En route to a recent TDSB walk at Ashbridge’s Bay, I visited the area near the Unwin Avenue bridge.

The bridge is very near the entrance to Tommy Thompson Park – just west of Leslie Street.

This is a haven for Trumpeter Swans.

I also found Greater Scaup, some Lesser Scaup, Redheads, Common Goldeneye, Mute Swans, Mallards and American Coots.

There is a small bird feeding area which attracts American Tree Sparrows and Cardinals among others.

I was surprised to find a Rusty Blackbird feeding on the ground.

These Robin-sized blackbirds with a pale yellow eye are uncommon in our area. They are rusty only in the fall and winter. By spring and summer, they look like Red-winged Blackbirds without the red wings.

MAILBOX

Do you recognize this bird?

NATURE POETRY

The years have linings just as goblets do:
The old year is the lining of the new,
Filled with the wine of precious memories,
The golden was doth line the silver is.                  – Charlotte Fiske Bates (1838–1916)

Miles Hearn