LAKESHORE HOSPITAL GROUNDS HISTORY

There is an excellent website that offers a history of the old Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital.

"Asylum by the Lake"

Here is a photograph from the website showing the ornate stone bridge that used to span the now buried Jackson Creek that met the lake at Rotary Park.  Remnants of the bridge can still be seen on the roadway between the two swales that were once wetlands on the creek.

2012 CLEANUP DAY PHOTOS - THANKS TO ALL PARTICIPANTS, ESPECIALLY ALL THE YOUNG FAMILIES

Alan Roy and Terry Smith, FOSS

Brian "Lariat" Bailey, CCFEW

CCFEW SAM SMITH BIRD WALK SATURDAY

ANNUAL PARK CLEANUP - SUNDAY, APRIL 22

SOME NOTES

Some random notes of interest from a recent Lakeshore Grounds Coordinating Committee meeting

• Parks, Forestry and Recreation – Storage unit for aussie rules football going in on a newly placed gravel pad; will be moving staff into powerhouse this summer; maintenance staff will open and close washrooms on daily basis during summer months.
• CCFEW  Nature Program at Humber Arboretum happening this spring with three schools signed up; CCFEW will subsidize students: $5/person for first 5 schools that sign up.
• Lakeshore Yacht Club Twice annual closings of walkway; boat launch: Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28; stepping Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5
• Councilor Grimes’ Office Morrison Street entrance: Councilor Grimes wanted it as part of parkland but it didn’t work out; it will be improved and still used for community access to park.

HOW TO FIND OUT ABOUT SAM SMITH BIRD SIGHTINGS

Eastern Towhee

"This morning Jeremy Hatt, Andrew Keaveney, David Hallett and I spent about three hours birding park.  Highlights: 1 Forester's Tern, 12 Yellow-rumped Warbers, 40 White-throated Sparrows, 10 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and smaller numbers of Field Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-belled Sapsucker, Eastern Towhee, Fox Sparrow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Brown Thrasher.  There are still about 150 Red-necked Grebes, 15 Horned Grebes and a couple of Pied-billed Grebes in the area."

The Ontario Field Ornithologists operates an electronic mailing listserv called ONTBIRDS that notifies birders of interesting Ontario sightings.  The posting from Wayne Renaud, a local birder, shown above gives details about birds recently seen in Sam Smith Park.  ONTBIRDS is a good way to keep on top of what's being seen in our park as migration begins to accelerate as well as keep up with other interesting Ontario sightings.  On average, there are about 6 - 8 postings a day and Sam Smith Park is frequently one of them. Wayne is a regular reporter of Sam Smith birds during migration.

To subscribe, you need to send an email to birdalert-request@ontbirds.ca with subscribe in the subject header. You will have to confirm any changes you make by replying to an acknowledging email. Unsubscribing is very easy to do.

If you are a knowledgeable birder, you may even want to post sightings yourself. 

OWL PHOTOGRAPH

Long Eared Owl photographed by Julie Hyde in Sam Smith Park yesterday.

"INTRODUCTION TO BIRDING" COURSE