Outdoor Ontario
Birding Reports => Toronto Reports => Topic started by: RobMcKay on January 25, 2008, 06:59:52 PM
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Well, I have been to Halls Road many times, but the last few times got a little strange......
People walking around servicing other people behind trees, bushes, you get the picture! I wont be taking my daughter (or anyone else for that matter) there any time soon.
When did Halls Road turn into a bathhouse?
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It's been like that for years. Gets worse during the summer on the beach.
Just make sure that your camera is readily visible.
I don't bother stopping if I see a few non-birders/non-photogs around in their cars idling.
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I think its a week day thing, as its too busy with birders for that action on the weekends. All the nasty (and I do mean nasty) encounters lately have been on a week day.
Maybe they should stick a sign up warning people,
It would read,
"The birds you may encounter here on your nature walk are X rated, you must be 19 years of age to pass this point."
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I am glad you have posted this Rob. It is important that people know especially if they are going alone. After today I will have to decide where I go birding alone. Changes everything I enjoy.
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Don't worry Ann, these guys aren't into girls.
If we start staying away, then we're surrendering the place to them. If anything, increased frequency of birders and/or photogs on Hall's Road would deter these activities.
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I do understand what you are saying Kin, but for some I do not think its worth the chance of running into to that kind of action.
Its not that Ann was feeling threatened (I don't think) and/or others sexual preferences,but the fact that she and others had witnessed the act while birding is disturbing.
Really, sneaking around looking for birds takes on a whole new meaning, with that in the back of your mind, who needs it?
Its one thing if you turn a corner on a quite beach (or the like) and witness it, its a fluke, that's one thing. But if its a well know fact that this goes on in the area, you wont be coming back...
Lots of other places to go out there....
Rob
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If this is going on in -15c, I cant imagine summer evenings when the light is just right, yikes!
I now know why a lot of people shoot photos from their cars on Halls road.
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Maybe a few shots taken and posted somewhere,,or the threat of it may deter this from happening,,,,someone put up a sign that says." You are being photographed, and it will be posted on the web." Just a thought. I dont go there that often, so someone else is gonna have to step up to the plate and start snapping,,lol. u up for it Kin??? hehe
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That threat doesn't work on Hanlans Point where it is just as blatant in Spring, Summer and Fall but it is worth a shot so to speak but be careful as not all are as meek as the movies, etc. portray them.
Even contacting the authorities does not seem to help as none of them want to be seen as politically incorrect.
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Kin and Rob: I know they are not interested in me but I don't want to walk into a situation on an isolated path, alone, with a camera, again in the middle of nowhere. I felt really uncomfortable. And lastly it spoiled my day off - and I only get them once in a while.
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Hello everyone! My name is Vivianne, I am a new member. I am not familiar with Halls Road. However, I live off the Bluffs and experience the same difficulty while strolling by the lake. As much as the police try tromping down a 300 ft cliff, they sometimes don't make it all the way. Has anyone reported to the police what goes on at Halls Road?
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Yes I reported it to one of the regular birder who then contacted the authorities. The birders at Halls Rd. are taking this very serious and looking at what can be done. I know they will take action.
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I'm glad to hear people are doing something about it. I go to Halls by myself sometimes, not thinking anything of it because there are usually other birders around. Same goes for Rosetta McLain Gardens.
Were these people in the forested area or by the portable or empty house?
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Especially for Ann, a report from you directly to the police would carry a lot of weight.
The tone of a report from a single female feeling threatened by sexual activity in a public area is much different from one from any of us guys.
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No truer was said than the answer is in more vistors. A similar problem in High Park was remedied by creating a children's garden and focussing more activities in the area. police patrols previously were marginally effective, but people traffic works remarkably well. What hHall's Rd. might need are some school groups and nature tours, though police vigilance couldn't hurt.
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Unfortunately, the issue in High Park hasn't been remedied. I still feel pretty uncomfortable there with numerous men walking around 'on the lookout'. I just wish the warblers didn't like the same friggin spot.
Iain
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Just an update, today there was Durham Region police cruiser that patrolled Hall's Road while I was there.
