"Out & About" Photo Blog: 2nd Marsh & McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve -- August 26th, 2011

Brian joined me for a visit to the marsh. He suggested meeting there at 7:30am which is the the earliest I'd been there, despite the fact that I kept telling myself that I'd check out the marsh in the early hours of the day. I just never made it. I'm not a morning person, as those that know me will tell you.

I always hope to see wildlife early in the day but we didn't happen to today, tho we met another photographer who had seen a doe and a couple fawns a short time before.

What we did see tho was a swarm/cloud of midges over Lake Ontario. Brian spotted them from the viewing platform by GM. We thought they might be migrating birds at first but the other photographer we met had already been down to the lakeshore and he confirmed that they were bugs. It was a fascinating sight nonetheless. The cloud twisted and shifted just like the large flocks of birds do that you see on television nature shows.

I also took a quick movie clip of the midges and posted it on YouTube. It's only a few seconds long but it gives you an idea of what it looked like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk6tfPTumgc

Brian came up with this link that pretty much confirms that they were midges.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44167752/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/sex-crazed-insects-whip-bugnadoes/

Cedar Tree near the viewing stand.

There are huge numbers of High-Bush Cranberry berries around now.

After an hour or so around the GM tower, we drove up to the top end of the marsh, went through Ghost Road bush and down the berm towards the lake. These are Arrowhead Water Plants in the channel.

The channel is a popular spot for Cormorants. There's usually only one or two there at a time but it's a good chance for close-ups if you're lucky. We were today. There were 3 or 4 there and a couple of them lingered long enough that we were able to get several shots of them.

I had one chance to capture the pair as things turned out... the male quickly left his perch. The female was much more cooperative. She just sat and let us click away.

This one was on this branch for at least 20 minutes. We got some shots, then went further down the berm, and on the way back she was still perched on it.

Brian had to leave but I stayed at the marsh a bit longer.

Some nice light in Ghost Road bush.

It's the time of year for mushrooms & fungi. There's quite a variety in the marsh already.

The Jewelweed (Touch-Me-Not) is going strong. There's tons of it. It's not "popping" yet tho.

Before I headed home I decided to drive back to GM to see if the midge cloud was still visible. It was, but it was too far away and I'd done enough walking so I just went down to Dogwood Pond instead... a good spot for waterfowl and songbirds.

I'm glad I did. There was a Green Heron on a log in the pond. It was much more interested in fishing than it was in me... it pretty much ignored me. Birds aren't usually so cooperative for me, but today I had an easy time getting shots of Cormorants and this heron.

The wild reflections of the reeds in the pond make for a busy background but you get what you get.

Why is it a Green Heron? I don't see any green.

He spotted something.

These Mallards were in the pond too but they were much shier than the heron. They swam away as soon as they saw me.

More High-Bush Cranberry... these ones on the path around the pond.

A late blooming Purple Flowering Raspberry at the pond.

The bright orange Mountain Ash berries try to compete for our attention with the High-Bush Cranberry. Red is better in my book. :-)

There are signs around Dogwood Pond identifying trees & shrubs, and this one for a little history lesson. It made think, 250 years ago Indians were in the area, today it's us. Will any of our descendants still be in the area 250 years from now?