One year ago almost to the day, I took pictures of this pair of Bald Eagles. In this picture, taken this year, the same pair of eagles (presumably) are on the same tree.

There was a dark-colored juvenile eagle flying nearby, but I was unable to get a picture of it.

Windsor, Ontario was incorporated as a village in 1854, then became a town in 1858 and finally a city in 1892. Running water in Windsor’s homes did not become a reality until the early 1900s, when this pumping station was built on the Detroit River.

The Belle Isle Bridge, (formally known as the Douglas MacArthur Bridge) was built in 1923. Its 19 "arches" are concrete cantilevered spans, with a total length of 2356 feet (718,1m).

Belle Isle is an island park in the Detroit River, about halfway between Detroit, USA and Windsor, Canada. The bridge connects Detroit to the island.

I really enjoy the early morning sunrises over the Detroit River. I never know exactly what to expect, from the first light of dawn, to when the sun breaks the horizon. On this morning in May, on the east side of Windsor,Ontario, there was some mist on the river as the sun began to climb above the horizon.

This part of southwestern Ontario is literally surrounded to the north, west and south by water. Lasalle, Ontario is located on the Detroit River, southwest of Windsor. And like most municipalities in this area, it has a public boat ramp for boaters to launch their boats and personal watercraft. Earlier in the evening, this ramp was extremely busy with those returning to dry land, after an evening of fun on the river.

Windsor, Ontario’s riverfront was not always this beautiful. For many years trains, and railcars dominated the shores of the Detroit River. Several citizens of our city worked tirelessly to convert the rail land into parkland. One of those champions was Bert Weeks, Windsor’s mayor from 1975 to 1982. This fountain is part of the Bert Weeks Memorial Gardens.

Like royalty on its throne, this Bald Eagle towered over its loyal subjects, the photographers who trudged through the snow and arctic temperatures to snap a shot in adoration of the noble bird.

*****

There were a pair of Bald Eagles atop a very tall, leafless tree at Belle Isle, a park in the Detroit River. Seeing them was a perfect ending to the outing, on a rare, sunny and cloudless day!

I'm surprised this old, wooden, covered bridge is still standing after many (many) years of neglect and vandalism. It was in disrepair ten years ago, when I took the picture in the first comment below.

Now that Belle Isle is a Michigan State Park, the island park has seen many upgrades, repairs and cleanings. Maybe the old bridge will be restored ?

Recently, I visited Windsor, Ontario’s riverfront on the east side of the city. I arrived a good half hour before sunrise, and had started taking shots, when I suddenly realized that fog was forming on the water. It was quite literally floating down the river towards me. This view is looking towards where the Detroit River becomes Lake St. Clair

Due to a geographical anomaly, the Canada Geese in the picture are swimming South to our Northern neighbor, Canada.

This is a skyline view of downtown Detroit, taken from Belle Isle, a Michigan State Park in the middle of the Detroit River, Crossing the river at this point in Detroit (or from Belle Isle) will be traveling in a southerly direction to Canada on the other side of the river!

Two Bald Eagles drew quite an audience on a clear day at Belle Isle State Park. They sat in the very tall bare tree, and posed for photographers. There was supposedly a nearby nest, but I didn't find it.

As the sun began to rise on this early morning, a lovely mist began to rise above the Detroit River. This was a pleasant surprise that provided me with many photographic opportunities, one of which was this image of the grasses along the edge of the river on the east side of Windsor, Ontario.

In a 2017 shot taken from Detroit's Belle Isle, a wind surfer plies the Detroit River with the city skyline in the background.

I’m posting one more photograph from a beautiful morning in May, taken at property along the Detroit River on the east side of Windsor, Ontario. This particular location has some of the finest riverside views. Unfortunately, this is private property, and just recently no trespassing signage was posted. I had been looking forward to returning for more photographic opportunities. But, as a law abiding citizen, I do not want to face prosecution, as the signs state.

Peering out into the evening, dockside at Lasalle, Ontario along the Detroit River, in shades of grey. The stillness of the moment made for some wonderful reflections both literally, and mentally.

Please permit me to post another pier photograph. This one is on the Windsor, Ontario riverfront looking across the Detroit River to Detroit, Michigan.

As I looked across to Detroit, I noticed that most of the downtown buildings were dark, a result of the terrible COVID-19 crisis in our sister city. Well, the light at the end of this pier reminds me of an American motel chain, Motel 6, that in their old commercials would always end with the line: “…and we’ll leave the light on for you”. For many of us in the Windsor area, we are thinking of our neighbours, friends and relatives across this river during this hard time. We’ll leave the light on for you! Detroit Strong!

Not far from my home is this property, found by the Detroit River on Windsor, Ontario’s east side. This spot used to be home to a bar, ironically called Abars, and a marina. This was the old boat ramp at the Edgewater Marina that I remember as a kid, because my dad would occasionally launch his powerboat here. The bar and marina are long gone, and all that remains is this derelict property on a very picturesque place of Windsor's riverfront. There are some really beautiful views from this spot, as I found out on this early morning.

