Early April Finds:

A pair of Wood Ducks were scouting tree cavities for a nesting spot when I found a male in the sunshine early Monday morning. Only one day after hatching, the ducklings will jump from the nest.  They won't be able to fly but their bodies are specially designed to absorb the shock and they will bounce when they hit the ground!  They can survive a 10 metre fall!

After all ducklings have completed the leap, the camouflaged Mom (with her diagnostic white eye ring) will lead her babies to the pond. The lucky ducklings are those whose parents choose a cavity above the water, instead of over land. 

Just down the path, a Mama Canada Goose, covered in frost, did not yet have the sun shining on her. She did a good job of protecting her eggs over night. The incubation period is about 1 month. I expect it will be 2-3 weeks before these goslings hatch.

An Eastern Phoebe led us down the trail, twitching his tail along the way.

The sound of Chorus Frogs in Southern Ontario is deafening right now. With a little patience, we stood still long enough at Perch Creek to find 4 of these little amphibians performing their mating calls on Saturday.  

This fellow was showing off for the ladies! 

Bloodroot is one of the early spring ephemerals that have started to poke out of the forest floor!  I love how the leaf looks like a butterfly when it opens. The name comes from the "blood-red" colour inside the stem.