Gone but not Forgotten

Gone Earl Plato

It’s gone! On this 19th of September, it’s gone. Drive on South Kaobel Road where Welland, Niagara Falls, and Port Colborne come together. Just past the chicken farm to the east stood all alone an old oak tree. With its spreading limbs it hosted many raptors over many years. Red-tailed hawks as many as five or six at a time and just a month ago Elaine and I counted 35 Turkey vultures in its lofty limbs. A great place for our raptors to rest. Alas time and probably bird “guano” did the old tree in. We headed off Netherby about 1:15 p.m. that day. No trace of the old oak. Gone forever. Only a memory.
I am a tree lover. I can recall at least three trees of my childhood. The leaning snow apple with its its interior hollow was a favorite place to throw a ball in the upper opening and run to catch it at the bottom There was the old apple tree in the yard that allowed a young boy to climb up easily into its branches. Of course the swing tied to one of its lateral branches was a favourite place to swing. The third tree was a towering maple at the edge of our property near the rail track. Climb the tree and swing out on a narrow branch and see how long you could hang. As a young boy recovering from the effects of polio I spent many hours testing my strength or lack of it.
The late Fort Erie naturalist, Bert Miller, took my father and me to the Comfort maple in Pelham in the 1940’s. We had a row of maples in front of our place and some of them were towering specimens but the Comfort maple was the “Mother” of all maples. See it before it’s gone.
The old oak tree of South Koabel Road is gone.
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Fall Migration. Marci Jacklin, our Club’s bird expert, reminded me of this time of year. Bud and I finally managed to get out to Marcy Woods this past Monday morning to collect some spicebush berries. They are still ripening. While there I heard a beautiful bird song. Some years back Rob Eberly and I had heard the song. That was in the Spring migration. Was it a Wood thrush. Guess what? At the top of the list of songbirds who like Spicebush berries are the Wood thrushes! Once you heard this thrush you won’t forget it. It’s flutelike song and the rapid “pit, pit” call is what I believed we heard. .
Marci said , yes the thrushes, warblers and others are appearing in the Point Abino area. It’s Fall migration. I’m alone on this Friday and bird glasses in hand guess where I’m going?