Migratory birds

Today, I went for a walk along the river. It wasn't a warm day but it wasn't frightening and windy, like it was on Wednesday. So it was time to get out of the house and experience the Niagara River.

All right. I actually know that the Niagara River isn't a river.

It's a strait that connects Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. Nevertheless, its name is "Niagara River," not "Niagara Strait." So I talk about walking along the river.

Today, it was a sunny, though cold, day. Everything looked bare and stark. Due to all of the rain in the past few days, there was more water than there was snow. My original plan was to take an easy four mile walk (round trip). But, when I reached the two mile mark, I was ready to continue. And so, I did. My walk was fairly solitary, as not very many people were out. I saw a few joggers but no other walkers.

I left the house with few expectations.  I just wanted to see the river. I was hoping to see some life. I never imagined that I would see as much life as I saw, and that all of it was in or near the river.

And it was all birds. Migratory birds. The river was full of canvasback ducks and Canada geese. Most of the ducks were too far away for my camera but I did get a picture of this one.

I even saw some mallard ducks. Here are four married couples!

Every now and then, the geese took flight, and that was a magnificent sight.

I ended up by walking 6.6 miles on this beautiful winter day. It was a good experience. I'm looking forward to my next walk and am already wondering where that will lead me.