… even if she had/has to give you a push to steer you in the right direction sometimes.
Yep, here you were thinking that only human moms do these things, nudging their babies, toddlers, teenagers, even adult children to toe the line. 🙂
Today’s post is part two of a long walk taken at Lake Erie Metropark on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 11, 2025 – part one was featured last week; please click here if you missed it.
At the end of last week’s post, I had just arrived at the Osprey nesting platform on Lee Road, down the street from the Marina. This was the first sighting of the pair that usually returns to this venue every Spring.
Upon my arrival, I saw the Osprey pair, Mr. and Mrs., facing opposite ways. Okay, I get it – someone got up on the wrong side of the nest. Yes, that happens with human too.
I hung out on the cross-street, Milleville Road, dodging the occasional vehicle that went around the curve and slowed down at the stop sign. Each driver saw me, with my head tilted back while craning my neck, hoping for a little Osprey action – perhaps the male dashing off for a fish for breakfast, or returning home to the twiggy abode with that perfect stick to finish the nest in anticipation of the incubation and hatching of the chicks. The platform nest at this venue is very tall – I’ve been unsuccessful finding out its height though. As a general rule, Ospreys return to their existing nest every year, just adding to it with new sticks and other nesting materials. Their nests can be up to five feet wide (152 cm). I stayed about 20 minutes, but I couldn’t tell if Mama was sitting on eggs, as she and her main squeeze perched on or around the nest.
The male Osprey perched on this stick and was looking mean, albeit also a bit comical with his feathers blowing about from the stiff wind that morning.
Every so often he turned his head around to his mate as if to say “did you call me Honey?”
With nothing going on, I told them “well guys, I’ll be back to check on you in a few weeks – perhaps you’ll give me some insight into whether there are eggs or chicks in the nest, along with a photo op or two and an attitude adjustment.” I returned on May 25th and June 1st and got more photos, which I’ve shared already, but I still had no clue as to the status of any Osprey offspring.
I retraced my steps, having left the Marina and marsh to stroll along Cove Point again. I was successful in getting a few more shots of Tree Swallows “reserving” the Bluebird nesting boxes for their respective mates, by plunking themselves on top of the boxes and not moving. Because of the wind along the shoreline, the Swallows had to brace themselves and hunker down, like these guys did.
I continued on my journey, headed for the Cherry Island Trail in search of moms and babies, if any were to be had. I knew it might be early for Mallard Ducks and ducklings and, just as I suspected, I didn’t see any that morning, but I saw one Canada Goose family with only three goslings.
Mom, Dad and the kids are seen in the photos below and Mom and the kids are in the image up top.
The goslings were all over the map, to the left, then to the right … they finally regrouped and zoomed to another area, lining up nicely between their parents, then following them.
Having watched the many Canada Geese families at Council Point Park through the years, I never cease to be amazed just how quickly the goslings go from tiny, lemon-yellow fluffballs to sleek, grayish-colored young geese. It’s hard to believe a steady diet of grass, with a dandelion or two tossed in, is that nutritious to grow so steadily in record time.
After a long walk, I knew I would be happy to sit down once I got to the parking lot and my car, but, at the last minute, I stretched my meander just a little longer, opting to walk over to the Offshore Fishing Bridge in the off-chance I might see the Sandhill Cranes. It would have made my day if I were to see the couple, especially if Mama was sitting on a nest on that grassy island they call home, but, as would happen many times in 2025, the Sandhill Crane couple was MIA.
No luck seeing the pair here, but I spotted something white across the marsh and hustled over. I saw a pair of Mute Swans, the female on a nest, the male lurking close by.
I hurriedly took some shots, even though I was far enough away that the male was not going to mess with me for disturbing his missus. I think he was sleeping in the above shot. Ever since the male Mute Swan chased me down at Council Point Park a few years ago, I always keep my distance.
At the time I did not realize this pair of swans and their offspring would become the subject of two blog posts later in 2025.
The first time, for a Wordless Wednesday post, the photo featured six small cygnets wedged between their parents. Here they were on June 1st.
The second post about the family, showed the cygnets all grown up, right at this venue where Mom chose to nest. (click here). It had photos from two more sightings.
I was amazed how quickly they grew in six weeks on July 21st, my second sighting …
… and when I saw them on August 28th, the six cygnets were almost as big as the adults.
I hope they return here to nest and raise their family in 2026.
I’ve done another watercolor painting – this time to use for my Mother’s Day post. I originally intended to split up the Mama and baby Bluebird within the post, but in the end, I left the image just as I photographed it.
I’ll leave you with a lovely quote by Robert Browning: “Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.”
Happy Mother’s Day to you if it applies!
