Local Wildlife

Between our garden and local dog walks, I come across a fair selection of wildlife. This year we had a new addition to the list of animals found in the pool skimmer basket, a family trespassing in the pool, three and a half species of heron, a baby skunk trying to give up bubble tea, dragonflies in flight and a rabbit to show you.

Our local pond was drained for renovations and repairs, and this was a bit unsettling for its aquatic inhabitants. One baby turtle found its way into our pool, and ended up in the skimmer basket. A feisty little guy, he almost got out by the time I returned with my camera, and then wouldn’t stay still in Anna’s hands for a better photo. He (she?) got transplanted further down the creek to some clean water; a better fate than getting scooped up by the pool excavators, and carted away in a dump truck.

The other confused family was Mrs. Mallard and her brood. Imagine her surprise when she proudly walked her new family back to the pond and found a mud hole in its place. However she improvised and gave swimming lessons in our pool. She also found her way in after I put chicken wire across the bottom of the gate, by detouring through the neighbour’s garden. Anna’s comment was “How does it feel to be outsmarted by a duck?”

I’m quite accustomed to seeing a Great Blue Heron in any one of the neighbourhood ponds, but this year I saw and photographed three (well, two) other species of heron. The green heron I’ve seen once or twice before, but the Black hooded night heron is not too common at all and I was really lucky to see it, let alone get a photo. Finally there’s the Great Egret, which only looks like a heron, but still fairly uncommon.

Still at a local pond, I was tracking a cormorant coming in for a landing, and didn’t see who else was in the shot until viewing the shots on a big screen. This muskrat must have had quite a surprise!

This year I had some success in capturing dragonflies in flight, although on some days I had absolutely no luck at all. Here are some of my better shots.

Not all my photos are taken by the ponds, here are a couple I took at the local school. I saw a strange animal walking in circles and bumping into the curb. On closer inspection, I found it was a baby skunk with its head stuck in a bubble tea cup – the kind with a cellophane covering over the top with a hole torn in it where a straw had been. I wasn’t at all sure of this situation, but decided to attempt a rescue. I tied Clare up some distance a way, and crept up and gave the cup a sharp pull. The picture I got post-cup may be a bit fuzzy, but I think you’ll understand why I didn’t stop to get it better!

And finally, a couple of photos from our back yard: