I have been visiting Lynde Shores (a few kms east of Whitby) since I was a child. In those days it was called Levay’s Woods after a cottage owned by Naomi LeVay who was a friend of my grandparents Dr. and Mrs. J. Murray Speirs. Here is a quote from her 2000 obituary: She was for many years a well-known Toronto naturalist (associate of H.M. Halliday, J.M. Baillie, R.M. Saunders and J.M. Speirs), and had nature oriented poems and essays published in a number of Canadian periodicals. 

Now that my TDSB winter walks are finished, I am visiting various natural areas within an hour’s drive of Toronto.

Lynde shores is a popular place to take children to see and feed birds up close. Over the years all of this seed has attracted Wild Turkeys. There were about 10 present this morning in 6 degree, windy and overcast conditions.

Males have an odd-looking feather in the breast:

Species list: Canada goose, mallard, American black duck, common merganser, turkey vulture, wild turkey, ring-billed gull, downy woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, black-capped chickadee, American robin, northern cardinal, song sparrow.  (13 species)

Some Botany:

Park Scenes:

Park Signs:

NATURE POETRY

Black boughs against a pale, clear sky,
Slight mists of cloud-wreaths floating by;
Soft sunlight, gray-blue smoky air,
Wet thawing snows on hillsides bare.          – Emma Lazarus (1849–87)

Miles Hearn