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Nov 1, 2010
Framed landscapes at Cold Creek
Oct 31, 2010
Oct 30, 2010
Oct 27, 2010
Tufted Titmouse at Bolton
Wikipedia photo by Ken ThomasOct 26, 2010
Lincoln's Sparrow at Cold Creek
Wikipedia Photo by Terry SohlOct 25, 2010
Oct 24, 2010
Branta canadensis

Once, maybe twice, I've pictured a Canada Goose in this Blog space. Our Canada Goose is so ubiquitous that one is reluctant to show one more image than is absolutely necessary. I suppose there are those who would say they never get tired of seeing the Canada Goose, either on-the-wing or in pictures. Nevertheless, I believe this photograph captures this bird as well as any I have ever seen. It was taken in 2006 at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, in Calgary, Alberta, by Chuck Szmurlo. It appears in Wikipedia's List of the birds of Ontario. This goose with the pale breast, beautifully captured here, appears to be of the subspecies hutchinsii and is common in central and western Canada. Canada Geese normally max-out, in size, at around 114 cm. (45") long, with a wingspan of about 180 cm. (71"). Wikipdedia declares that: " An exceptionally large male of the race B.c. maxima, the 'giant Canada goose' (which rarely exceed 8 kg/18lb), weighed 10.9 kg (24 pounds) and had a wingspan of 2.24 m (88 inches)...this specimen is the largest wild goose ever recorded of any species". Anyway, enough said. My purpose here was to show Chuck Szmurlo's perfect photo of a big beautiful bird. Click on the image for a larger view.
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB
Oct 23, 2010
I wish I'd said this...
Ozark Trail Association Photo
Photo by Daniel, Fordland, Missouri
As I searched for a photo to illustrate the Cunninghame-Graham quote, above, I recalled a herd of wild horses I'd briefly glimpsed on a canoe trip, along the Current River in Missouri, almost 20 years ago. Long-time friend, Peter Marsh, had organized a gang of good ol' Ontario boys to spend a week paddling across and down the Ozark Plateau from Cedargrove to Van Buren. As our 12-canoe flotilla paddled past the point where the Jack Forks River merges with the Current, I saw a band of wild white horses stampeding along the shoreline and off into the woods. It was a fleeting moment and I wondered if I hadn't seen the ghosts of horses, instead of the real thing. Later, a local Missouran told me I had been lucky to get the glimpse I did and that there were people who had lived all there lives in the area and had never seen them. Sadly, I never got my camera out in time. Now, these many years later, I Googled 'Missouri Wild Horses'. It turns out these horses have been around for a hundred years and in that same year as my canoe trip (1992), the National Park Service was given permission to remove these nuisance horses from their federal land. Apparently, all hell broke loose and following action by good Ozark citizens, the Missouri Wild Horse League was formed and fought a 5-year battle to protect these horses in their home environment. President Clinton signed a bill in 1996 that declared the horses part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Today, the horses are thriving, and in the interests of maintaining a healthy balance in this situation, extra stallions are gelded and put up for sale occasionally, to a lucky few. I'll never forget my lucky glimpse at the last wild horses of the American mid-west.
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB
Oct 22, 2010
Oct 18, 2010
I wish I'd said this...
Oct 17, 2010
Oct 16, 2010
Rebecca Caine revisited
Wikipedia PhotoLinda in the leaves
BtheB
Oct 13, 2010
Fall visitors flying in
BtheB
Describe this colour if you dare
Here's another Fraser River Delta sunset photo from my old acquaintance, Don Flucker, in Ladner, British Columbia. Don's one of those lucky people who lives on the water - literally. He lives in a floating house and is one of the lucky people in this world who gets two sunsets each evening: one in the sky and one in the water, coming together, becoming one and then vanishing.BtheB
Oct 12, 2010
Thanksgiving weather ~ you never know
BtheB
Oct 11, 2010
Oct 9, 2010
Imagine, if you will...
Oct 8, 2010
No Nobel ~ but worthy of one
Liu Xiaobo, Chinese dissident and human rights advocate, has just won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Greg Mortenson, of the United States, was a nominee for the same prize. Greg was also a nominee in 2009, but lost out to Barrack Obama. I have just read Greg Mortenson's book, Three Cups of Tea, which describes the years of work he has put into building schools (especially for girls) in Pakistan and Afghanistan. I am late coming to this man's inspiring story. 
BtheB
Sep 29, 2010
Up on the King Ridge today
BarrytheBirderPhotos
The King Ridge is one of my favourite sections of the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail, especially the unopened road allowance between the 6th and 7th Concessions of King Township. As I write this blog, I am co-incidently listening to Willie Nelson's sweet, sweet version of September Song. It talks of the September days dwindling down to a precious few. The next two weeks will be prime time for fall colours during the shorter days of autumn. Get out there and enjoy them while you can. Please comment if you wish.
