overlooking 40 mile creek

It’s been on my ‘to do’ list for awhile now and I finally did it this past Saturday. Hawkwatching at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area in Grimbsy, Niagara.

I’d never heard of anything like it until I moved back to Niagara. Hawkwatching is not only an activity for locals to enjoy, it’s also a unique nature experience for tourists, or for people in surrounding areas to enjoy too. I went with my mom and we met a friendly (first-timers) couple along the trail from Burlington, which is just up the highway from Grimsby.

From early March until mid-May you can enjoy ‘Hawkwatching’ as hawks, eagles, falcons, and vultures migrate through the Niagara Peninsula on their way to nest further up North. They come along the Niagara escarpment because it allows for strong updrafts of wind, which the birds gladly glide on to conserve energy.

Hawkwatching is not just a sight to see, it’s also a serious hobby for the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch (NPC), which has members stationed daily throughout the migration to identify and record migrating birds.There’s a special Hawkwatching lookout station (which the public can go up as well), and volunteers have binoculars to spot and track the birds.They even have an hourly tally board – like a score board at a golf tournament.

We met one of the trackers – who was a character – and he was happy to give us some insights into Hawkwatching. One thing he told us about Hawk Cliff on Lake Erie, another Hawkwatching hot spot, which is supposed to be even more spectacular than Beamer in the Fall during the winter migration – as Hawk Cliff is the ideal route for birds to travel south.

But Beamer Conservation Area is not just about Hawkwatching. It also has a ‘Lookout Trail’ which features three lookout points  that overlook the town of Grimsby and Lake Ontario, and you can even see Niagara Falls hotels off in the distance. Off of one side of the trail is the 40 mile creek, a nice little valley area which is where you’ll also find the Upper and Lower Beamer Falls.

It was really cool to see all the hawks overhead during our walk and we even saw one really close along the cliff just above us. The hawks wings were spectacular and for a few moments I felt the fear of being its prey, as you could imagine the hawk sweeping down and snapping you up – just like the ‘birds’ in Avatar.

So now I can officially say that Hawkwatching is a great weekend activity. It’s like any hobby or past time. If you make a little effort you can learn something new and see the world in a different way, and you can usually get deeper and deeper into it and gain even more appreciation – i.e. Hawk Cliff.

So not only do you get to go for a little walk or hike and enjoy some beautiful views, you also get to do some hawkwatching, and you can also get right up close to Beamer Falls. You could bring a picnic along and easily make an afternoon out of it.

Happy Hawkwatching!

More info:

Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch >>
Beamer Memorial Conservation Area >>

town of grimsby below with niagara falls off in the distance

]]> http://paxtonallewell.com/2010/04/14/hawkwatching-in-grimsby-niagara/feed/ 0 http://paxtonallewell.com/2010/03/06/a-nostalgic-mornin-my-1st-podcast/ http://paxtonallewell.com/2010/03/06/a-nostalgic-mornin-my-1st-podcast/#comments Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:44:58 +0000 paxton http://paxtonallewell.com/?p=350 Hope you enjoy my first podcast just above…please press play!

I went for a nice hike today at St. Johns Conservation Area just a few minutes from where I live in Fonthill.

All morning I had a wonderful energy and deep sense of nostalgia. It forced me into a corner and made me confront my desire to want to reconnect with my past and my old friends. I found myself flipping through an old photo album and reflecting on distant memories.

My 10 year High School reunion is coming up in July – which I’m very excited about – but I don’t want to surpress this renewed desire to reconnect with my childhood friends from Ottawa, and the place itself.

Here’s a few photos from my hike below.

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As someone who worked at Starbucks for three weeks because I liked their coffee and business values (at least at the time), and as someone who takes advantage of the Starbucks environment to do work online, and as someone who prefers Starbucks to Tim Hortons, I was pleased to see the new and green concept stores – they look pretty cool. I just hope that they also find a way to better deal with excessive noise and traffic “pollution” to enhance the experience as well.

So far three new stores “showcase” the new approach. Two stores are in Seattle and one in Paris. For more info about the new stores and a virtual tour of these stores see Starbucks’ new website>>

What do you think of the new stores? Are you a fan of Starbucks? Is LEED certification enough? Please comment here>>

Feeding little birds on Merritt Island, Welland

This weekend I went on a nice walk with my mom on Merritt Island in downtown Welland. On our walk we saw an older man with a handful of seeds feeding the nearby birds. I didn’t realize you could do that!

We wanted to take a picture of him doing it, but instead he offered us some seeds so I was able to give it a try for myself. I was thrilled to have this unexpected opportunity. I tried briefly on the same spot where he was just moments ago, but with no luck so we carried on and I kept the seeds in the palm of my hand to try a little later on down the trail.

We made a stop a little further down the trail where we heard and saw some birds – including a Cardinal. It took a little patience, and some arm strength holding out my hand, however slowly but surely the birds started to make their way to me jumping and flying down the trees. It was really cute and so cool when they would jump up on my hand and grab their treat. I recommend you try doing it sometime.

More info on Welland and Merritt Island >>