The weather wasn't optimum, but the radar didn't show any rain on the way. It took us about 30 uneventful minutes to get down there. Upon arrival, we started a clockwise loop and discovered the radar may have been wrong. I'm not sure if it was truly raining or it was more a case of the Southwest wind whipping a mist off the lake. We wondered about finding a covered area to shelter in but, by the time we reached the other side of the lake, the rain/mist seemed to have cleared.
Cedar Lake, I must say, is an unlikely destination for anyone other than migrating waterfowl and fishermen. The surrounding scenery is very industrial and there isn't much to see or do. But the trails are nice and, crucially for us, it's a nesting site for ducks and geese.
With due North equating to 12 o'clock, we saw a couple ducks at about 11 o'clock as we started our loop, then three adult geese at about 2:30, and another couple geese around 4 o'clock whom were resting on railroad tracks. At 4:30 we saw a mother duck and three ducklings paddling along. We then stopped at an observation point located about 5 o'clock and observed plenty of goose droppings along with a rotting carp carcass. Finally, near the extent of our loop, we hit the mother lode: twenty to thirty goslings guarded by five adults.
A couple pictures later, we were on way again. I was intrigued to see a couple guys fishing with a net cast by hand from a small bridge. Before setting off for home, we stopped for a quick snack. More pictures here.
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