Tag Archives: birds

The joy of killing! the joy of seeing killing done – these are traits of the human race at large. ― Mark Twain, Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World

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quote2 teddybear

The killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe by an American trophy hunter has fanned the flames of  the controversy surrounding sport hunting. A familiar claim made by people opposed to sport hunting is that sport hunters “like killing things,” that is to say they enjoy killing for the sake of killing. This claim typically leaves me at a loss for words as it is so egregiously wrong. Yes, I enjoy hunting, but no, as hard as it is for you to believe, I do not like killing things. While most of my hunting expeditions are in pursuit of game birds I enjoy big game hunting too. To date my big game hunting experience is in the pursuit of the whitetail deer. My introduction to the sport of whitetail deer hunting was by Jason, one of my hunting buddies and a seasoned deer hunter, in 2011. It was not until my second season in November 2012 that I shot my first whitetail deer. It was a happy and exciting moment for me; the successful conclusion of the hunt with a whitetail deer harvested and secure in the knowledge it was a fair chase as the deer we hunt are wild, not the least bit habituated to humans. Continue reading →

Mallard hen with duckling

Sole survivor

By mid-July on the Rideau River this mallard hen has only one of her brood left. She will have started out with a brood of six to eight newly hatched ducklings in May-June, but ducklings fall prey to seagulls, snapping turtles and other predators very easily. Chances are the surviving duckling will not survive its first year of life. This is the reality in the natural world: 85% of the birds and animals born in spring do not last a year, but enough do last long enough to breed the following spring and perpetuate their species.

Photographed and posted by Geoffrey

Gray catbird

Gray catbird

Gray catbird perched in the treetops at the edge of the Rideau River, June 30, 2013. The gray catbird is so named because of its call that sounds like a cat meowing. You can usually hear the call of the gray catbird in shrubs and wooded areas near bodies of water. If you meow back at a catbird, often it will respond and show itself.

Photographed and posted by Geoffrey

Geoffrey’s hunting diary: Red-wing blackbird chicks

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On my daily training runs with Hera I found a red-wing blackbird’s nest in the reeds at the edge of a pond in the spot near the Rideau River where I run her. I am keeping an eye on the nest, taking care not to disturb the birds, and in due course saw that four chicks were hatched. I used my camcorder to capture some candid footage of the mother blackbird feeding her chicks.

Video produced and published by Geoffrey

Red-winged blackbird nest

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Red-winged blackbird nest

Red-winged blackbird nest in the cattails in a pond next to the Rideau River, May 2, 2013. I will keep an eye on this nest over the next several weeks, from a safe distance, to see how the blackbirds make out in their effort to raise a brood of chicks.

Photographed and posted by Geoffrey