Singing in the sun

The yellow warblers were singing their hearts out at the marsh this morning.  This one was adding his voice to the chorus as I walked past.  He actually stayed in one spot for at least a minute which is unusual for these birds.

Laying low

I searched for the male wood ducks this morning, and found this one roosting on a log in a sheltered location (I assume the hens are all nesting).  It isn't easy to get close to them, as they seem to spot the slightest movement.  This male, along with another which I hadn't noticed, flew away shortly after I took the shot.

The songsters have returned

The warblers have arrived at the marsh.  I heard the yellow warbler at the top before I saw him.  He was moving from limb to limb and tree to tree in the grey birches as I attempted to get a shot.  The reddish streaks on his flanks are quite visible here.  The bottom shot is of a male yellow-rumped warbler in its bright breeding plumage.  They were just about everywhere you looked this morning.

An expectant pair

The tree swallows are in nesting mode, as can be seen with the bird entering the nesting box here, with nesting material in her beak.   Most of the nesting boxes at the marsh seem to have activity around them, so there should be a good crop of swallows this year.

May is busting out all over!

I had to get a shot of these beautiful black cherry blossoms, obviously at their peak of bloom.  In the background can be seen the young greenery of, right to left, a willow, a hawthorn, and a choke cherry.  Against the bright blue of the sky, what a sight!

Permanent residents

I caught these three deer moving through the marsh this morning.  There aren't many places in town that they don't frequent at one time or another.  This shot shows a view of the French Basin, with the village of Moschelle in the background.

Nesting or not??

Now this is a sight I like to see.  I missed seeing this osprey on my round this morning.  But when I met a friend who asked if I thought the osprey was nesting, I backtracked and got this shot.  She was the second person who had mentioned seeing an osprey on the platform in the past week.  In all the years I've been walking this trail, I've never seen an osprey build a nest here.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the bird is seriously considering settling in.

Mom's the word

I've been watching for the arrival of the female red-winged blackbirds.  The males arrive first and set up their territories, joined a few weeks later by the females.  This morning was my first sighting, although they probably have been here for a couple of weeks.  This female was poking around among the reeds, perhaps looking for nesting material.

Sun bather

As I began walking the trail this morning, some kind of large insects kept flying out of the grass from both sides of the path.  I finally realized they were red admiral butterflies, and I think they were likely feeding on the dandelions that covered the grass.  Apparently Ottawa had an invasion of them just recently.  I caught this one basking in the sun on the back of one of the benches.

Fine-feathered pair

A few days ago I encountered this pair of mourning doves on the rail bed.  I see them occasionally along here, pecking in the gravel.  Their diet is composed almost entirely of seeds, but apparently they need a certain amount of grit to aid in digestion, just as chickens do.