Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Early April/Nature Notes

Colour is returning to Ontario...slow but surely

As you can see in the largest square, quite a few double-breasted cormorants have returned to a few of the nesting trees in Hamilton. They definitely like communal living! In a couple of weeks the "best" trees will be filled with nests and the late comers will be forced to nest in trees where I can take better photos of them. Tons of seagulls are on the ground below the trees as this will be a very, VERY active gull rookery in a few weeks.

Moving clockwise around the collage, you can see flying mute swans. Not ALL of the swans migrate but quite a few do.  The robin is singing its little heart out. The ground below her is unfrozen and she's looking forward to some fresh worms.

In the next square, the water in this fast-moving creek is free of ice and three Canada geese are enjoying a swim. In the square below the geese,  red osier dogwood is a stunning crimson. And in the last square, you can see a stream through a conservation marsh. In the far distance, water fowl are are landing and taking off. Many of the shy, exotic ducks are far beyond the reach of my lens. This marsh is a stop over while they wait for the ice on the deeper ponds and lakes to the north to melt. Two of my favourite lakes (Simcoe and Scugog) are still ice covered.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more NATURE NOTES.

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30 comments:

  1. DarlaApril 6, 2011 at 7:53 AM

    Such great bird photo's. You know how jealous I am and I now know what patience it takes to capture them.

    Darla

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  2. KathyApril 6, 2011 at 8:06 AM

    Things are you getting ready to burst wide open for you! Happy spring!

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  3. Lois EvensenApril 6, 2011 at 8:07 AM

    Ah, Spring! Very nice images. :)

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  4. HalcyonApril 6, 2011 at 8:14 AM

    Really beautiful. Love all those birds.

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  5. JackApril 6, 2011 at 8:26 AM

    I like today's collage, EG. That robin looks pretty well fed.

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  6. CildemerApril 6, 2011 at 8:30 AM

    Very nice collage of fabulous shots!
    Love the robin. So cute;o)


    ***
    Hope you are having a nice and happy week****

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  7. Judy April 6, 2011 at 8:33 AM

    Wonderful collage...I spied lots of birds in our tree like that yesterday. Spring surely is here.

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  8. Small City ScenesApril 6, 2011 at 8:46 AM

    Excellent mosaic, EG. I love how you have everything put together so well. cormarants in trees--interesting. I see the red-osier glowing with color here too.
    Excellent!!! MB

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  9. RoanApril 6, 2011 at 8:51 AM

    Gorgeous birds. I love seeing nature come alive in spring.

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  10. MichelleApril 6, 2011 at 9:03 AM

    I really like the largest photo in this collage. Just beautiful.

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  11. LúciaApril 6, 2011 at 9:09 AM

    Lovely shots, I couldn't choose a favourite, all of them show the beauties of nature. ;-)

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  12. Amila KanchanaApril 6, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    Hi, This is fantastic! I'll be on the look for new posts!

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  13. Kathe W.April 6, 2011 at 11:25 AM

    great photos! and thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a nice comment- always appreciated!

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  14. Christina KlasApril 6, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    A fantastic compilation! It definitely speaks to the easy - laid-back nature that is Spring. Can't wait til Spring has Sprung here!

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  15. cieldequimperApril 6, 2011 at 1:53 PM

    Dare I say we have 26° C right now? Way too hot if you ask me so your gorgeous collage is a wonderful refreshment!

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  16. Ruth HiebertApril 6, 2011 at 2:07 PM

    Lovely spring collage.So much happens in such a short time during spring.I think this is why this my favourite season.

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  17. CarverApril 6, 2011 at 2:33 PM

    Beautiful signs of early spring. I love the shots of the birds and also of the red osier dogwood. Beautiful shots all.

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  18. kayerjApril 6, 2011 at 3:13 PM

    the ribbon of red dogwood is so striking.

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  19. ???April 6, 2011 at 3:49 PM

    The cormorant tree is great, I bet it's a noisy place.

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  20. RoseApril 6, 2011 at 3:51 PM

    A good title for a book would be Under the Cormorant Tree....love that picture and all the others....specially the red osier dogwood....

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  21. GeorgeApril 6, 2011 at 5:12 PM

    What a wonderful collage you've given us. It's good to see that signs of Spring are surely reaching you. The robin may be singing because he has a full tummy.

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  22. LeoraApril 6, 2011 at 6:29 PM

    The red osier dogwood is striking. I enjoyed seeing the cormorants - must be neat to see them in person. As soon as I saw robins here, it felt like spring, even if it is a cold one. Your robin is adorable.

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  23. Suburban GirlApril 6, 2011 at 7:04 PM

    Love this collage!

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  24. eileeninmdApril 6, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    Wonderful nature mosaic. I love all the birds. The cormorant tree is cool It is nice to start seeing the spring birds.

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  25. CaronApril 6, 2011 at 10:25 PM

    That dogwood is really a wow!

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  26. LowellApril 6, 2011 at 10:49 PM

    A wonderful collage and thank you for a most interesting narrative explaining it! Glad to see spring is springing in Ontario. But we still have lots of Ontario cars driving about the Ocala area! Should I send them back home?

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  27. Debbie TaillieuApril 7, 2011 at 4:07 AM

    Love these photos! I really like the collage, and need to figure out how to do this.
    Have a fabulous day!
    Debbie's Travels

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  28. AnonymousApril 7, 2011 at 5:51 AM

    Beautiful. Looks like Spring is on its way. Charmaine

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  29. MyMaracasApril 9, 2011 at 3:15 PM

    Beautiful collage. I love seeing how the seasons change in different areas of the world

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  30. Rambling WoodsApril 10, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    I like that they will have to nest where you can get better photos. LOL. It is so hard to get a good look during nesting season, but what opportunities you have..Michele

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