A walk in the marsh

Bitterns are extremely hard to find, often when at a marsh I can hear them in the vegetation, but they are shy to be seen. This one was at Rondeau Provincial Park, he stood in this same place all day and there wasn’t any convincing him to move, it was a stand off!

American-Bittern-2

 

This female Snapper was carrying around about six inches of clay packed onto it’s back.  I often wonder if I should have removed the clay, what a heavy burden to carry around.  On the path near Devils Glen there were three females looking to lay eggs.  snpping turtle

Three’s a crowd

It’s a freezing cold day along the Lake Erie shores, no doubt the game of chasing the girls is keep these ducks warm.

red breasted merganzer

Piping Plovers

Gaurded by volunteers 24 hours a day, this pair of Piping Plovers have returned to Wasaga Beach to nest.  Sadly the chicks rarely make it, they are tiny and frail, between big waves sweeping them away, dogs, people, and predators they have a hard time raising their chicks.

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Osprey

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This was an interesting senerio, one bird was injured and the other was attempting to get it to fly up to the nest.  Eventually it retreated to some bushes, we called the Osprey rescue who came and picked up the injured bird.  Near Orillia.563659_10150780836597040_2142061622_n

Dive thru diner

 

Driving along Grey Road 13, I pulled over when I saw an injured Mourning Dove.  I had a box in my car, my plan was to take it home and see if it could be saved.  Next thing I knew a Coopers Hawk beat me too it!

Coopers Hawk