Saturday, July 07, 2007

A Morning At Scarborough Bluffs

I've lived 20 plus years in Toronto, and never visited Scarborough Bluffs. So this morning the wife and I drove down there after the skating class she teaches and spent an hour walking the place. The pictures look better if you click on them.























Scarborough Bluffs are in reality a single bluff, which have been named in the plural so that tourists think there is more to see than there actually is. Just like The Beaches. These are two different shots of "The Bluff" from different angles.


















Probably the most interesting thing I saw in the way of wildlife was this pair of Cedar Waxwings, which would not hold still for me. The one at the top doesn't look too bad when you click on the picture. Their nest was probably in this tree, as they buzzed my head a couples of times.



















Not a bad shot of a red-winged blackbird. The place is crawling with them, especially on the side of the storm sewage ponds.



















Water lily in the storm sewage pond. I managed to arrange the shot so you can't see the floating garbage. Didn't see any frogs, but I thought I heard one gagging on the diluted urine.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

BCW:

Nice pics. The bluffs appear to be some type of softer stone... sandstone or perhaps even chalk-like. Is that the case?

Bruce

bigcitylib said...

They are packed clay soil. The shoreline of Lake Iroquois, a proglacial lake.

Karen said...

Great pic's. Come west young man. If you and "the wife", (why did you say that?) venture west, to the dreaded Mississauga and take a walk through Rattray Marsh. It's a very unusual place and the birds...well, you'll wonder where you are.

You'll be able to see the city from there, though the bluffs will be tough to make out, unless it's really clear.

Worth the trip my friend and easy to find. It's where I live and I woulsn't have it any other way.

Ti-Guy said...

Oh, yeah right. You go photograph bluffs, because you can't refute the unassailable evidence that the world is entering a new ice age.

...or something. Gawd, I suck at trolling.

The bluffs are really interesting when you see them from farther off on the lake. I recommend a boat tour.

Anonymous said...

You must visit the GUILD INN in Scarborough next time your around. The Guild Inn hotel is closed (and haunted) but they maintain the grounds which are on top of the Bluffs. They have may architectural momuments to be seen including an amphitheatre stage which is seen in the movie SKULLS.

Unknown said...

hi, I stumbled upon your site when showing friends pictures of the bluffs that I could find online. Just a little information for you. The bluffs are more than one. They are 14km along the Lake Ontario shore, from the Eastern Beaches of Toronto in the west and go all the way out into pickering and possibly further. Also the beaches are more than one beach, with Kew Beach being the main one. Woodbine Beach to the west, Kew Beach in the centre, and Balmy Beach to the east, there is also cherry beach not that far away.