Snowy Owls

Snowy Owls

For the next few days I plan to share photos of Animals of Newfoundland and Labrador taken in the Salmonier Nature Park, located on the Salmonier Line between Holyrood and Mount Carmel. People often go there during the hotter days of summer and do not see the animals and are disappointed. The photos in this Series were taken during a trip through the park in early September, 2006.

On my most recent trip last Saturday, we saw one snowy owl hidden under a stump, but on previous trips there were more than one bird and they were out in the open.  Snowy owls live in northern Canada. In this province they are more common in Labrador, but do come as far south as the island of Newfoundland. I have seen them near St. John's on more than one occasion.

Photos of the Day are for sale as:

• Stock Photographs
• Photographic Prints and Enlargements
• Slide Shows
• Wallpapers/Screensavers

Flowers

 Flowers

Today I am sharing 10 photos of flowers taken in my yard three days ago. I thought that you would enjoy seeing some of the plants that are in bloom here this time of the year.


It's been an odd year - April and May were nice and we broke the high temperature record at least once. I did a lot of preparation work in my gardens - no flies that time of the year! Then it was rain, drizzle and fog for three weeks in June. We had a few great days last week and this week it's back to rain, drizzle and fog with lower temperatures. My tomato plants were killed by frost on June 10 and the potatoes, green peas, carrot and lettuce have been growing for about a week. The rain we had for the past two days really helped the gardens.

Last week my grandson and I walked around the Salmonier Nature Park, located on the Salmonier Line here on the Avalon Peninsula. During that last trip, many people were a little disappointed because they walked through the park without seeing many of the animals. It was a warm, sunny morning and most of the animals were hidden away, probably trying to keep cool. I've been there many times since moving to Holyrood thirty years ago and have photos of most of the animals. I plan to start a new series - Salmonier Nature Park/ Animals of Newfoundland and Labrador so that people who visit will have another place to view some of the animals they missed.

Photos of the Day are for sale as:

• Stock Photographs
• Photographic Prints and Enlargements
• Slide Shows
• Wallpapers/Screensavers

Atlantic Puffins 5

Atlantic Puffins 5

I have shared 50 photos of Atlantic puffins during this series and it appears as though many of you enjoyed them.  Like other series I've don recently, the photos were shared in the order they were taken.  Today's were taken near the end of my trip to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve.  By then I was shooting more of birds taking flight or flying by.

The second photo is interesting because I was following a puffin flying directly overhead and shot a couple of images.  I didn't see the seagull flying overhead until after after I downloaded the images.  The positions of wings also adds interest to the image.

Photos of the Day are for sale as:

• Stock Photographs
• Photographic Prints and Enlargements
• Slide Shows
• Wallpapers/Screensavers

Atlantic Puffins 4

Atlantic Puffins 4

Thanks for the positive comments about the puffin photos I have shared so far. They are certainly being shared a lot on Facebook.

Tomorrow will be the last in my Atlantic Puffins Series. Today I have included a few close and medium images of puffins as well as one with two birds taking flight from a steep cliff. I was watching one getting ready to fly and just as I decided to click the shutter another flew into the scene. I was lucky to capture the image and doubly lucky that they were all in focus.

Photos of the Day are for sale as:

• Stock Photographs
• Photographic Prints and Enlargements
• Slide Shows
• Wallpapers/Screensavers

Atlantic Puffins 3

Atlantic Puffins 3

Today's photos show fairly close views of Atlantic puffins on one of the islands in Witless Bay Ecological Reserve. I was trying to capture an image of a puffin as it flew in for a landing and followed several birds. I was lucky to capture one just before it touched down. Because I focused on the bird that was landing, the other is out of focus, but not enough to bother me. You should certainly get a feeling of action in this still photograph.

Atlantic Puffins 2

Atlantic Puffins 2

Thanks for the comments about the puffin photos I shared yesterday. Several of you have never seen an Atlantic puffin before and others have seen them but haven't been able to get a decent photo. The photos I am sharing in this series were all taken on the same beautiful summer day in July, 2003. I had seen many beautiful close up images of puffins in books and magazines, but like many of you hadn't been close enough to make a good photograph myself. This day was an exception: great weather, a new digital camera and a perfect opportunity to get fairly close the the birds. A day to remember!

Photos of the Day are for sale as:

• Stock Photographs
• Photographic Prints and Enlargements
• Slide Shows
• Wallpapers/Screensavers