Rain Maker!

This was the fastest September of all! WHAT? it's hot again? Dang we had this short little fall it lasted about 4 days then humid n hot like Summer again...LOL During that short reprieve I was able to paint that metal chair I found and if you wanna see how I did here is a You Tube of that important event..haha!

The birding has been very slow this month..One new bird in my radius birding patch since the Spotted Sandpiper at the beginning of Sept.  So adding 2 is all for this whole month.  I'll save that for the end of this post...We have some activity with our regular birds...

wood duck drake

And this is a heavy crop of a Pileated Woodpecker gliding through the air...how aerodynamic is that?

It's been SO dry when I put the sprinkler on an area of the yard the birds came to take showers

The Northern Mockingbird spread his wings and tail feathers in appreciation of the cool water...

This young Northern Parula looked 3 times normal size all fluffed up and getting as much water as possible, it even tried to catch some drops in an open mouth...

The Eastern Bluebird got in on the action as well...

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Today I made my way over to the new park that recently opened up in our county.  I have entered it to ebird and made it into a hotspot..So far I'm the only one birding there.  

It is a riverside county park, and there is this little creek that empties into the river here...birds are active along the banks of this creek.  The only problem is fishermen...and hopefully they will lose interest it's a sloped bank and lots of timber down in this creek...

See what I mean...and it can't be too much fun trying to stand there for a long period and getting your line tangled up so I'm hopeful that they will give up...3 showed up while I was there but they left without fishing! :o)  

Today it was kinda of birdy! A few Early Migrants were around fattening up for the trip.  I got the worst photos I've gotten in longggg time of a Lifer there today!  At least I turned it into one.... a Northern Waterthrush not rare so I doubt it will be reviewed  I see the streaking  all the way up the throat...and the beak is not big...hope it sticks at first I thought I had a Louisiana but when comparing the two I called it Northern. I had other bad photos of it too and those helped me with my conclusion. 

I know fuzzy...

An American Redstart (f) very busy around the mud along the bank...quick as lightening and so acrobatic!  

  

Also had Gray Catbird, Northern Parula, Hairy Woodpecker, and this
warbler sp?

Pink legs, long stout beak, olive/greenish coloring with darker fine streaks on the lower wing , I think I see an eye ring but not sure and the tail seems long for a Connecticut. Ideas?

 

This Eastern Wood Pewee was still for a photo...I think this will be a good spot for Warblers, not in my radius tho.

Tons of Pine Warblers are around..and do you know how many warbler females look a lot like Pine Warblers?  Way more than you can imagine!

check out this cool V formation, you know Geese are not the only species that use this method of travel insurance...

47 Double Crested Cormorants.  

at my hotspot Goodale Park

So I got my 2nd September 5 mile Radius bird complements of an ebird reviewer...I saw what I thought was a Hermit Thrush...I've seen many of them at my Hotspot Goodale Park,  and had one already this year in late spring...and I didn't even give it a thought when I put it in as rare figured it arrived early...But the reviewer said "the eye ring looks buffy more like Swainson's Thrush..Fine by me, caChing! #121

October already?? Wow. 

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

Kakabeka Falls and Ouimet Canyon Provincial Parks

I was very excited to stay at Kakabeka Falls Prov. Park (9/10-12) because of the FALLS! It's one big and beautiful one!

The road into the park actually passes over the river right at the brink of the falls...This falls is like 2 falls since its divided in two, a right and left plunge with a large rock dividing the 2 parts and then the water hits in 2 different places and as the water flows on down the gorge it is divided again by a small island! So much is going on in this falls!!

                                                            the brink of the falls

                                from the other side including the bridge that goes into the park...

the rock that splits the water in two...

This was a gushing falls but if it was at flood stage I'm sure it would come over this rock and be one single falls..

the river continues on down the Gorge...

the gorge looking at it from the other side...there are viewing platforms on both sides of the falls.

Swainson's

One fun thing for me was a tree full of berries and that tree drew in some birds...Immature Cedar Wax Wings and Swainson's Thrush! A new bird for me.

waxwing 

I was so excited!! AND this squirrel was out on a limb hanging over the falls!! 

I had planned to actually stay at Ouimet Canyon P. Park about one hr East of Kakabeka Falls, but when I got there I realized I had made a mistake and Ouimet was a day use park only! So it was late enough in the day that I wanted to go ahead and get my place to spend the night secured and go back to explore Ouimet the following day.  So I backtracked to Ouimet pronounced "we-met" on the 11th of Sept. A splendid way for me to spend the 9/11 memorial day. 

AND Casey was able to go along on this hike to the canyon Viewing Platforms...

                                                                                           My little buddy-->

It was a breath taking view too!  This sign explains the plant life in the canyon floor is like the Artic!  The cold air sinks in the canyon...

On the way back to Kakabeka to stay for a second night I saw these grouse run across the road in front of me...they hung around long enough for me to snap a couple photos and I am 99% sure these are Ruffed Grouse, due to the fringed top knot on the head, and the eye line.  Also a new Bird for me! Yippie 2 new birds in 2 days. 

there was 3, (2) females and one male he is barely visible in this photo...he did not have on breeding plumage anyway he was darker tho as you can see his neck in the upper middle of this shot.  I ended up seeing more Ruffed Grouse before the week was over.

Back at Kakabeka in the parking lot for viewing the falls without crossing the bridge was this vintage rig...I really liked 

I did some planning that night to figure out how and where I'd spend the rest of my time in Canada, I didn't want to have to get more money changed...I had spent one night at Pancake Bay, one at Neys and 2 nights at Kakabeka Falls, and that left me with one more night and 2 days to finish my North Shore of Lake Superior tour...before the parks began to close down for the season.

I like the money it's made of fabric instead of cellulose..it does not crease even when you fold it...and now I hear they are going to a plastic polymer "paper" with the $100 bill.  They have dollar coins the Loonie, (top coin) and the Toonie is a $2 coin,  they round up and down and have eliminated the penny all together they will not take a penny.  

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I got a late start and stopped to watch some float planes taking off with fishermen going into the back country to try for the big one...

You can learn a lot from reading these roadside signs...my last full day in Canada was dark and full of low hanging clouds...

wait a minute what's in that tree...the dot just right of center in the tree...I zoomed in and it is a blurry shot but always good to see a Bald Eagle...

Up next my last day touring around "Gi-chi-gami" (the Ojibwe's Great Sea) And Blue Lake

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.