Wood Ducks and Spring Blooms

A couple of weeks ago, exploring, we discovered a tiny park behind an new (horrendous, pretentious and astoundingly ugly, so bad we've been staying out of that area) housing development just a few minutes away from home. At the time, it was cold and we were tired, but there was a pond and a trail, a flock of American wigeons and the inevitable mallards sleeping on the grass. Next sunny day, we promised ourselves.

And yesterday it stopped raining (finally!), so off we went. We walked all the way around the pond, leaving the far end of the creek for another day.
The park takes advantage of a widening in Cougar Creek, at the upper end of Cougar Canyon, which is a quite deep gorge with a creek and a trail of sorts at the bottom; here, it is tamed, fenced and bridged. There are signs up announcing a "Releafing Project" and salmon enhancement. Good stuff.
And the ducks were there, floating idly in the center. Mallards, buffleheads, wigeons, mostly. But at the far end, while Laurie was in the bushes photographing fungus on a decaying log, I saw, on the opposite shore, a pair of wood ducks.

Now, these guys are shy. I have only seen them close enough to identify once before, at Reifel Island Bird Sanctuary, and even then, it was just a glimpse between the branches. And here they were, in plain sight! Trouble was, they were swimming fast; by the time I'd got the camera ready, they were out of range. I got one small, very fuzzy photo of the male. Laurie came along just as they disappeared, so he didn't get a photo either.
Never mind; now I know they're there. And we'll be back.

As for the "releafing"; the plants are co-operating.

A wild rose, just getting started.
Sticky leaf buds.
Salmonberry leaves.
And a bud.
Osoberry, or Indian plum. Good bird food later this summer.
And flowering currant. I love these plants; I had one in a previous home. They are not especially edible, but they make such a cheerful showing in the spring undergrowth!