a window into my week

Between needing to do this and needing to do that and having to be here and having to be there, I made sure to get my nature happy fix in amongst all those comings and goings.  I also included time for crafting too, that is my go to place when I need calm and quiet.  On my first out & about since returning from Victoria, the initial sight I saw other than the gorgeous autumn colours was a Red-breasted Nuthatch.  I was in another zone and was startled back to reality with the "yank yank yank yank yank" in my ear! I like to think that was my welcome!  

I was able to make it to two different locations on two different days. These shots are from both parks.  The photos were also taken before the mini blizzard hit with wind, rain and then snow.  I will say this was the calm before the storm. The colours were easy to capture yet the wildlife was another story. While the colours popped the wildlife did not!  They did though in personality just not in visibility.

a Mountain Cottontail

banded Black-capped Chickadee

I know a little bit about banding.  I referred to the book I bought in Victoria last week called "The Birding Dictionary", this is a screen shot from the book. Banding peaked my interest since Kaydee, the Big Bear Bald Eagle, has come into the picture. I also checked the Government of Canada Bird Banding Program website to learn even more, especially for here in Canada.

male House Finch

This is one of five Muskrats that I saw. 

It's a busy time of year for them as they prepare for winter. 

Dark-eyed Junco

White-tailed Deer

White-breasted Nuthatch

Northern Flicker

This Juvenile Bald Eagle was massive! I was there before it was. While listening for and watching for other birds, this big brown thing swooped in over my head and landed in the tree. I wonder if this could be one of the Carburn babies born in the spring. The lighting was not good so it looks more red than it actually was. I watched for about twenty minutes from various angles as it primped and preened.   

With Hallowe'en around the corner, I created another water colour painting of that Red-breasted Nuthatch whose welcome startled me. It's still peaking out from the tree, while it is blending into a full moon, as it yank yank yank yank's out a loud BOO!  

This is the photo I used as a reference for both paintings.