Bognor Marsh

Bognor Marsh is the largest wetland around here, located a little closer to Owen Sound than here, and protected and managed as conservation land.  Our little Photo Group headed there for an outing a week ago today, and enjoyed a beautiful morning!

The marsh is quite large and extensive  compared to other small wetlands around here.  I like these horizontally cropped views, because it gives a sense of how expansive it is when you are there.  This is more like what my eyes really see.

After you walk a short distance in from the road on the old lane, you find the start of the boardwalk.  It extends in a semi-circle around the south side of the marsh and makes for very easy walking.  (And this part, which floats, is about the noisiest boardwalk I've ever heard!)

The water level here is controlled with a small dam funded by Ducks Unlimited in 1976, and the property is owned by the Grey-Sauble Conservation Authority.

It was just a beautiful morning, though a little chilly, and the boardwalk let you take photos without having to wade out into the water or leap from hummock to hummock.

I played around with the sunlight on the rapidly emerging grasses, and these lily pads.  But we didn't hear or see any frogs, which surprised me, as they were plentiful last visit, later in the season.

I was surprised that there weren't more waterfowl too.  We saw a distant pair of ducks or three, and heard honking Canada Geese from the distance, but not the number of birds I thought we'd see.

But there were lots of Tree Swallows, as you'll know if you read my blog last Saturday, with about 20 nest boxes all appearing to be occupied.

And lots of Red-winged Blackbirds too, though we heard them more than we saw them.  The white blaze on the post reminds you that the actual boardwalk is part of the Bruce Trail,   There's a small interpretive sign on the slanted top of that post.

And at least a few of us spotted a few Sandhill Cranes in the distance.  Here's one coming in for a landing.  I was surprised that I managed to focus this clearly at such a distance.

I think going this early in the season meant we saw a little less, at least of birdlife, but we also enjoyed the fact that there were no bugs yet either!

Another busy day here today with garden work and errands into town, so I didn't get out walking, though I did get tired!  I think I'll go out in the morning, 'cause if I garden first then I get too tired to go for a hike!

Farmers are very busy around here now, and I've seen dozens of tractors out in the fields stone-picking, disking and harrowing, and seeding.  Mechanical stone-picking is a welcome step up from the old way, though I've still seen farmers walking the fields and dropping stones in the bucket on the front of a tractor.  Winter wheat is green, and I expect the spring wheat, barley and canola have been planted.  Now corn is getting planted, though some would say it's a few days early yet.  Soybeans will have to wait awhile yet, as they are frost sensitive.

Linking to: