The Vista Trail in Rouge Park is located on a height of land between the Rouge River and the Little Rouge Creek.
In March here the trail can be very icy on chilly days as it was today.
I had only 2 birds; both of them large. A Raven overhead and this Pileated Woodpecker:
I was reading that woodpeckers, when it is not in use, store their long tongues in a cavity that raps around the brain. This helps to cushion the brain and avoid injury during heavy drilling.
I made this post with photos by Ken Sproule a few years ago:
Pileated Woodpecker at Col Danforth Park | Miles Hearn
Some botany on the Mast Trail:
Here is a previous Vista Trail post:
Vista Trail: Rouge Park | Miles Hearn
Male American Goldfinches look just like the females in winter. In March, they start to develop their characteristic golden colour. Here is a photo from my yard yesterday:
NATURE POETRY
We stood by a pond that winter day,
And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;
—They had fallen from an ash, and were gray. – Thomas Hardy
AND
It is the first mild day of March:
Each minute sweeter than before
The redbreast sings from the tall larch
That stands beside our door.
–William Wordsworth (1770–1850)
Miles Hearn