It was a nice spring day here in Southern Ontario on Saturday, April 1, 2017. So that means it' was time to go down and see what kind of birds were in Long Point. Long Point is a great place to see wildlife, especially in the Spring as birds pass through as part of their migratory journey north. You can find many species of ducks, Tundra Swans and Sandhill Cranes this time of year. It appears we were late for the Swans, as I saw hundreds of them farther north this week. All without a camera of course.
On Arrival, we were lucky enough to find a half dozen Sandhill Cranes. These Cranes were very vocal as I was getting out of the car. As I got closer they quieted down, but were still in an opening to get some pictures. I took several pictures, and also took a very brief video just to give you readers a better sense of these fantastic birds.
It looked as though one lonely Tundra Swan was left behind, as it flew over me when I was set up to take pictures of the Cranes. It was such a beautiful sight. It appeared to be in slow motion like it was going to fall out of the sky. You could hear the slight whoosh of it's large wings as it flew over. I was enjoying this beautiful sight so much, I missed out on a picture. But I'm perfectly fine with that. I did get a picture of it when it was quite a distance away. When I looked at the picture when I got home, it wasn't a Tundra Swan at all, but it was a Swan.
The Swan was gone for a while, but was finally making its way back. I was getting ready to take a photo, but it stopped in its flight path as there were many gun shots heard from the hunters hunting on the other side of the road. It quickly turned back the other way and went out of sight. This was very disappointing because it also scared the Sandhill Cranes.
The weather was colder than anticipated, but it takes more that a little cold to stop me from getting out to take some pictures. On the ground it was ok, but up on the lookout it was very windy and very cold. I tried a few shots from the windy lookout, but took most of my shots from the ground. A muskrat also made an appearance to see what was going on. It didn't stay long, quickly disappearing in the reeds.
After taking some pictures here, we made our way further down the point. We parked the car and ventured over to the beach. As is always the case, it was very windy and very cold on this side. But that didn't stop a brave Yellow Lab as she jumped in the water for a swim. Her owner commented that it was a normal routine with this brave hound, having icicles hanging off her at other times. A lot more brave than I, is all I can say.
On our way out we drove real slow looking for more Cranes or whatever we could see. On my right, I saw what I thought was a Bufflehead Duck. So I pulled over to take a couple pictures. After looking at the pictures at home, I'm not sure it was a Bufflehead Duck after all. If there was a way to get these birds to pose like they are in the book, it would make my job much easier. As I was taking this picture, a lone Turkey Vulture flew over and landed in a tree on the other side of the road. This was quite the sight because I'm not sure I've seen them in a tree before.
After getting some shots of the Vulture in a tree we started heading for home. And wouldn't you know it, I spot a Hawk on a hydro pole. I'm not sure what kind of Hawk this was, because it didn't look like any Red Tail Hawk that I have seen. I turned around as soon as possible to get a picture. But unfortunately just as we were approaching for some award winning photographs, it swooped down for supper and we lost track of it. This ended our photographic adventure for the day. Another enjoyable day with the wildlife in Southern Ontario.
Till next time,
Long Point, Ontario. Saturday, April 1, 2017.