Hidden Cooper
A Cooper’s Hawk sits hidden in the branches west of Snake Island. A Cooper’s couple raised a family in the area in 2011, it’s nice to see them back again.
Wingtip Flight
A great blue heron takes flight near Doughnut Island, wingtip feathers outstretched mere inches from the surface of the water.
Crayfish Delight
In our continuing series of Wildlife Sticking Their Tongues Out, a Centre Island mink crunches through a crayfish, consuming it entirely shell and all.
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.
Toothpick
An American alligator, common at the Kennedy Space Centre, chews on a toothpick outside one of NASA’s administrative buildings.
Booster Max Q
Condensation clouds form around the nose of Atlantis’ solid rocket boosters as the space shuttle makes the transition to supersonic speed. The effect can be seen below, in a frame taken from one of NASA’s HD video cameras mounted to the External Tank:
Chris Hadfield
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield gives an interview at the press site of the Kennedy Space Centre. Hadfield flew on two shuttle missions, STS-74 (Atlantis) and STS-100 (Endeavour).
KSC Oldtimer
A gopher tortoise, possible older than the space shuttle program itself, basks in the sun outside of its burrow in the press site, gazing towards launch pad 39A.
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.
