October is always a transition month. Birds head south, trees turn colours, some mornings see frost.
As usual my eye saw the same things too. Fall colour, animals, flora, frost and some other than above.
A dragonfly on the edge of the boardwalk at Mer Bleue gave me a chance to catch a look into his many eyes
Two birds made brief appearances at Petrie island. Both gained my attention quickly. On the left a male common merganser, perhaps coming out of molt. They are usually a spring visitor. On the right a lesser scaup way out in the Ottawa River. They aren't a rare bird, but this was the first I remember seeing anywhere.
I spotted four cormorants in Muskrat Bay at Petrie. Two were darker than the others. Checking the internet I think that the lighter ones were juveniles and the darker ones adults. Although various authoritative websites indicated that they normally don't hang around as a family this late in the year. Maybe they were a late hatch? They didn't appreciate my being there and labouriously took off and circled to gain attitude.
The Mud Lake wood ducks (and those in other locations) should be heading south soon, but two really caught my eye in nice light and poses.
The juncos have been around for a while, always tantalizing me to get a decent shot of one. I finally managed to at Mer Bleue. My eye was drawn to an unusual bird at Petrie - a ruby-crowned kinglet. (Unusual only that I rarely see them.)
The fall colours were everywhere. But much muted this year due to the drought. The silver maples still managed to produce scarlet red colours.
Top row: Mer Bleue, Mud lake, Mud Lake, Morris Island
Bottom row: Morris Island, Morris Island, Silver maples at Petrie and Colonnade ponds
In several locations including Petrie, my eye went right for the lime green burdock plants. They are the only bright green colour at this time of year.
A plant I never paid much attention to, but my eye was drawn to the fall version with the seeds ready to disperse - a cotton-grass bulrush. (Yes, a single "l" is correct). I spotted a few at Petrie and Mud Lake.
I thought all goldenrod was tall, but this variety apparently is "Tall Goldenrod". The photo on the right is a backlit fern at Limerick Forest
I always think of cattails in the fall resembling over-bloated dirty swabs of cotton batten, but on a bicycle ride my eyes spotted some giving off nice fluffy seeds. Based on a second day's observation, I think this cycle only lasts a very few days before the cotton batten appears.
A few late bursting milkweed pods were giving off their seeds.
My eye could not help but go to the frost on some plants and the boardwalk at Limerick Forest
Two non-nature events were certainly eye-catching: Pumpkinferno at Upper Canada Village and Databells at a gallery in Ottawa.
All of October's PhotoStories can be found at