictures, I could plainly see it was a Robin.

Robin May 16

There was a Song Sparrow, singing on a bush close to the Red River – again too far away to plainly see and I didn’t even notice that some twigs were in between us, but he finally moved a bit for the last picture anyway.

Sparrow May 16

Sparrow May 16

You can tell that he looked at me here and thought “she’s not getting a great picture of me with these twigs in the way” – so he moved.

Sparrow May 16

Next, we saw a pair of Mallard Ducks.

Mallards May 16

And finally a Wood Duck came swimming by.  I haven’t seen much of the Wood Ducks at all this year, so it was nice to see him.

Wood Duck May 16

Speaking of critters – so far on Africam today, we have seen Elephants, Black Eagle, Gymnogene (African Harrier Hawk), Nyala, Kudu, Zebra, Waterbuck, Wildebeest, Giraffe, Impala and Helmeted Guinea Fowl. Click here to see all of the pictures from May 17th.

First Grass Cut of the Year

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

If you were here with me last year for the lawnmower series you will remember that I got one of the battery powered lawnmowers.  Last fall, I left it fully charged as the instructions said to do, but I couldn’t remember if it would need another charge before its first use of the year.  I decided that it probably would – so Friday morning, I plugged it in so it would be all ready for a Saturday morning cut.

Well silly me!!  I forgot that there are 2 ends to a cord, so I plugged it in all right, but didn’t plug it in to a power source!!!

When I was ready to get it started yesterday I noticed this oversight but decided to try it anyway.  It started beautifully.  I headed for the front yard first, since it needed cutting the most and that is what people see.  If it finished the front, I would work on the spots in the back that needed it.

A couple of times, it seemed to be slowing down while doing the front – but it finished it as well as the spots in the back where the grass had actually grown.  There was less than 1/2 the back yard that needed any cutting.  So, I finished it up and put it away – with both ends of the cord plugged in to charge it for the next cutting. 

I tried to get some pictures of some Blue Jays yesterday, but they did not cooperate at all.  There were about 8-10 of them having discussions about territory (I presume – since I don’t understand Jay talk).  They all flew into one of my trees – squawking loudly and then over to trees in other yards.  They also had some musical sounds that I don’t remember ever hearing before from these beautiful birds.

I really do hope that they do not choose one of the trees in my back yard for nesting.  They have nested there before and almost every time, the babies have come out of the nest way too soon.  It is always a dog (Chester now and Dakota before him) who finds them and they don’t last long, I’m afraid.  I’d be ok with them using one of the trees in the front yard though.

Chester May 12

I ended the day by selling my old Toro Lawnmower – so that is now out of my shed. 

So far on Africam today, we have seen Leopard, Elephant, Salomi and her adorable cubs, Warthogs, Wildebeest, Duiker, Cape Turtle Doves, Nyala, Waterbuck, Impala, Black Eagle, Kudu and Grey Go-away Bird.  Click here to see all of today’s pictures.

Chester

Chester has now officially gone for over 5 weeks without a seizure. 

He is schedule for a blood test on Friday to check the levels and it will be 6 weeks by then if this continues. 

We celebrated with a bath on Saturday, although a bath is not the way he would have liked to celebrate.  Chester and water just do not get along, although so many Irish Setters I see love the water.  Of course, my first Irish Setter also hated water.  Maybe its Canadian Irish Setters that don’t like water – but I guess that can’t be it either, since I got Chester from the U.S.  Maybe its the Canadian water!

Chester’s 9th birthday will be on May 1st!  He was 7 months old when we drove south to pick him up from a rescue.

Chester April 21

Chester April 21

Chester April 21

These pictures were taken just a little while after his bath on Saturday, so he is still a bit damp – but happy as always.  As soon as the bath was over, he was raring to go. 

Now that the weather is 1/2 decent, Chester is outside almost all the time when I’m home. He chases sunlight and shadows and leaves and anything else that he sees move.  We have our walk along the Red River every morning no matter what the weather – its good for both of us.    Sometimes we see ducks, geese, gulls, crows or bunnies and sometimes we don’t.

Back to the Red River

After that 3 month vacation, its going to seem strange to only have current life to write about again.  I’m glad we’re having an early spring, so I have pictures to take of the birds along the Red River again. 

Today, we have the big trees, some seagulls, ducks and geese, along with one of the sparrows that I’m not really sure if it is a Song Sparrow or not – but he does sing and I’m going to label him a Song Sparrow because he just might be.  My daughter’s cats managed to get themselves into pictures in the last couple of days too.

Song Sparrow Apr 3

Big Trees Apr 5

The level of the Red River is dropping already.

Gull Apr 5

Canada Goose Apr 5

Mallards Apr 6

Craven Apr 6

Cyrus Apr 6

The pictures of Craven and  Cyrus were taken with my Sony NEX camera, which takes good pictures in low light without having to use a flash – so we have the right eye colours for the cats.    The other pictures were taken with my Nikon with 36x zoom. 

