I like these large ducks, close relatives of mallards. They’re often seen swimming together and also tend to be a little less vocal 😏

We tend to see more goldfinch in the late summer and early fall as flowers dry and form seed heads, their food of choice. This male looks like he’s beginning to moult.

On a recent drive heading to a new birding area, we stopped when we saw this pond close to a suburban development. The water was teeming with several egrets, cormorants and a lot of other water birds.  We never did make it to our original destination.

I enjoy seeing cardinals no matter the season. I saw this one in the spring. He struck a fine pose too.

I saw the heron in the reeds but couldn’t get a clear shot. All of a sudden it decided to fly across the pond and I caught this. More to come…

People we met on the trail pointed us in the general direction of this barred owl. Unlike other owls who often keep close to the trunk or inside a tree cavity, barred owls often are quite easy to spot if you know where to look.  This owl was my first of the year.

As we followed the path down to the beach we saw an egret standing in the long grass. After a while it turned towards the river and we left it to its wandering.

That’s what I like about mallards, they look you right in the eye.

I heard the pileated woodpecker before I saw it. As we got closer, several people were gathered close to the tree the bird was excavating.  If you look closely you can just see its tongue darting into the hole it had drilled to retrieve its meal.

As the summer moves along wood ducks become a bit bolder and don’t retreat when they see you. This imposing male strode along like he owned the place 😊

This female downy was enjoying her meal. When these little birds are feeding they don’t notice the photographer lurking in the background 😊

I don’t much care for these gulls in the city but on the river my opinion of them changes. They fish and fly and even pose quite nicely; and you don’t need to keep “an eye to the sky” 😏

One day in June we were treated to a mallard and her chicks swimming along close to shore. They had passed a gull earlier on who didn’t glance their way and this Great Blue Heron who was very preoccupied with finding its next meal.

I’ve seen a lot of robins this spring and summer. They are always a welcome sight.

The goose had found a tranquil spot though its young were just off to the side.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of the ducklings but the gull was unimpressed 😏.

It seems like a good summer for goslings. I’ve seen quite a few. I was lucky with the light here.

The gosling peered at me through the tall grass never far away from its watchful parent.

I took quite a few photos of this tree swallow in May. There are nesting boxes nearby. I should get back there and check on them.

I’ve seen only a few grackles this year, this one was close enough to get a decent image. Like some other birds, grackles have a bad reputation. They can be bullies at feeders and forage in gardens and farmers’ fields. I enjoy them though and like the way the sun illuminates their plumage. Another bird that migrates here during the warm months.

A little clean up does wonders.  The mallard stood by the water’s edge and did a little preening after its swim.

… Ant! I was surprised to see what the robin had in its beak. I guess it couldn’t find a worm 😏

The male mallard had a good view of his watery domain.

I took this photo on a windy day and the wind had re-arranged this downy’s head feathers a bit. She was taking a quick break from her foraging. 

I haven’t seen too many insects yet, the temperature is warm one day and cold the next. It’s not presenting a problem for this Red-winged Blackbird though.

Like most youngsters these two were in a hurry. We saw a lot of goslings on our walk. This is the first of many more photos to come.

We returned to one of our favourite wildlife gardens after a long absence and were not disappointed. There was a tremendous variety of birds, including this attractive cardinal.

I was tempted to crop a bit closer to show off the swallow’s expression but I wanted to highlight the spring leaves as well.