The weather turned cold this past week and for several days the wind was high. For a second week, the absence of Great Blue Herons is noticeable. However my husband and I walked the boardwalk as usual and had a ducky week there watching the Mallards and Black Ducks.
The salt marsh is home to a flock of mixed ducks these days, since the water is slow to drain out of the marsh due to the dam of seaweed at the mouth of the stream.
Mallards add the most colour to the marsh, the males with their green heads and the females with their beautiful markings.
A pair of Black Ducks have been long term residents of the marsh, but this past few months, they have increased in number as the marsh has flooded.
This smaller duck is not a common sight this late in the season.
Another rare sight here is this hybrid duck, with green marking on the sides of its head and combination of Mallard and Black Duck markings on its body.
The scene from the nearby bridge can look different depending on the cloud cover, the wind and the tide.
These two photos were taken just over a week apart at the same location.
Winter jackets have been moved to the front of the closet this past week. Temperatures in the low single digits now take some getting used to, as the hats and gloves make walking more comfortable. Snow one morning didn’t accumulate but was a reminder of what lies ahead.
Meanwhile, a nearby street which two weeks ago was golden,
has lost much of its glow but kept its character.
Along the boardwalk, many of the trees are leafless now. Only the Tamarack/Larch has any golden colour these days, always later to change than the deciduous leaf-filled trees.
One day this past week, the temperature rose to 16 degrees Celsius among days of 5 degrees. That afternoon my friend Liz and I went for a walk along the beach in the Evangeline area not far from Summerside. Afterward we sat in our chairs on the beach and enjoyed our pumpkin spice coffee, brought in our thermos from home.
We sat near a stream that trickled into the sea which lapped the shoreline. A piece of driftwood was a reminder of the power of the sea. Such a day so late in the season was a pure gift of nature.
And on a colder morning, a Red Squirrel was busy collecting seeds from an evergreen along the way as we walked the boardwalk. Winter preparation is upon all of us!
Have a wonderful week!
15 comments:
Oh! That squirrel's eyes! So beautiful. Most ducks around here are mallards I think. So good to get out and walk and then sit as well! What a bonus.
Winter's on its way!
Fascinating, the hybrid duck. And the differences in colour, tone and story in the two water shots. I like your squirrel, too. Great character. We have pretty well all the leaves down here except the tamarak and the oaks. Our house is pretty well surrounded by trees, and JG uses strong language about the massive leaf pickup. But, once the leaves are down, I have a much longer view, especially to the west, for sunsets. So, lining, rose if not usually silver.
Thank you for taking me along on the walk. It was wonderful!
My warm jackets have been brought up from the basement closet too. And I have sorted and washed all the summer teeshirts and capris and they are stacked away waiting for summer weather. Love the photos of the ducks. Lots of ducks and geese and also 4 swans are on our local reservoir, I'll take some pics.
Weather like that it's good to be a duck, all that down and feathers.
You are enjoying my kind of weather!! Great comparisons on how quickly nature changes. Blink and you miss it.
Great photos, love the look of Autumn and the squirrel is absolutely gorgeous.
Except for one occasion several years ago, I only see mallards. That street underwent quite a change in a short period and will be stark soon if it isn't already.
One would think the ducks would be considering their trip south soon too. The trees are glorious in the first photo, a wee bit sadder in the second.Winter is certainly on the horizon, here too!
What an incredibly beautiful week. Thank you so much for sharing some of that beauty.
Great sightings and duck photos. The Mallard is cute, the male stand out with the green head. Your hybrid looks more like the American Wigeon to me. I hope the see the Black Ducks and more show up here soon. Take care, enjoy your day and the week ahead.
You give a great report of what's in your area.
Color here is also considerably thinner. Winter is coming.
To sit by the sea and drink coffee (or tea) while the waves roll in and out would be a lovely, lovely thing. I had never seen a Black Duck until our trip out east - they are darkly beautiful. I wish you many more days to enjoy the beauty of autumn.
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