I am joining Terri’s Monthly Color Challenge: Pink and Pastels. There were no wildflowers that day, but I have watercolor birdies and blossoms in pastel shades. I am also joining Pepper’s One Step at a Time and will link to both later.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
What a lovely Mother’s Day post told in bird photos!!
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Thank you Anne – I’m glad you enjoyed it! Happy Mother’s Day to you!
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A perfect Mother’s Day post, Linda. 😊
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Thank you Pepper!
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Family friendly!
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Yes, every one of them! 🙂
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Love your artwork!
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Thank you Kate – I thought it would work well with the real birdies and babies!
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Great shots and painting Linda! A creation any mother would be proud of!
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Thank you Wayne! It was fun creating this post. I thought this painting would go perfectly with all the real birdies and babies (and expectant birdies as well).
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Excellent photos, as always, Linda, especially the family shots. Perfect for Mother’s Day! 🙂 It’s funny how the Osprey always looks pissed off. 😄
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P.S. Your artwork is lovely as well. Forgot to mention that, sorry.
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Thank you Debbie – I appreciate this comment too. I devoted a week back in March to doing several paintings for upcoming posts. I had six in April, (four for Easter and two for Earth Day. I have one more left after this one to use in July.
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Thank you Debbie! I was lucky to get so many shots of the family, as well as the nesting birds so I knew I’d save them for this Mother’s Day. That seems to be the Osprey’s perpetual look, like you don’t want to cross their path!
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Miss Linda………………………………………..I’ve never seen baby swans little cygnets before…………………thankyou…………………and your painting is really pretty and you are so talented……………………………..thank you for sharing…………………………you made my Mother’s Day!
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Ann Marie – it was my first time to see them up close so that was exciting, especially when they were so small, just like goslings … then they got big quickly. I’m glad you liked the painting too. I thought I’d do something with a bird mom and baby for Mother’s Day. I’m glad I made your Mother’s Day!
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Wonderful post celebrating bird mamas of a feather, Linda! Bird behavior is so fascinating, in and out of the nests. I love your drawings, so pretty and cheerful!
Yesterday I went out on birding walk with some folks from Spokane Audubon society. It was fun to meet and chat. Wow, do they know their birds! It was at Audubon Lake southwest of us. Not a lot of birds, but i think I got a couple of good pics of Canada geese family swimming with their six fuzzy goslings. I was the only one with a camera. The group was more interested in counting and looking through their scopes. I showed them some of my Phoebe pics from last year and they urged me to submit to the 2027 local calendar. More about that later.
I hope you had a good day and spring makes an appearance soon in a good way!
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Hi Terri – I’m glad you liked this post! I thought adding the painting would be a fun touch for Mother’s Day. I know Donna, our mutual blogging friend, was going on a birding adventure this past weekend with her birding group. She told me in a recent comment they were meeting around 6:45 a.m. (if memory serves me right). Perhaps your Audubon group and Donna’s are more serious than we birders who enjoy photographing birds instead. I was a Detroit Audubon member for the last two years, then decided to opt out when my membership was up for renewal. I have been following them on Facebook for a while and decided they were more serious than me, who was more of a hobby photographer and I never made it to any birding adventures they had. That’s great about the Phoebe pics – you should definitely submit them for the calendar. I’ll look forward to your post about that. I think we are coolish, rainy, but warming up the end of the week.
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I know what you mean about serious birders. This group seems nice and were very welcoming. I’d like to get to know more of the Spokane area too.
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Also, my group started doing trips to Ohio and Canada. I don’t have a passport and crossing the border without getting something special on my driver’s license made it problematic. They were also into horseback riding, something I used to love to do, but bouncing around on a horse with the camera?
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I love the photos of the male osprey with his feathers ruffling in the breeze! It gives him a bit of a punk vibe.
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I was kind of laughing about that look too as Ospreys look perpetually mad, but the ruffled feathers take away from his mean demeanor with the punk vibe. 🙂
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The painting is lovely!
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Thank you Joni! I redid it because the first time I painted it, the Mom was too dark and streaky looking. I used the dark gray color suggested in Ellen’s video but didn’t care for it, so I redid it and was more satisfied with this version.
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It could go in your children’s book!
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Yes, it could – thank you Joni! I’m a little short on squirrel photos these days. In fact, I went to Council Point Park a week ago Sunday and saw zero squirrels, just a passel of goslings. In my “errands” today, I went to Heritage Park because I photographed the goose on the nest in the boulders four weeks ago, then never got back. They are the first pair of geese to have goslings, so it’s easy to tell which ones are theirs – not today though, as there were six families. I took some photos of them, all different sizes. Another calamity of being “carless” for three weeks.
