Category Archives: Nature Walk Reports

Beechwood / Don Valley: April 20, 2018

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2 degrees and sunny at the start

Bird Highlight: Cooper’s Hawk

Cooper’s Hawk

Botany Highlight: Coltsfoot

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)

Species list: Canada goose, double-crested cormorant, mallard, red-tailed hawk, Cooper’s hawk, ring-billed gull, mourning dove, downy woodpecker, tree swallow, common raven, black-capped chickadee, Carolina wren, American robin, European starling, red-winged blackbird, common grackle, brown-headed cowbird, northern cardinal, American goldfinch, song sparrow. (20 species)

Red-winged Blackbird (male)

Song Sparrow

American Goldfinch (male)

Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)

Downy Woodpecker (female)

Norway Spruce (left) and White Spruce (right)

White Birch (Betula papyrifera)

Tree Swallows

Bald-faced Hornet’s nest

Mallards

American Robin

Miles Hearn

NATURE POETRY

Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty.

– William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

High Park: April 19, 2018

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3 degrees and cloudy at the start

skyline with Canada Geese

Bird Highlight: Common Loon

Common Loon

Botany Highlight: Douglas Fir

Douglas Fir cone (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

Species list: common loon, horned grebe, black-crowned night heron, mute swan, Canada goose, mallard, American black duck, gadwall, northern shoveler, wood duck, lesser scaup, bufflehead, red-breasted merganser, red-tailed hawk, ring-billed gull, mourning dove, belted kingfisher, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, blue jay, American crow, black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, American robin, house sparrow, red-winged blackbird, common grackle, brown-headed cowbird, northern cardinal, house finch, American goldfinch, song sparrow. (32 species)

Double-crested Cormorant

Common Grackle

Wood Ducks

Wood Duck (female)

Wood Ducks

Northern Cardinal (female) with Mourning Dove

American Goldfinch (male)

Peacock (from zoo)

Mute Swan

Red-winged Blackbird (female)

American Robin

House Sparrows

Red-tailed Hawk

Black-crowned Night Heron

Northern Shovelers

Red-breasted Mergansers

Gadwall

Horned Grebe

Lesser Scaup (male)

Group with Llamas

Miles Hearn

NATURE POETRY

Sunshine trying hard awhile
On the bare brown fields to smile;
Frozen ruts and slippery walks;
Gray old crops of last year’s stalks.

– Christopher Pearse Cranch (1813–90)

Lambton Woods: April 18, 2018

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3 degrees and overcast at the start

Bird Highlight: American tree sparrow

American Tree Sparrow

Botany Highlight: Black Cherry

Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)

Species list: Canada goose, mallard, American black duck, turkey vulture, red-tailed hawk, killdeer, herring gull, ring-billed gull, mourning dove, red-bellied woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, tree swallow, blue jay, American crow, black-capped chickadee, American robin, European starling, house sparrow, red-winged blackbird, northern cardinal, house finch, American goldfinch, dark-eyed junco, American tree sparrow, song sparrow. (26 species)

American Robin

Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)

Canada Goose

Killdeer

Canada Goose tracks

Red-tailed Hawk

Skunk-cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)

Mallard and Black Duck

Butternut (Juglans cinerea)

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Deer tracks

Hairy Woodpecker (male)

Miles Hearn

NATURE POETRY

Keep warm by inner fires, and rest in peace.
Sleep on content, as sleeps the patient rose.
Walk boldly on the white untrodden snows,
The winter is the winter’s own release.

–Helen Hunt Jackson (1830–85)

Rouge Hills: April 17, 2018

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1 degree and overcast at the start

Bird Highlight: Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Botany Highlight: Hop-hornbeam

Hop-hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana)

Species list: turkey vulture, red-tailed hawk, American kestrel, American woodcock, ring-billed gull, hairy woodpecker, American crow, black-capped chickadee, American robin, red-winged blackbird, American goldfinch, song sparrow. (12 species)

Basswood (Tilia americana)

Willow (Salix)

Deer tracks

Pileated Woodpecker drilling

Virgin’s Bower (Clematis occidentalis)

American Kestrel

Miles Hearn

NATURE POETRY

The little white clouds are racing over the sky,
And the fields are strewn with the gold of the flower of March,
The daffodil breaks under foot, and the tasseled larch
Sways and swings as the thrush goes hurrying by.

–Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)

Humber Bay: April 16, 2016

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Photography was challenging on this day.

Several trees have been uprooted

3 degrees, heavy rain and strong winds at the start

Bird Highlight: Long-tailed Duck

Long-tailed Duck (male)

Botany Highlight: Golden Weeping Willow

Golden Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica)

Species list: double-crested cormorant, mute swan, Canada goose, mallard, gadwall, bufflehead, long-tailed duck, red-breasted merganser, herring gull, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, barn swallow, tree swallow, European starling, red-winged blackbird, common grackle, brown-headed cowbird, northern cardinal, American goldfinch, dark-eyed junco, song sparrow. (21 species)

Mute Swan

Buffleheads

American Robin

Rock Pigeons

Gadwall (male)

Dark-eyed Junco

Mallard (female)

Tartarian Honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica)

Double-crested Cormorant

Canada Goose

Herring Gull (immature) with fish (Rainbow Trout)

Red-winged Blackbird (male)

Ring-billed Gull

Miles Hearn

NATURE POETRY

We like March, his shoes are purple
He is new and high;
Makes he mud for dog and peddler,
Makes he forest dry.

– Emily Dickinson (1830–86)

Col Sam Smith Park: April 14, 2018

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2 degrees and rain throughout, sometimes heavy.

Bird Highlight: Red-necked Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Red-necked Grebes

Botany Highlight: Northern Catalpa

Northern Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa)

Species list: common loon, red-necked grebe, horned grebe, double-crested cormorant, black-crowned night heron, mute swan, Canada goose, mallard, American black duck, American wigeon, redhead, lesser scaup, bufflehead, long-tailed duck, red-breasted merganser, herring gull, ring-billed gull, downy woodpecker, tree swallow, blue jay, American robin, European starling, house sparrow, red-winged blackbird, common grackle, brown-headed cowbird, northern cardinal, American goldfinch, dark-eyed junco, song sparrow. (30 species)

Ring-billed Gull and American Black Duck

Mute Swan on nest

Black-crowned Night Heron

American Robin

Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)

American Robin

Witch-hazel (Hamamelis)

Red-breasted Merganser (male)

Horned Grebe

Lesser Scaup

Miles Hearn

NATURE POETRY

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)

Marie Curtis Park: April 13, 2018

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3 degrees and overcast at the start.

Bird Highlight: Iceland Gull

Iceland Gull (immature)

Botany Highlight: Trembling Aspen

Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides)

Species list: double-crested cormorant, mute swan, Canada goose, mallard, American black duck, bufflehead, red-breasted merganser, red-tailed hawk, American kestrel, glaucous gull, herring gull, ring-billed gull, red-bellied woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, tree swallow, American crow, black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, hermit thrush, American robin, European starling, house sparrow, red-winged blackbird, common grackle, brown-headed cowbird, northern cardinal, American goldfinch, song sparrow. (30 species)