It seemed, in hindsight, to be a very busy month with visits to some of the usual haunts, plus a few new places along with a week at a cottage.
More indepth PhotoStories are available at:
I had to smile when a female merganser (who seemed quite small) was forcefully giving a piece of her mind to some mallards at Mud Lake.
After a few minutes peace was restored.
Egrets always catch my eye. First picture is from the Crystal Bay area, the second is not from Florida, but from the Deschénes Rapids - a nest full of egrets ready to fledge.
Unusual, different, or some new aspect of, insects were spotted...
Scroll over for ID.
Virginia Ctenucha Moth
zebra caddisfly
Laurel Sphinx moth
dot-tailed whitefaced dragonfly
Rampion Scissor Bee (?)
Flower hermit Beetle
Bald-faced Hornet
I always look for Indian Pipes in August, but was happy to see 5 or so groupings in various locations in mid-July.
Middle shot is looking into the interior of the flower on one stem. Last photo is a Tanytarsini midge on the flower.
The weather conditions seemed to be good for mushrooms, which in turn caused slugs to appear on the mushrooms. Including one slug hanging by a thread (of slime).
There were slugs in the marsh for bull frogs to eat...
Expecting a deer, that had just crossed my path, to be farther back in the woods, I couldn't find her... She was looking at me from the tall grass 20 feet away!
Two ruby-throated hummingbirds entertained us at the cottage at the feeder outside the window. The male had a favourite perch which gave me a chance for more natural looking photos. Including one with his tongue stuck out.
Baltimore orioles are not rare, but I infrequently see them. One family of orioles caught my eye at Petrie Island. I managed to get a photo of the adult.
Green herons were playing hard to photograph at Nepean Creek (and Mud Lake). A male turkey (the only male?) at Mud Lake was busy practicing for next spring's breeding season.
Numerous summer wildflowers were in bloom, here are a few samples.. Scroll over for ID
White Waterlily
Helleborine (Orchid)
Helleborine (Orchid)
Burdock
Purple Loosestrife
Joe-pye-weed
Purple flowering raspberry
Fields of sunflowers always catch my eye, but I never seem to be able to quite sort out what to do with it...
It is impossible to capture star trails in the city, so I tried it at the cottage we were staying at. I ran a 2.5 hour exposure with the result below. There are 4-5 satellite tracks along with an equal number of airplanes flying through. The track is a little jittery likely caused by there being a breeze and I neglected to take the camera strap off the camera. Plus the tripod was on a wood deck, not down on the ground.
Not an eye catcher, but an ear catcher. I have never seen, let alone heard a whippoorwill before. While shooting the star trails I heard a whippoorwill call. I recorded the bird and added someone else's whippoorwill photo.
Another ear catcher - there was an odd sound outside the front of the house. It sounded like water dripping or a weird bird sound. Turned out to be a chipmunk. The sound is supposed to be a warning of an aerial predator, but given that the chipmunk continued making the sound as he calmly performed his toilette, I'm not sure there was any predator around.
While male wood ducks in molt are easy to ID, male mallards can look like gadwalls or black ducks.
Some of the males were showing signs of their flight feathers coming back in.