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Crazy. I always wondered why there were so many single guys walking around without binoculars or cameras at Halls Rd... we had joked that they were cruising, but didn't seriously consider it for some reason.
I agree, though, that if we avoid the place it will just get worse... and then we're missing out on a great birding location. If anything, we should go there more often.
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this is the way we must keep thinking..... aloso I am hoping to work with CLOCA and the Durham police to make this a less infiting area for this tipe of gatering ! I have alreedy spokin with the police and thay wear intrested in some Ideas now I have to find a way to get to CLOCA !! wich me luck
Craig
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I visit High Park a lot, and this past summer I bumped into a couple (one of each) without their plumage, and I found out how much faster one can put their clothes back on when faced with a big white lens. This was a well traveled path, and as someone else mentioned in an area where the warblers tend to reside. As I passed these two love birds, I met a mother with three small children coming the other way, who would have been taught a early lesson about the birds and the bees. I've seen the male lurkers, and I've found that the camera tends to move them along pretty quickly. I've been told that there has be an increase of theft from vehicles within the park, and I've noticed that police have increase patrols, but they never step out of their cars. I noticed that they did increase the bike/horse patrols late summer, hope this continues.
Signs warning that photos of non nature lovers (does that work) will be posted on the net may lead to problems for a lone photographer. Poison ivy maybe?
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Good morning.
Maybe it is time that we all started to do more than just write on this site or fret about whether it is safe or not to go into the areas being over run by these guys.
Some times it seems that I am the only one that complains to the Toronto City Counsellors about the problem on Hanlans Point on the Toronto Islands especially when I get an answer back like "we were not aware of any problem" or "no one has complained". These are the answers I get after several years of me complaining of the blatant sex going on along the public trails and in the bushes there all the way from Gibralter Point to the far northern airport fence.
Same goes for the area south of the Howard monument in High Park and on Peninsula C on the Leslie Sreet Spit.
Below are sites for the Toronto and Whitby City Counsellors email addresses. If and I say if we start an emailing campaign some thing more than a drive by of a police car can maybe get some action.
Whitby - http://www.informdurham.com/details.asp?RSN=10535 (http://www.informdurham.com/details.asp?RSN=10535)
Toronto - http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp (http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp)
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I was back at Halls Road the other day - just driving by to see if there were any birds on the road. I will not go on any of the trails anymore unless one of the birding guys I know are there. Sure enough there were 3 guys for sure not birders taking off into the woods. I was hoping that the police presence would have helped but no luck. I did put in a call of complaint but they said it is too difficult to patrol all the time.
I truly miss not being able to go out and enjoy my Few days off and go birding. Weekends are never a problem. I don't always have someone who is free during the week days. I love going to Thickson Road to look for owls etc. and now I am never sure where I should go. This is a real problem that goes beyond Birds of a Different Feather. Personal Safety issues.
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I was at Halls yesterday and it was only birders. Maybe these guys need to have a wild turkey come after them and that will get them to leave.
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I went to Halls a few days ago and there were close to 10 cars between the two parking areas, but not a birder was seen. I went to the south trail with my binoculars and there was nobody there. On the way back, a man walked towards me (sans binoculars, scope, camera etc.) and asked if the swans were there. I said there were and he acted like he was all excited to see them...except without binoculars, you can barely see them and it's always like that! So I knew he was full of it and had no intention to watch birds. Less than a minute later another man walked past me but he looked in the opposite direction and didn't say hi or acknowledge me. Like the first guy, no photography equipment.
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Of course he was interestind in birds Lee. Just not ones with feathers.
I do see that just like the Toronto Islands and High Park the authorities are not prepared to do anything that is not politically correct and in fact the problem seems to be growing.
All my letter to the councillor responsible for Toronto Islands did was get an answer from a flunky to inform me that they are watching. Since then I have seen no one checking the paths and bushes. He said the Police Marine unit was watching the beach but of course those on the beach are not the problem as it is legal to be nude on the beach and in the same email I was told it is up to me to phone the Police if I see any lewd acts.
There seems to be no cure for the problem unless some child or adult is assaulted. The usual - lets do something now that something has occured mind set.