Borden Wetlands

A walk is never complete without a camera. You never know what you might see. And when I am unable to carry my bulkier Nikon then my pocket-sized Canon always comes along. A tiny little PowerShot with a ridiculous 40x zoom that sits over a tiny crop sensor. It obviously cannot compete with my larger camera, but in good light, it can still take a photo. I was walking past the Wetlands, rushing so as not to be late for an appointment when I glanced over, looking past the trees to the edge of the water. I noticed a group of white birds standing out among the lily pads. There were three great egrets (Ardea Alba) and one juvenile great blue heron (Ardea Herodias). There was no time for photos and I hurried on. Thankfully though, on my return walk home the great egrets were still in the area. Two of the great egrets had perched precariously overhead on the dead limbs of trees. I snapped a few shots, hoping that a few would contain some detail and made a mental note to return the next morning

 A return to the Wetlands with a pair of rubber boots enabled me to go a little further than just the edge of the trees.  An open vantage point surrounded by so many perches brought about the last animation in my previous post and also this photo of a red-tailed hawk. Soaring wings in the distance caught my eye. The distinct shape of a turkey vulture, no more than a speck of black drifting in the wind, but it seemed to be moving closer.  I'd already stumbled upon the leftovers of an animal that had become victim to a predator and perhaps my clumsy rubber boots had scared off the predator before it could finish its meal. Surely the turkey vulture would not be able to detect the remains from that far away. I was wrong. The turkey vulture closed in and circled around. Before it finally came to rest on a dead tree stump right beside me! Turkey vultures do not look quite as noble as hawks and eagles with the lack of feathers on their heads, but they really are very impressive up close.

 A primordial soup filled with twisting limbs and rotting carcasses, a mosquito-infested swampland more likened to the time of the dinosaurs than modern-day Kitchener and only a few minutes away from my home. What could be more inviting! The carcasses that I am referring to are of course the rotting tree trunks that still stand in the waterlogged ground, compelled to reach skyward until their demise. The Wetlands are far from dead though, they are brimming with life, which attracts me and also predators. Hawks are suited to open woodland, and in the morning that I decided to go to the Wetlands, I was lucky enough to have two to choose from. These large predators are energy conscious. Why waste energy needlessly. All you need to do is watch from a high enough vantage point and wait. Wait for the right moment, then swoop down on your unsuspecting target. Red-tailed hawks can see colours as we do, but their vision is much sharper than ours and they have the added advantage of perceiving c