Borden Wetlands

It's Christmas!! Although under the shadow of current day matters you'd be forgiven for not noticing. No family gatherings other than over the internet, but it does somehow still feel like Christmas. A blanket of white has been drawn over Kitchener, and I am happy to enjoy this whitest of Christmases.  A walk through the Wetlands after eating a little too much for Christmas dinner seemed like a great idea, and of course, no walk is complete without a camera. Hooded, masked and wrapped in layers, I made my way along a path now riddled with boot and paw prints. Not one thing did I see, nor chirp did I hear until I reached just past the halfway point and came off the beaten track. As I faced homeward, I heard the cawing of American crows. They were far up ahead on the edge of the treeline, causing a huge commotion. I shot off a few photos as I approached, knowing full well that all they'd produce was a ragged, underexposed black silhouette against a grey sky, and I was correct

A unique and unfamiliar call heard on my walk back from the Wetlands saw me gazing skyward with a puzzled eye. A large V formation of long-necked, broad-winged birds was passing overhead, and they were definitely not Canada geese. With my telephoto lens fully zoomed out, all that I could capture was not quite half of that V formation. Even though I had never seen these birds before, I was fairly confident that the far-reaching necks and trailing long legs belonged to a flock of cranes. I zoomed in for a few shots before the opportunity passed by. I confirmed another new bird for my list when I returned home, sandhill cranes. A bird that I would not normally come across in my travels, but I guess that a flyby also counts. That sighting left me questioning if it is normal for sandhill cranes to migrate through Ontario in December? Coyotes are ever-present in the Wetlands, but I have yet to observe them this year. The only giveaway has been their footprints in the newly laid snow.  Coyote