This morning at 8:00 AM I met up with naturalist Miles Hearn and his group for a Saturday morning nature walk. Today’s walk was above the Scarborough Bluffs on land that once belonged to the St. Augustine Seminary.
The morning was cool and grey and there were lots of birds around.
Last year, a pair of mallards nested here on Twenty Seventh Street. Well, they’re back. For the past week, the female has been sitting in the tree and the male has been guarding from the sidewalk, or sometimes, from the middle of the street.
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Nick Cave & Warren Ellis at Massey Hall
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Winning Time
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We live between two wonderful large parks here in the SW corner of the amalgamated Toronto, Colonel Sam Smith Park to the east and Marie Curtis Park to the west. Marie Curtis, if you were wondering, was a well-liked politician in our area. Attached to Marie Curtis Park is an area known as the Arsenal Lands. Back during the Second World War, there was a small arms factory and test range on the site. One of the unique features on this site is a series of wooden sound baffles. These days, they are gradually breaking down and one day they will rot away. Back in the day, they were built to muffle the sound of testing at the machine gun range.
I’d say the most common bird we saw on today’s walk, led by naturalist Miles Hearn, was the American robin. We could hear them calling all morning, marking out territory.
We could see plenty of Garlic Mustard in the park this morning. I read this invasive plant was brought to Canada to be used as an herb. I don’t know anyone who picks this stuff to eat, but if you’re interested in doing that, I have plenty extra in our backyard, available on a pick-your-own basis.
Another plant we saw emerging was Stinging Nettle. I understand it is a very nutritious plant, often taken in tea form, but be careful if you want to gather some. The “sting” of a Stinging Nettle just keeps on giving and I guarantee you won’t like it.
We saw a pair of American Black Ducks in the creek, as well as quite a few hybrid Black Duck/Mallards which are known as “Bib” ducks, and one Red-breased Merganser.
There are still some Buffleheads in the stream.
We saw two hawks, a Red-tailed Hhawk and a Northern Harrier, formerly known as a Marsh Hawk. The Harrier was on the move but was easily identified by the light area just behind the wings. The Red-tailed hawk hung out in a tree long enough for me to snap a couple pictures.
The woods were alive with woodpeckers today. Here is a Hairy Woodpecker.
I was up early this morning to meet up with Miles Hearne’s 8:00 Saturday walking group. This park along the Humber River is really “springing” to life right now, and there were loads of birds along the river and into the woods.
For every bird I photographed this morning, there were several I missed. The morning air was filled with bird song.
We saw a few kildeer on a sandbar in the river.
We found a spruce hosting several golden-crowned kinglets. These tiny birds are challenging to photograph both because they can quickly get lost in branches and also because they seem to never stop moving.
Lambton Woods is one of the best places to find skunk cabbage. Today we saw it in just about every wet area in the woods.
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This week….
Yes we talk about “the slap”
Also… Crimson Tide; The Conversation; Winning Time: the rise and fall of the Lakers’ Dynasty; and My Neighbor Totoro.
Surprise guest appearance by Claudia Guajardo.
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When I went to bed last night, I had completely forgotten TDSB nature walks with Miles Hearn were starting Saturday morning. This morning, I awoke at 7:40 and suddenly I realized I had a nature walk starting in 20 minutes. I threw on some clothes, grabbed my camera and water bottle and ran out the door. Fortunately, the first walk of the season was scheduled for Sam Smith Park, just a couple blocks away.
Miles is a fabulous naturalist who has been leading nature walks for more than a dozen years for the Toronto school board. I was a regular attendee until the pandemic started and I ripped my quad tendon on a bit of ice. My tendon was well repaired, though it took over a year to get back all my strength and balance. I signed up for the early Saturday morning walks this spring. Good thing I knew these walks fill up fast and signed up minutes after they opened up online. This round of walks apparently filled up in about 20 minutes.
It was a grey morning, but at least the rain mostly held off.
Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder have been playing Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee material together! I’m really enjoying these songs. Back when I was a teenage blues freak I listened to Sonny & Brownie’s music a lot, and when they came to town, my first visit to a bar was to sit a few feet from the stage at the old El Mocombo here in Toronto, drink watered down Labatt’s 50 on tap, and listen to two masters at work. That show was mind-blowing. I had never heard live music like it. It’s great to see their work get some attention today.
My first exposure to Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee was on a television commercial they did. It was something to do with showing what people with disabilities can do. They showed the two of them and said that one was blind and the other lame, then showed them playing and said they were two of the best loved musicians in the world. I was intrigued so I went down to Sam the Record Man’s main downtown location and bought one of their albums. Piedmont blues. Wow! I loved it.
Here are Sonny & Brownie from back in the day…
Here’s a video Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder released about the making of Get on Board, their album reinterpreting Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee songs.
…to Col Sam Smith Park. This morning, there is drizzle and some ice pellets but yesterday was a good cool day for a walk. Here are some of the things I saw….
27th Street 