Sunday, May 11, 2025 was a gorgeous day and I took advantage of the sunny morning when I set out on a very long walk at Lake Erie Metropark.  It was picture-perfect, not only for me, but also for all the mothers who would be celebrating their special day, i.e. Mother’s Day.  Before I would return to the car in the early afternoon, I had crisscrossed this 1,607-acre Metropark on foot, seeking to enjoy nature and fill up my camera card. 

Today will be part one of that long walk; next week will be part two and will focus on all the birdies and their babies, even a few expectant moms, I saw along the Cherry Island Trail with a nod to Mother’s Day 2026.  I was my shutter-happy self with a spring in my step on that Spring-y day.

Well, I didn’t know where to start and, when it is not hot and humid, I always park once and crisscross the park on foot, lingering in all my favorite spots.  I took a left to make my first stop at the overlook where the Barn Swallows hang out.  Oops – too early for them I guessed as I saw no Swallows zooming around. I wasn’t happy to find the scraggly dead tree was gone, the only place I ever see those Swallows perch and pause to catch their breath from their endless efforts to catch insects in flight.  I peered over the side of the overlook as if I might see their raggedy perch sticking out of the water.  I spun around and headed the opposite way muttering to myself “I hope they have a Plan B for R&R.”

Meandering along Cove Point.

I decided to walk along beautiful Cove Point – perhaps I’d glimpse a freighter, but there were none.  Unbelievably, just like that (snapping fingers), the breeze picked up.  It was calm when I left the house – heck, it was calm when I left the car some 15 minutes earlier. Grrr! It was windy and wavy now as you can see in these photos below, some waves encroaching onto the boulders along the shoreline.

As I walked along the path that runs parallel to the shoreline, I was on the lookout for any inhabitants in the Bluebird nesting boxes.  When I got my first Metropark pass in 2018, I took several guided walks led by Metropark interpreters.  I also took a few boat trips, that unfortunately ceased running after the pandemic began and never started back up again.  I learned that a slew of bird enthusiasts had volunteered to construct and erect Bluebird nesting boxes all along Cove Point – they look like these pictured below.

While that volunteer work was admirable, the guide explained that the Tree Swallows have overtaken those nesting boxes, a fact I will attest to.  Every year, Tree Swallow males stake out a nesting box and soon thereafter the female disappears inside to lay eggs and tend to the young.  I see this every Spring, but I’ve never seen their offspring, nor a Bluebird, anywhere in the park.  Here is one of those nesting boxes with a male claiming “first dibs” on it. 

I continued on the path toward the marina.  I didn’t see any pleasure boats out, likely because of the holiday and, when I when I rounded the corner at Marina Point to head down Lee Road, there was no activity at any of the 100 wells at the Marina.

The waterfowl and waders were out and about.

To the left is the Marina and to the right is a wetland area that runs alongside Lee Road.  It was here, enroute to the Osprey platform/nest that I paused and took all these photos.  The reeds were just starting to green up, but even with the blah, straw-colored landscape, unlike the windy conditions on the open waters at Cove Point, the water was not choppy, the wind was manageable and the calm waters made nice reflections. 

This trio of Canada Geese was sedate until they were spooked by Yours Truly.

They left behind a buddy who was content to take in the peaceful morning by him/herself as you see in the featured image and below.

The Great Egret was busy fishing and paid me no mind, so …

… I zoomed in for some close-up shots.

I think he/she liked the attention and waded over closer to me. 🙂

The Great Blue Heron, was wading through what I figured was still very chilly water, peering occasionally for its breakfast, with no luck, so it flew away – perhaps it would have better luck there.

A pair of Mallards paddled in and out of the reeds.

A Mute Swan studied this patch of dried-up grass like it was something it had never seen before.

Two old tree branches, each filled with sunbathing turtles, were tucked in a corner away from all the waterfowl. With no room to spare, the turtles made the most of minimum space didn’t they? One fell backward, plopping into the marsh water just after I took the first picture.

The walk was peaceful and culminated with me craning my neck upward to watch the Osprey nest and its surly occupants that glared down at me.  What stage of the nesting process were we on May 11th:  were we still gathering sticks and tidying up the nest, sitting on the eggs, or just taking it easy on this lazy Sunday morn? You’ll see those pictures of the Osprey pair in next week’s post.