Monday, September 15, 2014

July's Full Buck Moon — and Young Buck with Velvety Antlers

White-tailed Deer, with new velvet antler. ©  SB 


I saw the young White-tailed Deer one afternoon only, and that was on the day of the July Supermoon.

By coincidence, one of the many names for the July full moon is the Full Buck Moon, so named because July is the time when male deer begin to grow their new antlers.

And this White-tailed deer, posing in the field, sported a lustrous, velvety, curling pair.

(My thanks to the driver who slowed down, then reversed out of the lane when he realized I was carrying my camera gear, hoping for a photo of this White-tailed Deer. He called softly to me as he drove away from us: "Wouldn't want to scare him!")

July Supermoon - aka Full Buck Moon - rising through a haze
of northern  forest fire smoke = pink! © SB 

Supermoon on the rise!  

A Supermoon appears significantly larger (perhaps 15%) than a regular full moon, and occurs when the moon is at its closest point to Earth in its eliptical orbit. (There were Supermoons this year in August and September, too.)


What is this? Male White-tailed Deer, with new velvety growth of antlers. With the July Supermoon. 
Location: Near Muenster, Saskatchewan, Canada  
Photo dates: July 12, 2014. 

~~~~~

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Western Willets nesting beside a flooded Saskatchewan field

Flooded furrows, where we saw 
the Western Willets. © SB
As Saskatchewan shifts from dry land to lake country, new sites for shore birds surface — like the flooded furrows in this field, where a pair of Western Willets nested this summer.

The Willets stood guard over their turf, hailing passers-by on the grid road with piercing alarm calls hurled from hiding spots in the grass, and then taking turns to launch up to circle overhead and berate us. 

We weren't trying to bother them... We were just out walking on a fairly busy gravel grid road. And if the Willets hadn't sounded their presence so defensively and noisily, we likely wouldn't have even realized that they were there! 

But how beautiful to see them fly, with their striking dark and white wing patterns! 

Western Willet, circling overhead to scare us away from the nest
— while alerting us to its presence.  © SB 

I never saw the Western Willets actual nest, or any young birds. If there were eggs or fledglings, they were well hidden — at least from those like me, who kept our distance, on the edge of the road. 

And then one day, they were not there. I don't know if a predator found them, or if it was simply time to leave the nest or migrate. But when we walked along that road, Willets no longer followed us, circling with their cries. 

Western Willet, on a Saskatchewan grid road.
(I was very startled when it landed not far from me, 

and stared at me and my camera.) © SB

Can you see the Western Willet? Maybe not, 
if you were out walking at the edge of the field, without a camera or binoculars.... © SB


What are these birds? Western Willet Chevalier semipalmé.
Location: Near Muenster, Saskatchewan, Canada  
Photo dates: July 6 and 7, 2014. 

~~~~~
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...