The weather warmed up, birds returned, spring flowers started to appear. All good reasons to get out more....
The furry "beasts" at Petrie certainly caught my eye. A muskrat and a beaver went eye with me.
With the lack of snow in early winter, the river ice was very thick, but as the temperatures, and strength of the sun, rose, the ice sheets melted quickly.
A few bufflehead ducks (left photo) and hooded mergansers were spotted in the distance. A small flock of common mergansers (right photo) hung around as they do each spring.
Things were quite quiet at the Mer Bleue Boardwalk, but the coltsfoot blossoms caught my eye. They are usually the first flowers to bloom in the spring. A bittern was calling, but was too deep in the marsh to be seen. A few turkeys were around , the bullrushes were in various states of "decay".
The coopers hawks were playing hide and seek at Mud Lake, but a pair caught my eye at Fletcher WIldlife Garden
No signs of any green herons at the Nepean Creek/Colonnade Ponds yet, a few geese were on nest and mallards puttering about.
But the major action that certainly caught the eye was two snapping turtles that were tussling for over an hour. They weren't fighting per se, but it is the normal lead up to mating. Eggs are laid the first week of June and hatch in early September.
The only newborns in sight at Parc Omega were some boars. There were plenty of new antlers being grown and some winter coats being shed.
A pileated woodpecker, a belted kingfisher, a few bufflehead ducks, wood ducks and hooded mergansers were in various ponds along with Canada geese.
We finally made it to the wolverine enclosure. Two wolverines were added to the Parc late last fall. We don't see them often, if at all, in the wild.
A Sunday drive through eastern Ontario produced a few snow geese, two osprey as well as some varieties of ducks. (also found some new -to me-murals)
A little different PhotoStory - some ruins in Merrickville we didn't know about...
The Jack Pine Trail in the city's west end was very quiet as well. A few small birds were flitting about. A red squirrel seemed more at ease with my getting closer than normal.
Visits to Mud Lake at the start of the month co-incided with a fresh snowfall and at month-end with turtles basking in the sun. I luckily timed a visit to be there when a large flock of bohemian waxwings were flying about.
Last but not least, the spring flowers certainly caught my eye as I walked the trails of my favourite forest west of the city.
