Mothers' Day in the Park

Well, technically it was the day before Mother's Day, but there were certainly a lot of mothers in Gage Park. Mother birds, that is, with their cute little babies. The water birds always seem to be well past the ugly stage before we ever see them.

First, a mother Wood Duck took a break on the dock, preened, then posed prettily for me.

The Canada Geese at West Lake in Gage Park seem to have no fear of humans at all. They let us get quite close to them and their goslings.

A gosling nibbles on the grass.

Across the narrow end of the lake, a mother Wood Duck with a total of six ducklings. The little ones are very fast swimmers!

A Great Blue Heron joins the picnic.

The heron has his eye on something. Hope he's not thinking of duckling for dinner.

Family Swim. I think this is the cutest pic.

I wanted to show the ducks, geese, and heron all in the same picture. Then I discovered that, though you might not see it that clearly, in about the middle of the picture there is a snag--with a turtle sunning herself on it!

Fast little wood ducks.

The three goslings. It was a cool, perfect afternoon to be in the outdoors and to appreciate all the wildlife we share this space with, even right in the middle of the city. Happy Mother's Day to all.