Colonel Danforth Park - Highland Creek - Scarborough

[Shortsighted]

I dropped by Reesor (lower) Pond this morning to see if the Marsh wren would come out into the open, but once again it remained cloistered within the tall reeds.  I could hear it calling just a few meters away, loud and clear, but no visual.  I could also hear the PB grebe calling but I didn't see any of them either.  I then headed to Colonel Danforth Park.  By the time I got there it was maybe about 8:30 a.m.  The first bird that I saw was a male cardinal and then almost immediately a Belted kingfisher zoom past me up the creek.  The walk along the creek didn't reveal very much but I thought that I might encounter some interesting plants or insects, even though I am not equipped with a macro lens.  Perhaps someone can suggest a not too expensive macro lens that will fit a Canon body.  Anyway, there were almost no interesting butterflies.  I just took one picture of an Ebony Jewelwing damselfly using my 420mm rig, which has a minimum focus of 1.5 meters.  Obviously, a macro lens would have been better.  Sightings and heard calls include:  Red-tailed hawk,  Great Crested flycatcher,  Grey catbird,  Warbling vireo,  Baltimore oriole,  House wren,  Yellow warbler,  American redstart,  Song sparrow,  Downy WP,  WB nuthatch,  and  robins + RWBBs.  The only unusual wildflower that I came across was a wild purple Campanula.  There were two clusters of blooms side by side and absolutely no other example of it along the path. 

 
Grey catbird


Yellow warbler


American song sparrow


Ebony jewelwing damselfly


Campanula

[Charline]

You have been working hard! Great shots!


If I put anything on my shoulders, my back pain comes back. I am taking it easy these days.

[Shortsighted]

Thanks Charline, ... lately I need some encouragement.  When heat and humidity move into the neighbourhood I become lethargic.  You are right in resting your back because 'rest' is the main cure for backache from any source other than cancer, where the ache never goes away, or even gets better.  I have been known to take a 650mm Acetominophen before heading out and I seldom carry the burden of a backpack these days unless I'm planning to hunker-down only a short distance from the car.  Aside from carrying my camo cover, the backpack is always a good buffer to lean backward against while also sitting on a cushion.  Sitting upright without the backpack would result in a backache in no time at all.  When I was leaning against a piece of beach driftwood at Beaton Point in order to photograph the Piping plover I got a backache from the wood pressing against my lumber region, which wouldn't have happened if I'd brought my backpack.  TransAtlanticGoose got me a high-end collapsible chair which would have been a great asset when I was waiting for the Marsh wren to make an appearance at Reesor (lower) Pond but it was so muddy that I figured the chair legs would get stuck under the sheer weight of my incompetence.  Today seems less humid but I just read that it will also reach 28 degrees.  I heard a Pileated WP yesterday, coming from the woodlot just across the street.  I went out to look but by then it was gone.  This morning, even now, Blue jays are screaming about some issue of contention, or they are just reminding me that I'm rambling on again.

[Dr. John]

I love ebony jewelwings.  They are stunning.