It`s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.....well, almost.

Finally!!  Nice sunny day, mild temps and a day off!  I have been itching to get outside!  I started a second part-time job this January and have had absolutely no time to get outside and see what is happening bird-wise in the area.

I slept in a little later than I had planned, but still managed to get out of the house by 10am.  I decided to head to Lakeview Marina to see if there were any nice ducks hanging around.  When I got there, I was surprised to see a few photographers with their cameras set up on tri-pods, pointed at Peche Island.  There had to be at least 20 Bald Eagles, in various plumage!  Some were on the ice, some flying, some perched in trees on the island.  I was also quite happy to see a Trumpeter Swan (life bird)!  All of these birds were too far off for my camera, so please forgive the grainy-ness of these pictures...

5 Bald Eagles (the ones on the ice) and a Trumpter (far right)

Adult Bald Eagle

As for ducks, the only duck I could make out were Common Mergansers and all attempts to photograph them turned out horrible!  I did manage a couple shots of other birds that were plentiful...

The Gull managed to sneak in the shot at the last minute!

Gulls are fun to photograph :)

After the Marina, I went to Hillman Marsh where I heard my first Red-winged Blackbird of the season...spring really is coming :)  There were lots of Canada Geese, Mallards and even a pair of Northern Pintails (life bird) in the water.  As I approached the water from the trees, the Canada Geese sounded the alarm and this is what I got...

A mass exodus of all the waterfowl :(

Anything that did stick around was quite a ways out in the water and by now, the sun was in the wrong spot to get any decent pictures.

I then decided to head to Point Pelee.  This is the first time I have been this winter, which is unusual...normally I have been 3-4 times since January.  I didn`t see any birds of note but enjoying walking the trails, even if they were really muddy.  All in all, a great day!

Here are the birds I remember seeing today, in no particular order:

1) Bald Eagles

2) Great Blue Heron

3) Common Merganser

4) Canada Geese

5) Ring-billed Gull

6) Trumpeter Swan

7) Mute Swan

8) Red-tailed Hawk

9) Northern Harrier

10) Red-winged Blackbird

11) Northern Cardinal

12) Black-capped Chickadee

13) Downy Woodpecker

14) Wild Turkey

15) Mallards

16) Northern Pintail