A Wild Life

When I went down to the park, it was snowing. When I was out on the break water, I saw some seagulls. When I was by sage beach, I saw some buffleheads and two mergansers but I didn’t know what kind out in the water. Since I didn’t know what kind of mergansers they were and Connor said that he would be leaving soon after me, I decided to wait for him to ask him what kind they were. I waited underneath a tree out of the snow. I waited for a long time there but I still didn’t see him, so I went and walked to the first opening in the park then walked back. When I walked back, I saw Connor not far from where I had been, so I went up and got him. He had been taking photos of some thrushes in the trees. When we got to where I had been the mergansers had moved so Connor looked out in the water with his binoculars and found them. They were red breasted mergansers. There were also some ducks out in the water by the shore. After that Connor went to walk around the park and I walked home.
Why didn’t I bring my camera?
Why did I wait so long for Connor?
Why were there more varied thrushes around?

Today there is still about half a foot of snow out side and it is suppose to snow more there is up to three inches possible tomorrow according to the weather report that I look at. On my way to dads I saw some deer tracks by the road and then when I got to dads I saw a set of deer tracks coming out of the back yard so I went to check my trail camera to see if I caught the deer on th trail camera. I did it had went through our yard at about 3:50 this morning. After I did stuff at the house I went down to the park and on my way down to the park I saw a savannah sparrow I took some photos of it then went on. I saw some varied thrushes as well and took some photos of them also. While I was taking photos of the varied thrushes rowan came and said that she thought she saw some red breasted mergansers and wanted me to come look. I went and looked and they were red breasted mergansers so I went to the park and rowan went home. When I was out at the end of the park there was a flock of duck and while I was looking at the duck a bald eagle came down and tried to catch one but missed and flew back to a tree. Then I on my way home I saw a lincoln’s sparrow and got some photos of it to then went home.

1. Question why was there a savannah sparrow still around?
2. Question why did the deer come through our yard so early?
3. Question why are we getting some much snow?                                                         deer in our yard                                                    lincoln’s sparrow                                                         varied thrush                                                       savannah sparrow

When I went down to the park, there was snow on the ground and it was sunny. When I was in the park,it wasn’t quite as snowy. When I was at the battle site bench, I saw some seagulls and some crows out by the water. When I was by the trail by the river, I saw some ducks, seagulls, and mergansers out in the water. When I was on the trail by the river, I saw some ducks and two swans. When I was on my way back home I saw two eagles out on the break water fighting over something. One of the eagles flew into a tree and on of them stayed. I went out on the breakwater to see if the other eagle was there. It was, and it was eating on something, I guessed it was a seagull. I also saw a seagull on the rocks next to the eagle. I was On the rock above the eagle. I watched it eating for a bit, before it looked up and saw me and flew away. It left behind the seagull it was eating when it flew away. After it flew away I went back up the rocks and went home.
Why was the seagull so close to the eagle eating?
Why was it sunny today?
How did the eagle catch the seagull?

Today when I went down to the park, it was snowing and a bit cold. When I was walking the snow melted on me making me a bit wet. When I was on the breakwater I saw some seagulls. When I was in the park, water from the melted snow was dripping from the trees. When I was at the battle site bench, I went out and walked on the bench.The beach was covered in snow. When I was out on the bench, I saw some black oystercatchers fly away, and I saw some crows out by the water. When I was by the trail by the river, I saw two swans, some ducks, some goldeneyes and a green winged teal. When I was taking photos of the green winged teal, the swans came close to me and then swam away. When I was on the trail by the river, I saw some more ducks, some buffleheads and some mergansers. When I was on my way back home, I saw some juncos.
Why was there a green winged teal there?
Why was so much water dripping from the trees?
Why did the swans come closer to me when I was taking photos of the green winged teal and then swim away?

This after noon I was sitting in my room reading when I heard this strange chipping noise I had heard it the day before as well but did not find the bird.I sat up and looked out my window to see if I could see the bird that was making that noise. When I did look out my window I did not see the bird but it did look like the the birds were not happy at all with something in the yard. They were hopping around in the trees in the back yard and the blue berry bush in the back yard like there was a cat or something that was a predator in the back yard so I sat there looking out the window waiting to see if I could see what ever they were angry at and after a few minutes and bird flew up in to a tree. I looked at it through my window and I was thinking it was either a merlin or a sharp shinned hawk (I was not even thinking that it might have been a northern pygmy owl) so I got my camera and I let rowan know that it was out there and she said she did not want to come and look at what I thought was a merlin or a sharp shinned hawk so I went out side in the snow and the bird was still in the tree I got my camera out and was getting ready to take some photos of it when it flew to a pine tree that I had my tree fort in. I went around and found the bird again and started to  take some pictures of it when I realized at it looked like a northern pygmy owl and that it was a northern pygmy owl so I ran back in side and told her that it was a northern pygmy owl so we both went back out there. It had flew to a different tree but we found it and rowan was just getting ready to take some photos of it when it flew higher up in the tree and we lost sight of it so she said she was going to go back in side while I went to the road and looked for it from there I found it again and went and told rowan that I had found it and by the time that rowan got back out there the owl had moved back to where it had been before rowan had went in side and rowan was just getting ready to get some photos of it when it flew again thankfully it just flew up one more branch and we could still see it. We watched and took photos of it eating a dark eyed junco that it had caught in our yard then it flew up one more branch but we could not see it that good so we went in side. It was really exciting to see the northern pygmy owl in our yard that was just about the last raptor that I was tinking was going to show up in our yard.

