Memories of 21, 42, 63 ... the 84th meandering

quite an important event coming up just an hour west of here on lake ontario :

the 33rd annual presqu'ile waterfowl festival :

http://www.friendsofpresquile.on.ca/News/news.inc.php?ID=212&command=miniViewArticle&lang=EN



we are planning to drive there an saturday - an easy one hour drive .
it's supposed to be sunny with a high of 4 C - we've been there in previous years when it was still bitterly cold , but the ducks , geese , swans etc. don't seem to mind - they have a grand old time .
there are thousands of waterfowl that stop over for a few days or even weeks to fatten themselves before flying farther north .

the festival takes place in presqu'isle provinvial park - just a short drive south of highway 401 - and not far from the TRENTON airforce base (major airport for the canadian military going to afghanistan ) .

http://www.ontarioparks.com/English/pres.html



the bay should be full of waterfowl by now .



btw walked along lake ontario this morning : the first gulls , ducks ... and one lone cormorant ... the first of the season for us .

Sounds marvelous, hamburger!

The Sierra's waterways are fast moving rivers. During the spring when the snowpacks begin to melt, was surprised to learn Harlequin Ducks live and breed young near fast flowing streams.

Wintering populations in eastern North America are currently much smaller than historical (late 1800s) numbers, but populations grew in last part of 20th century. Listed as "Endangered" in Canada and "Threatened" in Maine. A "species of special concern" in western states.

Other Names
Arlequin plongeur, Canard arlequin, Canne de roche (French)




Montery Bay, California



A link where you can hear the sounds of the Harlequins...
http://www.ducks.org/hunting/waterfowlGallery/82/index.html

g'day wildclickers

http://rainforest.care2.com/i?p=583091674

a click and a clack !
dusting off the binoculars for saturday .
reload camera battery - ready go !
hbg

Presqu'ile is always a wonderful trip. I've occasionally posted photos of various Presqu'ile picnics here. The hamburgers really know how to picnic.


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completed danon, merry andrew and my own rounds of clicks
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The Wildclickers have supported 2,930,607.9 square feet!

Marine Wetlands habitat supported: 222,022.2 square feet.

American Prairie habitat supported: 68,868.9 square feet.

Rainforest habitat supported: 2,639,716.8 square feet.

ehBeth, you are a soul-mate......Thank you so very much for clicking for me while I was carroussing around Texas. With close friends of course. Tell ya about it later if ya want.

Farmerman, March is the time for potato --- ugh, ---- es?? LOL...... Re a long time ago........Ah, for the now.

Hamburger, und alles........ Servous.

Ja, E ah Werner.............. Well, almost - but not quite. Grin.

Du und Walter have a very special aspect on historic Germany. I am so interested in that era. I would love to hear from you both here on this thread. It would be both interesting to me and all the people who visit the site and don't say anything. We are the No. ONE team in over TEN MILLION visitors -------- You guys could help us attain ONE more member. How about it????????????

Plus, You both are sooooo articulate in your fields that I'm impressed. And, I'm a history major.

Hang in there my friends,

Dan

Oh, a tidbit to dangle in front of you both ------------

I was married - seventeen years to a lady from Vienna. Her father was arrested by the gestapo at the very beginning of the WWII in Europe. He was after the Gestapo - sent to Mauthausen just East of Linz. That was early in the war and he survived over five years there. He told me all about it.

She told me of her experiences during the Russian invasion and after the Allied forces took control of the city - Lots of good first hand info.

Her papa - after the arrest =

First in the stone quarry and the steps - then, in the prison compound - two times in the gas chamber, and not dying.

I visited the compound many times and have been in the gas chamber remembering what he said to me.

He was lucky. But, there are some interesting tales to tell from my frau.

History is interesting - and valuable for the furture.

Freshly clickened

Hbg? Is this the Presque Isle State Park Up near Erie Pa? or is there one in Canadiana?

Dannon, whatya got against kartoffeln? I plant a nice row of reds and plant them on a straw mat so that e can harvest nice little new potatoes most of the season just by pulling back the straw and exposing these neat , clean, little tatoes.

Clicked.

I have planted taters in straw and it works well.

I have always wished to live on or neary a flyway, but never have. Harlequins remind me of wood ducks, somehow.

Treasured plants surrounded with deer guards - planting veggies or herbs i'd need a terrarium or a very high fence. ah no

The harliquins have a very distinctive look, don't they?