It’s Still March

It is still March here and absolutely anything goes as far as the weather.  It has been a wonderful March so far and it is really looking as if it will go out fairly warm. 

We’ve been having the April showers (that we normally get in May) so with luck, we will have some April flowers.  The tulips in my yard have got a good start so far.

Every morning now, the birds are singing as I go for my walk with Chester along the Red River.  The summer residents have returned and with spring this early, I expect that most will have 2 nests this year. 

The last 4 days, I have taken pictures of Sea Gulls, Canada Geese, a Crow, a little Junco and a Song Sparrow.  I have also taken a couple of shots of the big tree across the river – but it looks like there won’t be a Red River Rising series this year – its just not rising – LOL

Chester is doing good on his latest mix of meds – he has been on it for 2 weeks now and I’m sure hoping that they’ve found the right dosages for him.  Of course we have a picture of Chester too. 

My trip to Africa is getting closer, just as my trip to Europe is coming to an end.

March 27 Canada Goose

March 27 Big Trees

March 28 Big Trees

March 28 Crow

March 28 Elm Tree Buds

March 28 Gull

March 28 Junco

March 29 Canada Geese

March 29 Canada Geese

March 29 Gull

March 30 Song Sparrow

March 30 Song Sparrow

March 28 Chester

Spring on the Red River – March 20/12

It was only a couple of weeks ago that I was thinking that people should not be walking on the Red River and suddenly there is no ice to walk on anyway.  It was obviously not very thick ice to disappear so quickly.

During yesterday’s walk with Chester the water was flowing with just a bit of ice floating along.

The temperature has dropped down from the mid 20′s on the weekend, but its still above what we normally have in March.

I have no pictures, but I’ve seen so many birds that don’t normally show up around here until April.

The Kestrals are back in the neighbourhood.  I think the parents and kids from last year are all here, so maybe we will have more than one pair nesting nearby as they set up their territories.

Hundreds of Canada Geese are back.  I have seen countless flocks going by.  I did try to get a picture of some of them, but I was in my back yard where there are just too many trees to get a good shot.

I saw a flock of robins fly by one morning when it was too dark to try to get a picture and have now heard them singing also – still haven’t had a good look at one though.

I saw about 6 Turkey Vultures flying high above the city.  I wasn’t sure what they were at first, but they were circling and just riding on the currents.  I could tell they were large birds, but it wasn’t until I got home and searched online that I saw a picture of a turkey vulture flying and I knew that’s what they were.  I have seen them before – but never in the city.

I can hear a lot of different birds singing, but have not been able to see what they are.  I hope all these birds haven’t returned too early due to this weather.

Anyway – I have pictures taken of the Red River yesterday morning.  The river is starting to rise, but I don’t expect much flooding this year.  I have no idea what the experts expect though. 

March 20 - Big Tree Across the Red River

March 20 Red River looking West (showing big tree, plus other trees)

You can see the big tree on the left is still well above the river, but some of the trees on the left are in the water.  I’ll get a better picture tomorrow.

March 20 - Red River looking South

March 20 - Red River looking North

Chester is still doing fine with the new combination of meds.  Its still early, of course – but with luck, we got it now.

Chester March 20

So far on Africam today, we have seen Lion, Elephant, Giraffe, Skink, Waterbuck, Wildebeest, Hadeda Ibis, Zebra, Nyala, Impala, Blacksmith Lapwing and Giant Eagle Owl.  Click here to see today’s pictures.

Jewel

Jewel, as you know, is my Congo African Grey Parrot.  She came to live with me in January, 1997 at the age of 6 months – so she is 14 years old now – well, 14 1/2 I guess.

African Grey Parrots can live a long time – similar to a human’s life span, so chances are that she will outlive me.  Luckily, Jewel gets along fine with my daughter and will have a home with her when I’m gone.  Of course, I plan on being around for at least another 40 years or so, but when you have a pet that lives this long you have to make plans – just in case.

I suppose I could be attacked by a herd of rampaging elephants or a pride of lions when I’m in Africa later this year or one of those 4 planes I take each way to get there and get home again could go down – but otherwise, I should be here for many more years to enjoy having my Jewel.  Sorry – I have to get my African trip into this in some way. 

Jewel needs a shower right now, but just like Chester – she doesn’t like showers/baths.  She is moulting and growing in new feathers and every evening, I break the sharp tips of the incoming feathers, but a shower would help her so much.  The problem is that she can fly out of the tub and she really squawks when I close the shower curtain to keep her in.  You can tell by the picture that I took of her yesterday that she could really use a shower.

Jewel Jan 1

She knew I wanted to take her up to the shower yesterday afternoon and there was no way that she would step up for me.

So far on Africam today, we have seen Elephant, African Comb Duck, Terrapin, Nyala, Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Zebra (with a new baby), Warthog, Kudu, Hadeda Ibis, Woolly-necked Stork, Impala, Duiker, Egyptian Goose and Goslings, White-tailed Mongoose and Hyaena.  Click here to see all of today’s pictures.

