River Cruising from Shore! 

We visited the Grand, Thames, and St. Clair Rivers last weekend.

Luckily these Trumpeter Swans were "trumpeting loudly" as they approached us from behind, or I may have missed the opportunity to photograph them. We were walking beside the Grand River near Cambridge at the time. It is nice to see this species expanding its territory, following a remarkable recovery from near extinction!

The trail was elevated above the Grand River when we looked down on 6 male Common Goldeneye and one female.

Many holes in this dead tree have likely housed generations of woodpeckers. Every year woodpeckers carve out new cavities and their old nests are used by other cavity nesters who don’t have the ability to excavate holes.

A recently broken branch may have exposed the winter sleeping spot for the insect that the Downy Woodpecker is about to devour. The insect likely thought it had a secure hiding spot for the winter months.

We had heard that a female Harlequin was visiting the Thames River in London. She was preening close to the river’s edge, giving us some good views!

The hillside was covered in duck tracks as the birds decided to walk, not fly, down the hill. Many wing tip prints are also visible in the snow as they tried to maintain their balance!

A Great Blue Heron taking a break: As long as open water is available for hunting, Great Blue Herons occasionally spend the winter in southern Ontario.

Back in Sarnia, many people were ice fishing on Family Day weekend when fishing licenses were not required.

A sign of spring! Pussy Willows beginning to emerge from the buds!

Mother Nature at work! It was a treat to find a stack of Snowy Hearts in lower Lake Huron on Valentine’s Day! They were visible from the lighthouse.