reaching for spring

PHOTO POST

The first growth of the season is just beginning to emerge in the plant realm, but in the avian world spring moves are well underway.

Many of the visiting waterfowl – Long-Tailed Ducks, Scaups – have apparently ended their sojourns in our marsh to carry on north. A few Ring-Necked Ducks and more numerous Buffleheads are sticking around for now.

Ring-Necked Ducks (click images for larger views)

These ducks tend not to be noisy types, which is more than you can say about the Grackles who make sure to announce their presence.

Crackle Grackle

The Grackle is also famous for its iridescent splendour – but the black-and-white Buffleheads can play with the spectrum of sunlight just as beautifully.

Low-Profile Flash

When the Buffleheads begin their playful skitterings across the marsh surface they splash the evening light in all directions at once.

Buffleheads Three By Three

Nesting waterfowl, meanwhile, are getting serious about staking out spots to build this year’s homes. Mute Swans have started their thunderous stampedes across the water to warn interloping Swans, as well as Canada Geese, to keep their distance.

Pursuit

Muskrats appear more placid but they too can cause a hubbub, thrashing about in the reeds, perhaps all in good fun? Whatever their motives, they were actively exploring the whole marsh through the past week.

Swimming To Home

On Closer Examination

The ranks of Red-Wing Blackbirds grow by the day and so their calls fill the air.

From This Lofty Perch

But when it comes to reaching for the sky, a mere lack of wings is no reason to stay earth-bound. As the first fresh fruits of the spring emerge, Gray Squirrels climb to the tops of the tallest trees at the edge of marsh to savour the choicest buds.

Treetop Garden


Photo at top of page: Three Plus One (click here for larger view)

 

a fond farewell to winter

PHOTO POST

In truth it wasn’t much of a winter, with only a few cold days and a modest amount of snow. But now a wide variety of returning species are expressing their faith that an early spring is in progress.

Mild temperatures did not, of course, mean that the winter was easy for all creatures. The lack of any shore ice left the shoreline open to the pounding of the waves, which were many and fierce. By the end of February a beloved tree was toppling into the water.

Willow, fallen (click images for larger views)

Weight of the world

Marshes were still frozen at the beginning of March and this Fox could still take its shortcut across the harbour channel.

March 1 Fox

By mid-March, though, a wide variety of migratory ducks – Ring-Necked, Scaup, Mergansers, Mallards, Long-tails – had arrived and the Muskrats were enjoying the open water too.

On point

Shed no tears for me

Spring forward

Regatta

In the thickets around the marshes, winter stalwarts the Cardinal and Downy Woodpecker have been joined by Cedar Waxwings.

Blue window

Top ’o the morning

Downy Woodpecker

Most arresting of all on a sunny Sunday morning was a Broad-Winged Hawk taking a long look across the marsh.

Broad-Winged Hawk


Photo at top of page: Broad-Winged Hawk, Profile (click here for larger view)

 

the fastness of february

PHOTO POST

The problem with February, you may feel, is that it goes by much too fast. This year we award ourselves a free bonus day of February – though it looks like we’ll still end up with a good bit less winter than we used to take for granted.

Sea Light (click photos for larger views)

The mild weather seems to suit the ever-growing population of winter-resident geese. As temperatures climb each morning they begin to stir, fly north to nearby fields where they can fuel up on corn kernels, then return before sundown to settle on lake or marsh.

Pas de deux

 

Imminent Splash

Snow cover has been intermittent but parts of our marshes have gathered small drifts.

Prevailing Wind

Open areas of the marshes have mostly stayed frozen but thin ice at the edges has made for uncertain hiking and skating.

Zigzag Story

Bright clear skies have been a rare treat all winter, with none more beautiful than daybreak on the coldest morning, February 14.

Valentine

Steam hung over the lake as the sun rose, but moisture took a very different form in sheltered locations on the marsh.

Branches

Even the tangle of sticks and reeds on the beaver dam took on a sparkle that morning.

 

Contraflow

By mid-morning the woods were alive with birdsong.

Best Regards

The cardinal’s flashing red was a surprise, but even on the quietest snowy days there are glimpses of colour in the meadows and woods.

Mullein Spear

 

Gift

Photo at top of page: Snow Load (click here for larger view)

 

just this side of freezing

PHOTO POST

Winter proceeds in fits and starts. The marshes have frozen, thawed, filled with January rain, frozen again.

Perhaps that suits the otters just fine. They certainly appeared to enjoy playing on thin ice in recent weeks. There was enough open water to dive into while chasing mud-cats, and enough ice to climb onto while munching on fresh fish.

Otters on Thin Ice (click images for larger views)

The freeze-thaw cycles on the lakeshore tossed up playful effects too. Softly breaking waves piled pebbles and froze them into place, and just as quickly started to melt pieces out of the stone walls.

