On
May 2 I had an incredible visit to Elk Island National Park. I left
home at 9am and got back at 12:30pm. There was non-stop wildlife action
from beginning to end.
It takes only 10 minutes to get to the park from my house. During that short drive I saw bison and elk grazing along the roadside. Hawks sat like sentinels atop the fence posts; waiting for the mice to scurry out from the dead grass.
The ponds along the parkway were teeming with waterfowl. Ducks of many varieties and Canada Geese swam across the smooth-as-glass surfaces. I parked and rolled down the windows so I could hear the sounds of the pond. What a choir it was!
The beavers were active. I saw a few of them swimming through the reeds in search of food.
My goal was to visit Astotin Lake to see if the ice had come off of it but I didn't make it to that parking lot. The beaver pond closest to the golf course parking caught my attention. I parked there and decided to explore on foot.
The pond had a couple of active beavers in it. One was not happy with the roadside barriers that were put up during road construction. I stood about twenty feet away from it as it tried its best to take the barrier down.
The second beaver was having a showdown with a Canada Goose. Mama goose was patiently sitting atop her nest full of eggs which happened to be on top of the lodge that was being renovated. Papa goose was defending the family nest. The beaver swam in circles around the goose. The goose swam in circles around the beaver until the big tail slap occurred and the goose called it quits.
A second pair of geese flew in and landed close to the first pair. This resulted in a flurry of activity. There was going to be no sharing of this end of the pond. I witnessed for the first time, what happens when geese defend their territory. There was a lot of honking and hissing. There was a lot of wing flapping and chasing. The first male puffed out his chest to make himself look large. When that didn't work, he flew low enough across the water that it looked as if he was running on it in hot pursuit of the intruder. He looked pretty pleased with himself after fending off the unwanted visitors.
My walk took me along a marsh where a great blue heron stood tall amidst the old reeds from last season. It flew up as I walked by.
I continued to the boardwalk and found, ducks, grebes, gulls and geese in the inlet. A loon surfaced a short distance from me. I had hoped to see the pelicans but there was still a lot of ice on the lake and not a big white bird to be seen.
On my travels back to the parking lot I approached the beaver pond from the opposite direction. The beavers were still busy and I got close to the lodge. Mama goose was now allowing them to add mud and sticks to an area beside her nest. I got to watch them in action until the rain drops began falling.
What a great outing it was. I certainly needed the outdoor time. All those creatures some how knew this and put on quite the show for me.
If you get the opportunity to visit a local pond or park, take a few minutes and listen to the sounds of nature 'springing' to life as our trees and grasses green up and wildlife and waterfowl enjoy the water surfaces that are opening up. It is great reality entertainment.
Happy trails!
It takes only 10 minutes to get to the park from my house. During that short drive I saw bison and elk grazing along the roadside. Hawks sat like sentinels atop the fence posts; waiting for the mice to scurry out from the dead grass.
The ponds along the parkway were teeming with waterfowl. Ducks of many varieties and Canada Geese swam across the smooth-as-glass surfaces. I parked and rolled down the windows so I could hear the sounds of the pond. What a choir it was!
The beavers were active. I saw a few of them swimming through the reeds in search of food.
My goal was to visit Astotin Lake to see if the ice had come off of it but I didn't make it to that parking lot. The beaver pond closest to the golf course parking caught my attention. I parked there and decided to explore on foot.
The pond had a couple of active beavers in it. One was not happy with the roadside barriers that were put up during road construction. I stood about twenty feet away from it as it tried its best to take the barrier down.
The second beaver was having a showdown with a Canada Goose. Mama goose was patiently sitting atop her nest full of eggs which happened to be on top of the lodge that was being renovated. Papa goose was defending the family nest. The beaver swam in circles around the goose. The goose swam in circles around the beaver until the big tail slap occurred and the goose called it quits.
A second pair of geese flew in and landed close to the first pair. This resulted in a flurry of activity. There was going to be no sharing of this end of the pond. I witnessed for the first time, what happens when geese defend their territory. There was a lot of honking and hissing. There was a lot of wing flapping and chasing. The first male puffed out his chest to make himself look large. When that didn't work, he flew low enough across the water that it looked as if he was running on it in hot pursuit of the intruder. He looked pretty pleased with himself after fending off the unwanted visitors.
My walk took me along a marsh where a great blue heron stood tall amidst the old reeds from last season. It flew up as I walked by.
I continued to the boardwalk and found, ducks, grebes, gulls and geese in the inlet. A loon surfaced a short distance from me. I had hoped to see the pelicans but there was still a lot of ice on the lake and not a big white bird to be seen.
On my travels back to the parking lot I approached the beaver pond from the opposite direction. The beavers were still busy and I got close to the lodge. Mama goose was now allowing them to add mud and sticks to an area beside her nest. I got to watch them in action until the rain drops began falling.
What a great outing it was. I certainly needed the outdoor time. All those creatures some how knew this and put on quite the show for me.
If you get the opportunity to visit a local pond or park, take a few minutes and listen to the sounds of nature 'springing' to life as our trees and grasses green up and wildlife and waterfowl enjoy the water surfaces that are opening up. It is great reality entertainment.
Happy trails!
No comments:
Post a Comment