1. Question what bird was making that chipping noise?
2. Question when did that northern pygmy owl get the junco?
3. Question where did that northern pygmy owl come from?

This morning when I got up it was really really windy out and it was raining a little. I ate breakfast and then asked dad if I could go down to the park. He said I could so I got ready and left my cowboy hat at home because I did not want it to get blown away in the strong winds. Once I got to the harbor I saw that it was white capping big time out there on the water. I went out on to the breakwater and stood out there for a few minutes then I walked back. Once I got to the park and saw that they had not closed it I went in side the forest. It was not very windy in the forest except for the places that were right next to the ocean where the trees were really swaying and made me a bit nerves that one might fall on me or across the trail while I was there. I got out to the end of the park and it was very very windy out there I looked at the birds that were out there then walked down the beach. Once I got to the estuary I saw some mallards and a couple of trumpeter swans there. It was the first time this fall that I have seen trumpeter swans that were not flying. After that I went home.

1. Question why was it so windy?
2. Question why were there only 2 swans?
3. Question what might show up with regards to birds after the storm is over?

This morning after I got some of my stuff done at home dad let me go up part of gaven  hill and explore around the woods. It was raining a little bit when I left. I went up the trail then I went off on to the old trail. I went up through part of the muskeg and explored part of the muskeg then worked my way up in to the woods. Once I got up in to the woods I went off the trail and explored my old squirrel hunting grounds. I saw a few squirrrels but that was it. I went up the trail a bit further went through part of a muskeg and back in to the woods. I went in to a different part of the woods. I wondered around in the wet woods and found a muskeg type of area. I went in to it a little bit then I came back out on to the trail. I went up the trail and crossed a creek and went off in to the woods again. I went up by my trail camera checked my trail camera and then wondered on. I came in to a bit of biggish timber was surrounded partly by a thicket of devils club and there was a creek running on one side of me. I went up through the trees and crossed the creek and saw that the forest got more dense on the other side so I went back across the creek and in to the partly open timber. I found some good deer trails in there and I also saw where some one had put a marker up I followed the trail that the mark was on for a little ways and saw the cross trail. Then I went back and got back on the old trail and headed home.

1. Question why was it wet out?
2. Question why was there so much devils club around there?
3. Question why did they move the trail?

This morning I went down to the park. On my way down to the park I went out on to the breakwater. There were a bunch of gulls on the railing they flew off when I got by them.  Once I got out to the end of the breakwater I saw a bald eagle sitting on a piling closes to me and then I also saw a bald eagle sitting on a piling a bit further out and it looked like it had a  dead bird so I looked through my binoculars at the eagle with the bird and the bird was a gull. The bald eagle with the gull flew out on to one of the piling that was a bit further out. I went down by sage rock and there were no shore birds on it this time. I got to the entrance  to the park and went down on to the beach. I walked the beach until I got to the first viewing area then I went back up on to the trail. I went down to the end of the park and went back out on to the beach I saw some black oystercatchers on the beach but they flew away. Once I got to the river estuary I saw some mallards and some wigeons so I looked through the wigeon to see if the eurasian wigeon was still around. I found the female eurasian wigeon which was nice to see that the eurasian wigeon was still around. Then I went home.

1. Question how long will the eurasian wigeon stick around?
2. Question why were there no shorebirds on sage rock?
3. Question why were the black oystercatchers on the beach?

Today when I went down to the park, it was raining hard and it was cold. When I was out on the breakwater, it was windy and I saw some sea gulls and ducks. When I was at the battle site bench, it was almost high tide and I did not see any birds. When I was by the trail by the river, I saw some sea gulls out in the water. When I was on the trail by the river, I saw some ducks on the other side of the river. I also saw some golden crowned kinglets in the salmon berry bushes and some ducks on the side of the river I was on. The ducks on the side of the river I was on were in the water and they flew away. When I was on my way back home I saw a bunch of crows in someone’s yard and on the street. When I got close to home, I saw a bunch of juncos and a song sparrow. The juncos and the song sparrow flew away when I walked by.
Why was it raining so hard?
Why were the kinglets in the salmon berry bushes?
Why did the ducks fly away?

Yesterday I went down the park. To see what was down there. It was a little windy but not bad. I got over by sage rock I saw a bunch of shore birds on sage rock I looked through them and all I saw was some black turnstones and some surfbirds and a few rock sandpiper there was also a few gull on sage rock as well. While I was watching the shore birds they flew away like something had scared them. When I looked around I saw a big bunch of crows flying around like they were harassing something. I went up to the road to see if I could see what they might have been harassing but I did not see any raptors or anything like that the only thing I saw was rowan on her way home so I went back down to the seawalk and on to the park. The tide was up high and moving big logs around and smashing them up on to the beach. It was pretty wet in the forest because of the fact that it had rain recently. There were not many birds moving that day so I did not see very many. Once I got out to the end of the park I walked down on to the beach and there were some black turnstones and some surfbirds and some rock sandpipers. I went to the estuary and saw that there were some mallards up there but I did not see any other birds. Then I went home.

1. Question why were the birds not moving very much?
2. Question why did I only see mallards in the estuary?
3. Question what scared the shorebird?