On a Photo Jaunt

Photos: September 15, 2016

You never know what you will see when you go to Parc-nature du Bois-de-L'Île-Bizard. A friend of mine and I like to go there on photo jaunts. After a short walk, a boardwalk leads over a marsh. This visit we spotted this Cooper's Hawk. I downloaded an app when I was in Newfoundland: Merlin Bird ID from Cornell University. It is a great help in identifying birds. My friend is a better birder than I am, but Merlin came to my rescue to confirm her suspicions. There is a camaraderie among people with cameras. We saw several along the boardwalk, most with very long lenses on their cameras. Near this spot, a gentleman suggested the perfect spot to photograph the bird. He was right!



You have to look everywhere to spot the residents of this part, in the water, on land and up in trees (or the sky). I noticed this frog hopping in the plant-filled shallow water.



Ducks are always spotted here, whether resting on logs or swimming.



Red dragonflies were flitting around. This one posed for me. They are often too fast to catch in a photograph.



Here's another. They seem to like the warmth of the wood.



It's not just the creatures that are interesting. This natural sculpture sat in the water. Its reflections added another dimension.



My friend spotted this heron in the distance through her binoculars. My camera just reached it. Here it was puffing up its feathers after grooming.



Another look...

I hope to be back once the leaves start to change.