Assemblage

What shape is water? Is it round or made of sharp angles? The waters of Westside Marsh yield complicated answers.

Breath of the Marsh

Above, a gently bending shelf of ice remains from a previous period of high water. Insulated under that shelf, the warm mud of the marsh pumps out humid air. And where the breath of the marsh meets a crisp overnight breeze, a profusion of frost crystals have gathered by the time the warm sun wakes.

Our local waters showed a very different face this past Saturday, with wet snow blowing into the waves under a relentlessly grey sky.

Across the Channel

It was just the sort of a chilly, windy, damp day when people like to say “It’s a nice day – if you’re a duck.”

But is that true? I set out to find an answer.

Sentry

Now, engaging a duck in small talk is not as easy as you might think. There was the problem of finding a duck in a blizzard, of course – and then getting close enough for comfortable conversation.

Edge of the Visible

On this day the ducks were not to be found at sea. In the relative shelter of the harbour, however, I came across several clusters of buffleheads and long-tailed ducks, dodging the ice chunks together.

Mixed Company

When at last I had worked myself close to the ducks and out of the howling wind, I popped the question.

Long-tailed Three

“Is this really a nice day for a duck?”

And I was met with a steely silence which seemed to say, “Well, you’re supposed to be the homo sapiens – you figure it out.”

You Tell Me

And so I came home from this encounter none the wiser. I can only say that it was a nice day to be out watching ducks.

 

Photo at top: Drift Wood Diptych (click here for larger view)

portrait of december

PHOTO POST

Has this been the greyest month of the year? So it seems, but intermittent snow cover and several spectacular sunrises have brightened things up.

 

Daybreak

 

Beacon

 

Water Colour

A sudden afternoon squall caught these birds – and their photographer – by surprise. One minute the sun was poking through and the next a swift cloud of snow was blowing across the beach.

Snow Gulls

Before the marshes were sealed in ice, fascinating and complex patterns formed just at the edges.

Ice Puzzle

Late afternoon light across the lake is a beautiful sight and often a challenge to photograph.

Swan 4.13.02

These two swan photos are just about as different as day and night though they were taken less than two minutes apart. Above, a swan swam into a sunbeam as I pointed my camera almost directly at the light. Below, I waited as the swam swam by, then got a shot at about a 90 degree angle to the light.

Swan 4.14.59

Last but not least, late afternoon sunshine suits this local celebrity just as well.

Fox Wants to Know

(click images for larger views)

colours of summer past

PHOTO POST

Vivid colours are not so easy to come by this time of year, but when you look close to the ground the garden still shows some hues as bright as a summer flower.

Striped Composition (click images for full-size views)

The play of sun and cloud on water seldom disappoints and seldom holds one shape for long.

Curtain Rises

Though the colours in the marsh fade fast a few of the shrubs are as loud as a flight of geese.

Fast Company

Frequent rains keep the beaver pond full and keep beavers busy plugging leaks.

Making Progress

Out in the pond it is strangely quiet with the birds of summer now gone south.

 

Alphabetical Order I

 

Alphabetical Order II

The forested bank of a creek preserves some of summer’s stories just for a moment.

Bed of Leaves

The life stories of these trees move more slowly.

Start at the End

I’m All Ears

November roared in with a gale that threatened every warm memory of summer. But as dawn rose on November 1 the winds softened and our beautiful neighbourhood was mostly unscathed.

First Sun of November

 

Photo at top of post: Points of Presence (click here for full-size view)

 

the forest down the river

PHOTO POST

We don’t often think of the Great Lakes as a river, but the lakes are part of the vast watershed of the St. Lawrence River and all that water gradually moves eastward through the lakes and out to the Atlantic.

Just a long day’s drive downriver in this huge ecosystem, the changes in the landscape are spectacular to behold. In mid-September we travelled from the north coast of Lake Ontario to the north coast of the St. Lawrence, a couple hundred kilometers east of Québec City. Here sweet water mixes with salt water, the river’s current combines with the rise and fall of tides, and the changing of the seasons happens quickly.

Following are glimpses of the beautiful colours, patterns and creatures of the boreal forest along this great river.

Speckled Focus (click images for larger views)

 

Blue Flutter

Syncopated Curve

The above photos were taken during a morning’s walk at Canopée Lit just north of Sacré-Coeur. The photo below shows the day’s last light on the Saguenay Fjord, viewed from the marina at L’Anse de Roche.

Saguenay Arc

The next several photos were taken on a quiet, foggy day at Baie-Sainte-Marguerite, only 15 km further north.

Overnight Sensation

 

Shield

 

Flip Side

 

Five | Four

 

See Grouse, Ruffed

Heading west on our way home the next day, we had time to stop at Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive where a ferry took us out to Isle-aux-Coudres for the afternoon.

