Leslie St Spit - August 2024
A first visit to Leslie St Spit in way too long, and I was there on a mission. I’m working to put together this longer form video on trumpeter swans, and Tommy Thompson Park happens to be a gathering spot for them. I needed some specific shots but the place has a way of always offering up more than you bargained for.
Success actually came pretty quickly. Two trumpeters were hanging out in one of the first artificial ponds you come to when you enter the park, and one of my favourite spots. It’s the place where I most feel like you can completely escape the city. I’ve had a few trips where I’ve spent most of my time just hunkered down on the shore line waiting and watching for whoever comes by - and you often don’t have to wait long.
This time was no exception. In addition to the swans and their one cygnet (who I didn’t even notice in the pre-dawn light at first), kingfishers were zipping across the pond, peregrine falcons were doing aerial ballet in between perching on trees, a Great Blue Heron was sharing hunting territory along the shore with a Great Egret, and a mink went bounding back and forth along the shore, almost running over my legs as he did.
Meanwhile, higher overhead, flocks of geese made their raucous way across, almost as loud as the occasional pair of crossing trumpeters.
I hung out with the family in the lake for a while and would have been content to stay there all day, but I felt I owed a bit more of an exploration. Leslie St Spit is now a cross-town journey for me and it means making every trip count more than ever. Plus, I had a recollection that swans liked to collect near the Aquatic Park Sailing Club, and one of the things I was missing on film was a big group of trumpeters.
The extra hike over there proved worth it as there was, in fact, a larger gathering of swans, but it turned out to be a blended family. Some trumpeters, but mostly their invasive cousins the mute swans. Nice to see them all getting along, but the relative numbers were a little discouraging.
Not the flock I was crossing my fingers for, but I’m also still holding out for LaSalle Park this winter, which I understand is a much surer bet for a big congregation of trumpeters.
PS - Love this habitat enhancement.
