Signs of Spring are here at last

We've had an unseasonably warm week here, bringing a welcome change from winter's grip. It's hard to take in how fast it has happened.

Here are a couple of pictures taken from a nearby Lake Huron overlook just a couple of weeks ago:

A few more from a short hike at the Pinery Provincial Park about 3 weeks ago:

Some serious Chikadee-watchers. One was perched on his lens hood.

 
Now we have virtually no snow left, and other signs of spring.

Last year a pair of Bald Eagles nested nearby, about a 5 minute drive from our place. They recently came back and started nesting again. We weren't quite prepared in time for the good picture of the male bringing a fish back to the brooding female, but we'll keep trying for better pictures:

The female dining on the fish

The male needed a short rest nearby

One of the spring events we look forward to is the return of the migrating Tundra Swans. Usually it's still cold and snowy when they stop in this area on the way north, so it's a real treat to be able to view them in milder weather this year.

There's a major stopover point about 1/2 hr south of us, near the entrance to the Pinery Provincial Park. Greenway Drive runs East off Hwy 21, and there can be thousands of swans in this area on a given day. Here's a few we took yesterday (Friday) morning:

 

There are reasons to be more optimistic about the coming year, even though Ontario has been a bit slow vaccinating the population at large, mainly I think due to limited supplies of the various vaccines. Here's hoping for a much-improved year ahead!