Bayfrontpark - Blog Posts

A little hiking along the Hamilton Bayfront Waterfront trail on a mild, and what was supposed to be a mixed sun/cloud (saw no sun) day. The Mute Swan young have gotten a lot bigger. Appears that 3 survived. Looks like a beaver has set up shop along the trail. And a good looking hawk/falcon posed nicely for a few of us enjoying the day. I just wish I had brought my DSLR instead of using the phone camera. #waterfronttrail #bayfrontpark #hamont #cloudysunday #hikinginhamont #beaverden #muteswan (at Bayfront Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqnxiwjBY0N/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1g8gfyux4l52f

The sun finally came out a bit and the temp rose a little above freezing, so I decided to get out for a hike. Went down to Bayfront Park and the Waterfront Trail. The breeze was chilly however the sun felt nice. Stopped by the nesting mute swans that are there each year. My friend Janine had posted that they had laid their 1st 2 eggs. I was curious how.more had been deposited since they take 2 or 3 weeks to lay the full clutch. Fortunately mom didn't make me wait too long. I saw she had at least 9 eggs so far as she stood up after preening and turning the eggs. Not sure if she is finished with laying. The photos were only taken with my camera phone but the eggs are clear in some of the images. #muteswans #nestingswans #swaneggs #bayfrontpark #waterfronttrail #hamont (at Hamilton, Ontario)

Swan watching over its last egg. I went down to Bayfront Park/Pier 4 to check on the status of the 3 nesting swan pairs in that area. I knew one pair had already abandoned it's nest. I saw that a 2nd pair at the north end of Bayfront had left their nest with 1 egg remaining (out of 6 or 7 originally). This swan was the last hold out at pier 4 near the Leander boat club. It only had 1 egg remaining out of 5. That egg is also likely not going to hatch. All of the swan eggs should have hatched about 3 weeks ago. Too much rain and cold weather early probably caused the eggs to fail. Sad but it happens. Fortunately other pairs around the harbour have been more successful. #hamont #discoverhamilton #bayfrontpark #pier4 #swans #photography (at Pier 4 - Bayfront)

Crescent moon over Bayfront Park. I'm at the park area trying to catch the sunset (not really) and check on the status of the 3 swan pairs with nests in the area. Sadly things don't appear to be fairing well. One nest near the Bayfront boat launch apparently has lost 1 egg (down to 5??). One pair near the macassa marina has lost all their eggs and have abandoned their nest. I couldn't find any shell fragments. They were out in open water several hundred metres away with no young. The third pair seems to be still intact. The mother is still on the nest but I could not see the father. #hamont #Bayfrontpark #pier4 #crescentmoon (at Pier 4 - Bayfront)

Canada goose Gosling at Bayfront Park. Mom and dad allowed me to get low and close, and also used my 200mm zoom to get this image. It's small despite the long shadow - nearing sunset. Hot 30+ C day but sunny. A nice simulation of summer. Even had an oldies cruise night next door at Pier 4. #hamont #discoverhamilton #bayfrontpark #canada150 #canadagoose (at Bayfront Park)