Diamond in the rough...

I think the title is one of many ways I could describe the town of Terrenceville for me. It is small fishing village located on the Burin Peninsula with a population of around 1000. As you drive down thru the Burin Peninsula you are surrounded by barren landscape. About half way down is the turn off for Terrenceville and the 18km main road leads you down a valley into this small town. It has been a wildlife oasis for me and this past weekend was no exception.   

Upon our arrival at Jenelle's parents house I went into their back yard to listen for any song birds that might have arrived since my last visit. There was one bird in particular I was listening for which was the Black-throated Green Warbler. Sure enough I could hear one and with a few "phishing" sounds he came out to investigate me and I was able to grab this shot. 

It was my first time seeing and photographing one so I'm super happy to have gotten this image.

My goal for the weekend trip was more of a knowledge based one. I wanted to bird as much of the area as I could to find various species of song birds for future visits. Most song birds will return to the same place each year so keeping note where you locate them is important if you want to relocate them.

The weather was not looking promising for the whole trip...rain and fog :( but you have to make the best of what you get so I headed out early the following morning (we had arrived lately the previous evening so not enough time for any scouting). The trees and alders where alive with the songs. Since I'm some what new to song bird photography or birding in general it becomes difficult to identify all of the songs when there are so many at once. The alders where flashing yellow with the movements of many Yellow and Wilson's warblers

I also spotted many other song birds that morning from Common Yellowthroated, Pine Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, Northern Waterthrush but unable to get an image I was proud to show.

The following morning I spent a good amount of time behind an old building which had the perfect habitat for various species of birds. There was an open marsh with plenty of alders and trees surrounding it... below were a few small ponds and streams. The weather was unpredictable that morning as the sun would break one minute then pour rain the next then everything would be blanketed by fog. Here is a shot looking up the valley heading out of Terrenceville and the view from where I was birding.

While enjoying the view and trying to entice a Hermit Thrush to come out into the open for me I caught sight of something larger moving to my left. I was happily surprised to see a red fox (which appears to be a juv). I've heard many reports from people in the town that this guy has been hanging around for a few months now and enjoying hand outs from people (a topic I will not get into). With a few slow movements I lowered myself to the ground and calmly spoke to him. 

I want to take a moment and talk about this image and why I consider it an undesirable image. The main reason is the background. Unfortunately the fox was keeping a close distance to the alders in the background which in turn kept them in focus more then I would want to achieve a pleasing image. Knowing this after looking at my first shot I slowly moved to my left as he approached giving him room to move to the right which is where I hoped he would go. To the right was a more open area with fewer alders and the distant hill side as my background. He quickly realized I had no food for him so he moved over to the right and onto the marsh where I grabbed this shot of him

Here we have a much more pleasing BG and the subject stands out nicely. 

The fox decided to sit for a short rest and allowed me to approach and capture this nice portrait with a great head angle.

After his short rest the fox disappeared over the edge. I decided to try and call him back to see if he would return and sure enough he did

I assume to make sure I had no food then disappeared again...

It was an great experience and I hope he does well. Later in the weekend I relocated him at night along the road side and this time he had a friend so hopefully together they can start a family and find some better sources of food.

Check back for part two of my weekend adventure...