Maplewood Park - Wed. Jan. 5th

[Bird Brain]

Hi everyone.  I was wandering around Maplewood Park this morning between 8:30-9:30am and sighted the following:

Cardinal (f) x 1
Chickadees - lots
Crows x 5
Hairy Woodpecker (m) x 1
House Sparrows - lots
Starlings x 40
White-breasted Nuthatch x 1

Maplewood Park:  East side of Glen Erin Dr., just North of Aquitaine Ave.

[Flashshooter]

Hi Bird Brain,
Do you ever go to Lake Wabakayne?  One of my co-workers lives in that area and walks his dog all over. He often tells me of a fellow who photographs the birds in the area. They both agree that there are more bird at Lake Wabakayne then there are at Lake Aquataine.
So I wondered if you had been there?
Take care,
Clive

[Bird Brain]

Hi Bird Brain,
Do you ever go to Lake Wabakayne?

Hi Clive.  Yes, I try to go there about once per week - used to live in that area for 10 years and walked there daily.  

One of my co-workers lives in that area and walks his dog all over. He often tells me of a fellow who photographs the birds in the area.

He is most likely referring to Mario.  His photos are spectacular!  
What type of dog does your co-worker have?  

They both agree that there are more bird at Lake Wabakayne then there are at Lake Aquataine.
So I wondered if you had been there?
Take care,
Clive

Lots of great stuff at both lakes.  Some days I see more at Wabukayne, other days more at Aquitaine.  Maplewood Park has been a pleasant surprise as well!  

[Flashshooter]

Hi Joanne
Yes it is Mario that he knows.
He walks a black and white Border Collie (?) named Dodger.
I am not too familiar with the area. I have been to Lake Aquataine once, I think I have one or two good pictures from that visit.
I know some of the bigger roads. I have had friends who have lived on or near Montvideo, Battleford, Aquataine, Winston Churchill and Glen Erin.
Take care,
Clive

[Bird Brain]

Hi Joanne
Yes it is Mario that he knows.

Hi Clive.  Every time I'm walking at Lake Wabukayne, people will ask "Do you know Mario?" or "Do you know the guy/man that takes photos here?", etc.  :lol:

He walks a black and white Border Collie (?) named Dodger.

It's quite possible that I've met and talked with both the man and dog.  

I am not too familiar with the area. I have been to Lake Aquataine once, I think I have one or two good pictures from that visit.
I know some of the bigger roads. I have had friends who have lived on or near Montvideo, Battleford, Aquataine, Winston Churchill and Glen Erin.

I used to live at Glen Erin/Windwood right by Lake Wabukayne then moved up to Glen Erin/Aquitaine right by Lake Aquitaine.  

When the weather is warmer, check out Osprey Marsh/Woods!  http://heritagemississauga.com/photo/Osprey-Marsh ... basically the NE corner of 9th Line/Britannia but look up Osprey Blvd. on Mapquest.  

Take care,
Clive

You too.  

[Luv2Bird]

Hi Joanne ... I found Wabukayne to have an amazing variety of birds last summer.  Am planning to go soon to see if the Wood duck is there again this year.

[Bird Brain]

Hi Joanne ... I found Wabukayne to have an amazing variety of birds last summer.  Am planning to go soon to see if the Wood duck is there again this year.

Hi Sue.  He was there back on Dec. 18th along with Mallards in a very small open area of water.  I'm hoping to wander down to Wabukayne one day this week to see if he's still there.  Hopefully the city/parks people are planning on plowing the trails up here at some point!  :shock:

[Mario]

Hi All,

I am Mario the person that you are talking about. I am a member of this site but I did not post much lately.
Wabukayne was a vey good place for bird watching. I spent a lot of time there and I took pictures of over 120 species of birds and small animals.
Actually this is the place where my hobby of nature photography started. You can see some of those pictures at:
 http://www.treknature.com/search.php?offset=1&phrase=Wabukayne&type=photos
and pictures from other places including Osprey Marsh :
 http://www.treknature.com/members/Mariol/photos/
This small storm water pond (with fish) is a very interesting habitat due his steep slope shores covered with thick bush and is a mini migration trap.
Being very small is very sensitive to intrusive humans activities and pets presence which have increased over the time.
To save it we formed a stewardship comities and a grant of a significant amount was received this year from Trillium Foundation.
As a member I tried to convince the City to stop cutting the dead trees and reduce the grass mowing but with limited success.
Last year a major "improvement" of the infrastructure of the park took place including paving and widening of the pathway, installation of new light posts etc.
and all this work was done against our advice in May during the bird migration pick and as a result the bird presence decreased significantly.
If you live in the neighborhood and you are interested in the subject you are invited to participate to the annual public meeting of “The Friends of Lake Wabukayne Stewardship group” which will be held on Monday, January 17th, 2011 at 7 PM at the Meadowvale Christian Reformed Church at 2630 Inlake Court.
We need support from people with interest in wild life conservation, birds and animals, otherwise the place will become in short time an ordinary city park.

Regards,
Mario