Generally I end up doing a route by foot somewhere in an around Homer Watson Park which provides a good assortment of habitat: river corridor, deciduous and mixed forest, swamp, marsh, meadow, golf course, bird feeders.
My day started with a walk down the Doon Golf Course fairway, just north of the 401.
Joining up with the western bank of the Grand River I made my way north keeping an eye on the water. My duck list was limited to Mallard, Common Merganser, Common Goldeneye and a few American Black Duck. Locally notable sightings by other participants in our circle included Gadwall, American Wigeon and Northern Pintail.
Before too long I had spotted my first Belted Kingfisher of the day. As I walked up the Grand Trunk Trail (below) it cackled and darted along the shore.
Just below the new pedestrian bridge a few shallow, rocky spots in the river yielded good numbers of gulls, but no notable species to be found.
Along the river edge I spotted a clump of Tall Cord Grass (Spartina pectinata); regionally rare.
Walking along the river flats I spotted a Bald Eagle, which had pulled up a fish and was being harassed by a pair of Red-tailed Hawks.
After walking up Old Mill Road where I had plenty of bird feeders to scope out and Cedar Waxwings feeding on Red Cedar berries, I cut into the Schneider Creek trail. As the road name suggests, there was once a mill here at the confluence of the creek and the Grand.
While I checked out some Tree Sparrows on the grassy banks this Muskrat chewed away on some vegetation.
Further upriver, near the waste water treatment plant I spotted another Kingfisher. I don't know what kind of range or territory they would have but this one seemed far enough from the last to be a second individual. My total walking length for the morning was 6.75km one way (plus the walk back to my vehicle). One notable trend I saw was the density of waterfowl on the river below the treatment plant versus the near-desolate waters upriver.
Passing by the lone residential lot at 44 Mill Park Drive (which backs onto the ravine) I noticed it was for sale! It's long been one of those houses I've thought of as the ultimate naturalist's home. $545,000 if you've got that change kicking around. I made my way into the south end of Homer Watson Park, the first Eastern Hemlock yielded a pair of Golden-crowned Kinglets. These slope forests are rich with mature hardwoods and an interesting ground layer flora (seeps, bluffs, rivershore).
A view form the bluff.
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