Carburn Park at its best October 2, 2021

That golden hour turned into a golden morning for the entire eight kilometres in and out of and around Carburn Park!  The sunrises have been sensational but even though they are later these days, I have been struggling to get out there for the performance.   I did witness it as I motored to The Park this morning then once I arrived, I scurried out of my vehicle to get down by the river to catch the end of it.  What a morning for those riding in the two hot air balloons.   

It was time to aim for the dirt paths through the forest.  

I went to that special location to see if any birds were in the water bathing, but no luck.  

Instead the creek was full of reflections and fallen leaves.  

Before heading here today, I checked the map showing the location of larch trees in the city.  

This one is near the entrance to the lagoon and stood out tall and proud!  

There were quite a few of us here this morning capturing the beauty.

a canopy of colour

male Northern Flicker

crimson and gold, over and over

The sky was perfect this morning and was a proper pairing with the trees to afford pretty pictures!

In one section of the forest the Black-Capped Chickadees were in abundance.  While I had no treats, I still stuck my hand out.  This Chickadee landed, looked down, looked up, looked away  then flew off, never to land again!  

male Downy Woodpecker

female Downy Woodpecker

Along the way, a flitter of activity in a bush caught my eye.   I thought it to be a small bird bustling about. I stood still and then something at my feet caught my eye.  This peeked out of the hole!  I had no idea what I was seeing until I got home to do some googling.  This is an American Mink!     

The Mink entertained me for quite awhile.  

The time came to move on down the trail.  

I captured a bit more colour before calling it a morning 

then headed back to my car and hit the road to home.    

With gorgeous weather in the forecast you can be sure I will be searching for more colourful trails!