Finally Spring

It has been a long, cold, buried in snow winter!  The swamp has been slow to thaw, with just channels of open water visible last week.  That all changed this weekend, with temperatures in the upper 60's reaching 70's on Monday.  I finally ventured down the hill Monday morning and was a bit dismayed at the number of fallen and broken trees.  The swamp is severely lacking in trees now, with only one heron nest remaining at the far end.  It looks to be an active nest so that at least is a good thing.

I saw several Wood Ducks but was disappointed not to see any Hooded Mergansers.  

One pair of Canada Geese.

Red-winged Black Birds and Grackles were plentiful.  Swallows were also swooping madly, not in great numbers as I've seen before but a good number for early spring.  It seems as if my free time to visit the swamp is the wrong time of day for the angle of the sun!!  Washes out all the pictures, but it sure felt good.  Some drastic  damage to my viewing area.  The log I stand on has begun to rot and is slowly falling into the water.  The tree I lean against must have looked tasty to the local residents. 

 The tree I used to attach my wildlife camera to is currently on the menu or the engineers plan, I'm not sure which.