There was a very loud raucous noise outside my window today, as in many other days.
It was a couple large green parrots. We see many of the smaller ones and they are also loud and roucous but these big ones are amazing.
Here they are just three meters away squawking so much you can't ignore them.
They were looking around the Jabuticaba tree for any left over fruit.
They entertained me for over an hour.
They are very pretty.
It is amazing to see how acrobatic they are at times.
Photos by Urso Branco
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Parrots in our backyard
Heron Fishing
I was walking through the park and came across the Heron fishing.
She is very adept at fishing and spends a lot of time in the lake here in the park looking for breakfast, lunch and supper.
Here she is wading in the lake, on the hunt.
She is graceful in or out of the water or flying. She is my favourite model.
She walks in the water, going back and forth looking for just the right fish.
Someone threw bread in the water for her. It was just a temporary distraction for her.
She caught two fish and came out of the water.
But she dropped one behind that bush and the Blue Heron scooped it up. 
So she went back to the hunt for more fish.
She strutted on shore, proudly, for a while.
Then it was back to the shore to continue the search.
Back into the water.
Searching! Searching!
Wow! She got one. Look at her thrust into the water to get it. The pigeons watch her perform.
She even had a gallery on the bridge watching the action.
It is always a delight to watch her in action. She puts on quite a show.
Photos by Urso Branco
Herons, Herons, Herons!
I had a surprise the other day. I saw the Heron from a long way off and came to take some photos of her. To my surprise there was the Blue Heron that usually fishes at night with her.
The White Heron walked a short way off and turned to look straight at me. She was probably thinking, "Oh there is that guy with the camera again! I must look my best for him."
The smaller Blue Heron watched me closely.
She also turned to look right at me. I think she was trying to say, "I am beautiful too! Take my photo!"
Here is a unique photo of both Herons up close, together.
I was amazed at how close I was able to get to take these photos without a telephoto lens.
As I walked around she just stayed there and watched me.
Suddenly there was a flurry of wings as another Blue Heron joined us.
Notice the difference in build of the two Blue Herons. This one has a long neck.
This one has a short neck and a stocky build. Are they related?
She also turned to look right at me as I took her photo.
Remember this sign, in a previous post?
Well these five boys can't read I guess. They were fishing for quite a while. Look at the Heron watching them in the background on the right side of this photo.
These Herons are always a delight to watch.
Photos by Urso Branco
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Our Canaries
Meet our Canaries. Christy and Phebo.
In the beginning of November Christy was staying close to the nest.
She wouldn't let us see what she was sitting on.
Even Phebo was kept away.
Two weeks later, on November 25, we saw what all the excitement was about.
A tiny baby had been hatched. Here you can see it peeking shyly over the nest, under the careful eye of Mom.
It was still shy but getting big for the nest.
"Stop pointing that camera at me!"
Final the debut! On November 26. This seems a little suspicious. There are always many sparrows around the cage. Hmmmmm! I wonder?
The first family portrait on November 30 with Mom - Christy, Dad - Phebo, and the baby.
Judy went to the breeder where she saw many canaries with a few that looked like sparrows. The breeder explained it happens and Christy's dad was probably dark like a sparrow. So mystery solved.
Photos by Urso Branco
Heron - Caught and Freed
I was taking photos of my favourite subject, the Heron, when I got this great photo. She is very beautiful in flight.
If you look closely you can see a tape of some kind fastened to her upper left leg. It was about 4 to 8 meters long. She had been caught somewhere.
You can only see it when the sunlight is behind her. It is fastened high on her left leg.
Sometimes you cannot see it at all because it is transparent.
Here it is quite clearly visible. I tried to catch her to release her from this dangerous tape. As she walked across the sidewalk the tape dragged behind her. I was not successful.
The next morning Judy and I went back to the park to try to get her and remove the tape. We brought some bread to lure her. She loves bread. It makes a great snack with the fish!
On close examination we discovered the tape had already been removed. Wonderful!
So we threw the bread in the water and watched her hunt.
The fish were eating the bread and she was hunting the fish. But she had competition. There was a Blue Heron under the foot bridge also watching the action.
Here is the Blue Heron from the other side. She is exactly like the Blue Heron I used to see in Toronto in Taylor Creek.
They both watched the fish and they both dove after the fish and had a real party.
As the saying goes, "All's well that ends well!"
Photos by Urso Branco
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