niagara falls

Egret Taking Flight on the Welland River

Egret Taking Flight on the Welland River

Kayaking, trailers and care of my back

We had racks on the on the SUV for the kayaks but it was killing my back.  And you can’t drive around with them on the car all the time.  So, we bought a small trailer. 

Some two by fours and some wood screws, I rigged a couple of cross bars.  Placed our kayak racks there and loaded the kayaks. Now they can stay on the trailer. 

Takes me a couple of minutes to get ready hooking the trailer to my vehicle.  My wife laughs at how easy it is now for us to load and unload. 

We’ve been out a couple of times this way and it makes the whole event so much more  pleasurable.

There are lots of lazy rivers around the Niagara Region for us.  Lots within 20-45 minutes drive.

This day we put in at George Bukator Park. It’s never terribly busy there and pretty easy to get in and out with a trailer.  And in and out of the water with the kayaks. 

We headed west on the Welland River.  There are a couple of Egrets along that way.  We’ve seen them before.  There is a short video below I took with my phone.  One of these days, I’ll take my Nikon and get some close up shots.  The Egrets are not nearly as people shy as the Herons we see from time to time.

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Niagara Falls Park – Horseshoe Falls

Niagara Falls Park – Horseshoe Falls

Between my new iPhone 13Pro and the beauty of Niagara Falls…

The people are back.  Masses of them.  And it’s great.  We get to see the smiles again.  I bike to the Falls.  Great exercise and great people watching.  I also got to experiment with the zoom function of my newish iPhone.  I bought the phone largely for the camera’s capabilities. 

I’d never used the Pano function before on other phones - what a blast! 

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Cardinals in Winter at Dufferin Islands, Niagara

Cardinals in Winter at Dufferin Islands, Niagara

Cardinals at Dufferin Islands

There is a smallish park just up the road from Niagara Falls called Dufferin Islands.  The park is usually pretty busy with people and lots of birds.  Birds are healthy because they get fed so well.  Lots of ducks and geese.  Hawks and occasionally one will see an Eagle.  There are two spots in the park, one in particular, where a bunch of Cardinals hang out.   

A few weeks ago I managed to remember to bring my Nikon with the long lens on it.  Got some decent close up shots of these beautiful birds. 

Cardinals don’t migrate and keep their bright plumage throughout the winter.  They seem a bit too nervous to fly onto one’s hand but do get close enough for some decent photos. 

Bring a pocketful of seed with you.

#niagaraparks #niagarafalls #cardinals #redbird #dufferinislands

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More Wellandport Kayaking

Kayaking near Wellandport - Niagara Region

There aren't that many places to drop in the rivers around here.  Google maps helped me with this one.  There is a little park on the east end of Wellandport, just to the left of the Library when you are facing south.  Follow the road to the loop at the end, not very far at all.  Generally, it is not busy there and there is parking with an easy spot to put in your kayaks.  A couple of weeks ago my brother in law and I went upstream about 4 km so this time Yvonne and I tried the downstream stretch.  I wouldn't have tried this in the Spring when there was so much rain as this river was really moving then and I don't like coming back upstream.  Something to think about when you are planning a trip.

The river is really quiet right now and quite muddy.  We went in the evening - started about 6:30 PM and got back just after 8.  We didn't want to be coming upstream in the dark.  Might miss our exit!  Sun was low which was nice as it had been a very hot day.  Chatting with a fisherman on the edge of his property who told us that we could take a side route a little up on the left and on into Wellandport.  But we found the river too low presently to traverse it there.  So, did an easy one down the lazy river about 2 km then back.  No bugs as it is late enough in the season.  Pretty quiet in spite being near the road in parts.  When it is a bit cooler we'll start early enough that we can go further.

Here is a few second video.  You can see how muddy the water is.

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Kayaking Welland River

Kayaking Welland River

Egret on the River

We finally had some nice weather and got a decent few hours of kayaking in after a crappy Spring.  We didn't want to  make our first run in one of the swollen rivers in the area.  Just wanted an easy day of it.  Went to a small park along the river between Chippewa and Niagara Falls.  North side.  If you go south on Dorchester from McLeod and turn right when you get to the end you will follow Chippewa Parkway around.  Once you are going along the river you will see a small park with a spot to launch boats.  If you get to the Canoe Club (George Bukator Park) you have gone way too far.

The river is quite wide and open so if you are out on a sunny day long sleeves or some sunscreen might be in order.  And a hat.  Was a nice breeze so kept the bugs away whereas a smaller enclosed river at this time of year, with all this rain, well, makes for lots of mosquitos.  We went about 4km along the river. The first bit you are going with a current until you get to about the railway bridge and the QEW bridge.  Check out the bridge, though.  It is an old one that would rotate to let boats pass.  Past there it is pretty easy going both ways.  We saw nowhere along that stretch for putting up the kayaks.  There are a few private docks only.  Not too many people out on the water. The benefit of going out during the week, I guess.

Lots of bird life.  You can see the 'Egret' video below.  This video was done with Adobe Premiere Pro.  I just downloaded it.  I have no natural intuition with these programs.  I have a son that edits movies for a living.   He was a natural since he was 12!   Not me so much.  I do like the program.  One can do so much more that with simple free  programs.  Looking forward to really learning and using the program.

 

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