Goslings galore!

It’s a short report today ’cause we’ve got visitors. My fully-vaccinated mom and dad, whom we haven’t seen since December 2019, have stopped by, and Dad came along on the park walk this morning to act as my spotter.

We hit the pond first, and the new family with goslings, the one on the northern tip of the island, whom we first saw just yesterday, was out for a swim this morning.

The goose on the southern tip was still incubating, a green heron was back, and there were the usual few mallards and wood ducks about.

At the river, the robin chicks in the southern nest appear to be progressing with feathers starting to come in. Mom was off the nest when we arrived, as usual, but she let me know I was too close when I snapped this shot with my phone as fast as I could without making any sudden moves. Meanwhile, the mom on the northern nest was on it, as usual, when we went by.

We also saw 3 other families with goslings, a few water thrushes, more green herons, a sandpiper or two, and even my first grey catbird of the season. I look forward to hearing their song.

On our way home, we stopped by the pond again, where I was stunned to find another solitary sandpiper, taking a breather on its way to the north shore of Lake Superior. The pond doesn’t have much for sand, so I hope it finds one of the many sandbars down on the river exposed by the low water.

Also at the pond, the old apple trees are starting to bloom, and kudos to Karen for correctly identifying the wild strawberry blossom from yesterday.

Finally, at the south end, this male goldfinch was singing so nice and looking so sharp in its new yellow coat and bright morning sun that I just had to take a picture.

Lastly, besides the recent heat wave, I believe I heard tree frogs singing for the first time this season, and I’ve already seen a couple of dragon flies, so it really feels like summer must be just around the corner.