Merry Christmas!

Just four months until Spring!

Amherst Island, Ontario

We saw four different Snowy Owls on the Island today.
They were easy to spot on their prominent perches.

Red-tailed Hawk

Horned Lark

Eastern Meadowlark

We were surprised to see several of these as they aren't
a winter bird here.

All of the above birds were seen while driving around the island. We walked into Owl Woods but for all the trudging through the snow we only saw one Long Eared Owl. We had hoped for Northern Saw-whet and Boreal but no luck.

A Winter's Day at the Point

A winter storm coming in tonight with the prospect of
30 or 40 cm of snow.

Found this shelf mushroom along the trail. Unfortunately
I can't identify it. I could, since Santa has apparently
stashed a very nice mushroom guide in the closet, however
its in plastic shrink wrap, which presents certain problems...

The Barred Owl is still at Lemoine, always fairly close
to the parking lot.

He was high up in the tree. A Blue Jay came and landed on
the branch below him and squawked at him but the owl
didn't even look down. After a bit he flew about a hundred yards
away to another high branch and perched there.

Winter at the Point

It was a very pleasant winter afternoon at the Point. Snow falling steadily and sticking to tree branches and plants, deer in the woods, Hairy Woodpecker working busily from tree to tree, and lots of people on skis.

St. John's Wort

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

I took this picture at the beginning of August this year. I found this plant growing in a sunny, open field. I have yet to find anything like it on the internet or in my guides. The search continues. I plan to keep posting and trying to identify pictures of plants that I took throughout the year last year. I also intend to post more current pictures but between work and being sick I haven't been out for a while. I'm hoping for an opportunity this weekend.
Thanks to Nathan for identifying this as St. John's Wort. I found a good resource at the Plants Database of the USDA (I'll put a link in my links section).

Bur Marigold

Picture taken September, 2005
Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

I have a lot of yellow flowered plants, most of which I have been unable to identify even with the help of three guide books. I believe this is the Nodding Bur Marigold (Bidens cernua). It is a member of the Aster family. I found it growing in a swampy area next to the boardwalk.

New England Aster

Aster novae-angliae

September 19, 2005

Picture taken in the dragonfly field at Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario.