A Goldfish will do quite nicely

I rode my bike to Lakeside Park this morning. It was a cold start to the day with a heavy frost on the low lying grass. There was not a great deal of activity. The sun was low in the sky, providing beautiful contrast to everything it touched, but where were the birds? I could hear the squirrels complaining and this chipmunk was keeping well out of sight as it had a little nibble:


I walked further up the lake, near the top edge where I noticed the reason for the bird's inactivity. Sitting on its favourite perch was the merlin:


It surveyed the world around it:


Basking in the sun as it did so:


And also keeping one eye on me:


I was happy for the photo opportunity but the merlin soon took to flight in search of its next meal. In the merlin's absence, the birds now started to appear. Finches, song sparrows, white-throated sparrows, a ruby-crowned kinglet:


And a cardinal which was silhouetted with the sun behind it:


A number of ring-billed gulls stopped off at the lake to hunt:


Diving headfirst for their next meal:


A goldfish will do quite nicely:


Copyright © wildlakeside.blogpot.com 2019 Scott Atkinson All Rights Reserved.
Location: Lakeside Park, 206 Lakeside Dr, Kitchener, ON N2M 4C5, Canada

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