A Herald of May

These first two photos were taken before May 1, I had stopped by the bluff near the Senior Center and sighted a couple of beluga in the river. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a picture. It has been really windy the last couple of days and even the birds can't keep their plumage tidy! 

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Immature eagle in the wind. Check out those talons! I met a couple from LaGrande while on the bluff. The man was looking for a good eagle photo, but said they were trash birds. I laughed. 

 May 1 I hiked thru the muskeg to see if I could capture a few waterfowl photos. I'm not sure I'll go out again, it was really wet! I forgot to pay attention to my feet and slipped in the grasses almost to the car, bad idea!!!

 I had gone out because earlier I had driven past and noticed this giant white bird on the ice. It was all folded up and I was afraid it was dead. Nope, it was just sleeping! I can't imagine sleeping on ice, but all the birds were doing it!

 The ice didn't seem to be more than a rather chilly shelf to hang out on. I laughed at this photo! Walking and sleeping on ice in the sun seemed the thing to do on the first day of May.

I think this is a lesser yellow legs, similar to the greater yellow legs, but smaller. I could be wrong, however.

 I took this to show how far away I was from the edge of the ice. I did walk up to the 'shore', it was uncertain in spots. I opted to stand where I could tell the ground was solid.

 There were lots of birds flying. These two passed over the icy lake and startled the lone swan on the ice. I think there were tern, but they were moving pretty darn fast to do more than see their white graceful shapes as they darted around.

 Muskeg!

These last photos I was on the edge of the shore, I had hoped the swan would come closer. It didn't.

 When I got back to the house, mum told me she had a flower getting ready to bloom. I'm so glad I scattered these seeds last year! I love their perky blooms. (violas)