Creatures along Rideau River

Sorry for not posting in a while.  Everything is going well, but I just haven't really had the time to be outside for extended periods of time (especially during the miserable winter weather) and photographing things.  Hopefully with the start of spring (yay!), I can start spending more time outside again.

Spring has begun in Ottawa, and the other day, I saw from ebird that a Harlequin Duck had been sighted along the Rideau River.  The weather was quite nice today, so this afternoon, my girlfriend and I walked over to Strathcona Park and did a little bit of bird-watching.  Along the way, we ran into a friend who mentioned that the water level was quite high and a Snapping Turtle was spotted feeding under a flooded swing set right next to the river recently.  

Once we arrived at the park, we immediately saw a Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus - a bird I haven't seen in six years) swimming with some Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula).

While I was photographing the ducks, my girlfriend called me over to look at the Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) swimming next to the flooded bike path.  Such an incredible creature to see up-close!

Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Love the glistening water on its skin.

Nearby, a young Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) was begging for food from its parent, but the adult bird ignored the begging and kept looking away.

Eventually, everyone will need to grow up and be more responsible.