Tis' the Season!

Also outside of "crazy birding time" in May  - late August/early Sept is also one of my favourite times of the year - classic boat season...

This high pressure falling into place gets amplified by Lake Ontario making for dozens of days with "calm as glass" water... It follows the same basic principles... High pressure = no wind and sun....

- Morning on the lake = calm... I go looking for Phalaropes and Jaegers loafing on the water for mega-close views...

- mid day = sun heating the land, and the rising air over the land begins to create a cycle with cool air on the lake - creating a gentle east wind.. I rush back to shore...

- afternoon = increase in the cycle - clouds form as rising air cools, and the east wind is stronger... By this point in time I'll be throwing bread somewhere near the wave tower and cursing as the sun starts to hide behind the growing clouds as adult Jaegers and Sabine's fly around the boat looking for handouts...


It is a LOT of fun!

Calm water and blue below is because I'm 14km offshore... Clouds reflecting in the top half of the image is them building in the distance (over land)...

Finding a "relaxed" Parasitic Jaeger floating on the water (only 25ft from the boat) is one heck of an experience... Before long they tend to leave, as their curiosity dies down... 

On rare occasion I've "tamed" a bird. I saw this juvenile SAGU 3 days in a row, and on the third he/she actually started following me around... We sat for 45 minutes on calm-as-glass water within 15 feet of each other....

Bread-tossing is chaotic by comparison, although a good challenge of my ID and photography skills to capture what is happening. This juvenile Long-tailed Jaeger may look outmatched here, but actually chased the Great BB Gull for several km's until we didn't see them anymore...  

Tis the season! 

(That awkward moment when you realize you're driving AWAY from the Long-tailed Jaegers....)