Size Differential
Northern map turtles show the size differential between young and old, basking on a log near Doughnut Island. The 2011 season was a great one for map turtles.
Hot September Sun
A great blue heron stands on the tern raft in the centre of the trout pond, panting in the hot September sun with its tongue on full display. This might be the start of an odd new wildlife theme, hot on the heels of this black-crowned night heron and canada goose.
Uncommon Eyes
The distinctive eye and beak of a large snapping turtle, seen here surfacing in Blockhouse Bay. I spent a wonderful hour floating over this fellow, watching him (her?) hunt through the late-summer plant life on the bottom of the lagoon.
Shining Light I & II
A great blue heron hunts in the September light off of Algonquin Island, evoking the image of this great egret from September of 2008.
Hiding In Broad Daylight
A cormorant proves hard to see even in broad daylight, the low September sunlight casting many background areas into dark shadow.
Straight as an Arrow
A great blue heron takes flight in Long Pond, primary and secondary flight feathers outstretched.
Woody Couple
A lovely wood duck couple, stopping over on their fall migration, grace the waters off of Doughnut Island.
Canvasback Haze
A rarity for these parts, this elusive canvasback spent the summer here, often visible around Sunfish Cut.
Grebe Horns
A lovely horned grebe, migrating through, swims in the inner harbour. Painfully shy, they were absolutely not interested in hanging out with the photographer.
An Amphibian Gala
A good sign: six northern leopard frogs have their own gala day on a piece of wood near the Eastern Gap.
Great Blue
A great blue heron stands on a submerged log in Snug Harbour, keeping a wary eye on the photographer.
Dr. Tongue
A mature black-crowned night heron licks its bill after successfully spearing a fish for lunch. Click image to view larger.
Night Reflections
An adolescent black-crowned night heron hunts for fish, reflected perfectly in the calm waters of the lagoon at almost 10:00pm.
Heron Pose
The camera turns night into day as an adolescent black-crowned night heron hunts on a log at almost 10:00pm, head down, standing motionless for minutes at a time waiting for fish to swim by.
Kitchen Coon
From the it-always-pays-to-have-a-camera-around department, a film oldie but a goodie. During foundation replacement, this fellow managed to find a way in. Finding the cat food bowl, he proceeded to hoover back as much as fast as possible, waking me up at about 2:00 in the morning. Turning on the kitchen light, he jumped eight feet […]
Gimpy
Another view of this three-legged painted turtle from 2006. What happened to its leg is still a mystery, but subsequent sightings in later years proves that it’s doing just fine.
Sitting Pretty II
The “Doughnut Peahen”, who lived wild on the Island for at least two years, sits on a branch near Doughnut Island. Where she came from is a mystery, neither the IYC nor the farm ever reported any missing.