WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY

In awe of Autumn leaves.

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Linda Schaub

It’s the first Monday of a new month and November’s featured calendar page is Tuscany, Italy. The photo looks a bit nondescript in my opinion and I’ll freely admit that a long-distance hike for me is six, maybe seven miles, only on my weekend wanderings – more miles in a single outing risks shin splints.

The site for this morning meander was Lake Erie Metropark at those marshes and woodsy areas where I’ve logged countless hours and miles already.

Well I was torn while preparing this post.

I could have tied John Burroughs’ quote to an equally colorful Autumn visit I made at Fair Lane Estate. After all, John Burroughs, an American naturalist and nature essayist, was a very good friend of auto magnate Henry Ford. They were both “birders” before the term became commonplace. Their shared love of nature caused Henry Ford to create a shrine to his friend called “”Burroughs’ Grotto” where a stone with Burroughs’s signature, a statue of his likeness and a heated birdbath is located near the banks of the Rouge River at the Estate.

But here’s why I chose this walk instead.

While I promised in my recent “Walktober” post not to inundate you with colorful leaves shots every week, embedded in this post will be a nod to Veterans Day, November 11th – you will see a jeep flying military flags driving through this 1,607-acre park. The first time they zoomed past me, but on their return trip, I got a few shots.

The Fall foliage was at peak when I took this walk on October 22nd, but leaves weren’t solely on my mind on this jaunt; this Twitter post earlier in the week intrigued me.

Yes, I know Turkey Vultures are not cute, nor do they give you warm and fuzzy feelings like my peanut pals, but imagine how impressive it would be to see and photograph a “kettle” (the collective word for a group of Turkey Vultures, or other birds flying overhead of this magnitude). You may recall I’ve written about the raptor migration at Lake Erie Metropark which takes place from mid-September until the end of the year. Thousands of raptors wing their way to warmer climes – remember this seasons totals stat posted at the Marshland Museum a few years back?

I will have a post next month about a visit I made to the boat launch area to watch that migration. While the visit WAS supposed to be to watch the raptors and I did position myself at the boat launch area alongside a few birders with binoculars, photographers with long lenses and an “official counter” I did not have the good fortune to see any raptors. Perhaps I should have looked for Monarch butterflies instead as they similarly migrate through there and are counted as well.

Leaves – lovely, yet fleeting beauty.

I took a long look around. It was difficult to choose what trees were the most vibrant, so here are a few I really liked as I meandered along.

The backdrop of the marsh was a mishmash of color. I sure wish the powers that be would remove that dead tree which continually mars the view, but that said, the starkness of the dead wood against the colorful background looked interesting.

I was the only person on the overlook that crosses the marsh. Surprisingly, no one was fishing from the overlook, so I enjoyed the solitude … just me and a few fine-feathered friends that were already out and about like these Mallards which formed a near-perfect queue … I asked the first duck to paddle ahead so I had a ready-made Wordless Wednesday post entitled “I had my ducks in a row” but it wasn’t meant to be.

The Mallard males, having finished their molting and “eclipse phase” are once again resplendent in their coloring.

A Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret were wading in the marsh, both intent on scoping out breakfast and paid no attention to me.

The Barn Swallows that congregate, chatter and endlessly swoop near this overlook are long gone to South and Central America. I have some fun up-close photos to share on a future post where they were posing, er … perching on a dead tree branch, with a few giving me “the look” for hovering nearby and interrupting their morning get-together.

I crossed the overlook in three long strides – on the horizon was a freighter.

I next headed to the other side of the park, hoping for a little more action there, just as a skein of Canada Geese flew overhead.

Although the picnic tables remained, they were empty, a stark reminder of colder, cocooning days ahead.

Wish I could swap the proximity of the critter(s) in these three photos.

I eventually navigated toward a cement path, which I was happy to find since the grass was still damp with dew. A random Goldenrod plant along that path had me stopping to get up close to this fuzzy, winged creature …

… then a few geese were lazing near me with colorful leaves in the background…

… while yonder, (you will have to squint to see them), were these five deer.

“Hey, wait up!” I called out as I hustled over to get better shots, muttering that the deer should have been where the geese were.

