Beautiful Babies

This post was created and scheduled a few weeks ago - before we acquired our new place. Right now, I'm back in the city continuing to ready my house for sale.

You must have been a beautiful baby, 'Cuz baby just look at you now.

~ Johnny Mercer

Spring and summer - the time of year when we see so many babies of every kind. Of course those of the human variety are no longer bundled up, so we can see them in all of their cuteness. Birds and other critters choose this warmer weather to have their young, and we get the pleasure of enjoying them all. I hope you also enjoy some of the baby photos I've taken semi-recently.


This little cutie brought his own balloons and bench to pose for a photos. His parents thought it would be cute if they snapped his picture out in the park. And it was.





Here's a closer look at Mr. Charming sans balloons. You're grinning like a loon, aren't you?






Five little sweet balls of fluff were born on our pond, earlier this summer. I didn't have the lighting or the lens for this but they were still irresistible to me.





Not quite so cute right now but these babies are going to go through a beautiful transformation before long.





Okay, so I'm cheating a bit here. These aren't really all that young but they are baby roses. The blooms were profuse, this year. The plant was a Mother's Day gift from my son a few years back. I'll hate to leave this behind when I move.





Judging by his adult plumage, I don't think this guy was all that much of a baby either but he acted helpless and wasn't overly fearful of me and my camera. My guess was full grown but still with a sense of entitlement, like.. you know - a teenager.





Bunnies are not the smartest creatures on the planet (except for Maggie Mays' sweeties, of course), but they are among the cutest. This little one was nibbling grass in my front yard, one morning. I took a few photos through the glass then dared to open the door and step outside. Of course the rabbit stood stock still, rendering itself invisible. So what you're looking at is a picture of grass only. There is no bunny to be seen here. Let's move along.






Frank and I had just been to see the house that we ultimately bought when he spotted this turtle by the side of the road. She kept a wary eye on me while I snapped a photo from a respectable distance. You don't want to disturb a mama while she's laying her eggs.






I heard a few odd vocalizations while walking with Benny, one day. I couldn't recognize them as any of the familiar birds I generally hear and see each day. Eventually I found the source - this young blue jay calling for its mama. It sounded nothing like the typical adult blue jay calls. It won't be much longer before this passive little guy becomes a loud, boisterous and bold bird.






On to my favourite non domesticated animal - the furry little bandits who have taken up permanent residence in my heart. My neighbour, Caroline called me over to see these quintuplets (the fifth one was further out on a limb) playing in the tree, visible from her back yard. Mama was off somewhere - probably getting a much needed rest from her rambunctious kits.






Tell me, could it get any cuter than this?






All together now... awwwww!





And because I can never get enough of them, I have one short video of a couple of the kits playing on the branch.

More photos in a few days.

Young 'uns

It is a perversely human perception that animals in their native habitat are running wild. 

~Robert Brault

Summer is that wonderful time of year when we get to see young animals learn to fend for themselves. I've posted about baby geese and raccoons semi-recently but I've collected a few more images of maturing babies to share with you. I hope you enjoy them.



I had a wonderful morning watching a crow family, early in July. The young were almost fully-grown but their behaviour told me that they were still newbies. They allowed me to approach within a few feet - that wouldn't happen with adult crows. Their parents, atop a nearby tree grew a bit concerned and tried to caw-tion them about the crazy two-footed beast with a lens growing out of its face.






The fledglings seemed unconcerned about me but responded to their parents with pleas of "Come feed me!" Note the bright red mouth on this youngster. According to a few birding sites, crows (and some other birds) call attention to their parents with their red mouths. It makes these otherwise black birds easier to locate than by just the sound of their calls.






Last year, we happened upon quite a few robin's nests but I never saw a single one, this year. That doesn't mean that the robin population is struggling - not by a long shot. I've seen numerous fledglings around and about - like this lovely speckled-breasted cutie.






Meet the triplets - Daffy, Dawn and Della. Daffy and Della are quiet but as you can see, Dawn is rather vocal. At this age, they do more peeping than quacking but that won't keep me from captioning this image "The Quack of Dawn."






Della is not amused.






Looking down at the dam, I spotted the triplets out for a little stroll one day. It must have been fowl weather.







Beautiful blue jays - they're sharp, no-nonsense kind of birds. The adults, that is. The young ones are a bit awkward, kind of goofy and awfully cute. This one is looking just a little perplexed about where to find the peanuts that Frank has scattered for them. When in doubt, it's best to call in the experts.







Wings droop and and mouth gapes - international bird sign language for "Take care of me!"







This is a juvenile Black-crowned night heron. He's yet to grow his black cap but he was quite capable of fishing for himself. Aren't those red eyes wonderful?







In case you're curious, this is what he'll look like when he begins to grow into his adult feathers.






This young gull kept a wary eye on me. It's interesting how much their feathers will change as they reach maturity. Adult gulls are mostly pure white with black.






Of course birds are not the only baby game in town. There are several bunnies to be seen most evenings. This little one was keeping very still as bunnies tend to do. I'm sure he believed himself invisible. He's a cute little thing, don't you think?






And speaking of cute little ones, I couldn't possibly complete this post without a photo of one of my favourite little kittens - my sweet neighbour, Lily.

That's it for today. My posting and visits to your fine blogs seems to have slowed down a bit. That's par for the course during summer, for me. I'll be around eventually. That's a promise!