Presqu’ile Provincial Park – a photo essay on a solo hike under a heavy downpour

I was taking a shot of the boardwalk through the optical viewfinder of my camera when I heard a splash in the water. From peripheral vision of my eyes, I was barely able to see something brown in colour diving right by my left foot. I regretted not paying attention or else I could have taken a great close up shot of a beaver or a muskrat. A bit disappointed in myself, I hiked onwards.

However, while viewing the photographs later at home, I saw that my wide-angle lens had captured the beaver sitting in the corner watching my next move.

A beaver in the bottom left hand corner was waiting for my next move

I was hiking under a heavy downpour at the Marsh Trail of Presqu’ile Provincial Park in beautiful Prince Edward County in Ontario in late May 2023. Per my hiking photography genre, I took shots of landscape, wildlife, plants and trees, close-ups of fungi, and vagaries/oddities of nature.

All shots are in JPEGs and are straight our of camera (SOOC) images

Gear:

K-5iis with 18-135mm lens (I use this lens only in adverse weather conditions)

KP with 55-300 mm PLM

This was the most educating interpretive boardwalk I ever hiked on. Please take a photography trip with me below.

The trail led to this viewing platform, the start point. I spent some time on here to organize my hike and to have a Birdseye view of the marsh environment.

The boardwalk led me into a living marsh with cattails being predominant flora.

Efforts are made continually to rid the marsh of invading species.

I hiked to a section of the boardwalk where I saw the marsh in the foreground, a pond in the middle ground, and tress in the far background.

I saw this mute swan below protecting its eggs from the rain and did not move for one hour that I was there.

The mate was foraging for food with emergent plants on the water surface.

I saw a great egret flying overhead. I was able to capture it. The picture quality isn’t good because of the heavy rain and using a slower shutter speed. However, the camera and the lens were able to pick the green patch running from its eye towards the bill.

Hiking onwards, I saw this viewing platform hidden by cottonwoods. I took some rest here having refreshments.

Leaving the marsh behind, I read this interpretive board.

I was impressed by the bark of old cottonwood trees.

Next, I came across a section of the sand bar with ‘Horse Trees’ named after saddle shaped growth.

I spent some great time among these trees observing their unusual formation.

A big mushroom was growing on a cottonwood stem. Just in case you don’t know, trees feed other less privileged trees of their kind in the neighbourhood using the underground fungal network. Mushrooms are just the above ground fruits of fungi.

I continued hiking to reach the viewing platform from where I had started a few hours earlier. This time, I took a shot of the picnic table before preparing a cup of tea.

other attractions

Other attractions included (1) a Visitor Centre showcasing park’s ecology and history of the region; (2) the well known lighthouse, which is the oldest on Lake Ontario; (3) Lakeshore, which appeared rough at the time; and (4) A hiking trail that led to a woodland which was haven for migrating song birds.

Parks has many other trails that I was not able to hike on due to adverse weather conditions.