Lemoine's Point Conservation Area

Kingston, Ontario

Welcome back!

This week I'm highlighting some birds from the Lemoine's Point Conservation Area. The area has lots of trails, so you can take a shorter one or the longer one...we usually do the longer one as it's still under 2 hours...there are probably longer ones, but that's the main one that we try to stick to each time. 

These are photos of the Black-Capped Chickadee (first 7 photos)  and the White-Breasted Nuthatch (last 2 photos).

These are quite common on our walks any time of the year, but these were taken last April...hard to believe it's been that long! They are quite comical birds and we love watching them and of course, feeding them..They love peanuts, but we usually have sunflower seeds. They will dig through the seeds looking to see what else is there, hoping for peanuts I'm guessing!

Have a great week!

Lemoine's Point, Pt.2

Welcome Back!

This time I'm highlighting the last of the photos I took at Lemoine's Point in Kingston. These include my favourite local bird, the nuthatch. They are so comical to watch. They really check us out before they will come over and land on your hand (Kevin's in these pictures---mine aren't that hairy!) They also come down the tree very funny, circling the tree as they do, so we think they are gone, but really, they are just on the back on the tree! They also look like they are folded in half on the tree as well, but they got to keep an eye on us I guess!

The last photo is one of a very cautious deer, who didn't want to come too close! Which is good as it is a wild animal and should stay that way, as much as we'd love to pet it, etc. 

Next time I think I will post some alligator photos from Myrtle Beach (last March) that I took and noticed that I never highlighted. It's almost time to head back to MB, so I best get these posted!

Well, I've been busy the last couple of days sweating at the gym and I also signed up for a couple of online courses--one craft-related (Cricut Craftroom) and one work-related, which is an Introduction to CSS and HTML5..Lots of reading and assignments --6 weeks long..I'm excited, but I hope I can survive it! :-)

Have a GREAT weekend!

The Nuthatch

Here are some more shots from our visit to Lemoine's Point a few weeks ago...This week I'm sharing my shots of the Nuthatch. A cute little fellow who is funny to watch come down the side of a tree...He looks like he's bent in half at times...Maybe it's to keep an eye out for predators! Anyway, he's a very cute bird and has a very distinctive chirp as well. You can hear them coming!

Here's a bit about the nuthatch, again from Wikipedia (one of my favourite sites to visit):

The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs. Most species exhibit grey or bluish upperparts and a black eye stripe.
Most nuthatches breed in the temperate or montane woodlands of the Northern Hemisphere, although two species have adapted to rocky habitats in the warmer and drier regions of Eurasia. However, the greatest diversity is in Southern Asia, and similarities between the species have made it difficult to identify distinct species. All members of this genus nest in holes or crevices. Most species are non-migratory and live in their habitat year-round, although the North American Red-breasted Nuthatch migrates to warmer regions during the winter. A few nuthatch species have restricted ranges and face threats from deforestation.
Nuthatches are omnivorous, eating mostly insects, nuts and seeds. They forage for insects hidden in or under bark by climbing along tree trunks and branches, sometimes upside-down. They forage within their territories when breeding, but may join mixed feeding flocks at other times. Their habit of wedging a large food item in a crevice and then hacking at it with their strong bills gives this group its English name.

We are off to the Zoo tomorrow...Hopefully I'll get some shots of the baby polar bear (born Dec 2010). He just went on display the end of January, so I'm looking forward to seeing him!

Happy Family Day!

 

A Hiking We Will Go....

Last Sunday was so beautiful that we went for a walk around Lemoine's Point in Kingston. It's a pretty nice walk, but even better if you get to see some critters! Here are all the ones we saw throughout the walk..sorry for posting so many this week, but I couldn't narrow it down to just 2-3 this week!

1st-Bluejay

2nd-Chickadee

3rd-Nuthatch

4th-Woodpecker-he was far away!

5th-the sun shining through the trees

6th-chipmunk, pigging out on the seeds

7th-fat squirrel eating something

8th-squirrel checking us out

9th-another squirrel

10th-a black squirrel

My friend Melissa and I were at the Toronto Zoo on Friday and I took 3 SD cards full of pictures, so once I get through them, I'll be sure and post some shots...We had an awesome day for shooting. It was a bit chilly, but didn't rain on us! The animals tend to be more active too! I got to see and shoot the African Penguins too..they are so darn cute, I wanted to sneak one home!

For the Birds!

Yep, this post is for the birds! Or for the bird lovers at least! Here are some pictures shot in Nov 2009. I haven't taken any good pictures lately, other than horses, so I went back into the archives for these ones! They were all shot on Amherst Island last year.

1st-chickadee sitting on Kevin's hand

2nd & 3rd-two shots of the same woodpecker. I wasn't sure which I liked better, so included both

4th-a nuthatch getting a seed from the feeder

A Hiking We Will Go...

Yep, we went hiking on Sunday since it was such a beautiful day. Brooke's friend, Keegan came along with us too as we hiked through Lemoine's Point in Kingston! We saw the usual critters there, including the pictures below:

1st-chickadee

2nd-nuthatch

3rd-chipmunk

For the Birds....

Here are today's offerings...yep, some birds. Kevin and I went hiking on Amherst Island in the area called the "Owl Woods". Of course, we didn't see any owls...well, we think we saw a couple, flying around, but none close enough to shoot. I did get some good shots of the birds we did see, which were:

1st Pic-chickadee with a seed in his beak on Kevin's hand
2nd Pic-woodpecker up in the tree (above a bird feeder)
3rd Pic-nuthatch with a seed in his beak on the bird feeder

Enjoy!

For The Birds....

Here is a post that is for the birds! These are the birds I shot yesterday while hiking.

1st-Chickadee
2nd-Nuthatch
3rd-Downey Woodpecker