It doesn’t matter if life is going smoothly or throwing you a few curveballs, it’s nice to have a place you can go to clear your head. One place I like to visit year round is Tiny Marsh near the shores of Georgian Bay.
The last time I was at the marsh there was still ice on the ground, so needless to say the seasons have changed and so have the species to be seen in the marsh.
The weather was looking questionable in the morning, but I was up early and ready to go, so off I went. Upon arrival the weather had turned for the worse. Not wanting to throw in the towel, I raised the ISO on the camera to 800, put on a raincoat and headed in.
The wind was howling, the bugs were biting, and as I crept along a narrow path I spotted a Green Heron. It was sitting on a branch fishing, so I slowly snuck in closer, snapping shots as I went. It was cool to see a meal get caught.
The rain started to pick up, so I put a rain sleeve on the camera and continued to one of the observation blinds. There I saw a family of Trumpeter Swans, a rainbow, and a group of Black-crowned night-herons. In a more sheltered forest area I found a mix of birds including a nice Yellow Warbler.
In the more open marsh area there were Black Terns skimming the surface, Wood Ducks, and Great Blue Herons.
On the drive back, I decided to stop and to see the Piping Plovers at Wasaga Beach. The Piping Plover is currently a very rare and Endangered Species, and their nesting in the area is an important piece of the broader recovery process being monitored in north america.
A few of the juveniles were scurrying around here and there, and wow are they ever small and hard to spot! A second nest is still being incubated, no hatches on that one yet. Kudos to the volunteer team that monitor the nest site, they’re doing a great job!
When I got back to base, it was humourous to learn that it hadn’t rained there at all… Maybe the rain clouds were following me around, regardless it was a great outing at Tiny Marsh, as usual.
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