Quack! Quack!
Signals the approach
Of mallards,
Preparing to land.


Another familiar call,
But hard to find.
After searching patiently,
A red-winged blackbird
Is located
In the tangle
Of a shrub.


A Canada goose
Feeds in a shallow pond,
Then pauses
For a moment.

Three different types of nest
By the St. Mary River,
All empty,
Soon to be homes
For herons, ospreys and orioles.


A chattering sound
Made by a grey squirrel,
Which quickly races
To the safety
Of a branch,
Where a pine cone snack
Can be enjoyed,
While keeping watch
For any predators.


While exploring
A trail through the vegetation,
A sudden movement
Catches the eye.
A small herd of elk
Bravely wades across
The freezing river.

Not far upstream
Three mallards,
Almost unnoticed,
Float quietly
In a back eddy.


High in the sky,
A circling bald eagle
Flies off
In another direction.


A last look
Towards the heron rookery
Reveals newly-arrived residents,
A pair of herons.

What a lovely way to document the coming of Spring.
I am really enjoying this series of posts.
Thank you

Stewart your photos taken up the St. Mary's river are wonderful.
I have yet to make it out to see the heron rookery so I'm adding it to my "bucket list".

On a snowy afternoon
A red-winged blackbird
Makes its call
By the creek,
While a muskrat
Dives underwater.


Nearby
Canada geese
And mallards
Stand together
On a sheet of ice
By the shore,
Their images
Reflected on the open water.


On the far shoreline
Of the lake,
The tell-tale tracks
Of a coyote
Climb to the top
Of an abandoned beaver lodge,
Then disappear
Into the bush,
Before heading onto the ice
In the direction
Of a distant muskrat lodge.

A goldeneye moves slowly
Across the open water,
Unaware of the first day of spring.


A bald eagle sits atop an evergreen,
Carefully watching
Between snow flurries.


Chewed tips
Of red osier dogwood,
Near the lakeshore.
A sign of deer, elk or moose?

A wet afternoon
On the last day of March.
How long will it be
Before the ice disappears completely from the lake?


A ghostly form
Like a piece of striped ribbon,
Lying twisted on the grass,
A skin,
Shed by a garter snake
Before last winter?


A movement on the ice,
A muskrat stands by open water.
A few moments later,
It has disappeared!