Storytelling nature walks

I have allied myself with Toronto Pig Save and, under their auspices, have started a series of Storytelling nature walks.  The way it works is as follows: I choose a good location to view nature, depending on the season (and weather) and we set out to see what we can see. Then  in the middle of the walk we pause and I tell a story always nature related and mostly true stories.

Walks we have done so far.
October 30, 2011, Leslie Street Spit.  Beautiful mild day.  Most migrant birds had moved on, however we did see a number of shorebirds, such  as Longtailed Ducks, Hooded Merganzers, Gulls(of course), Mute Swans, Trumpeter Swans. We also saw Golden Crowned Kinglets (including a visit to the banding station where we saw a GCK released),  In addition we saw lots of Woolly Bear caterpillars and some enormous Carp attempting to breach the barrier that keeps them out of the lagoons.

The main story told that day was about the amazing Peregrine Falcon, 'Windwhistler', this a true story from my own observations and my affiliation with the Canadian Peregrine Foundation as a volunteer.

November 20, 2011, Humber Bay East.   Very windy, but sunny.  We started out on the footbridge over the Mimico Creek.  Because of the relevance of this location, I started with the true story of the Passenger Pigeons that used to frequent this place in their billions but were hunted out of existence. A lesson to us! As I talked I got a glimpse of movement down on the rocks and there we were treated to the sight of a Mink running along, what sleek and beautiful creatures they are. Walking toward the lake we saw a Mockingbird in some sumac and as we made our way down the bank to see the Beaver's lodge, we saw a Great Egret in the shallows.  Then we saw flocks of Canada Geese overhead, and at the lagoons there were Mallards, Buffleheads, Hooded Merganzers, Lesser Scaup. At the lake the wind was whipping the waves into a frenzy and lone Common Merganzer was bouncing in the surf.

Upcoming Walk
December 11, 2011, Lambton Woods, starting at entrance to James Gardens at 9:30 a.m.





.