A Morning With The Birds

Well folks, today we head off to the discovery Nature Sanctuary just a few miles down the road from where I live. I set out to see if I could capture some water birds.

I found out quickly, that the water birds were the easier ones, it was the swallows that posed a problem.

Not to be outdone by a few small birds, I determined to give it a try. These birds are small and incredibly fast fliers,as well as having a very erratic flight.

Here are some of my results. Hundreds of shots later, I got this Barn Swallow, as he zoomed by at a much too fast pace for me.

There were many Purple Martins around, but, although they are a little larger, they are still very fast. Once again, putting the camera on continuous shooting, I managed this picture. 

I had to take my eyes off the small birds and try for some other flight shots.

I am reasonably happy with this Mallard. Of course, I always want a better picture, but maybe next time.

Canada Geese are much more my speed. I have so many shots of them, but keep on trying for that perfect shot. Will I ever know when that happens? Likely not, so I can keep on shooting.

One more picture, this time both a male and female Mallard come in for a landing.

I know I will be back at this Nature Sanctuary many more times. it is a small place, but full of exciting nature activity.

Here's a good reminder for us all.

We don't need more to be thankful for,

We just need to be more thankful.

Sunset Gold

You all know that I enjoy capturing the beauty of a sunset. Each one is unique and each one has an element of beauty. A few weeks ago, I was able to capture these scenes at a nearby pond.

I love the path of the sun reflected in the calm water, add a duck slowly swimming along and the scene is perfect.

As I sat there, waiting for the sun to set, I tried different angles. I like last years Cattails in the foreground.

Usually, I am not a fan of manmade structures in these shots, but since this farm is right there, I had to incorporate it into the scene.

One last look as the sun slipped below the horizon. The calm water reflected the trees so perfectly.

As I turned to leave, I saw the moon hanging in the sky and had to get a picture of it as well.

Think about this:

Next time  a sunrise or sunset steals your breath, say nothing

And listen as heaven whispers,

“Do you like it? I did it just for you!”

Max Lucado

A Time For Fun

It's time for some fun. I have recently learned a new technique in Adobe Photoshop.

this is not something I would do on many pictures, actually, it doesn't even work well on some.

Some of my results are quite artistic, I think.

I share five images here and at the end, I have a collage of the original photos, so you can try to match them up.

1.

2.

        

3.

4.

5.

Please leave your answers in the comments.

As we step into June

Keep your mind on God and receive His perfect peace. 

Discovery Nature Sanctuary

Today I invite you to join me in a short walk at Discovery Nature Sanctuary at Winkler, Manitoba. This is about a 10 minute drive from my house.

As we open the car doors and prepare to get out, we hear the Northern Flickers making a lot of noise. Looking up into one of the mature trees, we see that they must be in the middle of some mating display.They are high up in the tree and therefore not easy to get a good picture.

Let's start down the well maintained path, which winds around the whole area. We don't get very far, before we stop and enjoy the beauty of the Tree Swallow, sitting on top of the nest box he likely has chosen for a future home.

A little farther down the path are some more nest boxes.They all seem to have Swallow activity.

These are such beautiful birds and easy to approach. During the nesting season, I try not to get too close, as I don't want to disturb them.

We have reached the small lake at the back of the Sanctuary. It is springtime and of course the Canada Geese are there in good numbers. Mostly this is the scene, as they swim around 'talking' to each other.

Occasionally, or maybe regularly, this happens. Some gander gets upset when another one comes too close to his lady. Things must be dealt with and quickly.

Perhaps we should carry on and let these guys work it out between themselves.

Thanks for joining me. I hope we can do this again sometime soon.

Whenever you should feel threatened, or fearful, remember:

No danger can come so near that God is not nearer still.

Sunset, Thunderstorm and Rainbows

A few weeks ago, I went out, hoping to catch a pretty sunset.

The sunset was pretty, but it gave me some extras. I was not prepared to have a thunderstorms it was still early in the season. But the thunder could be heard, first in the distant and then became louder, as the lightning flashed across the sky. There was some rain, but not a lot.

As the sun was setting the western sky turned orange, but those dark clouds were filling the sky.

