Tuesday, 1 January 2013

TV tower walk

First walk of 2013, our usual TV tower walk.  We live just below (and south of) the tall CHEX TV tower which sits on one of Peterborough's many drumlins.  We often (though not often enough ...) do a roughly 2 km walk from our house (347 Plati Avenue), east on Plati Avenue to Television Road, north on Television Road to the gated road up to the CHEX television tower, then south down an informal trail back to Plati.  The view from the top of the TV tower hill is spectacular as we can see much of the city and surrounding landscape and depending on the weather, time of day, and season, the view and walk are always different.  There are informal side trails that lead down to the Trent Canal and elsewhere that we sometimes take.  It was cold (-12C) and a bit windy today, so we kept moving!  We don't usually see much wildlife on the walk, and today was no exception, with an American Crow, a few Black-capped Chickadees, and a Downy Woodpecker being our only birds of the walk.



Heading north out the driveway with the CHEX tower looming above our neighbour's house.



Walking north on Television Road.


Pond on the east side of Television Road that we can hear Spring Peepers and American Toads calling from each spring; now a skating rink.


Walking west up the TV tower laneway hill.


Two old radar dishes at the top of the hill, looking west.


The smaller tower with an old Osprey nest on top.


Looking up at the CHEX TV tower.


Looking west from the top of the hill at the Trent Canal, Liftlock Golf Club, and beyond.


First bird species of 2013, Black-capped Chickadee at our backyard feeders!



1 January 2013 Trent Wildlife Sanctuary

New Year's Day, 1 January 2013, seems an appropriate day to write my first blog post!!  I have admired and enjoyed other people's blogs and thought it a good way to share adventures and images.  I envision my blog will mainly be a way of keeping track of and sharing various events, mainly trips.  As a life-long naturalist, most trips and blog posts will have a natural history focus.

My first blog post will actually be about my last trip of 2012, a walk (me) and ski (Mireille) at the Trent University Wildlife Sanctuary's John de Pencier Trail, only a couple of kilometers down the road from our house.  This is the first time we've walked this trail (opened October 2008), but likely not the last.  Here are a few images from the walk.