Wild About Turkeys

I don't think too many words are necessary.  This is an adorable young Wild Turkey, who took a moment from his Mama and siblings to say hello.

Turkey Vulture Ambush

This Turkey Vulture took a moment to enjoy the season's first beautiful sunny day.....and then THIS happened!

Turkey Vulture enjoying his moment in the sun.

CHALLENGE!

Successful Challenge.

Foaling Around

When I need a nature fix but I'm feeling a little lazy, I hop into my Jeep and drive the backroads.  I try to go out when traffic is light so that I can safely screech to a halt at the side of the road when I see something totally awesome and unexpected to photograph.

Today, I was a stalkerazzi with these horses and their foal.  I couldn't resist, and really wish I knew the owners of this farm so I could ask permission to shoot and feel a little less creepy about skulking around on the shoulder of the road.

The horses were way off in the distance but I managed to get a few cute shots of the horses interacting.

A Walk in the Woods

Here are a few friends I've met on the trails recently.

Eastern Chipmunk

White-Tailed Deer

Blue Jay

Female Mallard

Mute Swan kicking up mud at the marsh

Trumpeter Swan starting a nest

Play Time in the Horse Field

Driving on the backroads, I spotted these two horses who seemed at first glance to be arguing.  But after watching them for a bit I realized it was pretty gentle, and they took turns instigating.

Rough-housing Horses

Truce?

Hugging it out

Visiting the Tundras

On the way to a family Easter dinner in St. Thomas, we made a quick stop in Aylmer, Ontario to visit the migrating Tundra Swans.  We see 50 or so every year in Durham, but I couldn't resist the temptation to see several hundred in one marsh.

Aylmer Wildlife  Management Area is a preferred Tundra Swan stop-over year after year, where they see between 10,000 and 60,000 migrating swans each season.  For more information, http://www.naturallyelgin.com/natural-areas/aylmer-wildlife-management-area.

The migration doesn't last long and we stopped by during the tail end.  My guess is that there were between 400-600 the day we went.

Amazing to watch them!  They were quite animated in their interaction with one another, and they would frequently do fly-bys as well.  And nothing beats their mumbling vocalization.  It was a combination of a school yard at recess, and a busy airport.

Gossiping at Recess!

Bossy!

Lots of incoming and outgoing flights.

Tundra Swans Taking Off

Great to see them...and its always nice to see a distant surprise Bald Eagle, who stole some of the Tundra's thunder.

Bald Eagle

Tundra Swan in Flight

I'm really hoping that I will see a few here in Durham over the next week or so.  Beautiful birds!

Puppy Paradise!

I had the privilege of doing a Puppy Adoption photo shoot for Team Chelsea, a Durham Region community volunteer group that helps pets in need.

Photographing these 7 beauties was so much fun!  Happy to report that so far four have found amazing new homes where they are no doubt cherished and spoiled!

A Surprise Snowy Owl on a Dreary Day

This almost never happens to me with Snowy Owls.  I was driving through South Whitby on a dreary, rainy and miserable morning wishing hard to see something, anything to photograph when I saw this stunning beauty in a random field in an industrial area.

Not only did I spot him, but he was withing decent range which also almost never happens.

Needless to say, my day went from dreary to amazing!

Watching for prey in the field.

Muddy "Paws"!

Here, the owl is swatting at crows and gulls as they pester him on a roof-top.