Along the way I saw the turtle crossing sign – at least a turtle was a critter I would not have to race to keep up with. Grrr!

Out of breath, I finally caught up with those deer, then they rudely disappeared into the brush. Well thanks a lot. I still got one shot and a workout in the process. 🙂

I went to visit Luc, the park’s resident Bald Eagle. He gave me a chirp “hello” then promptly turned his back on me. I never look down to the tree stump where his breakfast of a white rat or rabbit is usually served, so I don’t know if I interrupted his mealtime.

I began the long trek back to Cove Point where I’d left my car about two hours before. Enroute, this Jeep passed me flying these flags proudly. Although it was not near the Veterans Day holiday, I decided these photos were keepers to use in conjunction with this holiday to honor our servicemen and servicewomen.

This week I am joining Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills #Leaves of Autumn or Spring Photography Challenge.

Posted in nature, Seasons, walk, walking | Tagged #Leaves, Autumn, nature, Seasons, walk, walking | 40 Comments

Double Dippin’ #Wordless Wednesday #Winter’s a’comin’ – must eat/bury peanuts!

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, nature, Seasons, Squirrels | Tagged #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, nature, Seasons, Squirrels, walking | 34 Comments

Spooky stuff (kinda sorta) for your Halloween.

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Linda Schaub

Things are not always as they seem to be in THE WITCHING SEASON. In fact I am going to share a few instances from my recent Fall meanderings illustrating that fact.

But first, I have to tell you that over the years my mom often shared her words of wisdom or tidbits of knowledge which I have fondly remembered and mentioned here in this blog as Mom’s “Momisms”.

One of her favorite expressions when I told her some titillating or unbelievable news was “Linda dear, believe half of what you hear and all of what you see.” “Okay Mom” would be my meek response.

Well, fast forward a decade (or three or four) and the kid realizes this “Momism” and the many others I heard in my formative years, were spot-on. Yes, things are not always as they appear to be, so don’t simply take things at face value and … rumors – well investigate ‘em before you spread ‘em.

Sometimes things appear to be scary, even frightful. But, if you let calm prevail and you do not scream and thus lose your credibility, all will be fine, even in this frightful season. Here are a few examples.

Oh no, a black cat has crossed my path – should I worry?

If you’re superstitious, like folks in the 17th century who believed that black cats were associated with witchcraft, you might walk the other way if a black cat is headed toward you.

Should I have worried when this black cat was studying me so carefully? Nope, this is Binx, the barn cat at Heritage Park’s Petting Farm and he loves the Farm’s visitors or passersby. I often see Binx when I visit the Botanical Gardens.

And really … how scary could a black cat with a heart-shaped nametag be anyway?

Yikes! Look at that big black Crow checking me out!

Most of us have seen Alfred Hitchcock’s frightful movie thriller “The Birds” and the scene where a flock of Crows are chasing the children. If you haven’t, well sneak a peek at that scene here.

Pretty scary stuff wasn’t it and, after all, a group of Crows is called, wait for it … a “murder” adding a little more sensationalism to these glossy black birds. But what about this Crow I saw in the ‘hood when gathering harvest pics for a recent post? Was it scary? Would it dive bomb me? It wasn’t interested in me – it had scored a glazed donut someone tossed onto the sidewalk. “No, you don’t need to share your donut with me” I called up to the Crow. “Go ahead and chow down!” So it did.

While it didn’t intend to share any morsels with me, it kept glancing down at me, dubious that my intentions were purely to take photos of it.

This Crow was doing nothing nefarious. It simply swooped down to the ground as I rounded the corner to return home. It took that donut “to go” while wishing it had a little coffee to wash it down with. I watched it poking and pecking at the sweet treat for a bit, then our feathered friend finally gulped it down. I’ll bet its beak was sticky, a minor inconvenience for a Crow with a sweet tooth.

Here’s a twist on a popular painting for you.

Life imitates art far more than art imitates life—Oscar Wilde

Well, that’s a fair statement, but what about when nature imitates art?

When you look at the photo of this tree …

… do you see the famous 1893 painting “The Scream” painted by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch? I noticed this tree on one of my Autumn woodsy walks and I saw the resemblance right away. What say you? Did this tree look frightful to you?