When Chester and I leave for our walk in a few minutes, it is looking like we will have a temperature of -13C with a wind chill of -22C and some light snow falling.  It may drop to -15C just as we are walking though and the high predicted for today is -12C.

Gulls in the Sunrise

I don’t remember ever seeing so many beautiful sunrises as I’ve seen this year.  Yesterday, I planned on walking Chester a little bit later so I could get better lighting in my pictures, but just before I normally walk I glanced out the window and saw the orange colours of the sunrise had spread all the way over so it was visible right in front of me.  So, we walked a little earlier than usual and saw the whole sky was lit up by the time we got to the river.

Its a wonderful way to start my day 

Sunrise Nov 3

Gull In Sunrise Nov 3

Gull In Sunrise Nov 3

Gull In Sunrise Nov 3

When I’m in Africa next year, I’m going to have to compare the sunrise and sunsets there to what we have here.  I’m seldom home for the sunsets here though and I think the sunsets in Africa will be hard to beat.  Having the Red River for the location of the pictures helps also, with the reflections – but I’m sure that these sunrises I’ve been seeing would be beautiful even without the water.

It is 4C right now, but we have a windchill of -2C for our walk this morning.  The expected high this afternoon is 9C.

So far on Africam today, we have seen Zebras, Kudu, Terrapin, Giraffe, Egyptian Geese, Hadeda Ibis, Sandpiper, African Spoonbill, Impala, Wildebeest, Baboons, Spotted Eagle Owl chicks, Bushbuck, and a Scrub Hare.  Click here to see today’s pictures.

Another Sunrise

I’ve only got a few more days of the sunrise walks before our time changes and we’ll have more daylight at this time of day.  Of course, it won’t be long before the sunrise is back at the Chester dog walking time as the days get shorter though.  We had another beautiful sunrise yesterday morning and I have a picture to prove it. 

Its funny, but now that Chester has discovered the birds on the river side of the path, he is no longer looking for bunnies across the road.  When we’re on the path by the Red River, he is looking along the river bank for any movement.  I think he is finding more critters than I knew were down there though.  He will stop and stare at a spot where I can’t see or hear anything, but the grass and weeds are very long and I know he has better hearing than I do.  There are probably bunnies down there too, but I’ve never seen one.

It is -2C right now and we have a predicted high of 9C with a sunny sky. Every day without snow is a bonus. 

Sunrise Nov 2

Gull on edge of sunrise Nov 2

Mallard Duck Nov 2

Gull Nov 2

Sightings are low at Africam right now because there has been a lot of rain lately, which means that there are plenty of water puddles in the bush and critters don’t have to come to a waterhole to drink.  But there are always some critters that come out to visit.  So far today, we have seen Vervet Monkey, Terrapin, Common Duiker, the Spotted Eagle Owl and the 2 adorable chicks.  Click here to see today’s pictures.

A Beaver for Sarah

I’ve mentioned Sarah before.   I worked with her at the Y, but now she has gone from being my physical fitness guru to my financial guru.  Anyway, she is still obsessed with beavers.  I got my best pictures ever of the elusive beaver on the Red River yesterday.

I got pictures of him coming and going.

Beaver October 28

Beaver October 28

Beaver October 28

Beaver October 28

Beaver October 28

Beaver October 28

Beaver October 28

Beaver October 28

And away he goes again.  First time I’ve seen one get out of the water where I could see him well enough to take pics.

I got much better pictures from the Sony than I would have from the Olympus.  They both zoom about the same amount, but these are clearer than they would have been with the Olympus.

I took both cameras to the Sony Store today to ask about the zoom.  Finally I got someone who knows about cameras and zoom lenses.  He knew right away that the Olympus should zoom as much or a little bit more than the Sony.  The 75mm on the lens was not referring to the zoom – it was the 15x that was the zoom and the mm was more of the distance from the camera to the object.

I’m disappointed that I can not get more zoom from the Sony, but because of the size of the pictures, I have lots of room to crop.  heavily cropped pictures will not make good prints, but they work well online.  The pictures of the beaver are heavily cropped.  When he was out of the water, he was approximately 150 feet away from me.  I’m just guessing at the distance, but figuring that the tree in my yard was about 50 feet and he was at least 3 times that distance away.  When he is swimming, he is obviously further away again.

I got a couple of pretty decent gull pictures too. 

Ring-bill Gull October 28

Ring-bill Gull Oct 28

Its kind of neat that the path where Chester and I walk is above the river so I am above or even with many of the birds that fly by. 

I got real lucky and got some more great pictures yesterday afternoon.  I will post those later today or tomorrow.

So far today on Africam we have seen Waterbuck, Egyptian Goose, Zebra, Hadeda Ibis, Blacksmith Lapwing, Terrapin, and Cape Buffalo.  Click here to see today’s pictures.