5/31/2008

到Point Pelee国家公园看鸟

MOVING to new site, Click here

2008的春游:
Point Pelee国家公园
温莎的河畔
John. R. Park 农场
安大略省省花延龄草

一直听说每年的春秋两季沿伊利湖和底特律河北迁或者南移的鸟儿有不少会在Point Pelee公园修整,从而使其成为观鸟胜地。然而,可能因为是天气有一些阴雨的原因,也可能是我们没有很敏锐的观察力,我们只看见了十来种常见鸟类。










不过顺便来到了加拿大的最南端



走了一段很不错的Board walk.


这次回来的体会是看鸟不必一直走来走去。 特别遇见hiking人多的话,更是不见“惊弓之鸟”的踪影了。倒是守在一个地方耐心地等待,却有不少惊喜。




看看鸟嘴巴里的猎物



5/29/2008

温莎

2008的春游:
Point Pelee国家公园
温莎的河畔
John. R. Park 农场
安大略省省花延龄草

傍晚得时分无所事事,我们便决定去温莎看看。原本以为温莎只是一个小镇而已,不期她们的河滨非常的漂亮。




闲步于底特律河河畔,微风徐徐吹在脸上,眺望着对岸的底特律,不能不想到故乡的外滩。





5/25/2008

"古迹" John. R. Park 农场

2008的春游:
Point Pelee国家公园
温莎的河畔
John. R. Park 农场
安大略省省花延龄草

这次旅程的一个副产品是古迹John R. Park Homestead. 根据当地旅游资料的介绍,离我们居住地大约十几分钟车程的地方有一个“古迹”。虽然对这么一个小地方不以为然,因为下雨而早早结束在Point Pelee的Birdy Walk而有一些闲暇的时间,所以就决定前去一看。


View Larger Map

John R. Park 生于马萨诸塞,十九世纪二十年代早期移居上加拿大。他和他妻子共有6个孩子,并于1842年建造了这个农场。John退休以后去了Amherstuburg,Fox家族购买了这个地产并保留了将近一个世纪。现为 Essex Conservation所管理。




一百五十多年的房产在加拿大也确实是古迹了。红色的房屋散落在绿色的草坪间,一片田园风光。可惜是阴天,不然碧水蓝天为背景,便是绝佳风景了。




5/24/2008

安大略省省花延龄草

2008的春游:
Point Pelee国家公园
温莎的河畔
John. R. Park 农场
安大略省省花延龄草

Hillman Marsh Conservation Area 的工作人员介绍我们去Kopegaron Woods Conservation Area.

View Larger Map

这是一块不大的沼泽林地, 穿行其间有着一条非常不错的boardwalk.

Kopegaron Woods 春天的野花非常出名。我们不仅看见了安省省花三瓣的白色延龄草(Trillium grandiflorum)和其他不知名的野花,






Jack-in-the-pulpit


更是见到了濒危的低头延龄草(dropping trillium)和当地人号称七年一开花的紫色延龄草(Trillum erectum)。当时忙着拍照,忘了问一下是不是二十一年一结果。

5/19/2008

哈瓦那

哈瓦那由西班牙殖民者在古巴北部的哈瓦那湾于1519年开始建立。当时为西班牙在美洲和欧洲之间转运物资的重要港口。整个哈瓦那旧城(西班牙语:La Habana Vieja)为巴洛克和新古典主义风格的建筑。1982年,哈瓦那旧城及其防御工事被联合国教科文组织评为世界遗产。哈瓦那旧城曾经被法国海盗轻易占领和烧毁,因此从1558年起,西班牙殖民者开始营建城堡以加强防御。


这是建于18世纪的圣·卡洛斯要塞(Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña)






国会大厦(El Capitolio)在1959年古巴革命以前市政府所在地。议会大厦由当时的独裁者Machado在1929年建成,其外形酷似美国国会大厦,但内部机构完全不同。

4/29/2008

Birdy Watching

The Birding Pass is back!

Birding Pass to Point Pelee & Hillman Marsh
© Parks Canada
Pay for 2 days and get the 3rd free!

This popular 3 consecutive-day pass allows you entry to two of the region’s most popular spring bird watching sanctuaries: Point Pelee National Park and Hillman Marsh Conservation Area (located less than 10 minutes north of the park).

Valid between May 3 and 19, 2008

Family/Group $47.20 (up to seven occupants in a vehicle)
Individual $23.60

Purchase at Point Pelee’s entrance kiosk or Hillman’s Nature Centre.

Even if you only visit Point Pelee 3 days, you’ll save 20%!





