| A beautiful day for a walk in the park. |
Sunday April 28, 2013. Swan Lake Village area, Markham, Ontario |
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| These pictures were taken over the last week, Apr 21 to Apr 28. The cool air and the bright sun provided the oportunity for some great shots. Read on and see the good news about Romeo and Juliet. |
| Reesor's Pond - near Swan Lake - Apr 21 |
| House Sparrow |
| I believe this is a female house sparrow but due to the angle I can't positively identify it. |
| Caspian Tern |
| Male Landing near the female who expected him to bring home a gift for her. She opens her beak expecting a nice juicy fish. The Caspian Tern's usually show up on our lake later in the summer and are my favorite birds to watch and photograph. |
| Swan Lake Park - Apr 21 |
| House Sparrow |
| Robin |
| Canada Geese Courting and Mating in the East Pond. |
| Canada Geese |
| Like the Swan's the male and female swim close together and dunk their heads under water repeatedly. |
| The male holds the females head above water while the mating occurs. |
| Afterwards the male and female perform a final step in the courting/mating ritual. |
| EGGS!!!!! |
| Swan Lake Park - Apr 27 |
| Mute Swan |
| Juliet was standing up in the nest letting the sun shine on it's contents. I noticed some white and round objects in the nest but wasn't sure if they were eggs. |
| So I zoomed in with my lens and was able to identify one egg very clearly. When I got home I took a closer look at the photos I took, blowing them up so I could try and see if there were other eggs and counted three in total. |
| Northern Cardinal |
| I was talking to my neighbour Jane near where the Swan's are nesting when she saw this male Cardinal land in a nearby tree. I quickly swung my camera up and was able to snap off this shot just before it flew away. |
| Swan Lake Park - Apr 28 |
| Mute Swan |
| Romeo in full display charging after a goose who got too close to the nest. |
| Red-winged Blackbird |
| Northern Cardinal |
| Again I came across the male Northern Cardinal near the Swan's nest. |