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus ….

… but really, despite their dissimilarities, remember that we all hail from Earth, the third planet from the Sun.

I am an alien as many of you know … just not THAT type of spooky alien with pointy ears, a third eye, or having an ethereal presence, nor do I glow in the dark.

I am reminded of the fact that I am a Canadian living in the U.S. once every decade when I must renew my green card. But every so often I admit to doing an eye roll when Comcast, my ISP, goes wonky when I attempt to retrieve my web-based e-mail and I’m greeted with this message … cue the spooky music.

So, yes, things are not always how they seem. They may appear frightful, but are not frightful in reality. So, I concede Mom was right. As to the photo at the top of this post …

Query: is that a selfie of Your Roving Reporter, or a witch seen in my wanderings around Heritage Park after the Scarecrow Stroll? Here’s your clue: I am scared to death of spiders, so I would never allow one to crawl on my hat, nor my chest.

On the subject of WITCHY WOMEN, please click here for your Halloween card.

This week I am joining Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills #Frightful Photography Challenge.

Posted in Halloween, holiday | Tagged #frightful, Halloween, holiday, spooky but not spooky, walk | 46 Comments

“Walktober” – what a concept!

Posted on October 26, 2023 by Linda Schaub

When I learned about “Walktober” last year after fellow blogger Barbara had a picture-laden post of Fall foliage from a walk with husband Tim, I wondered how I had never heard this phrase before. So, I made up my mind that in October 2023, I would ensure I collected some photos of Autumn’s exquisite color palette to post, not weeks or months later as is usually the norm for me, but in October and I decided those photos would be taken while walking at my favorite nature nook, Council Point Park – this year I celebrated my 10th year walking at that venue.

Since I am both a longstanding, plus frequent walker at the Park, I know which trees turn first from green to their burnished shades every year. The Locusts are the first to go, dropping a flurry of endless tiny yellow leaves and stems all over. The squirrels and birds aren’t fond of those trees as the multitude of leaves littering the path makes it difficult for them to see the peanuts and sunflower seeds, so yes, I use my shoe to swish away the leaves to make a bare spot, much like I do in Winter, stomping out a flat surface in the snow with my boot, to place the peanuts and sunflower seeds for them. Spoiled rotten little squirrels. 🙂

The squirrels are burying their peanuts more quickly than they eat them and soon my furry friends will be fattening up for the Winter.

Begging is stepped up at every twist and turn of the perimeter path. Parker is shameless, sometimes stopping me several times in one trip.

The Black Walnut tree is a good source for nuts when I don’t make it to the Park due to errands or bad weather and a few more walkers have been feeding the squirrels this year.

Some kind soul brought in lots of garden veggies and a huge sunflower “pan” of seeds for the critters and left them at the pavilion area and several places along the perimeter path. I saw ears of corn and lots of gourds too.

Here’s a factoid in case you did not hear or read this: Earth had its warmest September on record, absolutely destroying the old record. So I shudder to think of Septembers down the road. On the calendar, Autumn arrived and color-wise it began to slowly unfold, but Summer-like temps were in full force for the first few days of October, until suddenly on October 5th we dropped almost 40 degrees. I guess I am a malcontent as I had complained too much about the heat and humidity, only to grumble about needing to layer up more and I even added a hat and gloves on the way out the door; I eliminated wearing a scarf thinking that might be overkill.

Much as you collect the leaves and bag them, I have been collecting colorful photos of the foliage at the Park. I admit the colors were not as vibrant this year and local meteorologists have speculated that is in part due to June’s three-week drought-like conditions. We are about a week behind for our colors due to the warm weather and several rainy days. I figured I’d better hurry or it would be November to finish up this post. I have been to other venues for the Fall color parade and those pics will be shared in dribs and drabs in the coming months. Here is a slideshow of some photos I took as I walked along the perimeter path over the course of a few weeks.

These fishing photos look very peaceful to me. Two different fishermen, sitting on or near the same cement ledge, dangling a line into the Ecorse Creek, with colorful leaves as a backdrop and also reflecting on the water.

Even this pair of Mallards makes for a peaceful setting.

Sometimes its best to enjoy your peanut at the pavilion away from the other squirrels.

If only we could have two Autumns and skip Winter – sigh. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the season and concur with L.M. Montgomery’s quote: “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

I hope you enjoyed the photos of the last gasp of beauty before it is bare branches and brrrrrr!

Posted in nature, Seasons, Squirrels, walk, walking | Tagged Fall Foliage, nature, Squirrels, walk, walking | 129 Comments

I love to gaze out to sea (‘til I get seasick from the waves). #Wordless Wednesday

Posted on October 25, 2023 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, nature | Tagged #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, Buoy was rockin' back and forth from the waves, nature, Ring-billed Gull, seagull shenanigans | 36 Comments

The GRRreat Groundhog Debacle.

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Linda Schaub

It is good to have a sense of humor as we go through life, though I admit as I get older, (or perhaps it is just the state of the world these days), I do find at least one instance daily that makes it difficult to remain unflappable.

This September 13th discovery would haunt me.

After a hot, humid, often rainy Summer, I was ready to welcome Fall, my favorite season, with open arms. But there was one cloud on the horizon as to those highly anticipated long walks, cool days and fabulous colors – Fall was tainted by my September 13th discovery of a huge hole and burrow at the back of the house against the foundation.

I was in the backyard, which still looks like a disaster area, first ravaged by last December’s fire, plus the aftermath of the removal of two medium-sized trees and a slew of burned bushes in late July. The tree cutters stacked up assorted trellises and flower pots onto the back patio having been pulled from that corner of the yard/garden. Since it was too late to plan or plant a garden, disinterested and disgusted, I left it all sitting there, while I instead would dwell on backyard possibilities for 2024.

And then I saw it … a humongous hole in the ground at the foundation. Red lava rock was scattered and dirt and white marble from years ago was pushed aside, obviously by a pair of paws digging fast and furiously …

… to get to their destination, wherever that might be? I bent down close, but not too close, lest some furry critter scurry out and I’d likely keel over with a heart attack. Momentarily I mused that on weekends I travel many miles to walk in the woods at larger parks and get back to nature, see furry or feathered critters, hone my photography skills and bulk up my miles. Well, who knew I needed only to walk mere steps where some big, bold critter decided to take up residence at MY residence?

I looked over at my neighbor’s house, but, since Jeff wasn’t outside I called and reported my “find” and asked if he had seen a large critter ambling about in my backyard; after all, the night of the fire as we stood outside until 2:00 a.m. waiting for the “all clear” to go inside, he pulled out his phone to show me a photo of Mama Raccoon and her offspring rooting around in his garbage can.

Well, Jeff’s answer left me gob smacked: “oh ya, I haven’t seen you, but meant to tell you that I had two burrows at the back of my house, plus a burrow under my A/C unit slab, so I went into your yard to see if you had any burrows and saw yours – I’m sure it’s a groundhog, maybe a skunk.” I know I audibly gasped at this news. Jeff aimed to deter the critter from digging additional burrows, so he bought and buried copious amounts of mothballs in each hole and sprinkled more on top – yep, I had detected a funky smell of late, but didn’t look over at his house or I’d have seen those mothballs.

Jeff offered sympathy and some of his mothballs, but I decided to do more than put a Band-Aid on the problem .

So, I e-mailed my now-retired handyman to whine a bit about my plight and ask for advice. Jim offered to loan me a trap and have his son-in-law Brett bait it for me, but after sleeping on that idea, I decided to hire a pest control service – with colder nights, I didn’t want this beast settling in for the Winter. I wanted it gone NOW!

I was ground off with this groundhog, but there was more to come.

Chad, the pest control guy, arrived bright and early Monday, September 18th and explained how this capture would work. I had already been advised of the fee schedule, i.e. $185.00 for the consult, setting and baiting the trap and $75.00 for each critter trapped, then released humanely within 24 hours into a wooded area five miles from the house. After listening to Chad’s spiel I quipped “well I sure hope there is not a family of groundhogs in the burrow at $75.00 a pop!” Chad just smiled. Later, as I reflected on our initial meeting, I am sure Chad said to himself “wait ‘til she finds out that groundhogs may not be the only critters captured in the trap.”

