Weekend Wetland Walk

With the spring season fast approaching, I decided yesterday to check out the West Perth Wetlands for the first time this year .  Part of my decision to do so came from hearing on Saturday about a Greater White-Fronted Goose that had shown up here.  This would be my first Ontario sighting of the species and I was anxious to try and find it.

  I couldn't get there until later in the day and so the sun was getting low as I arrived.  Not ideal conditions for spotting when the sun is at eye level.

There were lots of geese but no sign of my target.  It didn't help that the flocks seemed skittish and were constantly flying back and forth between cells and surrounding corn fields.

A few other early season waterfowl were present.

A Killdeer flew over as well, my first of the year.

Mallard nest tubes are a new addition to the wetlands, something I hope to try at home someday.

The sun was definitely starting to set and I was prepared to leave when I saw that the majority of the geese had landed in the corn field again and perhaps I should try scoping them again from a distance.

Finally!!

Not great conditions for photos, but I could some great views through the scope of this new Ontario lifer.

A Great Horned Owl was hooting somewhere in the trees as I walked back to the truck in the evening dusk and just before leaving I was treated to several massive flocks of Tundra Swans flying overhead.  I estimated nearly 200, a good number for around here.

It was a great evening at the wetlands and I look forward to more as we move on into spring.

And because I haven't had a chance to share any Snowy Owl photos this season, I'll conclude with one I saw on a January drive through the Linwood area.  We saw five in total on this particular evening.