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This meadow, high above Lake Ontario, was a magnet today for monarch butterflies needing to stop and rest and refuel before continuing their migration along the lake to points much further south — in Mexico. I saw dozens today on a three-hour walk with Toronto Field Naturalists.
What a wonderful walk today with the TFN, lead by Linda Jefferies. We started at the entrance to Colonel Danforth Park in West Hill, right by where Kingston Rd. and Lawson Rd. come together on a bright, sunny morning that seemed a little brisk. The temperature was only about 14 or 15 C. But as we got down into the valley of Highland Creek, the temperature warmed up rapidly in the still air.
We wound our way through the cool forest alongside the creek. Surprisingly, there were no waterfowl on the creek that any of us saw, but along its banks were songbirds aplenty — the usual assortment of blue jays, chickadees, goldfinches and LBBs. I heard, but didn’t see, a belted kingfisher as he made his distinctive rattling call.
In the wettish dark thickets along the creek banks we saw pockets of spotted touch-me-not, commonly known as jewelweed. This is one of the native members of the balsam family, Impatiens capensis. Its bright orange flowers are especially adapted for hummingbird visitation. A little further along the trail, there were small stands of what looked to be the same plant, but with bright pink flowers. These were not just some weird variation of jewelweed, but a very similar plant native to the western Himalayas — Impatiens glandulifera, or Himalayan balsam.
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The lovely yellow flowers we saw along the trail at Colonel Danforth Park today are pale touch-me-nots (Impatiens pallid), a native species in the balsam family.
There was a third plant, again very similar to the orange jewelweed, but its flowers were bright yellow. I had never seen this one before, so went straight to my wildflower field guide when I got home. A brand new species for me — Impatiens pallid, or pale touch-me-not. Very exciting! It’s not every day you see get to see and identify a new wildflower on the trail. And this one, unlike the Himalayan one, is native to Ontario, like jewelweed.
The trail led us to some metal bridges that spanned the sides of the valley over the mouth of the creek, where huge rollers from the lake were breaking. One of our group commented on the sound of the waves, their regular rhythm so relaxing, she said.
There was a sign on the bridge indicating we were now in East Point Park. The trail now took us along the cliffs overlooking Lake Ontario. We were so high up that a turkey vulture flew past me, only a dozen or so metres from my head.
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The metal bridge at East Point Park at the mouth of the Highland Creek in West Hill.
How beautiful the meadows were today! Each field we passed was a jewel box of gold, amethyst and white, composed of many members of the aster family: golden rod, amethyst-coloured New York asters, and a variety of white ones. And flitting through the meadows were the largest number of monarchs I have seen in years. Altogether, we saw dozens on our nearly 10-kilometre route. They were nectaring on the asters, building up their fat reserves before continuing on their arduous migration south to Mexico.
It was a glorious day to be alive. Sun, water, lake breezes, flowers, butterflies — thanks for the hike, TFN.
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