Sep 27, 2010
This one had me confounded
Bill Salter, a friend who lives on the Oak Ridges Moraine in King Township, sent me the above picture of a bird that crashed into one of his house windows. The bird didn't survive and as Bill prepared to dispose of it, he was puzzled about the identity of the bird and intrigued by the bright pink colouring on its underwings. I too was puzzled and intrigued and sent the picture to fellow King City resident and friend, Gerry Binsfeld. Gerry is one of Canada's best birders and cleared up the mystery for Bill and me. This bird is a 1st fall (juvenile) male, Red-breasted Grosbeak. I have certainly seen Red-breasted Grosbeaks before - but usually the adult male, with its very distinctive black and white and red colouring. I know I've seen females in the company of males, but would be hard-pressed to describe them off the top of my head. Ignoring the large, thick conical bill, its overall size, and its white face markings, I was completely baffled by the underwing colour. Gerry contacted his buddy, Mark Peck, who oversees the ornithology collection at the Royal Ontario Museum. Mark expressed an interest in having this bird (which Bill Salter had put in his freezer) and arrangements have been made to pass it on to Mark for the museum's collection. I was amazed at how a fairly common bird, when see from an uncommon perspective, could confound me so. Not the case with Gerry, though, and that explains why his bird life-list is probably ten times longer than mine, or more.Please comment if you wish.
BtheB
Sep 21, 2010
Walking into Wilderness
Sep 19, 2010
This one's for the guys
I visited an old friend, Glenn McKinnon, and his wife Joanne, last week. It had been many, many years since we last saw each other. One of the the things Glenn showed me was his collection of motorcycles. Anything with wheels and a motor, and Glenn is in his element. Stored with the bikes was this 1974 International Harvester Cub Cadet garden tractor. We've all seen restored cars, right? Well, I don't know about you, but I've never seen a restored garden tractor. This beauty is 36 years old. It might seem hard to appreciate this restoration in the same way you would a car or a truck or even a motorcycle, but trust me, you just can't help but stand there and say "Well, I'll be damned". This little beauty is special, just like Glenn: a talented guy, indeed.Please comment if you wish.
BtheB
Cyprinus carpio
BtheB
Tiny wire jails
BtheB
Wikipedia PhotoSep 18, 2010
Unlucky puss
I took the above picture a few days ago, at the home of my brother Bob and his wife, Nancy, in Parry Sound, Ontario. It shows the simplest of grave-markers. It is also the very spot where one of their pet cats was recently killed by a fisher. The fisher is a 10-to-20-pound predator that is easily capable of killing a cat of the same size. It seems in the Parry Sound area, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment determined that re-locating fishers here was a natural way to control a porcupine population that was wildly out of control. The fisher is one of the few predators that can successfully hunt porcupines. The word in and around Parry Sound is that having reduced the porcupine population to a level that could not sustain its own voracious appetite, the very large weasel is now rapidly reducing the populations of several other wild creatures. Whereas it was once thought that fishers rarely preyed on cats, locals in the Parry Sound area are reporting many slaughters of their cats. This is the second cat that Bob and Nancy have lost in this way. My use of the word slaughter is deliberate, as the fisher is a remarkably efficient and masterful killer, violently tearing its victims from limb to limb and scattering the shreds around and about. The unfolding of nature can be gruesome, as well as pretty. I am usually uneasy, sometimes queasy, when humans presume to re-balance nature. Invariably, we over-react, over-correct, fail to make the world a better place, and misspend a pile of money. Then there's the collateral damage, even if it's just another dear pet. Lord, save us from our own accomplishments.
BtheB
Sep 14, 2010
Purple ponderings
Although everywhere is an ocean of goldenrod this September, I did notice these wild asters today at Humber Trails Conservtion Area. Alice Walker, please take note.
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB
Destination: Octopus Islands
Sunrise at Comox
Jervis Inlet ~ a Canadian Fjord
Sep 12, 2010
Sep 10, 2010
Hiking at Cawthra Mulock
I sat on a bench and enjoyed the view over a pretty little pond, which has a resident Kingfisher who wouldn't come close enough for a good picture. I'll get him next time.
I found the remains of an ancient farmstead interesting, especially what appeared to be a square silo.
Markers on the main trail are red paint on old wooden posts or white arrows with a red background on metal posts. There are four connecting trails in total.
Butterflies, like this obliging Red Admiral, abounded at Cawthra Mulock Nature Reserve today.
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB
Sep 8, 2010
September turns yellow
Sep 6, 2010
Zebra Finch in King City?!?!
Sep 5, 2010
Late summer ~ Marylake
Sep 2, 2010
Grampa's 99-year-old corn
My grandfather, Sid Thomas, brought this cob of corn from Wimborne, Dorset, England in 1911. As you can see, some of the kernals are missing. Did Sid nibble on some while crossing the Atlantic? Did mice expropriate their share? Or did Sid plant some of the kernals in the soil of his new homeland, Canada? After 99 years, it seems the right time to plant some of these kernals should be next year, marking the 100th anniversary of the cob in Canada. My sister, Denise, suggests if the planting is successful that she and I, along with our sister, Diane, and brother, Bob, could get together for a corn roast. That would be great, but we do live apart from each other, by a combined distance of 3,700 kilometres. A simpler solution might be to send them some kernals, from King City, for planting in Parry Sound (Ontario), Wemindji (Quebec side of James Bay) and Vernon River (Prince Edward Island). How will this turn out? We'll all have to wait a year to see an outcome. Stay tuned.
BtheB