 There was a fair bit of drama in the sky that evening.

You can see the rain, highlighted by the setting sun.

When I turned and looked towards the east, I saw a beautiful rainbow.

Back to the southwest, was one large cloud that caught the light of the setting sun.It was spectacular.

 When I thought it was time to go home, I had to pull off the road and try my hand at capturing the lightning. I am not an expert at this and would consider this a lucky shot. Whatever the case is I'll  take it. Hopefully that during the course of this summer I get to try for more shots like this.

God's Word speaks of lightning and storms in Jeremiah 51:16

When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;

he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain

and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

A VISIT TO THE KALEIDA MARSHES

Hey friends, how would you like to join me in checking out the Kaleida Marshes? This is about a twenty minute drive southwest of my home, so it won't be a long drive.

It's Saturday, the weather is still somewhat cool and it looks like some rain moving in, but if we hurry out there, we might still see some interesting sights.

Upon arriving at the marsh area, one of the first birds we see is a Yellow-headed Blackbird. These birds are quite striking in appearance but it is their song, that if you hear it once, you will never forget.Here is a short video, which I did not make, but it gives a good example of their song.Yellow-headed Blackbird

We won't spend too much time with the blackbird, as off in the distance I see a couple of Bald Eagles. One is an adult and the other looks to me an immature one.

Of course in typical Eagle fashion, they don't stay around for long.

I had a chance to capture a few images and you all get to enjoy them for a minute or two.

In this and the previous picture you can just faintly see another bird flying in the distance.

Bringing our eyes back to the marsh, we also see some Red-winged Blackbirds. These are a lot more common around here. Now if we would have taken a closer look, we would have seen and heard the many Canada Geese in the marshes as well as a variety of ducks.

That sky is beginning to look rather dark.

Even a dark and threatening sky has beauty about it. The elevator you see on the horizon is what is left of the little hamlet of Kaleida.

These cloud formations are amazing, but the wind is getting cold, so it is time to move on and head back home again.

I hope you enjoyed this short visit to the Kaleida Marshes. These marshes are alive with birds and as the weather warms up there will be more and more activity.Soon the babies will appear and that brings even more excitement.

When life is getting you down, and you can’t see a way through.

Remember behind the darkest clouds there awaits a sky of blue.

It's All About The Birds

Be warned!
Lots of pictures and all of them are bird related.

Spring brings back the birds. It's an exciting time of year. It's also a time where I need to make many short trips to areas that are known to have lots of bird activity.

These are Franklin's Gulls.

The ones with the black heads are Franklin's gulls, the other Ring-Billed Gulls.

Where there are gulls there is bound to be a lot of noise. You can see this one has something important to say.

Excuse me! I'm coming in for a landing.

In case you were wondering, yes, there was still ice on this pond, but that was a few weeks ago and is all gone by now.

I think gulls have a special silk look.

Ducks are also showing up. The male Northern Shoveler is really quite a stunning bird.

Now, this one won't be winning any beauty contests. The Turkey Vulture has a special look. This particular bird allowed me to walk fairly close before he took off.

When he had enough of me it was up, up and away.

These may not be perfect shots, but I rarely get to capture a Swainson's Hawk, so I am still happy with the outcome.

As is usual for the birds, this one had no intentions of waiting around to have it's picture taken.

I hope you enjoyed spending time with me and the birds.

Let's just remember that each of these is one of God's creations.

Sunset At The Nature Sanctuary

A few days a go, I took time to go to Discovery Nature Sanctuary, at Winkler, Manitoba. For those who don't know this area, that is just a few miles east of where I live, the neighbouring city.

This is a recently developed place and it has some amazing places to view water fowl and, I found out sunsets as well.

I decided that the dock situated at the small pond, would be my place from which to enjoy the sunset.

As the sky was turning orange, this Bufflehead duck, came in for a landing.

As I was waiting for the sun to set, I noticed the weeds at the edge of the water.  

 The sun was setting and gave that wonderful glow to the area.

Zooming in, I could see a few clouds.

My favourite shot of the evening is this one. It was a wonderful way to end this day.

Be thankful that sunrises and sunsets are free, or else we couldn't afford them.