Though I hadn't planned on my outing today being a Mother's Day celebration that's exactly what it turned out to be. It's not that my kids went along - the son is not home and the daughter was sleeping in.It's that Cone Marsh Wildlife Management Area was teaming with moms.
The canada geese were everywhere - at least 4 different pairs honked and scolded at me as I paddled along the the marsh's edge. They didn't venture far from cover though - probably keeping their goslings gathered in close.
Not too far from the boat ramp I found the pair of trumpeter swans that had been released from there a couple of weeks ago. I was glad to see them still together though they won't nest this year - actually it will be at least three more years before they are mature. Even though they didn't have a nest or young, they didn't like having me around and continued to "trumpet" as long as I was in sight.There were coots and mallards on top of nearly every muskrat hut. Countless pairs of red-winged blackbirds were busy making nests in the bulrushes. (They scolded me, too.)
In fact, at one point the sounds of scolding birds was pretty darn loud. Over the din I even heard a turkey gobble and a pheasant crow. There were several other birds thrown in the mix that I couldn't ientify. My husband tells me one of those was probably a pied-billed grebe.
I'm not great with bird ID and I didn't have binoculars but I think I may have seen two sandhill cranes. They have nested at Cone Marsh in the past so it's a possibility.
It was a good time to visit this beautiful cattail-bulrush marsh. The water is high and the vegetation still short so I could get back to some nooks and crannies that won't be accessible in a few weeks. I've got to go back in July though when the marsh mallows are blooming. Judging from the stems of last year's plants - they are going to be gorgeous.And I will definitely visit again next spring. I might even make it a Mother's Day tradition but next year I'm going to wake up my daughter and take her along.
