3 August 2016
RIM Park, located in the northeast quadrant of the City of Waterloo, is a mixed use park with a substantial trail network for naturalists, meandering along the Grand River. It is named RIM Park because much of the initial funding was provided by Research in Motion (RIM), creators of the Blackberry and a Waterloo-based company.
This Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias seemed totally unconcerned with passers-by and didn't fly away despite people walking quite close to it. We had to look down on it from above and couldn't quite get the whole bird in the shot, but it's an interesting perspective.
Elecampane Inula helenium was in full bloom throughout the park, towering above most other plants and providing a vivid panoply of colour.
Caspian Terns Hydroprogne caspia were patrolling up and down the river in search of a meal.
Japanese Beetles Papilla japonica, have been present in North America for a century, but increasingly they are becoming a major pest, destroying the leaf tissue and ripening fruit of more than two hundred plants. This pair seemed intent on expanding the population.
RIM Park is home to a wide variety of thistles, none more handsome than Bull Thistle Cisium vulgare.
Thistles are not looked on with great favour by humans but their seeds form
a plentiful and nutritious source of food for numerous finches. This handsome male American Goldfinch Spinus tristis would consider a field of thistle a fine banquet indeed.
Here are a few more illustrations of the diversity of RIM Park.
Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus was frequently seen sallying out from a favourite perch to snag passing insects. There was nothing unusual about this but we were delighted to photograph an individual showing its red crown patch, a feature so seldom observed that this is the first time either Miriam or I have seen it.
Butterfly Weed Asclepias tuberosa, a member of the milkweed family, is as the name implies a magnet for butterflies.
We cut our walk short a little because of the threat of imminent rain, but it held off and when we returned to the car bright sunshine had returned.
We'll have to go back again soon to see what other treasures we can share with you.
Beautiful series, David. Great park to walk around. The Caspian Stern, the Japanese Beetles and the Thistle are my favorites, but undoubtedly your winner is the Eastern Kingbird.
ReplyDeleteGr Jan W
Beautiful images, especially the Heron, loving every minutes, so proud.
ReplyDeleteQuerido amigo canadiense ;-)
ReplyDeleteEstab bienvenidos los dos cuando quieren a visitar el Teich conmigo! LOL!
Yes, even when there are only the local species, something is always happening and there is always some photographs to take.
Invasive pests are becoming a worldwide problem and those beetles seem to thrive in their new conquered habitat!
your close-ups are great and show their beautiful colours.
This RIM park looks very suitable for many bird species, the Blue heron is gorgeous.
Warm hugs, salutations chaleureuses à partager avec Miriam :)
Hi. Very beautiful photos. I like it a lot.
ReplyDeleteParece un buen lugar para las aves el RIM park, me ha gustado mucho el reportaje mi amigo David. Un fuerte abrazo desde España.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice last week David, on foiling the invading Russians. I reset things as you suggested, and it seems to have worked.
ReplyDeleteGood morning David!:) Thank you for your last visit, and your nice comment. This park has a very natural look about it which I love, and it also has some very pretty wild flowers.I enjoyed seeing all the wildlife. Those bugs look very like some I see in my garden, I wonder if they could be the same! Lovely Heron and American Goldfinch captures.:)
ReplyDeleteHi David.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful park David.
Beautiful flowers and birds.
The heron is really nice.
Groettie from Patricia.
Good morning David. Your park seems to have the overgrown look of late summer when it's hard to find birds never mind photograph them. Nevertheless you found a wide range of subjects. Your herons are perhaps less wary than our Grey Heron which is normally hard to photograph. When I find a subject like yours I just tend to click away and end up with dozens of similar pictures.
ReplyDeleteCaspian Tern is always a good one to see but quite a rarity here of course.
RIM Park looks like a great place, David. It looks as it it could be a cool haven in a hot summer. Delightful illustrations!
ReplyDeleteLike Phil, I was surprised to see how close you got to the Great Blue Heron. Here, it seems, you've only got to look at a Grey Heron from a great distance, and it's off!
Your Japanese Beetles look very similar to our Garden Chafers, which are also considered as pests.
LOve to you both - - Richard