Herald in the changing season with the blast of the trumpeter swan at the Wye Marsh in Tay Township, just outside the town of Midland. This vital wetland is more than 10-square kilometres and is responsible for reintroducing the trumpeter swan to Ontario.
I’ve come out to the marsh to enjoy nature’s annual colour display and discover something unexpected. Tom, at the visitor centre, recommends the Hardwood Trail. He says it is the fastest route to the open marsh, where I can catch the ring of colour surrounding the wetland.
Before heading out, I buy sunflower seeds at the visitor’s centre. Getting my bearings at the trailhead, I share a few sunflower seeds with a couple of chickadees.
Hardwood Trail winds through a grove of old white cedars. Here and there sit benches painted with moss. Leaves crunch under my foot while birds startle in the undergrowth as I pass.
A wetland with an abundance of wildlife
The Wye Marsh is home to an abundance of wildlife. This time of year, it is a layover for migratory birds, like the beautiful and very shy Woodland duck who stops in on its journey south. Meanwhile, permanent residents like the beavers work hard preparing for winter.
When I come to the open water, I sit on a bench to watch swans glide effortlessly along the smooth surface of a channel. Then swan E84 waddles over to join me. Brutus is his name, stands easily 1.2 metres tall (about four feet) and plants himself inches from me. As I video the encounter with my phone, Brutus (who passed away in 2021) bobs and dives after insects in the grass. Eventually, I slowly slide off the bench and head back to the trail.
Unlike the shy woodland duck, chickadees are unafraid
Back on the trail, scarlet Sumac pops against a backdrop of sepia cattails and grasses. Trees in the distance trim the edges of the marsh in red and gold. The chickadees flit and fly from sapling to bush to reed. They’ve followed me from the visitor’s centre and serenade me with tweets, chirps and calls for more sunflower seeds. My seed-filled palm is an open invitation. My feathered friends dip and dive as they help themselves.
Your head is a perfect place to perch
Ignore the chickadees and watch out. Landing on your head is their way of saying: More sunflower seeds, please. I failed three times to catch the fellow who kept landing on my head, but I took plenty of tweetable portraits along the trail during our time together.
Usually, this time of year is about the trees changing colour, the harvest and carving pumpkins. However, at Wye Marsh I learned something new. Autumn is a season to fall for the birds.
Visit safe
Trails are open at the Marsh Mon. to Fri, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Check current Covid precautions online before you visit.
Connect with Wye Marsh on Instagram @wyemarsh and Facebook @wyemarshwildlifecentre
Note: Visit to Wye Marsh happened in fall 2020.
Comments