| Birds and Mammals |
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Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) I was lucky enough to stumble upon this nest just as the first chick was hatching. Chicks of this species are born with closed eyes, very little down and are unable to leave the nest. Young which are born like this are referred to as altricial. In contrast young which are born more developed are referred to as precocial. Click here to view a Morphological Classification of Birds |
| Birds and Mammals |
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Mallard (Anas platyrhnychos) |
Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapilla) I don't have a proper zoon lens so it is difficult to take pictures of birds as they often will stay a fair distance from humans. However by sitting by this bird feeder for about an hour the chickadees began to ignore me which allowed me to take this photograph. I was also able to get the chickadees as well as a few red-breasted nuthatches (Sitta canadensis) to feed out of my hands by standing very still. The distinctive "chick-a-dee-dee" call is seemingly simple but can convey a number of different messages from alarm, individual identification, and recognition of other members of a flock. It was also determined that the number of "dee" notes in a call is related to the degree of stress or agitation of a particular bird. |
Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus) |
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Beaver Dam (Castor canadensis) Beavers have a huge impact on the composition of their environment. The construction of a dam restricts water flow and creates large reservoirs for fish, aquatic invertebrates, birds, reptiles and amphibians. The beaver will also effect the surrounding terrestrial ecosystem by removing many trees creating open patches of forest where many species of herbaceous plants will grow. |
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Black Bear Prints (Ursus americanus) Click on the button to hear a Black Bear Growl |
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Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) I had never seen a spruce grouse before stumbling upon this one in Algonquin park so I was cautious not to scare it off. I kept my distance and slowly crept towards it hoping to get close enough for a decent picture. Little did I know that spruce grouse are incredibly indifferent to humans. I got within feet of this particular bird before it fluttered up onto a tree branch only three feet off the ground and sat there looking at me. Aparrently people used to hunt spruce grouse simply by finding them and beating them with a stick as they prefer to remain motionless and rely on their camoflauge rather than flee predators. |
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Baby Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) |
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Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) This individual was in the process of making a nest. Through further observation I found out that many if not all nests made by this species are composed entirely of feathers. Tree swallows are cavity nesters and if you see a small tree hole full of feathers it is likely to be occupied by this common species. |
Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) |
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Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) Members of this species are solitary and only come together to mate. They are short lived with many not exceeding three years of age. They feed on a variety of plant materials from leaves to tree bark. The Eastern Cottontail will reingest its feces in order to extract further nutrients. This process is known as coprophagy. |
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| Barred Owl (Strix varia) |