Red Deer Log Cabins

Flocks of swallows cavort, flying with their mouths open and eating biting bugs.  Yay!  Go swallows, go!

They smelled the fresh mown grass.  The game is on!
I really didn't want to cut the grass, because the whole waterfront area was full of wild flowers.  However, with the number of people expected this weekend, some would think ... things if I did not cut it.  Now that there has been a couple of good soaking rainfalls, lots of flowers have come into bloom.

Though the leaves are starting to change, I am predicting a couple more weeks of fabulous weather before a cool down happens.  I am still finding the occasional raspberry on a bush.  Nature seems to think it is early summer.

Though I am a big fan of people turning OFF their digital devices while they are here, I have been shown a couple of apps that are worthwhile.  I can't give you the names (because I won't advertise them) but I am sure you can find them!

1.  Constellations.  This thing is great because you can hold your machine up to the sky and it will highlight whatever constellation you are pointed at, making it easier to define.

2.  Birds.  There is an app that gives identification information including the song.  Some people have called birds in by playing the song, and we have identified more birds than can be seen by simple observation.

Might as well learn something while you are having fun.  BONUS!

Right outside the window of the office is a tree that has been slowly dying over the years.  It is some kind of poplar relative, and has been a terrific example of an ecosystem unto itself.  In the past it has been frequented by yellow bellied sapsuckers, which made holes from which sap ran.  They were followed by butterflies, hummingbirds, and squirrels who fed on the sap.
Last summer the tree trunk was nested in by a yellow shafted flicker.  It is back, and this year I can hear the tree singing, or talking, from quite a distance away.  Apparently there are babies in the there!  The sound gets a little louder every day.  Likely it won't be much longer; they must be nearing fledging time.

Every morning and every evening there is a ballet of swallows out in front of my deck, climbing and swooping while eating bugs.  It started out with one bird about 10 days ago, and now there must be 2 dozen participating in the dance on a regular basis.

It's sure not your regular holiday weekend.  Big groups of regulars are missing half of their crews; lots of people couldn't string together enough time to make the trip.

I have not heard any recorded music yet.!  How crazy is that?  Like, during the day, no one played a car stereo.  On the other hand, the birdsong was great today, numerous notable moments.

Somebody did trick me into staying awake last night for them, and then not arriving until today, no call.  Consequently, my legs have felt like concrete all day.

Birch mushrooms are up.  Another good rain and there should be a solid bloom.

Absolutely intense fiery sunset, just stunning...

Very wet out there, but things are supposed to get better.  Hopefully the trails will be ok for the OFTR ride this weekend.

Hope the hummingbird is happy.  He's been buzzing me on the porch, wanting his fuschia, which I finally acquired yesterday.  Biggest, most wonderful purple flowered monster, and a smaller pink one for the other porch.

The pair of geese are now a gaggle.

What I thought was an eastern kingbird has been reidentified as a least flycatcher.

Contrary to the weather forecast yet again, it was a fantastic weekend.  No rain since Friday (and that was exhilarating, it was so intense).  Boating, beaching, campfiring, funning was had.  Kids and dogs.
Great Blue Heron sighting.

There are a pair of pileateds flitting about the grounds today.   This time of year I often see them in the pines, but today they are down by the waterfront campsites.  Also saw what seems to be a red shafted flicker, but it doesn't quite fit with my ID pics, something not quite right with the markings on the upper breast area.  Still searching for a closer match.

Yellow bellied sapsuckers facilitate hummingbird migration.  I noticed here that the hummingbird follows the sapsucker to the tree, drinking from the holes the sapsucker makes.  According to Ed Lawrence, the gardening authority on CBC, this symbiosis enables the hummingbird to migrate, as they fly north before blossoms appear in many places along the route.
Simple, elegant nature at work again.

Here is the list of bird species spotted on the weekend, May 16/17/18/19.

