Tuesday, January 08, 2008



What a difference a week makes. After days of rain and mild temperatures all our pretty snow is gone and everything is brown and grey.

Sea urchin? No, just some grass poking up through a puddle.
Those oaks sure are stubborn about hanging onto their leaves.

Anyone lose their specs?

Friday, January 04, 2008


Oops, pretend I posted this yesterday. Here's the list of birds I saw in the Beechwood area during 2007:
  • black-crowned night heron


  • double-crested cormorant


  • cardinal


  • seagull


  • Canada goose (and a Canada/domestic goose hybrid)


  • mallard duck


  • red-winged blackbird


  • goldfinch


  • black-throated blue warbler


  • robin


  • black-capped chickadee


  • belted kingfisher


  • downy woodpecker


  • hairy woodpecker


  • song sparrow


  • house sparrow


  • red-tailed hawk


  • mourning dove


  • blue jay


  • American redstart


  • common yellowthroat warbler


  • tree swallow


  • mockingbird


  • catbird


  • brown-headed cowbird


  • great egret


  • cedar waxwing


  • bittern (seen by Don Watcher)

Wednesday, January 02, 2008


Happy New Year and welcome to any faithful readers who are checking in after my long hiatus. I'm back with a wintry report from Beechwood Wetland.

We had a heavy, wet snowfall yesterday that turned everything white. Do not adjust your set: the world really was as monochromatic as these pictures. When the snow stopped I seized my camera and hurried down to the valley.
Things are pretty quiet around the ol' wetland:
Here's the pond:

As I fully expected, I ran into Don Watcher and Cup Plant:

Don Valley stewards: we never sleep.

See the mockingbird?

Let's get a bit closer:

Ah, there it is! I also saw a kingfisher, a gull or two, and the usual clusters of mallards. That reminds me, I haven't yet published my bird list from 2007. Tune in tomorrow!