28 January 2020
When we visit Hillside Park we customarily meet at Dearborn Plaza and park off to the side away from the main parking area. In a scene probably seldom seen in many parts of the world, but fairly common in Waterloo Region, a Mennonite horse and buggy was parked alongside the cars.
The horse was securely hitched to the pole of the light standard and seemed unconcerned at the activity going on around it.
We know where an Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio) resides and made our way to that section of the park to see if it was sitting at the lip of its hole. Lady Luck was with us and it was there in plain sight, but camouflaged well enough that casual passers by would never see it.
Since for all of us the presence of any owl is akin to a talisman, our day was declared a success whatever else we might see.
Hillside Park is right in the city, but is a very pleasant urban oasis and while the park is shared by cyclists, casual walkers, and the sound of traffic can sometimes be heard, it is nevertheless a wonderful refuge.
This Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) was of impressive girth and reached high into the woodland canopy.
American Robins (Turdus migratorius) spend the winter here with ever increasing regularity and we came across a couple feeding on buckthorn berries.
They were joined by several House Finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) taking advantage of a sheltered area where the sun created a veritable micro-climate, several degrees higher in temperature than surrounding shaded patches.
Bright sun, still low in the winter sky, was perfect for casting long shadows on the snow.
Francine decided to sit on a log to try for better pictures of an American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea).
She was well rewarded for her efforts with a great shot.
She walked back to the car with a wet rear end, however, - a small price to pay!
We arrived back in the parking lot about an hour and forty-five minutes after we had left and the horse and buggy were still there. Obviously its human companions had serious business to take care of. And so did the horse!
I swear there is a smirk on that horse's face!
