April 22, 2008
Dressed like we were going to visit Mt. Everest because the winds were chilly, we headed out to the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve. It is Earth Day and the sky is as blue as the Baby Blue Eyes flowers that we saw on the side of the pathway.
The first thing that caught our attention was a quick stab by a Bufflehead at the water and up it came with an Eel-like creature that it promptly swallowed without further ado. Other Bufflehead Ducks floated by on the lagoon; perhaps they would find something as delectable to eat later.
Behind the East Bird Blind, we found about a dozen Great Blue Heron; they were standing in the trees and in the Bulrushes behind the blind. Some were fishing; some were just taking time out from the buffeting, cold wind that was rushing through the trees. Maybe they would find one of the Frogs that we frequently find in the shallow waters at the reserve.
On the other side of the blind, we found Ring-necked Ducks, Green-winged Teal and a female Hooded Merganser spending some quiet time away from the winds.
Song Sparrows, Yellow-rumped Warblers and Red-winged Blackbirds valiantly held onto branches and Bulrushes while being thrown back and forth in the wind.
We headed back to the Rotary Interpretive Centre and said hello to Janet, Barb and Val before heading home for lunch. After lunch we headed back to the reserve and started out along the dyke road to see the Great Blue Heron Nests. There is news at the reserve; the Heron Cam has spotted three chicks that have hatched.
We spent quite awhile taking photos of the Great Blue Herons at their nests and just enjoying the day.
Overhead, Eagles flew back and forth, their cries announcing their presence to us.
We noticed that the Elderberry flowers have started to bloom and Swallows swooped along the edge of the slough, stopping on dead trees to rest for a moment.
When we started back along the dyke road, we spotted a Common Yellowthroat across the slough.
Just after that we were lucky enough to spot an Otter, which also spotted us. It came up to the edge of the slough to take a closer look, then swam along beside us for awhile before coming out again to stand on a log and take another look at us before diving into the slough and disappearing from view.
A couple of male Wood Ducks made us stop for a moment to marvel at their beautiful colours.
As we wandered along, feeling like we had seen a lot of wonderful things today, all of a sudden, there were a couple of sweet little goslings with their parents. The first of the season for us, they were so new and adorable.
We ran into Janet and Scott at the East Bird Blind and had a nice visit with them, then headed to the Rotary Interpretive Centre and had a chat with Jean, Marilyn, Muriel, Kelly and Janet before heading home after a wonderful Earth Day.
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