Canada Geese can be unwelcome visitors, noisy, messy and overstaying their welcome. But they can make for wonderful subjects too. I came upon this bird last fall as the leaves were changing and the light was soft. These photos were taken at our favourite reserve, a place I’ve only visited a few times this spring. With the below average temperatures and the flooding this month many of the paths are under water. The nearby river is slowly beginning to recede but it will be a several weeks before we’ll be able to walk the park in its entirety.

This downy woodpecker had been busy excavating some bark but paused briefly in his work, taking a break. Perched on the branch facing a wide open sky gave the bird a rather contemplative look that I liked.

Both of these photos were taken in April on a rare day when it wasn’t raining. The rain and cold is breaking records this spring and flooding is affecting a large number of people in several provinces. I love taking photos of ducks when they appear to be steaming towards me, the first duck looks like he means business while the second one just a bit curious.

It was our first time back to this particular nature reserve since last fall. It has a wonderful wildlife garden and the rest of the property consists of trails and woodlots. As we walked along one of the paths we came across this solitary waxwing out in the open. He sat on the branch in no hurry to leave. He made my morning.

It’s too early to see goslings in my part of the country. It’s cold and grey outside so I went through my catalogues from last year for a bit of a spring lift and came upon these two. The goslings were taken within a day of each other last May. The first little goose looks just a bit younger and more tentative than the second who seems to be fixing me with a curious stare. I’m so looking forward to taking photographs like these again!

I was very pleased to come across this nuthatch earlier in the month. I’ve only been to the reserve a few times over the winter, so seeing this colourful character after such a long absence was a welcome sight.

I saw these ducks a little removed from a large group of noisy mallards.  Throughout the summer I noticed a few pairs of these ducks at the lake.  This particular afternoon they were enjoying a solitary swim. Less boisterous than the mallards, the calm water and the muted colours of the late fall seemed made for them. Although the same size and shape as mallards, their colouring makes me think they might be a mix of mallard and American Black Duck.

American Wigeons visit our region in the late summer and remain until the first frost. These photos were taken in November. I thought the reflections in the water were as central to the first photograph as the wigeon, so I chose to do a modest crop. In the second photo the swirls in the water framed the male duck nicely though he was definitely the star in this shot.

The first green heron arrived at the reserve last June and was joined by several others during the course of the summer, so we had many opportunities to photograph these beautiful birds. They seem to be solitary birds and we never saw them paired up at the lake. We’ve yet to see a nest. I enjoy watching the movements of the green and all the other herons as they transform their appearance when they strut, stalk and fish.

These are two of only a few photographs I took all winter. It was just (still is) too cold for my taste. Chickadees are extremely hardy though and were very obliging that day last December. I adjusted the white balance in Lightroom to remove the blue cast to the snow. It also brought out the brilliant white in the birds.

The reflections in the water are beautiful in their own right. I didn’t have to wait for long until this handsome pair swam by, improving an almost perfect scene. The wigeons show up every fall just as the leaves start to turn, and remain until the first frost. A regular feature of the season that I look forward to every year.