Meet the Neighbours!

After recently sinking another couple of thousand into car repairs I’ve been in urgent need of some ‘river therapy’. I find it’s much cheaper than the ‘retail therapy’ that appeals to many folks.

A couple of hours spent by a river is sure to improve one’s outlook. It’s relaxing and can be meditative,  plus,  you never know what encounters are to be had.

Bald eagles are my focus these days. There’s lots of activity at nests across southern Ontario. Adults are busy fetching food, reinforcing nests and looking after eaglets which are now flapping their wings in anticipation of the day when they can take their first flight. But it’s not just the eagles that call the river home.  

I’ve noticed a mink swimming along the river a couple of times. While having my camera trained on an eagle that is perched in a tree I have heard the ‘plunk’ of something submerging in the river near me – the mink, possibly. Indeed, one night I saw it come out of the water and then race along the muddy shore. Suddenly there it was on the trail about five metres away. Before I could snap an image it was up and over a fallen tree trunk then vanished into the forest. 

On another occasion this little fella below was busy running around the riverside. Although a few of my wildlife conservation friends agreed it is a groundhog there was surprise it would be hanging around a river. 

While waiting for a bald eagle to return to his nest with prey I spotted movement one evening and saw this deer in the woods. I sat on the ground and remained still as the deer came out into the open and began munching on foliage. Its ears honed in the sound of my camera shutter as I fired away. But there was dinner to be had and it kept foraging while occasionally looking right at me.

Two days earlier, in roughly the same spot, I was stunned to see a wild turkey fly awkwardly across the river. Before I could raise my camera he was landing on the ground.  Yes, I miss shots regularly!

One evening I started walking along the river bank intending to go home for dinner. The light was fading. That’s when I saw a beaver meticulously cleaning himself. Even when I moved closer and down to the river’s edge he continued. 

But of course, any time I can see the magnificent bald eagles I am overjoyed. For more than six years now I have visited the Nith River eagles. Judging by the observations of some local residents this pair have raised roughly thirty eaglets over the dozen or more years they have called this location home.

The adult female likes to perch on a branch beneath the nest.

One evening after a short flight to stretch her wings, she glided back down to the nest.

The adult male is the main provider and has just delivered prey. The eldest chick can be seen watching dad.

Over the coming weeks I expect to see the eaglets become more active and eventually leave the nest. That’s always a wonderful time to observe and enjoy these birds of prey.  Moreover, I have my fingers crossed that the camera shy mink makes himself available for a photo op – when I am paying attention!

                                                                                             -30-