On sunny winter days when there is very little wind we love to visit our favourite beaches. As long as you are dressed for the weather and remember that it is always a bit windier and colder by the water you are fine.
On a January trip to Wellington Harbour and beach we saw some long tail ducks enjoying the waves in the chilly water.
In early February we went to the Cobourg waterfront.
There were numerous Canada Geese there and I captured a trio of them flying over the open water.
There were huge number of swans, geese, and ducks in the open waters of the Wellington Harbour when we visited on Family Day in February.
This is a pair of trumpeter swans (black beaks). One has wing tags with K46 on it. Research told me this swan was tagged at Wye Marsh, near Midland, Ontario and was given the name Nanuuq.
This quick little male goldeneye was in with all the swans and geese and other ducks. It quickly swam around and dove under the water.
There were hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Canada Geese in the harbour and I was lucky enough to capture some flying over the lighthouse at the beach.
The ice build up on the beach was amazing and so much more than it was a few weeks previous on our visit.
We enjoy getting out and about, no matter the weather. Our next trip will be to Barcoven Beach to see if we can see more tagged swans.
On each of the trips I also hid some of my painted rocks. I know there aren’t a lot of rock hunters out in winter, but it is still fun to leave some to bring smiles to others.
Eileen
Hello,
I am glad to see a post from you. It is colder by the water, especially when it is windy. It is nice to see the swans, ducks and geese. I like the Long-tailed Ducks, they are pretty. Great post and photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend. PS, Thanks also for the comment and visit.
Crafty Gardener
Hi Eileen, the long tailed ducks were fun to watch on the waves. Thanks fir stopping by,
tomthebackroadstraveller
…you have a wonderful collection, the geese in flight is my favorite. Thanks for sharing.
Crafty Gardener
I really like the geese in flight too. Thanks for visiting.
Kim
Those ducks are amazing to me, not having seen any like that before. So is the tagged swan! All the swans I’ve seen, usually with friend R in her area, and I’ve never seen one tagged. How neat that you were able to look it up and find out more info about the swan, including its name. 🙂
I will have to Google Barcoven Beach, as I’ve not heard of that, either!
Crafty Gardener
Hi Kim, Barcoven Beach is by Carrying Place. Hope you are having a good weekend.
RedPat
Your pics of the geese in flight are great!
Crafty Gardener
Thanks
Lavender Dreams
You really did see a LOT of birds on that outing! Love the geese in flight….what a great photo!
Crafty Gardener
We were talking to an avid birder and he said that he thinks the migration is about 2 weeks ahead, so lots of opportunities for seeing different ducks and birds. We hope to get out this week on a nice day to another spot where there is lots of waterfowl Thanks for stopping by Dianne.
Anu
Hello. Great serie of photos. I like those Long-tailed ducks. They are so beautiful. Do you know that the oldest Long-tailed duck in Europe was 22 years and 7 months old. It was ringed in Finland when it was born.
MaryBeth Schwartz
Beautiful beautiful shots of the lovely birds. We have tons of Trumpeter Swan wintering over here in the Valley. The love the farmers harvested potato fields.
MB
Anni
Those first ducks are extraordinary! I’d love to find one in the wild here!
Thanks so much for sharing your link at I’d Rather B Birdin this week.
Crafty Gardener
It was so much fun watching the long tailed ducks riding the waves. Hoping to see more on our next outing. Thanks for stopping by.
Myrtle
Loved seeing all the photos Linda. I really like the long-tailed ducks
Crafty Gardener
It was fun taking photos of them as they moved fairly quickly and do a lot of diving under the water. I love a good challenge. Thank goodness for digital photos where you can take as many as you want and get rid of the blurry ones.
linda
Have not seen anything like these beauties down on Lake Erie…
Just the darn Canadian Geese…
I am going to start putting some seed out, and see if the wee birds will return…very desolate down there this time of year…
Enjoy the last week of February…YPPEEE!!
Cheers!
Linda :o)
Crafty Gardener
I think the spring migration has started, so many geese, swans and ducks. Today we did a day trip to Barcoven Beach Road and there were just as many there. It was a glorious day, temperatures above 5 Celsius, sun and no wind. The perfect way to finish up February, but I’m sure there is more nasty weather on the way, so we enjoy the lovely days when they are here.