As to luring the critter into the trap, Chad sprinkled out a special treat suited for groundhogs and chuckled, as he showed me the bait, which looked like pumpkin seeds. He said the pest control guys jokingly refer to the bait as “groundhog cocaine” as it lures them into the trap quickly. You can see the “treat” here in this picture and also if you look closely in the picture of the entire trap.

Here’s a close-up of the trap.

Chad also explained that once the groundhog was captured, I needed to fill the hole right away, layering dirt on the bottom, then lots of pea gravel because “groundhogs don’t like the feel of pea gravel on their paws.” (Hmm – how did you know that – have you asked them or witnessed them shaking their head and muttering to themselves: “nope, pea gravel, not going there” and ambling off?) Nonetheless, I took Chad’s word as gospel. He gave me his card and said “call me on my cell anytime, even on weekends and I’ll come pick up the critter.” I nodded meekly.

At 7:00 a.m. the following day, I decided I was not lugging 48-pound bags of pea gravel around from the nursery/car/backyard, so I ordered two bags of pea gravel, a 40-pound bag of potting soil and lava rock to fill the hole once the critter was caught. I had high expectations, so I just wanted the landscape materials here. With the delivery charge, it was $60.00 – sigh. They would deliver the order sometime that day and in special instructions, I put “pile it on the back porch.”

That chore done, grumbling I got my peanuts and sunflower seeds ready for the “acceptable critters” and headed out the door to the Park. I remembered to check out back and poked my head around the corner.

There was a live one in the trap!!

Good going! But one minor detail – it wasn’t a groundhog, just an opossum that looked at me down that long snout, snarled and bared its teeth. By the way, did you know that opossums have 50 teeth? I believe I saw all of them, including four fangs. As I stood there ruminating over the critter capture, I did the math with the concept of $75.00 for each critter removal/relocation sinking in. Yep, I swore softly, just as the Lowe’s delivery person saw the gate was open and startled me when he said “Ma’am – where did you want your landscape materials?” I pointed where to place the bags, then pointed at the opossum, which I dubbed “Oscar” (after calling it a few choice names which I won’t mention in this forum.)

I returned from walking and decided to photograph the opossum as a post was already bubbling around in my brain. He/she wasn’t keen on posing, but I got this profile shot, this time minus the toothy snarl.

I left Chad a voicemail. He arrived later that day, having alerted me to his ETA, so I met him in the yard, holding the check and I watched as he spoke to the critter. Was Chad an opossum whisperer? After all, the critter didn’t snarl at him like it did me. He told me it was just a baby. “And it’s that big? Surely it’s not still dependent on its mother for food, right?” After my rapid-fire questions, Chad said “nope, it’s fine to be on its own – no worries, opossums grow up quickly – it’ll be fine.”

So off my little friend went to the big red truck bearing the logo “All Seasons Pest Control” to the forest five miles away. However, Chad was out of traps so had to return the following day. I figured the groundhog would feast on the groundhog cocaine, then slip into its burrow, blissfully sated at my expense.

Chad returned the next day with a new trap and some cantaloupe chunks which he placed in the burrow …

… and in the trap.

As you can see, Chad placed the trap close to the burrow and used two, tipped-over, broken flower pots as a barricade. There was no way this groundhog was hopping out of the burrow without ending up in the trap or tripping over the pots.

Even the groundhog’s cousin “did me wrong” …

It was a bad week … I came home from walking and errands the following day and the garage door wouldn’t close due to an errant cable, so I had to have a service call and emergency repair. My former good intentions for doing errands, decluttering and much-needed yard work that weekend went up in flames as Sunday I rewarded myself with a trip to Lake Erie Metropark where I met up with a groundhog.

That beast greeted me with a sneer, then saw the camera and closed its eyes …

… before turning its back on me.

Nothing like being disrespected by a groundhog!

Elvis has left the building.

Two weeks went by with no visitors – the cantaloupe shriveled up and the groundhog cocaine went untouched in the trap and in the burrow. I faithfully checked the trap three times a day and my neighbor Jeff checked at least once a day. One day he noticed the trap was tripped, but the critter was small enough to back out and escape and didn’t disturb the flower pots, so he reset the trap and cut up an apple to entice the groundhog into the trap.

