Evening Respite-Gulp or Swallow
It was a gathering of the clans. The mosquitoes were out in full force and the birds were very relaxed on the board walk, grouping together maybe to visit,but also to feed.It is hard to shoot swallows in flight although I give due credit to some, like Christopher Martin, who have captured excellent images of swallows catching insects at the surface of the water. I went the easier way, when they were sitting on the handrails. There are two kinds here, the barn swallow with its orange breast and the tree swallow with white. The following were shot in aperture priority mode at 1/320 to 1/500 sec. from f/7 to f/11, ISO 400.
Above is a family with young ones in the foreground, male then female.
Early Signs of Spring
After hearing reports from south of the border and knowing better, I set out to Hawrelak Park regardless to see if there were any new birds arriving.The ponds have been fenced-in since last fall, drained and bull-dozed to make the depth of the water deeper for the Triathlon finals in August. I am sure some geese and ducks will return but whether they will stay, who knows. There will be the songbirds coming back too.It will be interesting to record in pictures but may have to set my sights further afield for good birding.
There is still snow to come and still lots in this park although there are definite signs of melt.
A couple of years ago the city allowed dogs in the park if they were kept on leash and stuck to the trails.Do not know that that is working very well there are a few people not observing the rules and I hope they don’t ruin it for everyone else. I had a photo but will spare you the graphic proof.
Heard the magpies, ravens, chickadees, nuthatches, waxwings and a real howl-fest from the coyotes across the river but none of the usual spring birds. I will keep on checking.
There are other early signs of spring that I took photos of, a reminder that some things never change.
Enjoy the Day!
My Heartsong 