My favourite duck

nn5102 Earl Plato

I was asked, “How come you don’t write much about birds lately?” Good question. I have been living too long in town. The family farms were where I experienced great bird observing. Yes, we still feed birds in our back yard but the number and variety are low. Winter is coming soon and with it the knowledge that only a relatively few species of birds are sufficiently adapted to survive our Ontario winters. You know why.
Our birds must acquire food of course. Donald Stokes in his informative book, Nature in Winter states that cold and snow are two factors that alter the availability of accessible food. Cold most affects the food sources of water birds. It causes much of the water plants to die back. Many water animals recede into the mud to hibernate and are no longer available for the food chain. Inland the cold freezes over streams and ponds making what food still exists inaccessible. Herons, ducks, rails and sandpipers head to open water or fly south. Lake Erie won’t freeze over this winter. That’s good news for shore birds. At Point Abino ducks and swans will feed on the underwater beds of wild celery in the bay. Many birds depend on insects - mainly airborne, as a major source of food. Cold destroys these insects so the birds must fly south in order to survive. Winter brings snow and with it protective cover for seeds and small animals. Every year many hawks and owls must migrate to warmer climes. Go to beamer’s Point each fall and witness their flight south. Winter brings great changes for our feathered friends.
Here’s where you come into the picture. Eating enough food to keep warm is the main activity of birds in winter. Feed the birds. Start now and don’t stop. Be a dependable source of food for birds.
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Think big, really big. In this ‘throw away world” where it’s “here today and gone tomorrow” it still lives. Ontario. so we read, has cut down more trees and complete forests in North America since the arrival of John Graves Simcoe in the 1780’s than any other province or state. “Clear cut” is the term used. Somehow the tree cutters missed this one. Some of us have been castigated as “tree huggers.’ So be it.
I have walked the concrete canyons of big cities such as Toronto, Boston, and New York. Fifth Avenue in New York has trees growing in regular spacing as does University Avenue in Toronto. It makes a difference to me. Visit our little Ridgeway and see the difference that the Linden trees have made to the beauty of Ridge Road. Think old, very old of our giant hemlock - 200 years plus? I think so.
This giant Eastern hemlock, I believe, qualifies as Old Growth. Yes, it’s on Marcy property.
Cousin, Keith Plato, and I measured it the other day. Keith had us take two measurements at the widest girth. This towering tree was almost 15 feet in circumference. 14 ft. 11 in. to be exact. It looks healthy and is no threat to structures. You and I are on earth only a little while. Allow this Old Growth tree to survive for future generations, eh. I am a tree lover and yes, I hug one once in a while.