Trumpeter Stand-off
TOMMY THOMPSON PARK - APRIL 2, 2022
We were still hovering just above freezing. But the birdsong in the trees declared we were closing in on spring - however much Toronto’s weather wants to flip-flop. March had days break 15 degrees, while others dipped to -10. This month started with an April Fools prank by the weather: puffy snowflakes coming down in sheets.
The trees are still bare of leaves, but they’re starting to fill with red-winged blackbirds and robins, along with the sparrows and chickadees who never left. A cormorant flew overhead a couple of times, I guess a very early arrival? It’s sort of surreal to just see one of them.
I also came upon an eastern cottontail working through the dead grass on the side of a path, hoping for something nutritious.
Same with a pair of trumpeter swans making their way along the interior waterways. I started the day hoping I could catch a big group of trumpeters. We’d seen a congregation like that in the dead of winter when we’d just come for a walk, in one of the manmade coves on the city side. But I guess in the relatively warmer weather they had spread back out from the sheltered water. This pair was the closest to a ‘congregation’ that I got.
I set myself up on the shore where there was a break in the fence. It must have been a transit spot for them, because they showed up like they owned the place. For a minute I thought I was going to have to move to avoid getting beaten up, but once we’d clearly established who was dominant (them) they let me be.
A few minutes later, a mink came poking through the underbrush and dove into the water.
The whole place felt full of potential. Like all the life being held back by the temperature is straining to burst out, in the first tiny buds on trees or the calls of the birds. I’m with them. It’s been a long winter.