Morning Bird Walk

Start your day off right with a dawn walk in High Park and learn about the local birds with Isaac.

Birding is real-life Pokemon. Once you start noticing birds, your experience in the outdoors is transformed and you'll start noticing them everywhere. Basic starter pokemon are common birds like sparrows and cardinals and as the season and location changes you'll find ones that are more rare. You'll soon appreciate their beauty and have your favorites.

High Park is absolutely beautiful in the morning. I'll show you some of the nicest areas, tell you all about the history of the park and teach you the basics of birding.

You'll learn about and spot:

• A variety of birds like hawks, bluejays and woodpeckers
• High Park's Black Oak Savannah
• The flora and fauna
• High Park's history

We'll take no longer than an hour so you can get to wherever you need to be nice and early.

07:30 - Meet at the High Park Avenue and Bloor entrance to the park

08:30 - Wrap up and return home/to work

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• Ice spikes if you have them (it could be icy)
• Decent footwear
• Water and food
• Binoculars (if you have them)
• Warm clothing

• Bring a packed lunch to have at the end

• We'll pass some poison ivy at points but this is otherwise a very safe adventure. If you're very sensitive to poison ivy you might want to wear long pants.

We like to share some of the indigenous background of the areas we visit because these territories have rich histories that are easy to overlook. Indigenous communities have a connection to and respect for the land that has largely been lost since European settlement. As we strive to form a deeper connection with the land, we have much to learn from these communities. You can use the Native Land map to learn more about these areas.

The Humber has a particularly long and varied indigenous history, groups who maintain connections to the land include:

1. The Anishinaabe: This includes the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Algonquin peoples. They have lived in the region for centuries and continue to have a presence in the area.
2. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy: This includes the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora nations. They have historical connections to the land around Toronto.
3. The Huron-Wendat: They were once the primary inhabitants of the Toronto area before being displaced by European colonization and other Indigenous groups. The Huron-Wendat nation now resides in Wendake, Quebec, but maintains a historical connection to Toronto.
4. The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation: This is a Mississauga Ojibwe First Nation located near Brantford, Ontario. They have treaty rights and historical connections to the land that is now the city of Toronto.
5. The Métis: The Métis people, who are of mixed Indigenous and European ancestry, also have connections to the region.