Highland Creek: April, 2020

The mouth of Highland Creek is at the eastern end of the Scarborough Bluffs:

A GO train rumbles over this bridge every 30 minutes or so:

GO Train

Some views by the creek:

PIleated Woodpecker drilling
Deer tracks
Mink tracks
Beaver handiwork

There are still few migrant birds but I was able to photograph these:

Red-winged Blackbird (male)
Red-winged Blackbird (male)
Red-breasted Merganser (male)
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Ring-billed Gull
Northern Cardinal (male)
Northern Cardinal (male)
Canada Goose
American Robin
Brown-headed Cowbird (male)

There are more and more plants emerging now including these trilliums:

White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)

Other botany:

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Horsetail (male)
Goutweed (Aegopodium podograria)
Evening Primrose (Oenother)
Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum)
Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora)
Haircap Moss
Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis)
Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Christmas Fern from last season
Trout-lily (Erythronium americanum)
Ramps ((Allium tricoccum)
Rec Oak acorns
Choke Cherry (Prunus virginiana)
Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)
Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
Black Currant (Ribes nigrum)
Ash-leaf Spirea (Sorbaria sorbifolia)
Ash-leaf Spirea (Sorbaria sorbifolia) flowers from last season
Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)
Moss and Lichen on branch
Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica)

NATURE POETRY

Look all around thee! How the Spring advances!
New life is playing through the gay, green trees
See how in yonder bower the light leaf dances
To the bird’s tread and the quivering breeze.      – Ludwig Tieck (1773–1853)

Miles Hearn

2 thoughts on “Highland Creek: April, 2020

  1. Lisa Volkov

    Oh, how gorgeous. Another place I love! So good to see spring and the good things it brings carry on (can’t wait for those Trilliums and Trout-lilies to “pop”). Two of the “rites of spring”!
    Any Bloodroot anywhere?

    Thank you so much for this, Miles!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *