Wyndham Carseland January 30, 2022

The local lady that I met here in the summer when I was comfort camping told me this is a nice place to snowshoe in the winter.  Well, it's winter yet there is not enough snow for that sport but the conditions are ideal for  spike wandering.  I packed my gear and a lunch and drove east to Wyndham Carseland Provincial Park.  The Campground is closed for the winter so I parked at the closed gate and walked in.  

It was obvious right away this is a popular place to explore in the winter.  The pathways and campground roads were packed solid which warranted spikes for the most part. I hit the campground road that would lead me to the river trail.   

This was the view when I reached the river.   

It was nice to see what this place looks like in the winter after hiking along here in both summer and autumn.  Although, these conditions are more spring-like than winter.  I can imagine it would be beautiful here with a couple of feet of snow.  It is only the end of January yet, there's lots more winter to come!

As soon as I began hiking, I heard the birds belting out their morning songs.  I did read that birds have been plentiful here and that proved to be true.  They were a pleasure to listen to and to watch.  While there were a number of all these birds, there was only one Blue Jay.    

Black-Capped Chickadee       Hairy Woodpecker       Blue Jay

Downy Woodpecker      Common Redpoll

While walking along the river trail, I veered off often to wander throughout the campground trails and the forest.  It appeared people hike into the campsites to have fires and picnics.  Near the end of wandering about, I did see two families hauling in kids and gear on sleds. These items caught my eye along the way.    

At the end of the campground trails, I carried on to the day use area and further along to the weir.  Canada Geese, Mallards and Goldeneyes were in abundance yet there was one white species swimming about with them that appeared out of place.  The female mallards seem to be curious. When I got home, I did some homework and discovered this is a Snow Goose which is a "lifer" for me.  

view as I headed towards the weir 

on my way back from the weir where the trail was snow free

From this point forward, I headed back into the forest trails and meandered about finding my way back to where I started the day. Along the way, I found a table with a view and settled for lunch envisioning spring/summer/autumn when I would like to come back here to comfort camp.