Though Ned Hanlan was a huge star in the sport of rowing in the 1880’s, he is largely forgotten today except for the part of the Toronto Islands called “Hanlan’s Point”and for this 1926 statue:

Not many people visit Hanlan’s Point at this time of the year because it is about a 6 kilometre walk (or bike ride) from Ward’s Island which is the only ferry stop in winter.
I wanted to have a look at the beach which is narrow at the moment due to high water levels in Lake Ontario:





I also wanted to see what birds were about. There are Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds but, so far, they are only near bird feeders. The only other migrants that I spotted were Song Sparrows and a Brown Creeper. Many of the ducks which spend the winter in this area were also present:



Species list: mute swan, Canada goose, mallard, bufflehead, common goldeneye, lesser scaup, long-tailed duck, red-breasted merganser, ring-billed gull, black-capped chickadee, brown creeper, downy woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, American robin, European starling, house sparrow, northern cardinal, song,sparrow. (18 species






Other nature:






Island scenes and signs:













NATURE POETRY
The hills look gaunt in russet garb:
Against the sky the leafless woods
Are dark, and in their solitudes
The chill wind pierces like a barb. – Clinton Scollard (1833–70)
Miles Hearn
So our hockey team stole its name from our baseball team?
High water levels likely will mean no Piping Plover nesting at Hanlan’s Pt again this year