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I love all your bird photos as well as your bluebird painting! I’ve been stuck at home so relegated to whatever bird comes to visit my feeders. I sure wish I could get away to take a long walk at Kensington! I feel like spring is going by sooooo fast!
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Hi Dawn – I apologize for missing this comment. I am usually more diligent about checking my SPAM filter. When I took this walk last year, I knew right away it was destined for my Mother’s Day post 2026. Goslings always warm my heart and get lots of shutter clicks. Back in March I decided to do a series of Spring-y paintings for upcoming posts. This was my favorite of all of them. You’re lucky for the “birding at the window” … I envy that as I am not even sure I’ll put out my hummingbird feeders this year. We have Cooper’s Hawks in the neighborhood and they perch in the tall trees around the house and watch for smaller birds and squirrels. It makes me sad to see this. I also feel Spring is passing me by … it’s now going to get too hot and I’ve had a lot going on at the house with car and home repairs and have not gone to any big parks yet this year which has to be a new record for me. I wrote you an e-mail a few minutes ago. I just heard about a Supreme Court decision today on WWJ in the trucking industry and sent you the story in case you’d not heard about it. I hope this decision helps your cause.
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The swan on the nest was a really nice sighting. They are such interesting birds to watch. Beautiful paintings of the bluebirds!
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I thought so too Rebecca. I hope they nest there again this year – I know I’ll be looking for them. Thank you! I thought it would be fun to do a Mama and baby Bluebird for this Mother’s Day post.
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Linda, you took us on quite a bird walk. When we say, “Don’t they grow up, too fast,” we don’t know the half of it. Imagine being a cygnet’s mom! Turn around and they’re gone! Your paintings are so lovely, too, and very pastel. 🙂
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You’re right about that Marsha. In fact, I have an upcoming post about goslings and in the past, I did a post showing pics from the same Park, week-by-week how the geese family grew from sweet, light-yellow fluffballs into canoe-shaped gray geese that looked like dinosaurs. Thank you – I thought the Bluebird mom and baby would be fun for Mother’s Day and fulfill my pink and pastel part of Terri’s Challenge.
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Did Terri tell you that we are going to turn one of her posts into a children’s book about birds. You never know what you can do with those lovely photos. 🙂 And you are talented artistically! I am not. You might want to participate in our Art and Puzzle Day for Story Chat. I’d love to publish an unpublished painting of yours in the next Story Chat Digest.
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No, Terri didn’t mention that news to me Marsha – that is exciting! A fellow blogger’s mom took up painting in her 80s. She started watching the Bob Ross television program with his tutorials on painting with acrylics. She painted a lot, landscapes, some folk art and was very good and Joni included her paintings in her blog. Her mom had a gallery showing scheduled for 2020, then, because of the pandemic, it was not well attended. She has since passed away. She inspired me though and I wanted to take some watercolor painting classes for years, then after I retired I began in the Spring of 2025.
This same blogging friend had encouraged me for years to write about my interactions with a squirrel at the park where I go all the time. I wrote many posts about “Parker” but he did not survive the Winter of 2024-2025. It was brutally cold, very snowy and icy. He had personality – so do birds. I know as I had domestic birds for pets for years. I do not think my paintings are that good to appear in a book to be honest but thank you for asking me. At the present time, I only have one that is not published. I will be using it for 4th of July – it is patriotic themed.
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Linda, I’m sorry your squirrel. You could include that heartbreak. Did you take any videos? It would be fun to see his personality. You have quite a relationship with animals.
Your art is wonderful, Linda. I’ve taken a couple of fun classes, one session with coffee and pastries. You know the type.
Thanks for sharing with me. 😍😍😍
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No Marsha, I never took any videos, but I did take a lot of pictures of him through the years. He was like a pet to me. I took one watercolor class almost two years ago – the instructor raced through it and there were just three of us and we were given graphite paper to trace her pumpkin still life onto watercolor paper, so not much to learn there. Then I took a two-part colored wax pencils class which was really a waste of time – four hours of the instructor speaking about her artwork and how you could buy it. I’m glad I discovered Julia’s courses, then some with Ellen after Julia fell ill.
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What a disappointment to hear about how great the artist was and how you could buy her work. She should be ashamed! I don’t even take too many videos of my pets, so don’t feel bad. I like taking photos better! Send me some links if you shared pictures of him.
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I would have asked for my money back on the second class – it was a Saturday and Sunday workshop, two hours each day, but the class was nonrefundable. I shouldn’t have returned the second day to be honest.
Marsha, I probably have 50 or more posts on Parker, but this was a favorite of mine as well as fellow bloggers. I often gave him a voice to go with his personality. He was quite the ham:
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That is so cute. Imagine a squirrel eating a sugar heart cookie. Very cute! Thanks for sharing!
