Thursday, March 19

Swan Watching

On Sunday, hubby and I took Dakota and decided to search out Lasalle Park in Burlington, Ontario. I had seen on Ruth's blog that the Trumpeter and Mute swans had spent the winter there. I know that the swans leave sometime in March to go north to the tundra to nest. I wanted to take Mom and the boys to see them.

Above, a juvenile swan in the foreground. You can tell it's a juvenile because it is quite gray. The white feathers don't come in until the bird matures. There were also Canadian geese and some mallards in the area.
Look at all the beautiful swans. The ones with the black beaks are Trumpeters and they make a honking sound--like a trumpet. The orange-beaked swans are Mutes. They make very little noise. It's more like a soft hissing.

A shot from the boat ramp. On the horizon you can see a factory belching smoke. Pollution galore spews from the smoke stacks.


I was lucky to get a seagull swooping over the Bay with this shot. It's amazing what digital cameras will pick up and mine isn't the best of digital cameras. The Skyway Bridge is in the background.

I finally got hubby to take a photo of Dakota and I. He is getting big and I knew if I was going to have a photo of me holding him, it had to be soon. When he visited the vet on March 2, he weighed 13 lbs. He's no longer the little 5 lb. baby we brought home at the beginning of February.

Dakota loved the swans and watched them carefully, though he didn't try to chase them or bother them in any way. He did pick up the odd feather he found and tossed it into the air. People stopped to talk to him and pet him and he had a great day going along for the ride. We all enjoyed the outing.

On Tuesday, I took Mom and the boys to Lasalle Park, which is on Burlington Bay, so they could see the swans. I was surprised at how many birds had left since Sunday. I will post Tuesday's photos tomorrow. I actually got some awesome shots because there were less people present.

Our weather has turned chilly, just in time for the official arrival of spring. In fact, tonight as I'm typing this, snowflakes are drifting from the sky and there's actually a bit of accumulation on the roofs of houses and cars.

The nice weather this week has spoiled us. When the boys and I were out and about today, we were actually chilly with our winter coats on. Dreams of spring continue. ~Blessings, Mary~

18 comments:

  1. Great photos! Nice to see you and Dakota too. The Trumpeter Swans make a real racket. I was down there again today with my young cousin Sam. I couldn't believe how many birds had gone since Sunday. But there was still lots to see and the area was protected from that cold north wind that was blowing.

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  2. That is a lot of swans! I'm glad you got the picture of you and Dakota. He really is growing.

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  3. Your swan shots are beautiful.. can't wait to see the rest. The weather people are predicting freezing for us tomorrow night...but really SPING is coming...

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  4. Great post my friend. I also would like to inform you that you have an award over on my site.

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  5. Great photos again Mary. We don't have all that many swans around here but we have an abundance of Canada geese, snow geese, mallards and many other ducks and water birds that Winter over here. Many live here year round and raise their families.

    It's chilly here again too. A cold front came through on Thursday morning and dropped our highs down into the 50'sF and it's heading into the 30'sF for our low tonight.

    Happy Spring, or so the calendar says, in spite of the cold weather and your snow. ;o)

    Love and hugs,

    Diane

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  6. Oh...... How would I love to have a place like that to go...... but we do have a beautiful park here in our home town with lots and lots of ducks and geese...... There are several places around the lake to sit and read and just watch..... Your pictures tell a fun story of time and grand sons and new puppies...

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  7. wow what lovely photos! I love watching swans, they just seem to be so serene and peaceful. You'll be glad of spring there Mary and I'm glad of autumn :-)

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  8. Seeing these pictures of the swans just proves what a sheltered life I have led. Would you believe that I have NEVER seen a swan -other than in pictures? NOPE. What a beautiful sight it must be to see such magnificent creatures in real life! Love the pic of you and Dakota too and yep, he is growing by leaps and bounds, for sure.

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  9. Mary....love the photo of you and Dakota! He looks so alert. Gorgeous dog, he's gonna be.

    And the swans?!!!!!! Oh my goodness. What a glorious sight to see. What a perfect day.

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  10. Mary
    Thanks for the educations on swans. I did not know that. It is aways fun to learn new facts. Wow, Dakota is getting big. He is quite a arm full for a small lady. Glad you had such a delightful day. Peace

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  11. The swans look so beautiful. I have never seen one up close.

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  12. It's heartwarming for me to see how much enjoyment swans bring to you and your Blog readers. They are magnificent! We've been at work for over 40 years now working to assure their future and few know about us. We have a lot of great information on Trumpeter Swans at our website www.trumpeterswansociety.org. There is an identification brochure you can print to take out in the field. Next month we launch our new site which will be rich with photos. We also have a Blog trumpterswansociety.wordpress.com and our next post will be about reporting marked birds. Enjoy your viewing, thanks for sharing your impressions. And please check us out and consider supporting us; we want to 'keep them flying'!
    Peg Abbott, Trumpeter Swan Society

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  13. What a super day, would have loved to have been there. Dakota is becoming quite the world traveler, great that he is good in car. One thing I miss with mine is being able to socilize therm. He is learning great things. Thank you for sharing.

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  14. Wow!! I have never seen so many swans at one time!! that is exciting, thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures. . Dakota is so cute!! Have a great weekend:)

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  15. Nice to see the pictures of the swans, and especially you and Dakota...he is growing so fast. Wishing you Happy Spring today and have a good weekend j)

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  16. Love the photo of you holding Dakota!!! He is growing like a weed!!!

    The swans are beautiful!!! Great pics!!!

    ((( HUGS )))

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  17. Great pics...I love to go feed the geese at a nearby park... it's so much fun. We always take bread or dry cat food.

    Hope all is well and I like the pic of you and Dakota...he is growing like a bad weed!

    Have a great weekend

    love, Jess

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