Rainy Day Visitors

We had a nice day of showers about 3 weeks back, allowing me to spend the day cleaning out a barn that sits facing the lake.  The rainy day brought a multitude of different ducks to the lake opening in front of the barnyard.  Thankfully, I had brought my camera and could capture some of the visits.

The lake is higher than even Dad remembers this year, which has drawn more kinds of ducks than I have ever seen here before.  When I was a boy, there were mostly only Mallard ducks on our lake, or the odd  Green Winged Teal like these.

 There are a lot of Northern Shovelers this year, like the one in the middle of this picture.  There have been several days where this patch of water had perhaps a hundred all flocked together.  Many I have yet to be able to identify, like the rest shown here (with the white stripe on the top of their head).

 

We have quite a few Blue Winged Teal around this year as well.

 

I think this is a Northern Shoveler hen.  What a bill huh?

 This goose is showing off for the little group of ducks, telling them to bugger off as its big bird time.  You cannot see the group of goslings in a row behind her.

 More of these crazy white stripe ducks.

 This Redhead is not one of the more numerous species to be seen this year, and seems pretty shy about getting its picture taken.

Mucking out a barn isn't such a bad job on a rainy day like this, especially when there is such diversity to enjoy. 

That's all for now.  Peace and comfort, friends.

Welcome

Just a very quick post to say hello and welcome everyone to this new blog that I`m creating to help build awareness for a very important and almost entirely overlooked spot in a not terribly well known part of Canada.  Ferguson Lake is a very large marsh lake located just 10 minutes from Grande Prairie, the regional center for much of North West Alberta.  I doubt many people in the area know that this lake exists, summer home to Canada geese, several varieties of ducks, gulls, and other water fowl, multiple types of frog, some muskrats and even a group of beaver settled in one constructed outlet.  Deer can often be seen at one end of the lake and moose like to hang out in willowy sloughs just off the lake.  Coyotes  and raptors (including a few bald eagles over the past decade) hunt the pasture and fields around these sloughs and the lake edge itself.  Temporary visitors can include herons and pelicans generally make a visit as they pass through the area in July.

And resting on the edge of this lake since the 1930`s has been my family`s farm.  I`m one third of the second generation of Jacksons to grow up on the edge of this lake, and it is a very large part of who I am.  It is my great pride to share this important place with the rest of the world, and my larger hope that this sharing will raise enough awareness that Ferguson Lake can be protected from some very real dangers.

So, welcome!  Maybe you can come visit in person one day.