In no particular order:

American bittern
American crow
American robin
red breasted nuthatch
northern raven
Canada goose
rock pigeon
turkey vulture
blue jay
black capped chickadee
red breasted nuthatch
northern flicker
yellow shafted flicker
eastern kingbird
eastern phoebe
American goldfinch
ruffed grouse
pileated woodpecker
dark eyed junco
yellow bellied sapsucker
brown thrasher
hermit thrush
red winged blackbird
common yellowthroat
black and white warbler
chestnut sided warbler
yellow rumped warbler
yellow warbler
black throated green warbler
black throated blue warbler
ovenbird
chipping sparrow
song sparrow
swamp sparrow
white throated sparrow
barn swallow
(other swallow unconfirmed)
hawk (unconfirmed species, suspected redtail)
gull (also unconfirmed species)
ruby throated hummingbird

Songs were heard of eastern wood peewee and nashville warbler, but birds were not sighted.  Also an unknown low trill was heard.  And an unidentified night bird.

Spring peepers were also a deafening chorous, and fresh moose tracks and scrapings were observed.

The weather forecasting tree beside the office is housing a flicker.  Finally got a good look at the emerging bird.  Babies on the way...

Beautiful sunny morning, certainly nothing dismal, as was in the weather forecast.  It is cool, but on occasion there are morning temperatures near zero in July as well.
Too bad about all the people who decided to stay in the city this weekend.  They were fooled.
One nature lover here this weekend is a birder, and is ecstatic following the sounds and making sightings.  Camera with a big lens, collecting memories.
I heard a grouse beating today for the first time.  Seems a late start to mating.

They are such a common sight here, I forgot to mention them.  Cousin to the woodpecker, they poke holes in sappy trees, making a feeding spot for squirrels and butterflies as well.  Working together for a better nature experience...

Those birds are insanely loud and auditorily versatile, colourful even.  There is no mistaking who is holding the concert.  Heard the first one last night before sunset.

It's been a long day of preparing for tourists.  The water is finally in the system.  This is only possible because the lines are just below the ground a few inches.  Yesterday I had a snag, where there was still frost ground around a pipe leading to a cabin.  There is still frozen ground 3 feet down; the installation of gas tanks at the corner store has ground to a halt because they can't dig yet.

Fish are jumping!  Under a mackerel sky at sunset, which was a red glow in the northwest sky, as the rest was under cloud.

Lots of bird sounds, far too many for me to identify.  Birders, where are you?  I think there is a pileated in the grounds.  I have been hearing him for more than a month, and today I saw the characteristic hole in a tree.  The old weather forecasting tree beside the office window is DEAD, and that is what the woodpecker has been working on.  Strangely I haven't seen him yet, just a case of not looking at the right time.  Either he is working on a couple of trees, or there is more than one in the 'hood.

The creek was running backwards today.  The dam at Whitney is letting water into the system.  Last night, under the stars, the falls was ROARING.

I forgot to mention, heard the first loons Sunday night.
Lots of wildlife checking in.  This is a great time to see and hear wildlife, before the weather gets hot, and before there are lots of people around.  Just a reminder for all of you who ask about wildlife experiences in July and August...

What do they eat before the ground thaws?  No worms to be found, but maybe there will be tomorrow, because it is raining.  I have seen robins for most of 2 weeks.
The amount of birdsong, when the sun is shining, is impressive.  Far beyond the 2 geese I heard the other day, there are now flocks flying about.  Considering how cold and snowy this winter has been, the melt is proceeding well.  Nothing overwhelming here.  Lots of bare patches on the ground.  The level in the river is up, probably because they are letting flow in from the control dam at Whitney, trying to avoid the floods they saw late in April 2013.
By the time the rain passes in another 24 hours, likely the snowbanks from plowing will be all but gone.

They're here!  Probably coasted in on the warm southwest wind today.
Let the nest building begin!

I tried to get a pic, but because of the deep snow, I couldn't get anything meaningful to the viewer.  By the time I got closer, the bird flew away.
What is called a partridge locally is actually a grouse, the Spruce Grouse.  We also have Ruffed Grouse.  When there is less snow, they are starting to congregate and mate this time of year.  So far, I am seeing (and hearing) a lonely only.