Care to Take a Walk?

This afternoon I asked a reluctant husband to walk with me at Cranberry Marsh.  This is alongside Lake Ontario ... so it was windy and COLD!  The wind was whipping up white caps on the lake.  On the left of this bar of land is the marsh.

 

Lots of migrating birds like stop at this marsh for a rest, such as these beautiful mute swans.

 

 

There are always a few pairs of nesting wild swans on this marsh and an adjacent marsh.

 

 

Such graceful, proud birds.

 

 

Flying overheard was an osprey.  My husband didn't believe me, but I'll show him this picture as proof.

 

 

Ospreys are fishing hawks and will dive down into the water for fish.  They have distinctive angular wings and clear markings under their wings.  They'll hover over the water before they dive.    We didn't see any fish down in the water, but there were these cute little bufflehead ducks zooming around the marsh.  Isn't he just the cutest thing?

 

 

These ducks can really motor along ... I'd love to see their feet in action from underwater.  Just look at the wake this little guy leaves behind him as he speeds across the water!

 

 

Here is a pair of bufflehead ducks.  The male is the black & white, and the female is the brown.  An interesting fact about these ducks is that they nest in abandoned woodpecker holes!

 

 

And in particular, the flicker's hole, which is a common woodpecker in this area (didn't see any today though)

 

 

But I did see this little downy woodpecker.  If you stand outside long enough with a handful of sunflower seeds on your outstretched palm, woodpeckers will actually come to your hand.  It takes a lot of patience to win over their trust.  Chickadees will do the same (and a lot quicker!), as will nuthatches.  I know this because I used to do this as a kid :)

 

 

My favourite thing to look for in spring are the returning birds.  I'm particularly happy to see the redwing blackbirds return with their sharp cries and bright red epaulets.

 

 

When I was growing up, the redwing blackbirds would roost in an old maple tree alongside our driveway.  The tree would be completely black with the birds, and the raucous chorus of these birds on a spring evening just set your heart to singing.  The hands-down all-time best sound of spring!

 

 

I was a bit disappointed at seeing only a few blackbirds at the marsh today ... I went down specifically to see and hear them.  I have a few in my backyard too, which I lure in with lots of wild bird seeds.

 

 

Blackbirds are aggressive defenders of their nests and will attack you if you even look at them the wrong way when you're near their nest.  We were once canoeing in a marsh and I was getting some great shots of a blackbird in a branch above us, when he suddenly swooped down and started attacking us!  Whoops!  We had to struggle to get the canoe moving through that murky marsh water, but it did make us laugh.

 

And here is the obligatory Canada goose ... preparing a lovely nest just a short distance from shore.  The female was plucking out her downy feathers here with which to line the nest.  Although Canada geese get a sort of bad rap in towns (especially since thousands of them no longer migrate, and 'pollute' the parks along the lakeshores), they do have their merits.

 

 

For instance, they mate for life.  If a goose's mate dies, the surviving goose will never mate again.  I'm not sure how this is proven, but there you go.  And they're very good parents in caring and protecting their young ... another bird you don't want to be near when they are caring for their brood!

 

And I personally think they're an attractive looking goose, especially when they're flying in V-formation with all their white petticoats fluttering on their bottoms ;)

 

So once my fingers were fairly numb from the icy wind, we walked back inland a bit and took a stroll along a gravel path.  This area used to be farmland, and there are some ancient apple trees in an old orchard alongside the path.

 

 

Such a pretty spot ... and the colours of spring are starting to glow ...

 

 

We were surprised to turn around and see A VIEW!  We're right down at the lake here, but it seems we were on a bit of a rise as we could see off in the distance a portion of the Oak Ridges Moraine (the blue ridge in the background).

 

 

Here is an old disused silo from the original farm. 

 

 

 

 I'd hate to see this area destroyed, but houses have been built up all around now.  It seems no one has any desire to preserve this pretty area.  This marsh used to be Ontario's largest wetland, but we've allowed it to be dug under and houses built on top of a large portion of it.

 

 

A teeny tiny woods amongst the fields ...

 

 

Looking out towards Lake Ontario.   Whoever originally homesteaded this area for farming picked a great location.  This farm must've been teeming with wildlife in it's glory days, and the farming would've been very productive.

 

 

And that's it!  I hope you enjoyed your walk with me, and I'm sorry it was so cold!  Hopefully things will warm up a bit this coming week.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Wendy