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You’re welcome Marsha. I usually gave Parker and the other squirrels, (which at one time numbered from 30-40), peanuts and sunflower seeds, sometimes trail mix I made up, but this time, I was looking for a Valentine’s Day photo op. If he had turned the cookie the other way around, it would not have been as cute. I’m glad it gave you a smile.
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No kidding. He was so smart. How do you know he was a he?
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He was smart Marsha and always ready to interact with me and look for his treats. He was savvy enough to know that he got some treats that the others did not. I was chatting with someone in the Park one day and not paying attention to him, so he started leaping up and down like a pogo stick to reach the bag where I carry the peanuts, etc. and another time he climbed up my pant leg. Luckily I was wearing sweatpants, but I really didn’t appreciate seeing him hanging off my hip. 🙂 Well in these pictures you can’t tell as he was holding that big cookie in front and the rest were side pics. He had a mate that I named Penelope and I have written about her too – sometimes I saw them together. I’ve not seen her lately, but she approached me after Parker was gone. This is a funny post I wrote about the two of them and once again, I gave Parker a voice.
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Wow, he is a beautiful squirrel, Linda. That tail is almost like a rainbow. Your pictures and giving him a voice are so much fun. It’s an adorable post. Thank you for sharing it with me.
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Thank you Marsha! Every so often I try to do a whimsical post for the “Whimsy” part of my blog title and giving Parker a voice was something I enjoyed doing.
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That shows, Linda. I added a little snippet about Parker in my book about blogging.
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Thank you Marsha for the compliment and for including a snippet about Parker in your book about blogging – he is now immortalized in two places. 🙂
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True that!!!’
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The first photo is wonderful Linda, and speaks volumes. Mom is nudging the one who looks distracted, while the front two behave as she expects. You could imagine a similar situation with three (human) children and their mother behind. The photo is also an example of your perseverance and dedication to your craft. It’s not like any of us could just saunter out to Cherry Island Trail and snap this same photo in an instant.
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Thank you for the nice comment Dave – I appreciate it! I can picture a human mom prodding and pushing the kids and all the while the kids are protesting (Ah Mom). I knew that day these photos would be this year’s Mother’s Day post. It was an endearing sight to see and yes, the one gosling is daydreaming or looking around – there is that one in every family. I wish I had remembered about the swan on a nest, but forgot since I purposely tucked the photos and draft narrative away for 2026. Today, I had a funny experience as to the geese and their goslings. For the past four or five years I’ve gone to Heritage Park and photographed Mama Canada Goose sitting on a nest in the boulders by the covered bridge – this year was no different. I was there four weeks ago, got photos and have written the post already. But, because of my car being in the shop for three weeks I never made it back until today. I am always able to find this particular family easily as they are the first pair to have offspring. Not today though. I got to Heritage Park and the families always gather around the big pond for grazing and swimming. I found six families in different stages of growth. I guess the surprise was on me this year! I’ll have an interesting postscript to add to this Sunday’s post!
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For my wife and I, “that one” is our middle child. He was always easily distracted while his older brother and younger sister typically did what we asked. Kept us on our parenting toes!
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Yep, there’s one in every family! 🙂 Unfortunately, I had no siblings, so I had to always toe the line and never got to say “well, she/he got to do that, so why can’t I?”
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The babies are adorable as always, Linda, but I love the swallow pictures. Just beautiful!
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It’s such a fun time of year with babies being born – the goslings are so adorable at this age. I saw some older goslings yesterday at Heritage Park and the one large gosling was terrorizing the smaller goslings in a nearby family. It had as much attitude as an adult would have, running toward them, flipping its small wings and hissing! I love those tree swallows too – no barn swallows that day as it might have been too early.
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I love the swans and baby geese. The water color you did was so pretty!
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Thank you so much Kirstin. I thought it would be fun to do a Mother’s Day painting. I love this time of year with all the babies – we have goslings everywhere right now!
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So cute.
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Thank you so much!
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Beautiful photos and lovely artwork!
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Thank you Monica – it was a fun walk and I knew it would be perfect for Mother’s Day this year, so I tucked it away. Then I was thought it would be fun to paint a mom and baby Bluebird to make my Mother’s Day post complete. I’m glad you liked them!
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A lovely drawing! I enjoy seeing your art. I like this time of year with all the young 😀
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Thank you Susan! I wanted to do something creative and special for Mother’s Day … I’ve never seen a Bluebird believe it not. We have them around here though. I saw a Mallard Mama with about a dozen ducklings today. I was bummed as I saw them as I was driving out of the park and you can’t pull over. By the time I’d go out of the park, they scan your pass to get in … they’d be long gone!
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