"Out & About" Photo Blog: Oshawa 2nd Marsh -- April 27th, 2011

Another good day at the marsh. More signs of Spring and warm. Some of the fallen logs have Borer Worm tracks on them. The worms must be one of the things woodpeckers are after when they're pounding on the trees.

The early stage of Horsetail. I don't usually see them in water but these ones were.

The brown-headed one is way ahead of the rest for some reason.

Garter Snake with Trout Lilies. There are tens of 1000s of Trout Lilies in the marsh now.

The moss is such a gorgeous shade of green and it especially stands out against the mostly brown of the forest floor this time of year.

Mayapples still have their "umbrellas" tight around their stems but before long the umbrellas will unfurl and the single mayapple will appear under it.

On any given day you can have the 3 "friendlies" eat seeds from your hand. The Chickadees will come any day, the Nuthatches & Downy Woodpeckers are more selective.

The heavy rains & the flooding that comes with them take their toll on the boardwalk.

The green stage of Pussy Willows...

The twigs of the American Basswood look a bit like plated armour. Thanks for the ID John.

It's always a happy surprise to see ducks in the woods. The vernal pools seem to offer them everything they need. This pair of Mallards didn't seem particularly afraid of me. As I got closer they just slowly ambled off deeper into the woods to the other end of the pool. They didn't seem to think it was worth the trouble to fly-- they walked.

I love seeing a lone swan in a quiet cove or in this case a channel in the marsh. It seems to emphasize their freedom.

Mother goose found a quiet spot in the channel too.

I didn't see it when I took the shot but it looks like she has a turtle to keep her company.

I always check the vernal pools for life but don't usually see much. This time there were twisty, jerking things swimming about. (Not very clear in this image because of the water.) I was told what they probably are but I can't remember. :-)

The Dogwood really stands out this time of year.

I saw a lot more Coltsfoot today. Some of it past its prime, some fresh & strong like this one. They'll soon go to seed and their huge leaves will appear.

A Land Snail... Thanks John.

After we see our first 2 or 3 in the spring most of us take the Robin for granted but they are a beautiful bird. Maybe they'd get more attention if we called them Rust-Breasted Thrushes.

I find that a lot of smaller creatures pose on the boardwalk for me. This Red Admiral butterfly was soaking up the sun.

Maybe someday the money will be there for the marsh to use the artificial material they used for the new boardwalk at Presqu'ile. It would save money in the long term I assume.

Besides offering wildlife some habitat, the vernal pools do provide some nice reflections.

This has been my longest post to date, most are shorter. I appreciate the kind comments that some of you have said about this blog. Thank you. Until next time...

The Friends of Second Marsh web site...