The July 1st, or Canada Day long weekend we headed to our favorite ‘home away from home’ – Tunkwa Lake Provincial Park.
as you can see, even though it was a long weekend it wasn’t terribly busy and we actually managed to grab the same campsite we’d had back at Easter…
Looking the other direction from our campsite and it was even quieter! The only long weekend we won’t consider going to Tunkwa for is the May long weekend….I’m afraid that weekend has turned into a zoo!
The spot we were in was very ‘birdy’…primarily lots of these Savannah Sparrows…
Down in the little bay between the bluff and the spit, there were duck families….these ones being Barrow’s Goldeneye…
and here a Mallard family.
Wild Roses were just coming into full flower.
We set out on a walk, headed over to the north end of the lake….there was a Killdeer family in the area, with young ones and boy did the parents set up a ruckus every time anyone walked past!
a lot of American Coot with young in this area as well…
Pairs of Lesser Scaup…the males already loosing their brilliant breeding plumage, even though they haven’t yet had their families. These ducks are late nesters…..as you’ll see when we are back here in a month or so.
Wildflowers were everywhere! Here, these Alumroot growing on the cliff above Leighton Lake.
Looking towards Leighton, the blue are Small flowered Penstemon..
Here is a close up of that particular wildflower.
Goats beard, Alum Root and Grasses….
Everything was very green!
As we walked along the trail on the north side of the lake we spotted this Common Loon with a youngster…always a good sign!
Another shot that shows just how ‘green’ the whole place was.
Death Camas were one of he prominent wildflowers in this area.
and Savannah Sparrows the prominent species of bird.
As usual, it was a good year for young Canada Geese….
These youngsters long past the ‘cute’ stage and into the gangly ‘adolescent’ stage…
As we walked back the sky was full of Common Nighthawks….
Back at the campsite I managed to get some pictures of the Least Flycatchers that must have been nesting in the bushy area beside us.
The weather was improving as we went for an evening walk…
Canada Geese in the evening sunshine…
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