This past week has been the hottest week of the summer so far in southern Ontario and I have spent most of it out at night doing photo's. So I needed to get out and enjoy the sunshine! I pondered on where to go for a little while and finally decided to go to the bay front (lake Ontario) and I am really glad that I did.
The area is home to countless animals and you will see different ones every time you go down there. Sometimes beavers, sometimes coyotes, and sometime Blue Heron's.
The Heron's are a more rare sight, and typically do not stick around long enough to get decent photo's of. But these two seemed content enough while on small islands about 15 feet off of the shoreline.
As I moved on down the trail, it wasn't long before I saw the area's usual suspects, swans and ducks. About 10 years ago there was only three swans in the area but now the population has exploded! In the spring I saw a group of more then twenty and there are plenty of young swans like this one.
The amount of ducks, like these cute little guys has also exploded.
Then I saw these birds. They look semi similar to ducks but are mostly black and larger. With long and skinny beaks. (You can see in this photo that they are almost the size of a goose)
Then one started to fly and dived down under the water. thirty seconds to a minute went by before it reemerged. I am pretty sure that I have seen these birds before, but never payed much attention to them.
After I got home, I have done some searching online but have been unable to verify what type of birds that they are. Do any of you steemians out there know?
I finished my day on the trail at a beautiful place called Cootes Paradise just before sunset.
The city of Hamilton's website describes Cootes paradise as:
"Cootes Paradise marsh is the largest wetland at the western end of Lake Ontario, on the west side of Hamilton Harbour. The wetlands surround old growth forests that support a large variety of plants and animals that include rare and threatened species. The Cootes Paradise nature sanctuary is a magnificent example of plant biodiversity in Canada. In fact, the lands contain one of the highest biodiversity of plants per hectare in Canada and the highest biodiversity of plants in the region with 877 species. It also holds the most endangered species in the region with 35 identified species.
As a result of its location and scale, this wetland is considered to be one of the most important migratory waterfowl staging habitats on the lower Great Lakes and the largest nursery habitat for fish in the region. Cootes Paradise marsh was designated a fish sanctuary in 1874, with the marsh and surrounding lands officially preserved as a formal, provincial game sanctuary in 1927.
Source: https://www.hamilton.ca/city-initiatives/our-harbour/cootes-paradise-marsh