Snapshots... on Vacation, Cotton Lake, Minnesota, USA

Bald Eagle

 Here are a few Fishing & Wildlife highlights that I managed to get photos of.... 

We have seen and caught so much more, everywhere we look is a feast for the eyes.... enjoy!

           

Never seen or heard so many Loons!

Sunfish

Cotton Lake

Northern Pike

Large Mouth Bass

this is not a Monarch - Monarch Mimic.

Male Monarch 

Fishing at sunset

Liz & Karen on the Pontoon boat.
The booze cruise...

Cove Heitman driving the Minnesota Cadillac.

Cove teaches Henry how to clean fish. Yum!

Northern Pike locally called Snakes or Hammer Handles

Pelican & Fosters Tern, Cove & Karen's place is the brown house to the left of the Pelican head.

Not sure of this Butterfly's name, as I only brought a bird guide.

Painted Turtle

Kingbird

Young Baltimore Oriole.

Chipmunk

& a very cute15 Spotted Ground Squirrel

Fair Isle BUGS me! I'm leaving...

Cabbage White / Large White
This Butterfly is not so common on Fair Isle.

 I'm on the way to the States to visit friends & family for a few weeks. So I'm posting these recent insect photos from my garden though I'm in transit. don't have my insect field guide on hand to add the proper names.

This is a new Hoverfly species for me.

Henry's Drawing of a Hoverfly

Time to FLY! to America that is... Cheers!

Young Frog vs. Water Beetle - and other people & wildlife

Frog - Tadpole or Polywog with legs.

              

Wildlife drama... Young Frog barely more than a Tadpole is attacked by a Water Beetle filmed in my small garden pond with hand held camera video mode. The Beetles looks to be winning... A still photo just didn't show the full story... sort of interesting as it was thought the introduced of Frogs (1970's) would eat all the rare or indigenous pond insects. It maybe that the Frogs, Eggs & Tadpoles turn out to be a great food source for aggressive Beetles on Fair Isle. I find this sort sad to watch but very interesting just the same.

The Beetle is most probably Agabus bipustulatus the Frog was Rana temporaria 

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta - first butterfly that I have been able to photograph this year.

Shetland Bumble Bee

Hover Fly - Scaeva pyrastri

Karen & a few happy Elizabeth Riddiford Fair Isle Knitting customers.
http://www.exclusivelyfairisle.co.uk/

Red Sky in the Morning...

Golf was played and a few rare Fair Isle Birdies were found...

Sea Hare Aplysia punctata balled up in the hands of the master...

Biggest Sea Hare Henry has ever found on Fair Isle 12- 15cm.
they are said to get up to 20cm.

Shanny Blenny Liophyrs pholis

It was great to meet Anne & Per who sailed in from Sweden. Cheers! 

My Mermaid & Bird & Waxwing Wire Sculptures

Liz & Henry set sail to America for Summer vacation...
I leave next week...

Paddyfield Warbler - Acrocephalus agricola in the Hand

Paddyfield Warbler Acrocephalus agricola

 The rare Paddy was caught at the Plantation by Asst. warden Jason Moss on  morning (7:30am) trap rounds. The bird was measured & ringed, a few were ticks removed, far more ticks were added by those folks who got out of bed to see this rare visitor from the east, hence the name Paddyfield. Paddyfield as in Asian rice farming, in no way reference to Ireland as my wife had thought? LOL. I had seen Paddyfield warbler here in 2007, I was new to birding then and the bird was diving in and out of a potato rig at Setter. So this is almost as good as a new bird for me and I am quite happy to see one again. Thanks again Jason.

The visting Paddyfield Warbler even got to check out some Fair Isle knitwear...

see more FIBO info: http://fibowarden.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/whos-paddy.html 

It was nice to see visiting Rail Butcher from North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory.
Rail was a Asst. Warden here on Fair Isle in 2005... I just love it when people tell me birds they have seen in my garden before I moved here... in this case Siberian Ruby Throat! etc.
It's a shame he left yesterday... I'm sure he wont mind too much, he saw Fair Isle's lingering River Warbler, plus he saw a Paddyfield Warbler in North Ron just about 2 weeks ago!

Marsh Warbler also caught this morning on trap rounds.

I'm showing this photo because I like the way the feathers are shuffled between the wing and tail.

Gone FishingS

Henry & Stewart fishing Fair Isle.

Not a keeper for me... this Gunnard sent back to the bottom.
We also caught a few Mackerel, Coalfish, 2 Pollack - Fish seemed very thin on the ground.
But what a lovely day to be on the water! Thanks Stuart!

One of the many "reels" Stewart knows how to play...

Stacks of Skoo - Kirk Stack & Inner Stack
both stacks are used as breeding colonies by Gannets 

The hole in Inner Stack.
the white is bird crap and Gannets

Father & Son - below the North Lighthouse- Photo by Stewart

Henry & his Sillock/Coalfish

Auld Haa - Kenaby - Brecks

Simmer Dim at the South Lighthouse - Fair Isle, 11pm