Another week went by – nothing. I figured “Elvis has left the building” as the saying goes, or who knows … maybe he left before we even started on this costly and ridiculous venture?

A groundhog and an opossum walked into a …

… bar, er … yard.

Obviously the groundhog, if it was still lurking about, was savvy and, though a glutton for goodies, was not about to tread into the trap, so he/she kept on waddling.

But the morning of October 12th, I rounded the corner to check the trap before going on my walk. A big furry bum was all I saw. I knew it wasn’t a groundhog, but another *&^% opossum! I watched its measured breathing – it was dead to the world.

I took a picture of Sleeping Beauty …

… then left on my walk. It was a gorgeous morning, so I would call Chad when I returned from walking.

Ninety minutes later I checked on the critter, which I nicknamed “Ollie” and it was still sleeping. I took another picture…

… then I woke it up. It was still sleepy and did not bare its teeth at me, despite the fact that I was looming large but I spoke softly.

Ollie looked at me, a tad bleary-eyed, a woeful expression on its white furry face.

I told Ollie that I’d call Chad as you see/hear by clicking here.

But I got Chad’s voicemail and I reported that to Ollie (click here).

Neither of us were happy. Ollie went back to sleep and I went into the house and wrote another check for $75.00 for Chad’s arrival.

Chad picked up Ollie later that day and said he’d feed him before he was released into the woods. We decided together it was time to close up the hole/burrow. The groundhog had likely moved on.

The photo in the header image is from this groundhog encounter I had at Elizabeth Park on the Boardwalk back in 2020.

After crunching the numbers, this groundhog fiasco cost me almost $400.00.

I am not amused and all I got out of the ordeal was this post and a chance to participate in Terri Webster Schrandt’s “Sunday Stills Photo Challenge: PHOTOS FROM THE FUNNY PAGES”.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Groundhog, nature, opossum, Sunday Stills, wildlife woes | 66 Comments

When you’re an early bird and the fam likes to sleep in. #Wordless Wednesday

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, nature | Tagged #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, Mallard Ducks, nature | 50 Comments

(R)egrets, I’ve had a few …

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Linda Schaub

But then again, too few to mention.

I did what I had to do …

… and that was winnow down the 50+ shots I took of Great Egrets after a late Summer outing at Lake Erie Metropark. For every Egret shot taken, I was sure the next one would be better than the prior shot, so I kept on clicking. (Thank goodness for digital photography because I nearly went broke in the 80s taking photos with my 35mm camera and using film when you paid for each print, even the boo boos.)

While I rarely look through my photos the same day of the trek, I was excited about those Egrets I saw while on my morning marsh meander, oh yes I was. On the screen, however, some of that magic was lost as I clicked through endless Egret shots … hmm, they all looked the same, except for a few lucky shots of my feathered friends tiring of the paparazzi encroaching on their Sunday morning bliss, so they lifted off and settled into the opposite side of the marsh. Okay, I could take a hint.

**In fine form gliding to his/her favorite tree.**

**This Egret looked both ways before crossing the marsh.**

**An impressive wingspan with those long legs dangling down.**

You may recall I wrote about a trip to Lake Erie Metropark in the Fall of 2022 and was enthralled with a group of Great Egrets I saw in one of the marshes. There were dozens of them, way too many to count and the sun, not particularly bright due to the gray sky from the western wildfires, caused some stunning reflections on the water. I got several shots before a motorcyclist whizzed by and spooked those Egrets. Most of them took flight, seeking refuge in the tall trees. A few lingered, “fishing” contently alongside their lanky feathered cousins, the Great Blue Herons. Here is that post if you missed it.

I later stumbled upon a website featuring the often-humorous names for groups of birds and/or their offspring and shared the word gulp with you as a term to describe Osprey chicks. So, Egrets similarly have a collection of names to describe a group of these snowy-white birds, including a skewer, siege, sedge, wedge and congregation. So, there’s a little factoid guaranteed to make you look smarter when you see a bunch of Egrets hanging out together. 🙂

Focus on Feathers.

