December 25 2016. LaSalle Marina, Burlington, ON. On Christmas Day 2013 I wrote about Canvasbacks as my Birds of the Day. It’s worth taking a look if only for the rather wintery photos that accompany the post. December 2013 saw the start of the now infamous Polar Vortex winter that seized North America by the throat for the best part of five months, only finally letting up in mid-May.
Now, Christmas Day three years later, and once again the Canvasbacks are in town. I walked the length of a sheltered waterfront trail knowing that many winter ducks should be close. But this Christmas Day is considerably warmer, the waters of the harbour carry no ice so ducks, wherever they are, have no compulsion to hug the shoreline. Still, it was pleasant watching Canada Geese getting together and it kept my camera busy trying to capture their skillful splash landings.
A family of Trumpeter Swans drifted around some algae-draped rocks and I was struck by how dependent the young seem to be on their parents. In two or three months, as winter draws to a close, the cygnets of 2016 will probably be told to get lost and to make their own way in the world; the adults will have the next round of breeding in mind.
And once again, just as in 2013, Birds of the Day were Canvasbacks, large rafts of them were anchored just off shore. Here’s a couple of the best shot from today – but no snow in the air this time.
