25 April, 2024 RIM Park, Waterloo, ON      Miriam's keen ears detected an Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) almost as soon as we set foot on the trail, and it didn't take long to find the bird.      It's not a great picture, and the bird was quite far off, but it serves to record a significant sighting.      A Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) is a very appealing little bird.      There was a time not so many years ago when a sighting of an Eastern Bluebird (Sialis sialia) was quite remarkable, but now they are present in ever more locations.      Thank goodness for that.      Mining Bees (genus Andrena) were active on newly emerged flowers and blossom.      Virginia Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) is indeed a beauty, one of my favourite spring ephemerals.      We spotted Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) in several locations.      Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) is a splendid addition to a spring walk.      White Fawnlily (Erythronium albidum) no less so.      Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus) is shooting up all over in the wet areas of the park and soon the flowers will create a sea of colour. For now we have to be content with green.      Water Forget-Me-Nots (Myosotis scorpioides) will soon be in bloom too.     A lone male Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) seemed forlorn on the Grand River, perhaps looking for love in all the wrong places.      A Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) was called loudly from a high snag, no doubt also looking for love.      Bare trees, silhouetted against the sky form a dramatic impression, stark yet beautiful.       I doubt that the local creeks and streams have more fish this year, but we have seen them more frequently than in the past. Perhaps we have simply been more observant.      There appears to be more than one species here, but I am not proficient in fish and the closest I can come is North American Minnows (subfamily Pogonichthyinae).       We saw a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) several times, coursing up and down the river, and this level of abundance would seem to auger well for a successful breeding attempt with ample food for a large brood.       There is a sizeable herd of White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the park, habituated to humans and not at all fearful in their approach.      Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is more abundant this year than I can ever remember.      Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) were common; songbirds beware!      Back at the car we espied the nest of an American Robin (Turdus migratorius) and that seemed like a fitting way to close out our walk.      Until the next time......

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