Duck Waddle 5

With a weekend forecast calling again for fog and cool temperatures, Environment Canada is starting to sound like a broken record. Despite the fog and ice pellets this morning, I decided to brave the elements and bike south along the regional pathway to LaFarge Meadows in Fish Creek PP. I wanted to bird along the Bow River between Highway 22X and Highway 2, the only section of river south of the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary that I had not yet covered this year. Visibility along the river was hampered by heavy fog and I saw little on the 40 minute ride; I stopped briefly at Mallard Point but failed to find the Snow Geese. A strengthening wind, combined with high humidity, created a nasty wind chill, so I was happy that I had decided to pack my heavier winter pants this morning.

Walking south along the river, I noted the silhouette of a Great Horned Owl in a grove of poplars along the bank. His mate is probably already on a nest nearby, incubating eggs. Making my way to the river, a female Hooded Merganser was found feeding on the opposite bank. This species has been scarce this winter and it was the first for my BIGBY. Further along the pathway, I spotted a  raptor flying west over the Blue Devil Golf Course. Quickly getting my binoculars on the bird, I was able to pick out the dark axilliaries of a Prairie Falcon before it disappeared into the fog. The family of Trumpeter Swans I found in early January had moved further downstream, and I relocated them near the Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. Seeing the Highway 2 bridge, which demarcates the city limits, in the distance, I chose to turn around and head back. Nearing where I had locked my bike, two American Tree Sparrows flew up into a dogwood next to the path, likely part of the flock wintering in the area.