Point Pelee Birding Area

Point Pelee National Park. Birds have made Point Pelee National Park world famous. Each spring and fall, thousands of birds pass through the area, giving Pelee an impressive checklist which presently stands at 385 species. The spring migration begins with the arrival in late January or early February of the Horned Larks. They are followed, in turn, by ducks, blackbirds, geese and Tundra Swans who arrive as the ice begins to thaw. Point Pelee is best known for its great diversity of songbirds. In particular, the spectacular movement of wood warblers through the Park is so outstanding that it is often dubbed "The Warbler Capital of North America". Of the 55 species of American wood warblers, 42 have been observed at Point Pelee and 36 occur annually.
The peak of spring migration occurs in mid-May before most trees have leafed out and coincides with our annual month-long May Festival of Birds. The fall migration of most species is less hurried and this allows even the most casual observer more time to study species than during spring's frenzied northward movement. Such species as Golden Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Northern Saw-whet Owl and Blackpoll Warbler can be found with regularity in the fall. The Park's "Migration Line", (519) 322-2371, is up-dated daily during the spring and autumn seasons.

The Onion Fields - located north of Point Pelee are often good for shorebirds, especially Golden and Black-bellied Plovers, Red Knots and Ruddy Turnstones. In the early fall Upland and Buff-breasted Sandpipers are regular visitors. Horned Larks, Savannah Sparrows and House Finches are common along the road that parallels the north boundary of Pelee marsh.

Hillman Marsh Conservation Area

This is one of the premiere areas for viewing marsh life in Essex County. The 850 acre marsh is located on County Road #20 at the extreme eastern shore of Essex County on Lake Erie. An information centre and five km. of walking trails are located at the northwest corner of the marsh. Bald Eagles are residents and rarities such as Yellow-headed Blackbird, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Eurasian Wigeon, Glossy Ibis and Western Kingbird are often reported here. Many species of herons, ducks, gulls, shorebirds, swallows, egrets, terns, rails and songbirds are easily found along the roads bordering the marsh. King Rails have nested in the area. Sandhill Cranes have been noted in migration. Fields near the parking lot often have Eastern Meadowlarks and Bobolinks in May. Wooded patches near the perimeter roads can sometimes have pockets of passerines which may include rare warblers and vireos. Dead standing trees support large numbers of Double-crested Cormorants. This site can provide excellent birding both spring and fall.

A new 87 acre shorebird wetland was created in 2003. It is managed specifically to provide shorebird habitat during the spring migration. In the spring of 2005, thirty species of shorebirds were recorded here.

Kopegaron Woods Conservation Area
Located just north of Hillman Marsh, this conservation area provides 47 acres of excellent woodland birding during migration and a great spot for spring wildflowers.

Wheatley Harbour
The harbour area is an excellent location to look for rare gulls among the large number of Herring and Ring-billed Gulls that loaf on the beach and piers.


Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary.
This world-famous refuge for Canada Geese is located three miles north of Kingsville on Division Road (County Road #29). The 300 acre Sanctuary contains a museum and nature centre which is open year-round from 8am to 5pm, Monday through Saturday. Here one can view the spring and fall migratory flight of Canada Geese. During the spring and summer months, the adjoining fields and Kennedy Woods provide opportunities to view Savannah Sparrows, Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks and other songbirds.

Heary Ford Meseum

Call Center: 800.835.5237

Daily Bird Hike

Great lake Crossing outlet mall

4/08/2008

How to Prevent Lost Luggage and Pack Wisely

This is copied from Budget Travel website. Thought it's helpful for me for the coming trips.

加通讯标签潜在箱子的前后和里面
箱子内放入行程表
留存箱子照片和行李清单


PREVENTING LOST LUGGAGE


Put your name both outside and inside your bag in case your luggage tags fall off in transit; also, a copy of your itinerary inside will make it easier for an airline employee to find you if it becomes lost


Take a picture of your bags before you travel. You'll find having a photo of your lost luggage will be much easier than describing what your bag looks like at the claims desk


Pack a day's worth of clothes in your carry on--especially undergarments--so if your bags ever become lost you're not running around an unknown city looking for the essentials


Avoid short layovers: If you must connect through a second airport, be sure to leave enough time for you and your bags to make the next flight--a good rule of thumb is to try and leave at least an hour in between legs


Some airports are worse than others: Many British and U.S. airports are heavily backed-up in the wake of the foiled terrorist plot and may be more prone to misplace luggage. In general, Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport and Sydney International are among the world's worst as far as losing bags is concerned, so take heed before you fly through those airports

IF YOUR BAG IS LOST


If your luggage is lost or even damaged, it's important that you file a report with the airline within 24 hours of your arrival, or else your claim could be dismissed


Also, if your bag is lost for good, you'll have to list all the items inside to get reimbursed, so it's important to write down what's in your bag before you fly.


Airlines pay a maximum of $2,800 per passenger for lost luggage on domestic flights, although each carrier's policy is different. For example, many exclude coverage of jewelry, camera equipment, and medications.


