Activity at some Prairie Sloughs

The on-set of Fall is always bittersweet for me.  It is my favourite season yet it is also a very lonely one watching the flocks of migratory birds gathering here in southern Canada, soon en route for their warmer Winter locations.  

What a perilous journey they are gearing up for!  The older birds know what to expect; many of those have already left.  It is the flocks of youngsters, not quite grown yet, obeying their natural instincts.  I wonder if they feel a kind of excitement?

Mostly Blue-winged Teals

How strange it must be for these young ones, born in the north, having only known a single slough for all of their lives - the taste of that water, the taste and texture of the food available at that one place.  Of course, they fly around the area, stretching wings, gaining flight muscles; bit by bit experiencing a little more of the world.  

100+ American Avocets

But soon, should they survive the barrage of hunters, guns and dogs...they will find themselves in a completely new environment.  Maybe salty water, certainly different tasting and feeling water; strange kinds of food, and warm, humid weather so foreign from what they have known. 

A Cattle Egret, photo taken through a dirty windshield - why are birds always on the wrong side of the road???

So, in these next 2-3 months, I shall be visiting my favourite locations, watching the birds gather, making notes of departures, wishing them well, hoping to see them return in the Spring - and I'll be making plans for my own trips to warmer climates, to break up the long, dark Winter.