My Walk May6,2020

It was a good day starting at 06:30 dark. The pictures were all taken around Rotary Park in Whitecourt.

We have a Northern Shoveller preening

Whatever he can do, so can she!

It was fairly warm, but this Seagull still had to fluff up. 

A pair of Blue Wing Teal enjoying the sunshine. She is very camouflaged!

Then there are the noisy crows. This one was not happy with Daphnie being so close.

The Common Loon was enjoying a stretch after chasing breakfast in the pond

Our Ospreys

are back. There have been Ospreys in that nest every year for about 9 years that I know of.

There were five Mule Deer in the park and they didn't mind Daphnie at all

They just kept on feeding.

Then there is the Canada Goose, head up looking for any danger to his hens

All in all, a good hours walk!

Yesterday Was a Ducky Sort of Day!

It was a great day for pictures! Alas, the River is opening up and the birds are dispersing to their nesting areas. In the meantime, I had fun!

Here are a pair of Common Goldeneye

A Canada Goose making a big splash on arrival

Two male Greater Scaup

A Pair of Bufflehead

A Male Common Goldeneye

A male Hooded Merganser

Tundra Swans

The Tundra Swans are a lot bigger than the Canada Goose!

A pair of Mallards

Canada Goose Mating ritual

Three Canada Geese fighting for the right to mate

A Couple of Surprises

Daphne and I took to the bush today to try and get out 5 miles per day in. On one of the trails, Daphne put up this Roughed Grouse and it perched right beside me in a tree.

We also came across a herd of about 15 Elk. I could not get a shot through the bush, so we moved down the road and waited for them to cross. I guessed to crossing point quite well. They came single file, in a hurry.

We also found a few geese in the slough.

All in all, not a bad day in the bush!

Enjoying the Sunshine!

After a week of miserable cold weather, fog, snow and rain, I was able to get out and about. The geese are pairing up and starting to look for nesting sites. I did manage to get  a LOT of photos on the river.

 I will keep it down to eight

 Here are a couple of shots of the back end of some Tundra Swans flying over. This year I am going to try to get more wing shots of birds.

 This guy misjudged and did a hard landing.

And a Female Merlin!

Spring Outing

I decided to take a bit of a walk/drive today. The bush is drying up and the critters are starting to move around. The Whitetail Deer look healthy.

I suspect there were a couple of fawns near by, but I didn't want to disturb them.

Some of them were hard to pick out. They blend right in.

There are still a few single geese around. Not a lot of other birds have arrived back yet. Due to the weather, I figure they are about a month behind normal.

 

It Doesnt Matter....

That we are about to get 10 to 20 cm of snow by the weekend. The geese have declared that it is spring!

 There is not a lot of open water on the Athabasca yet, but I guess its enough, at least for a rest

 A few Goldeneyes have also appeared. I don't think these were the ones that over wintered

 All in all, its nice to see the birds coming back. It gives hope that winter is coming to an end!