Frog - Kane Valley British Columbia - YouTube

I AM the Frog Whisperer! LOL So what happened was, I was walking along the edge of the water to be able to film the water lily and was startled by this frog who hopped away to avoid meeting my sandal! She posed at the lily for me, then swam back right by me again!! Even let me pick her up.

Birding in British Columbia 2012

Just a sample of the birds we filmed in British Columbia in the last couple of months. Some are migratory, some are rare like the The Long-billed Curlew and some are common like the Canada Geese.

Frogs

We were up Iron Mountain, near Merritt, British Columbia and visited one of our favorite lakes. To our surprise, we were greeted by frogs! They were amazing!!

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura.

Frogs are widely known as exceptional jumpers, and many of the anatomical characteristics of frogs, particularly their long, powerful legs, are adaptations to improve jumping performance.

Due to their permeable skin, frogs are often semi-aquatic or inhabit humid areas, but move easily on land. They typically lay their eggs in puddles, ponds or lakes, and their larvae, called tadpoles, have gills and tails to develop in water. Adult frogs follow a carnivorous diet, mostly of arthropods, annelids and gastropods. Frogs are most noticeable by their call, which can be widely heard during the night or day, mainly in their mating season.

The distribution of frogs ranges from tropic to subarctic regions, but most species are found in tropical rainforests. Consisting of more than 5,000 species described, they are among the most diverse groups of vertebrates. However, populations of certain frog species are declining significantly.

music is by Kendra Springer 09 - Where Sky Meets Sea

Wild Clematis in the forest after the rain

Filmed May 4, 2012 at Mission Creek Park...

The Wild Clematis was the first delicate flower we came upon. This one is mauve, but apparently there are also yellow ones. They grow in predominantly shaded areas in the forest, using other trees for structure. They do not have tendrils like most vines.

music by 03 - zero-project - 03 - Twilight poem

The Osprey - Pandion haliaetus - Raptor

A Desert in Canada?

Canada has one desert. It's located in the South Okanagan region of British Columbia.  It's considered a 'pocket desert' one of North America’s most fragile and endangered ecosystems. Despite its small size, it is home to an exceptional array of desert plants and animals, some found nowhere else in Canada, many on the brink of extinction. It is here, that's we filmed the osprey's on April 13, 2012.

They're often call fish hawks . . . 

Osprey's eat fish which they can see from great heights as they fly over bodies of water, when they spot the prey they hover by flapping their wings and then if all things go right, meaning the fish don't spook, the osprey dives into the water with talons stretched out and catches the fish.

The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), sometimes known as the sea hawk, fish eagle or fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than 60 cm (24 in) in length and 180 cm (71 in) across the wings. It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts, with a black eye patch and wings.

Food source?

As the common name suggests, the Osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish. It possesses specialised physical characteristics and exhibits unique behaviour to assist in hunting and catching prey. As a result of these unique characteristics, it has been given its own taxonomic genus, Pandion and family, Pandionidae. Four subspecies are usually recognised. Despite its propensity to nest near water, the Osprey is not a sea-eagle

Migratory?

Osprey's are migratory birds. We have seen and filmed them in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico in the winter months.The Osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all continents except Antarctica although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant.

music is by 01 - zero-project - 01 - Land of legends

How to film wildlife - YouTube

Well almost, ducks on a path and a squirrel in the tree isn't really wildlife but it's still fun filming them and you never know what your going to catch.  I especially like the ducks waddling off at the end of the video...

There's really no secret to filming nature and wildlife, find a spot and stake it out and just wait.

beauty of spring - YouTube

It's still dull, grey and brown where we live but soon spring will be here . . . I look forward to the sunshine & the new green, the flowers and the little critters that share the earth with us. :)

music by Kendra Springer 09 - Where Sky Meets Sea