There was a lovely stillness to the early night at the harbour in Lasalle, Ontario, looking out to the Detroit River. The last light of the day, also provided a wonderful colour to the blue hour on this warm summer night.

Recently, I rediscovered this photograph as I was going through some of my older files. This was taken one early morning last summer. Some of you may recognize this unique structure from past photographs that I have taken of it. This lovely building is the old water works, found on Windsor, Ontario’s riverfront. I just love the structure, and it’s unique architecture and lovely masonry. The seagulls also love to spend time perching on this building.

Windsor, Ontario has many parks along the Detroit River. And with all the riverfront property, railings are obviously very important. So at each park, you find some really interesting railings that have been installed over the years. This one at Alexander Park is probably my favourite, which the early morning light nicely highlights.

One of the benefits of living in southwestern Ontario is that we are literally surrounded by water. And so, there are lots of waterfront homes on Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, and Lake Erie. The people who live on the Detroit River in the town of Amherstburg, were the benefactors of this wonderful sunset last summer.

Early morning photography is not always about capturing the perfect sunrise, many times the light, and atmosphere provide other photographic opportunities. For example, as I was concentrating on getting pictures of the rising sun, I became aware of fog rising above the surface of the Detroit River, which then began to float with the current down the river. At that moment I turned 180 degrees and realized what wonderful opportunities I had looking down river to downtown Detroit.

The governments of Canada and the United States of America have mutually agreed to close our border to all non-essential visitors from both countries. Only essential workers, and trade will be allowed to cross at border crossings like the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor, Ontario with Detroit, Michigan. In recent history, only two other moments have stopped travellers from crossing this important bridge, the Detroit riots of 1967, and the 9-11 attacks of 2001. Today, all over the world, we face an invisible terrorist that must be stopped, which is the reason why such a drastic measure had to be taken. To all my Flickr friends all over this wonderful world take care and be safe!

Leafless trees turn to silhouettes at sunset in Amherstburg, Ontario

The water fountain in the Bert Weeks Memorial Garden on Windsor, Ontario’s riverfront is wonderful. A while back, I posted a night time, long exposure version of this fountain with a slightly different perspective. But this particular image I took earlier in the evening when the sun was still up. What caught my eye was the interesting, sparkling effect the light had on the falling water.

I recently visited Windsor, Ontario’s riverfront for some sunrise photographs. As I looked across the Detroit River to our sister city of Detroit, Michigan, I noticed many of the buildings were darker then normal. Detroit has been hit hard by this pandemic, and the result is they have had to completely shut down. And yet on this morning, the dawn and sunrise was very beautiful, so to me it was a sign for them and for all of us that sunny days are coming again.

I’m really enjoying our beautiful riverfront here in Windsor, Ontario. For most of my working life I worked at place on the riverfront, and always appreciated what we had. But, since I retired I have the time now to really explore it with my camera.This has given me an even deeper appreciation of it’s beauty. I have photographed many times from this walkway, but this was actually the first time I noticed this lovely perspective.

There was a stillness to this early morning scene, as the fog began to roll down the Detroit River on the east side of Windsor, Ontario. The sun was about to rise above the horizon, creating this lovely golden light, that added to the peacefulness of the moment.

The tall ship "Liana's Ransom" visit to Windsor Ontario on the Detroit River June of 2014.

The Nancy Brown Peace Carillon Tower has an interesting history.

The 98-foot (30m) tower on Belle Isle was constructed in 1939. Nancy Brown (a pen name of Annie Louise Brown) was an advice column writer for The Detroit News. She had a large following, and she held Sunday services on Belle Isle. The tower was funded by small donations, mainly from Nancy's fans and friends. An estimated 50,000 people attended the dedication of the tower in 1940.

Bells were never installed in the tower, but a sound system played patriotic and inspirational songs, and chimes sounded on the hour. New chimes were installed in 2003.

Belle Isle, an island in the Detroit River, is currently a Michigan State Park. The water shown in the picture is a part of a canal system on the island.

Not only is lavender beautiful, but also very fragrant. Many flower gardens include this perennial flower, including Windsor, Ontario’s riverfront park. I could not resist capturing them with this early morning golden light.

The boating season in southwestern Ontario is quickly coming to an end. Windsor’s Lakeview Marina completed a multi-million dollar upgrade this season, replacing all the fixed boat docks with brand new floating docks. They caught my eye on this early morning visit.

Windsor, Ontario’s riverfront is a wonderful place to visit with the best views of downtown Detroit, Michigan and also the Ambassador Bridge (seen in the background) that links the two cities across the Detroit River. But this riverfront is also home to some very unique sculptures, such as this one titled ‘Eve’s Apple’.

Both downtown Windsor, Ontario on the left and Detroit, Michigan on the right appear to be in a fog, on this lovely early morning, looking down the Detroit River. I watched as this fog began to rise above the river, and then literally drift downriver reaching these two sister cities.

