Spring is a bit late in arriving this year but on a cold and frosty Saturday morning I found some familiar signs while strolling around a storm water pond in Oakville. One sight I didn’t expect to see was a long vicious fight between two Canada Geese that had water flying and wings battering.
Red-winged Blackbird males fly back first and their chirk-a-ree calls advertise their arrival.
Early Spring Migrants and Late Winter Survivors Cheer Up a Spring Walk
When I walked around the storm water ponds at 6th Line in Oakville on a late March Saturday morning, I found many “spring” birds. Some of them had actually wintered-over successfully, but others were early migrants returning to find territories or keep flying further north as soon as the ice melts out.
This American Robin seems like a new spring arrival but it probably actually over-wintered in the neighbourhood.
The maple flower buds are swelling but didn’t seem fully open yet. A few more days in the sun though and I’m sure I’ll be sneezing.
And the Song Sparrows were singing both in the reeds and from the tips of branches.
And of course the Mallards have paired up hopefully.
I tried to sneak up on a male Bufflehead duck. Each time it dove, I would move a few steps closer to the pond, hoping to get a decent photo. It was too cold and bright for me to feel like trying to adjust the settings of my camera so I still didn’t get the colours the way I wanted, but I did get some really good looks at this amusing duck as it popped back up to the surface between hunts.
The main event, though was a fight!
Canada Geese Attack In a Wing-Bashing, Water-splashing Free-for-All
I’ve seen Canada Geese drive a rival away from their nest site or even a mate with a few loud honks and a running lunge This freezing morning, though, I saw an actual battle which went on for over five minutes!
Eventually one of the birds broke free and flew off across the pond. Then you could hear the Song Sparrows singing again, and the Red-winged Blackbirds calling. I think I prefer birds that fight using their voices!
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Have you ever watched Canada Geese in a knock-down drag-out fight? Or have you seen some signs of early spring that made you feel a wintery-walk was worth it? Please share your experiences with a comment.