October Birds

For the first day of our Thanksgiving weekend we headed out early to take in the fall colours and birds.

We drove to Cranberry Marsh in Whitby, about 45 minutes east of Toronto. We didn't get any further. Everytime we thought, that's it, time to go, another wonderful hawk would fly overhead.

We stood overlooking a field of bullrushes as Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks drifted by high overhead.

There were spectacular sights: a flock of hundreds of geese flying towards us, a Merlin (a small hawk) hunting less than 50 feet away, young blackbirds, their red should patches and black feathers just beginning to show and a Rusty Blackbird, a species that is disappearing for reasons that nobody can figure out.

The chickadees flew about grabbing seeds from the feeder. I like this shot of one hanging on to a twig, blowing in the breeze, a tiny bird, a fleeting moment.

It was a good picture day. I took another couple of pictures that I really like and would be my blips on any other day. This image to me was the most ephemeral and that's why it's the blip for today.

Strange Position

Soft Grass with a Drop of Dew