South Beach Walk....Head Down!

 On Saturday I had the urge to walk out the south beach of Rondeau Park.  It was still quite cold and breezy, but I went anyway.  It was nice walking along the south point trail west section, with the morning sun shining through.

Script Lichens

There were very few birds as expected, but a few American Wigeon were swimming on the slough near the end of the trail

At the end of the trail, we meet the forever changing shoreline.  I remember it being a fair walk to the    beach, but the walk is now a small fraction of what it used to be due to erosion. (should have included a photo here!)

I only walked along the beach to where the marsh trail ends.  There was no point in going any further as there was ice build-up on the Bay side.  

There were lots of ducks in the open water of the marsh.

Lots of Tundra Swans, and even a pair of Trumpeter Swans were out there.

Tundra

On the way back, as usual, I looked for beach treasures.  Mainly mussels of course!  I only found one species, that being Fatmucket.  There were lots of shells of various shapes and colours of this common species.

Other things caught my eye as well.  With the long history of waterfowl hunting at Rondeau, there has to be things of historical nature in the sands.  A piece of brass caught my eye, which was the end of a shotgun shell.

I took it home and looked it up.  It likely dates back to the 1930's from what I can surmise.

Also, a piece of glass stood out.  It was part of a very old medicine bottle.

There was not much to go on with the letters on it, but going to the internet, information instantly came up!

It was a product of the well-known Radway brothers of New York.  The "R. R. R." stands for Radway Ready Relief.  One of those so-called cure-alls.

They made these for a long time, but this bottle could possibly date back to the 1860's!

"Act of Congress" was on the side

While usually it is heads up while birding, looking down can reveal things of interest!  Last year I found a spearpoint, which certainly would be hundreds of years old.

After that long walk, I checked out the campground.  Quite a few birds were creeping around.

Just the same birds (except a Turkey Vulture) from all winter.  The Audubon's Warbler was not difficult to find either!

Once in a while, some rare flora pops up.

Today, I just drove a round a bit and took a couple of short walks.  It was  a nice morning, but very windy and cool.  Here is a scene at Moore WMA.

With the flooding this winter, the riverbanks have been scoured!

While there, I could not help notice some more mussels!  On the far bank was an obvious Pink Heelsplitter, a vulnerable species.

Another one of my favourites, this large Deertoe stood out.

Warm weather is on the way......!