As I compiled today’s post on the heels of my “It was a ducky day!” post, I decided I might just have to classify myself as a “birder” – hmm, when did that happen? I mean, I thought of myself more as a “squirrel girl” (ahem as to the “girl” part). Please don’t let my furry friend Parker know I said that. But it seems the last few years I have been lucky enough to see and photograph more birds than ever before.

Here’s a few more of those beautiful Egrets. Enjoy!

**The Egrets in this picture looked regal – they hadn’t seen me yet.**

**A moment after I took this shot, the Egret caught a fish**.

**Pickin’s were slim – he/she was patiently pursuing a fish.**

**A shot showing off that graceful neck while wading in the marsh.**

**Egret on high alert after hearing the camera clicking. He/she was on to me!**

**Some days he’s an Egret and other days …**

Posted in birds, nature, walk, walking | Tagged birds, Egrets, nature, walk, walking | 48 Comments

Trilling me softly with his song. #Wordless Wednesday #Red-winged Blackbird

Posted on October 11, 2023 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, nature | Tagged #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, nature | 38 Comments

It was a ducky day!

Posted on October 9, 2023 by Linda Schaub

On Saturday, August 19th I returned to the Environmental Interpretive Center at University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus. I wondered what wildlife and/or wildflowers I might see in the Summertime. That will be an upcoming post. At the end of my excursion at that venue, I returned to Ford Field Park where I had parked my car. I heard kids squealing and assumed it was coming from the playscape, but when I glanced over, no one was there … ahh, it must be kids feeding the ducks at the duck pond. So I wandered over, thinking it would be a peaceful end to my morning meander and it would evoke a fond memory or two of my own childhood.

It is not the first time I’ve been to this tiny cove where water from a small pond near the Rouge River gently encroaches onto the sandy shoreline. I once chatted amicably as I sat next to an elderly gentleman on a park bench there. He had a huge bag of potato chips and had one chip for him, then a handful of chips doled out to the ducks who eagerly departed the duck pond and clustered around our feet.

Well, just as I predicted, it was kids giggling in delight as ducks gobbled up their offerings. Three young children were throwing pieces of pita bread to the ducks. I quickly surmised this had not been an outing specifically to feed those feathered friends, but instead they were breaking bread with them from the family’s picnic lunch. Pieces of pita bread were broken apart by a woman, whom I surmised was Mom. The children cupped their hands as she hastily broke up the bread. However, the ratio of bread bits to ducks was not so great. The ducks stood, poised at the water’s edge, at the ready for any piece of pita bread thrown their way.

I did take photos of the kids as they were excitedly interacting with the ducks and those pics were taken on the sly, but while compiling this post, at the last minute I decided to remove those images. There are enough darling ducks to gawk at here instead.

I’ve often mentioned in my blog that a fond memory of mine as a youngster was going with my parents to Toronto’s High Park and/or Oakville’s Coronation Park to feed the ducks. Unfortunately I have no photos memorializing those multiple excursions to use in this post. My parents often spoke of bundling me up in my stroller or a wooden sled my father made for me, but I really just remember running toward the water and throwing out stale bread and ducks waddling toward me in anticipation of more yeasty tidbits.

In those days, I don’t believe it was common knowledge that waterfowl can end up with a condition known as “angel wing” when ducks or geese dine on bread or sweet and salty, carb-laden snacks instead of nutritious food. I confess that when I began walking at Council Point Park ten years ago, I was not aware of “angel wing” and tossed out many a crust of bread or stale bagel bits to my feathered friends.

You will notice in these photos that, with the exception of a few larger Rouen ducks, all the Mallards are brown. This is because they were in “eclipse phase” which is part of the annual Summer molt. All Mallards lose their wing feathers and cannot fly for about a month. During this time period, the male Mallards (drakes) lack their colorful plumage, the distinctive iridescent green head, the brown bib of chest feathers and bright blue speculum wing coloring and look like female Mallards (hens).

Maybe they are all blah-looking, but not boring to watch.

Here are some of my favorite photos from that day.

We’ll start with the Rouen ducks which look like mammoth Mallards. The Rouens are domesticated ducks and sadly it looks like the few bobbing around in the pond were likely someone’s pets at some time. Their molting process is different than the Mallards – they molt several times a years.