Red Tail

Red Tail Earl Plato

Rob Eberly doesn’t miss much in nature. This morning Rob had a job to do and I went along to the Ministry of Natural Resources Office off Victoria Avenue in Vineland. About two weeks before on the way to Marcy Woods along Mitchener Road Rob pulled over. Of all things - on the shoulder of the road was a dead Red-tailed hawk. There were some loose feathers on the ground and he assumed a car had struck the bird. Mindful of West Nile virus he picked it up with a garbage bag and later in the day placed it in his refrigerator. The tail feathers of course were a brownish red.
Rob entered the Ministry building and unfortunately the officer that Rob had contacted was out to lunch. “Come back in twenty minutes.”
Have you been to the Vineland Station north of the Queen Elizabeth? We both have many times. Rob wandered around the azaleas and rhododendrons. With my camera I took some (great) shots of the rare trees and flower beds. Back to the Ministry.
The beautiful hawk (still frozen) was shown to the officer. Rob needed a certificate from the Ministry in order to keep it for educational purposes. After several minutes of questioning and typing by the officer Rob received the certification. Why? The bird was to be sent to old friend and expert taxidermist, Ernie Giles, of the Lake of Bays. Ernie will do a wonderful job, I know.
The officer said, “If you gave the bird to this fellow (me) you would have to bring the bird and the certificate here and another form would have to be made. The certificate always goes with the bird!”
Rob asked about dead song bird certification. “Not here. That’s up Burlington way.” Mission accomplished.
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Yes, we made it to Algonquin Park this summer. The Visitor Centre is always worth a stop. The view, the nature store, the museum and its life-like dioramas, the nature art centre, the washrooms, and the lunchroom - all appreciated.
Yes, I bought an Algonquin ball cap. ( I lost the previous one) that’s my excuse. In the book store a title caught my eye - Rambling in Algonquin Park with Jeff Miller. I bought it. I started my initial newspaper writing with the byline - Rambling with Bert Miller. A neat little book - this Algonquin one - filled with water colours of the Park and well-written descriptions.
The board at the Centre listed daily various sightings. A cow moose and two calves were recorded having been seen at Two Rivers that morning. We entered the museum area and there was a giant bull moose a cow and two calves in a realistic setting. Stand next to the bull and realize how large it is. What a giant!
The Algonquin Park museum is so informative you can spend hours there. Lunch in the cafeteria was reasonable except for a little Hagen-Daas ice cream bar - $4.23!
Got time this fall? Take one of the side trails in the Park and enjoy the real north.