Day 19.195: Weekend; chicory

It’s the weekend. Here’s a chicory flower:

And - as a bonus - the silvery leaves of autumn olive:

Day 19.194: More marsh birds

Some other sightings from the marsh on Saturday morning starting with a belted kingfisher:

Great egret

House sparrow

Snowy egret

Snowy egret

Saltmarsh or Nelson’s sparrow

Saltmarsh or Nelson’s sparrow

Double-crested cormorant 

Song sparrow

Glossy ibis

Day 19.193: Breakfast with waxwings

Our second stop on Saturday morning was where the Eastern Trail crosses Scarborough Marsh. At one point our group paused to admire and sample the ripe fruit of a shadbush by the trail. We were soon joined by some cedar waxwings with a similar idea.

Day 19.192: Mystery heron (solved)

Well, it was a mystery when I first saw it on my way back to work after lunch.

Best I could do with my phone

I worked out it must be an immature great blue heron.

Day 19.191: Saturday morning birding (part 1)

Our nature group outing on Saturday morning had three elements. Two outdoor locations followed by brunch. Our first stop was at Dunstan Landing in Scarborough. A first visit to this spot for me. 

Great egret

Eastern phoebe

Saltmarsh sparrow

There were likely Nelson’s sparrows around too, but as far as i can tell, all the photos I got as these birds flew and disappeared into the marsh grasses were of saltmarsh sparrows 

Glossy ibis

Peekaboo northern yellow warbler

Double-crested cormorant

Song sparrow

Red-bellied woodpecker

Ruby-throated hummingbird 

The white pine by the tree parking area had some impressive new cones

Day 19.190: Exile #2’s Sunday Column #560

Exile #2 writes...

We have grown accustomed to sporting events being so much more than a sporting event. During our time in the country we have witnessed t-shirt cannons, and people dressed as hotdogs racing around a baseball diamond, we have seen fireworks rivaling any Guy Fawkes night, and people scrambling for a diamond engagement ring in front of home plate. We are now used to the commercials and spectacle of the Super Bowl, so it was a thing of delight to watch some BBC coverage of the World Cup Final half-time show and hear the gamut of responses - all the way from "I kind of liked it" to Wayne Rooney’s total and utter dismay.

The game itself could have been a little more entertaining, but at the end of the match, at least justice had prevailed. We had felt very ambivalent about the tournament when it began because, well, FIFA but once the football started it was hard not to be swept along because, well, football.

Day 19.189: Cemetery sights

Here’s some of what caught my eye on Thursday evening apart from the jumping fish:

Cooper’s hawk

Opposite angle

It’s mushroom season 

Chipping sparrow 

Young chipping sparrow

Two bald eagles in “the eagle tree”

Hairy woodpecker

Goldfinch catching the sunset rays