When delays occur, airlines usually advance passengers cash or reimburse you for necessary items like toiletries and a change of clothes, so it's important to save your receipts


Also, make sure to carry the address of the hotel or hotels you'll be staying at. Once the airline locates your bags, most will ship them to you free of charge so it's important that you know where they should send them

There is hope: In 98 percent of lost luggage situations, bags are eventually recovered, most within the first 24 to 48 hours.

PACKING TIPS

1. All the airlines have cut back on weight allowances¿if you check more than 50 pounds in a bag, you'll have to pay a fee (except for JetBlue, where the limit is 70 pounds), so pack light!

2. Pack chronologically. If you know you're going to be golfing on your last day, pack it at the bottom.

3. Put at least one outfit of yours in your companion's bag, and that way, if the airline loses your bag (or your companion's), you each at least have something to wear.

4. Share the luggage load in general. When you travel with a group, decide ahead of time who's going to bring what. If you're sharing a suite or have adjoining rooms, you don't need multiple hair dryers and umpteen bottles of shampoo.

5. Dry-cleaning bags stop clothes from wrinkling. Slide each garment into its own bag (leave the hanger at home) and place them flat on your bed, one on top of another. Then carefully fold the entire stack to fit it in your suitcase. Once you get to your hotel, hang everything up as soon as you reasonably can.

6. Put shoes inside those plastic bags that the newspapers are delivered in. They're sturdy, just the right shape (long and thin), and at the end of the trip you can just throw the bags away. In fact, regular household items like soap dishes, film canisters, and contact lens cases can be used to hold delicate things like jewelry and small doses of over-the-counter medications.

7. Place heavy items at the end of the suitcase that will be at the bottom when the suitcase is standing on end. This way the weight will hold the bag upright and it won't tip over.

8. We love Ziploc bags! We use them for everything. To hold toiletries prone to ooze, to hold cell phones and wallets when we're on water rides at amusement parks, to hold umbrellas when they're wet but we don't want to carry them.

9. Pack things inside of other things. Women's shoes inside of men's shoes, a camera inside a pair of shoes, etc.

10. Pack a swimsuit in your carry on. If you're going on a cruise, you'll be able to hit the pool when everybody else is waiting for their baggage to be delivered to their cabins. And if your luggage is lost, you'll at least be able to swim.

11. Consider shipping stuff ahead, especially baby supplies. You can order them from a company called Babiestravellite.com and they'll be delivered to your hotel.

14. Write a master packing list on your computer; it should include everything you might pack for any given trip. Then, when you're going on a specific trip, you can cross off the stuff you won't need¿and you don't have to write up a new list for the next trip.

10/14/2007

赏枫 二

第二天的早上,家人和朋友们都还在睡觉。我反正启的早,便决定去Lion's Lookout看看。虽然路上漆黑一片,跟随GPS的指引,还算不太辛苦地找到了Lookout。可惜乌云遮天,日出是看不见了。









虽然日出没有看见,有幸由一同在那里拍照的当地人推荐了一个绝佳的赏枫地:Hwy35 & Hwy 60 东侧的Oxtongue Rapids。

10/09/2007

赏枫 一

又掉了秋风扫落叶的时候。但是今年的北风姗姗来迟,天气干热,不知何时枫叶最为绚丽。想来少些颜色总比没有颜色好,便决定九月的最后一个周末前往Alongquin去看枫叶。

我们是星期六中午出发的,400和11号公路上车辆不多不少,夹塞在中间开着130到120的速度,好像是印象中开这条路最为轻松的一次了。过了Bracebridge,转到Hwy117。纷繁的颜色开始迎面而来,路上几处小景别有风味。

从Hwy117转Hwy35后不久便来到Dorset Lookout。不巧正好遇上新一轮排队的第一个,等候的不少时间。进去后方知从门口去塔底也就百来米的距离,不如停车门口直接走了上去。

Dorset Lookout掩映在红叶如林中,




虽然很是恐高,还是决定充一回好汉爬上了塔顶。还在上面风光无限,















从Dorset Lookout出来,天色见晚,我们便折道西行,来到在Huntsville预租的旅馆。

8/15/2007

华盛顿樱花节(及最佳赏花点推荐)四

在华盛顿邮报的建议和当地人的指点下,我们见到了这次旅程印象最为深刻的花海。


花瓣雨


Kenwood 是一个居民小区,在马里兰州,出华盛顿大约五分钟的车程。小区里有一千多株樱花,游人稀少。我们留恋其中,乐不思蜀,足足推迟了半天才启程回多伦多。(这里是该小区一段小录像的连接








如此美景,不敢独享,附Google 地图于此。对因此打扰了当地居民来年的清静,在此只能深表歉意了。