Have a good day all ~


http://rainforest.care2.com/i?p=583091674

farmerman :

the "presqu'ile" i mentioned is located on the north-shore of lake ontario - about half-way between toronto and kingston - you could also say that it is "right across" from rochester , NY state .

see map - you can increase /decrease magnification as desired :

http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/pres-maps.html

it's a nice place to visit any time of the year - though spring and fall are best - when mosquitoes aren't too beastly .
we were there one summer and "tried" to hike one of the forest trails but had to give up half-way - run out of moskitter repellant !

go to picture gallery :

http://www.parkreports.com/gallery/gallery.php?park=Presqu%27ile&Submit=Go

the old lighthouse is still standing at the point jutting out into lake ontario :

sumac :

i don't know where you live .
we are living on the edge(literally) of eastern lake ontario and the greatest number of flyovers are the canada geese - they'll be coming north anytime now - up until about 20 years ago we wouldn't see them going north until early may - so something must have changed .

unfortunately , thousands of the geese no longer go all the way north but stay right on the grassy shores of lake ontario . they can make many places simply a mess - had to give up viviting some parks since they are overrun with canada geese - the excessive droppings are pretty messy - not pleasant to walk though .

i assume that at a certain point there'll probably be a reasonable balance achieved by mother nature .

"cormorants" present another interesting story .
at the presqu'isle park ther are a number of colonies on some small offshore islands .
some 30 years ago the cormorants were almost wiped out through overuse of herbicides and pesticides - but they have come back with a vengeance .
some islands in lake ontario have not a single living tree left on them - the excrement of the birds has killed them off .
again "i assume that at a certain point there'll probably be a reasonable balance achieved by mother nature . "



hbg

both the canada geese and cormorants are interesting to watch .

Danon! you are back. Good to see you. Just tried to do a couple of your clicks - but they were already done for the day.

Tonight - we learned about khaleegy dance. Interesting stuff.

Clicked. Will post more tomorrow.

Always interesting to read the stories and adventures and history here.

G'night all.

Have a great EarthTurn.

Water levels are up in the Great Lakes.
Clicked.

All clicked here - G'Night all.

Clicked.

It also means a loss to our imagination.

March 19, 2009
Editorial
The Whale Road Nearby

Say whales, and you may think of Moby Dick or gray whales along the California coast or even humpbacks in Hawaii. What most of us do not think of " unless an errant whale wanders up the Hudson " is the waters near New York City. And yet there is a busy migration corridor just beyond the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, a corridor used by three endangered species, North Atlantic right whales, fin whales and humpbacks.

Much of the data about the movements of these whales come from smart buoys located offshore along shipping lanes. The buoys record whale calls and transmit them to the bioacoustics research program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The buoys help alert ship captains to the presence of whales, decreasing the chance of ship strikes, which, with entanglement in fishing gear are the leading causes of whale deaths.

Just how vocal the whales are in nearby waters can be heard and seen at the lab’s Right Whale Listening Network Web site. The Web page shows data for the area around the arm of Cape Cod and into Boston, where buoys are still active. The listening program in New York waters is one of the casualties of the state’s financial crisis.

A share of the lab’s right whale listening budget comes from the State Department of Environmental Conservation. The shortfall for this whale listening season " a matter of $100,000 " means that the buoys have been pulled and the waters, at least to our ears, have gone silent. That means a loss of valuable research data and the possibility of more ship strikes. And it also means a loss to our imagination.

good earthturn Beth, and all Wildclickers

Dan, waving to your friends from California.

sue, Mr H, and FM, good stuff. Thanks

Hi ya Alex!

Wildlife activity earlier; coyotes, wild turkeys, a zillion Stellar Jays , wrens, robins; and assorted tree critters, all greeting the day.

Happy Spring all ~



http://rainforest.care2.com/i?p=583091674

clickity-clack !

whales can also be seen in the bays of the lower st. lawrence river :

http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/travel/great_places/cg_recommends/whales/

the charlevoix region is about a two to three hour drive downriver from quebec city - which itself is an absolutely splendid city - the way france looked 200 years ago .
we stayed there for a day during our maritime spring cruise in may 2008 - i can post a few pictures if anyone is interested .

charlevoix region :



whale watching can be done by watching from the shoreline , going out in a dinghy , or joining a whale watching cruise :

http://www.lesecumeurs.com/attraitsa.html

BELUGA WHALE in the st. lawrence river :

Clicked.

Time to snooo
oooo
oozzzze

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The WildClickers have supported 2,930,711.6 square feet!

Marine Wetlands habitat supported: 222,066.6 square feet.

American Prairie habitat supported: 68,868.9 square feet.

Rainforest habitat supported: 2,639,776.1 square feet.

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those whale-watching photos sound interesting. I look forward to seeing them.

actually, I look forward to catching up on this thread on the weekend after I've had a good sleep-in.

~~~

Danon - can you do tomorrow's clicks for me please?

Clicked.

Too many interesting articles NOT to post them.

Happy spring, all.