Lady Slipper

Lady Slipper

Spring moves along. Each passing week brings more exciting flowers to discover while walking in the woods. Lady Slippers are just making an appearance around the region. This is the first one I found in bloom. There were about a dozen more in various stages of getting ready to bloom. Now that I found the pink ones, I’ll be looking for some yellow ones. The two different color varieties prefer different environments.

Common Loon

Flapping the wings

A Common Loon in an uncommon situation. Loons frequently can be seen along the eastern coast where they migrate. It is a bit uncommon to see them on a suburban lake. This male has been here for about three weeks. He seams to be healthy i.e. fishing and moving around the lake. There has been some concern the lake is not long enough to provide a “runway” for him to take off. No one has reported observing any attempt by the loon to takeoff. Other extralimital bird species have visited the area and stayed for extended periods then, disappeared while no one was looking, perhaps the loon will, too.

Redstart Warbler

Redstart among the trilliums

Here at the Thompson WMA, the trillium (grandiflora) season coincides with the spring bird migration. Once in a while, you can capture a warbler enjoying the trilliums while looking for insects. I was on my knees photographing the trilliums when the redstart posed for me. At one point, this male redstart came so close to me I was not able to focus the lens!