An Insider's Guide to Waterloo Region

I posted a picture of this bridge almost exactly one year ago today. Here it is from the other side.

The photo below is edited to look the way I think the bridge should look. All those wires are distracting.

Skunk cabbage flower, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-winged Blackbird, Blue Jay, Mallard Duck, Chickadee, Song Sparrow

Here is a collage of pictures taken this morning at Riverside Park in Cambridge. (the Osprey was outside the park along the Grand River)

I visited this natural area for the first time on a snowy, damp weekend (as we have had every weekend lately!) In spite of the weather, it was an interesting and beautiful area that I will return to explore further when the trails dry out. There are several steep sections in the 5 km loop so if you go when it is icy, you need to take special care.

Chickadees here are very friendly and come readily to eat from your hand. Most of them have colour-coded bands and are being studied for behaviour and movement. This is a birder’s paradise.

This map directs you to Hillside Lake Park on the Brant-Waterloo Road. Dickson Wilderness area is immediately west of the trailer park. A parking lot is on the north side of Brant-Waterloo Road.

Other trails are found nearby at Sudden Tract, Wrigley Lake and Pinehurst Lake.

Kiwanis Park, Kitchener

This is a late afternoon hockey game on an outdoor rink at the entrance of Kiwanis Park in Kitchener. (map)

I accessed the Walter Bean Trail near Kestrel Street in Kitchener last week and walked along the river to Kiwanis Park. This tower is on the opposite side of the river near Bloomingdale. I have looked on the satellite map and have searched the internet for information, but can find nothing to identify it.

Here is a map of the area. Does anyone know who built the tower and if it is accessible to the public?

This is where I took the photograph. You can see the tower in the distance across the river. Eagles are commonly seen along this stretch of the Grand River in the winter.