Gil Maure Park, found along the Detroit River in the town of Lasalle, Ontario, has this lovely lagoon. The water was quite still on this evening, which made for a wonderful mirror of everything found along its edge.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be dig back into my files and share some of the photographs I have not posted, like this one from almost a year ago. It was a busy evening on the Detroit River looking down river. The Canadian Steamship Lines ship Tadoussac was unloading at the port of Windsor, while on the other side of the river, in west Detroit, U.S. Steel’s Zug Island facility was chugging away. The slow shutter speed created an interesting blurred effect of the ship blowing off steam, as the blast furnace of the steel mill’s stacks released smoke.

At Windsor, Ontario’s Lakeview Marina is this interesting lighthouse. It actually functions more as a decorative landmark, then as a lighthouse. Situated right beside the city’s main riverfront road, the lighthouse is more of a beacon for drivers on Riverside Drive, then it is for boaters on the Detroit River.

I recently discovered this wonderful observation deck, along Windsor, Ontario’s riverfront. The view of the Detroit River and downtown Detroit from this location is lovely, especially on a warm summer evening.

Windsor, Ontario has a wonderful riverfront view of Detroit, Michigan. The two cities share the Detroit River, which serves as the international border between Canada and the United States. Two of my favourite subjects to photograph along the river are the Detroit skyline, and this old water pumping station on the Windsor side of the river. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, this old structure is an example architecturally of a much different time, compared to the buildings along Detroit’s riverfront.

There is so much to enjoy about Windsor, Ontario’s riverfront. The city’s parks, all along the Detroit River, are a treasure to explore, as I did on this cool summer morning. This particular spot has been allowed to naturalize.

I love the fact that I live next door to one of the United States most resilient cities, Detroit, Michigan, also known as the ‘Motor City’. Detroit and Windsor, Ontario are forever linked historically, industrially and culturally. Detroit has had some bad times over the last couple of decades, but always has been a vibrant, exciting part of my life. After all it is the home of ‘Motown’

Not only does Windsor, Ontario’s riverfront have an excellent view of downtown Detroit, but also some wonderful sculptures. All along the shores of the Detroit River are many marvellous works of art like this one, known as the Obelisk, created by artist Sigmund Reszetnik. Standing over 15 feet tall and 5 feet wide, this blue “S” shaped sculpture is a rendition of the traditional obelisk that has its origins in ancient Egypt.

Windsor, Ontario has 5 kilometres (3 miles) of continuous parkland along the Detroit River. And since we are a border city with Detroit, Michigan, we have the best view of their skyline. On this evening, as the sun is about to set, the buildings along Detroit’s riverfront turn a lovely golden colour.

Considered one of the busiest border crossings in North America is the Ambassador Bridge. Spanning the Detroit River between Canada’s Windsor, Ontario and the United States’ Detroit, Michigan, this bridge carries twenty-five percent of the merchandise trade between the two North American countries. Personally, I’ve travelled across this bridge many, many times since I was born, over sixty some years ago.

Windsor, Ontario’s riverfront is an eclectic mix of passive parkland, sculptures, and relics like this from the past. These train ferry docks are all that remain of the trains and tracks that dominated the riverfront land. Ferry boats would load up the rail cars and sail across the Detroit River to be unloaded on the Detroit side of the river. Today the trains cross the river by tunnel.

On a cool and windy morning beside the Detroit River at Windsor, Ontario’s Alexander Park, the sky opened up just enough to let the early dawn light pass through. Meanwhile on the horizon, passing through the gap was an early morning lake freighter heading up stream to Lake St. Clair.

Water surrounds us here in southwestern Ontario, so there are lots of marinas and pleasure boats. And the boaters need places to launch there boats, so most marinas have ramps like this one at Windsor’s Lakeview Marina. On this morning, several recreational fishers had gotten here early and were off before the sun had even risen.

Recently, I posted a similar photograph of this early morning scene of this old boat ramp on the Detroit River in east Windsor, Ontario. When I was first looking at the photographs from this shoot, I showed this image to my wife, first in colour, and then black and white. She liked it in colour, but said if she were to put it on the wall, it would be black and white. The previous post was in colour with a slightly different perspective. Personally I like both images, but tend to agree with her, this is the one to go on the wall.

A group of seagulls take flight over the Detroit River as the sun sets behind the Ambassador Bridge. This international bridge, between Windsor and Detroit, always provides a wonderful backdrop for photographs. But in the not too distant future we will have a new bridge which is about to be built further downriver where the sun is setting. The Gordie Howe International Bridge will provide a new landmark to the Windsor/Detroit skyline.

Detroit’s GM Renaissance Center, also affectionally called the RenCen, is the centre piece of Detroit’s skyline. A group of seven buildings make up the complex of buildings that are part of the world headquarters of the automobile giant General Motors. The centre building in the complex, a hotel, is the tallest at 73-storeys and was completed in 1977. Located right on the Detroit River, these buildings are a sight people living in Windsor, Ontario enjoy viewing, especially on warm, summer nights when the sun is setting behind them.