A Bird In The Hand....

Is Worth Getting Up Early For.....

Daylight Savings Time came into effect today, so daylight came earlier... After having an extra hour of sleep, I had enough energy to head for the lake -  even before I had breakfast. 

I was mistakenly thinking I would be the early bird, but alas, I was not - in fact the parking area was full and folks were parking along the road - illegally..and for whatever reason (actually reason was not involved), I decided to park along with them and of course got a parking ticket! Great way to start the day.... but lesson learned. 

The marsh was already teeming with photographers when I got there..all with very impressive lenses, lined up in rows along the water's edge, in a variety of contortionist poses...vying for position to get the perfect shot of...... a duck. (extra) 

The subject of the day seemed to be ducks; the swans were AWOL; the Canada geese were elsewhere, probably planning their route south, but they did show up later and when they did, they arrived in style - squawking loudly overhead in their V formations and then swooping down to skid across the water, lured in by the sight of someone standing there with a bag of birdseed! 

It does not take much to attract a goose...or a duck either..

A bag of sunflower seeds will get you a morning of entertainment at Lynde Shores conservation area....not only will the geese and ducks flock to your side , but so will the chipmunks and one big fat raccoon. The chickadees will eat out of your hand, as will some of the blue jays..but the surprise for me today was seeing this woodpecker do the same!  They are usually so elusive it is hard to even get a shot of them..but apparently all you have to do is hold out a handful of sunflower seeds? Who knew?