Tide’s Turf

 

Night in Day

growing up

PHOTO POST

Not long ago they were fledglings. Now they’re on their own.

And with no helicoptering parents issuing shrill warnings whenever a suspicious character approaches, some of the adolescent birds in the neighbourhood can now be seen right out in the open.

The juvenile Black-Crowned High Heron, above and below, is both more handsome and less cautious than its rather stodgy parents.

Awaiting the Night (click photos for larger views)

A juvenile Northern Flicker, on the other hand, lacks a distinctive red crest and looks awfully scruffy after a rub-down on a fence rail – but it already possesses the gilt-edged feathers that make it a flashy flyer.

Gilded Scruff

As much as I’d like to believe otherwise, not every creature with a scraggly bit of fluff on its head is in the flower of youth. The White Admiral butterfly, below, is by definition in the final stage of its life, with egg, larva and pupa now in its past.

Black-and-White in the Pink

Likewise an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail shines brightly among the flowers but its fragile wings already show signs of wear and tear.

Stripe & Curve

Around the edge of Bowmanville Marsh there seem to be more frogs this year than in the previous few years – a hopeful note given frogs’ reputation as “marsh canaries” who are very vulnerable to pollutants.

Green Sparkle

While there were few sightings of Snapping Turtles this summer, Painted Turtles have often been seen sunning themselves on logs in late afternoon.

Island Paradise

Fish-eating birds must celebrate the many creatures swimming about in the marsh. A few Cormorants have recently joined the Great Blue Herons, Black-Crowned Night Herons and Green Herons.

In the Eye of a Cormorant

The adult Green Heron is one of the stealthiest of the marsh-dwellers, and this year I’ve only caught one fleeting glimpse of this bird.

The youngster is a different story, and has posed on an open perch while I drifted by in a kayak three different times.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Heron (II)

One bright morning the Green Heron and three Otters were all working the same corner of the marsh. I can’t be sure I understood their whole conversation but I think it went like this:

Standing Tall

Ringleader of the Otters: “We’ve been wondering, how will you ever fly? As far as we can see you’re just a two-eyed neck on stilts.”

Soon-to-be-Green Heron: “Yeah well, if you had a spear like mine you wouldn’t have to swim so hard just to catch a fish. I gotta admit, though, you’re pretty cute for a gang of overgrown weasels.”

A Little Time for Small Talk

That’s all I heard before the wizened Otter and pals got back to play.


Photo at top: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Heron (click here for full-size view)

the view from up here

PHOTO POST

A chorus of squeaks and squawks comes from on high as birds scout out good feeding territories, warn of possible predators, or call out “bring me another worm!”

 

Bright Shade (click images for larger views)

A Purple Finch is interested in tasty seeds – and likes to wait between snacks in the cool shade of lower branches.

On The Fence

A Chipmunk often watches from near the top of a wood fence until it seems safe to grab seeds on the ground.

Eastern Comma

Bright butterflies are now flashing around the yard as well. Above, the Eastern Comma Butterfly, and below, a Monarch on a favourite flower which has dibs on the grand title “Butterfly Weed”.

Butterfly Weed

For more than two weeks, Bergamot blooms have attracted the Hummingbirds.

Hummingbird & Bergamot

Hummingbird & Bergamot II

A strange creature landed in the garden recently and I tried to find its name. I learned that the Crane Fly, with its astonishingly long and delicate legs, often breaks at least one – which is probably why the insect below has only five legs. That apparently doesn’t matter a lot – once this fly graduates from maggot stage, I read, it is not known to eat anything and needs to survive just long enough to reproduce.

Crane Fly & Hydrangea Paniculata

Damselflies are typically active predators but on a calm cloudy evening they were busy pairing up, landing on a marsh surface where couples were reproduced in reflection.

Damselflies & Dusk, Bowmanville Marsh

The water was soon rippled with raindrops and a rainbow rose over the lake at sunset.

It’s Mostly Sky

Photo at top: Flicker & Birch (full-size version here)

green fusion

PHOTO POST

Is there an entomologist in the house? Alas, there is not – but this time of year, you only need to sit down beside a garden or in a meadow for a few minutes each day to spot a profusion of insects who are no less splendid even if you don’t know their names.

Purple Bronze One

There are dragonflies and damselflies, of course, plus wasps, bees, beetles and butterflies.

Points of Light II

 

Purple Bronze Two

 

Three’s a Crowd

And in the shallow water at the very edge of the marsh you may spot a school of newly hatched mud-cats, looking quite insect-like and hardly bigger than bumblebees.

Swamp Shadows

Blessed with abundant heat, abundant rain and abundant sunshine, this month’s flowers look wonderful through every stage of their blooms.

Pink Rain

 

Bluewater Star

 

First Light of Day

 

Tiger-Lilly Sunset

Photo at top: Green Fusion: Heart of Hollyhock (click here for full-size image)