Wednesday 23 May 2012

Recent birds

I spent another few days at Point Pelee last weekend. I mostly led hikes which didn't give me much time to photograph any of the birds, not that I'm bothered by that though.
The hikes can be difficult if there aren't many birds, but they're very rewarding when there are birds to show to the participants. It's fun telling them crazy facts about birds (and butterflies, and the park, and all sorts of things) and seeing their reactions. It's also enjoyable teaching people, and making them happy!

Anyway, it wasn't all about birds. I finally tried to find Saturn. The task was made easy because one of my hike participants happened to be an astronomer, he easily pointed it out for me and I was soon enjoying great views of its rings. This photo certainly doesn't do it justice, but you can at least see the general shape!


This morning I made a quick visit to my local patch (Laurel Lake). A small flock of crows were making a ruckus in the woods and I suspected there may have been a Great Horned Owl. Not long after that I found the bird staring at me:

This weekend I'm off to the Carden Alvar to join in the annual point counts. It should be fun!