Happenings on the Lake

I'll admit that this is one of my favourite times of year in the Sanctuary. The Boreal Chorus Frogs are calling up a storm, the Tree Swallows are back and chirping away (two of my personal favourite spring sounds, and right out our back door here at the Nature Centre), and everything's in a bit of a bustle to get started. I went out for a quick walk to the bird blind on the West Gaetz lake this morning to see what was going on, and here's a little of what was out there:

Look out the "windows" on the boardwalk before the deck proper and you may be able to spot this Red-necked Grebe on its nest.

The male Ruddy Ducks are currently displaying for the females and chasing the other males away. They're very entertaining, and are busy all around the deck.

 A look at a few of the Canada Geese -- and friend -- hanging out on the West Lake.

It's supposed to be a great weekend for a walk, so bring your camera, binoculars, and bird book and join us out on the trails!

Another sign of spring in the Sanctuary

Jim sent this photo of a floating nest with an egg in it, which was taken on May 3rd by the bird blind on West Gaetz Lake. I'm the first to admit that I'm not a bird person; would anyone out there like to ID it for me?

Spring things

After noticing that one of our bats has made it back to his roost on the building (I blogged a photo of the roost last year, so check this post if you'd like to see it), I thought I'd take a quick walk out to the bird blind to see what other spring returnees we have on the West Lake.

Oddly enough, I barely had to get out the back door to see my first lake dweller. The Red-winged Blackbirds are back, and they'll often come over to the feeders to stock up on quick energy. Something to watch for.

Out on the lake itself, it's very obvious from the "complaining" that the Coots are back. There are also Canada Geese, a whole bunch of ducks (a little too far down the lake for me to have much of a go at identifying anything but the Mallards), and Red-necked Grebes.

Elsewhere, you're sure to hear the Black-capped Chickadees' "cheeseburger" calls as they set territory, and I think that I may have heard my first Tree Swallow of the season. Don't quote me on that one, though. I really look forward to the Tree Swallows' return, so it's pretty easy for me to wish myself into hearing it.

As far as plants go, my sinuses can tell you that Poplar pollen season is in full swing. On a more pleasant (for me, at any rate) note, I haven't noticed the Early Blue Violets blooming on the sides of the Sanctuary paths yet, but I have seen them in other places.

Spring's trying hard to happen, if you look for it. What's your personal favourite sign of spring in nature? Leave us a comment here, or tweet it with #reddeerspring. And if you're not already following us on Twitter, look for more of our spring sightings @NatureCentre.

First Critters of Spring

As I was leaving work on Friday I saw a sight that would warm the heart of all those who yearn for the end of winter: A Richardson's Ground Squirrel (commonly and mistakenly known around here as gophers) ran across the parking lot.

Ground squirrels spend most of their year underground hibernating. They pop up in early spring to mate, fight with each other (males), rear their young and store food. This is a reasonably short, yet exceptionally busy period of time. By the end of July the adults will be heading back underground. The juveniles will remain active until around the end of September.

While we spent the first part of February dicussing the pros and cons of the various groundhogs seeing, or not seeing, their shadows the humble Richardson's Ground Squirrel may give us a better indication of when our spring may arrive and what it may look like.

Also, and I think I tweeted this on our Twitter Feed, while enjoying a brisk, late-winter snowshoe with my family on Sunday morning, my daughter said "Listen Daddy, geese." Sure enough, I looked up to see the first V of returning geese this year. Spring must be on its way.