Swans at Lasalle Park, Burlington, Ontario

As you know, hubby and I searched out Lasalle Park on Burlington Bay on Sunday. Mom has always wanted to see swans up close and so on Tuesday, I took her and the boys to Lasalle. There were a lot of swans at the Park on Sunday, but one of the volunteers told us on Tuesday that 100 Trumpeters had left late Monday afternoon to make their way north to the Arctic. There they will nest on the tundra. The swans will return in late November to winter here once more.

The photo above shows some Trumpeter swans swimming with a pair of Mallard ducks. The mallards are fun to watch.
The photo above is of a Mute swan. Mutes have orange beaks and Trumpeters beaks are black.

The Trumpeters in the photo above were swimming right at the boat ramp. Some of them came up on the shore. They have no fear of humans.

Another beautiful Mute swan above. These are magnificient creatures, just a little smaller than the Trumpeters.

A pair of Mallard ducks. The female is diving for food. These ducks are quite comical to watch.

A juvenile Trumpeter. The juveniles have a lot of gray. They don't turn completely white until they are fully matured.

Mute swans gathering near the boat ramp. They also have no fear of humans.

Swans, seagulls, Mallard ducks and Canadian geese were all at Lasalle Park on Tuesday. The volunteer that was there feeding the swans corn was very knowledgeable. He told us which swans were mates and also that Trumpeters mate for life. He did say that sometimes if one dies, that the other may take another mate after a time. He also told us that we could find more information on Trumpeter swans at the website of Wye Marsh.

The boys begged me to take them back to Lasalle Park today and they wanted to take Dakota. These are the photos that were taken today.

Most of the Trumpeters were gone today. There are a number of juveniles still there. They often stay in the park over the summer months, but adults all migrate north for the mating and nesting season. However, the photos above is of Mute swans.

A volunteer feeding the swans a bit of corn. This happens daily through the winter months, but in the summer they let the swans fend for themselves. The food they find in the bay is nutritious and allows them to stay healthy and independent of humans.

Here are a few Trumpeters that were still there today. There were more ducks in the Bay today than on my other two visits.

And of course Dakota was exploring the world. The boys were having a blast watching the swans and taking the puppy for a walk. Brandon enjoys walking Dakota.

The boys didn't have very good control of this hyper little guy when I was trying to take this photo. I'm glad the man likes puppies. LOL He reached down and gave Dakota a rub, which isn't a wise thing to do when a puppy is being taught not to jump up. However, since he was being attacked by an excited Dakota, I couldn't say too much.

The man escaped with his wife and his leg and Dakota went on exploring the world. Just after this photo was taken, Dakota got the leash around his front leg. I told Jordan to lay the leash on the ground and let the pup step out of it. Well...he laid it completely on the ground and the pup was off and running toward the water. Good thing that I'm quick and put my foot on it or we would have been driving home with one wet puppy.

We all had fun, though it was very chilly on the lakeshore today. The wind was coming right across the Bay and the water was very choppy. However, we were all out in the fresh air and got a bit of exercise. Hope you've enjoyed your week as much as we have. Enjoy your weekend. ~Blessings, Mary~