Thus ended our little expedition up the Bruce Peninsula to Tobermory and Flowerpot Island. Hope you enjoyed it.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Those Seagulls
We stopped for lunch on our way home at the waterfront in Wiarton, home of Wiarton Willie. The bay was blue, and the gulls were screaming.
This is Colpoys Bay, the southernmost bay on the east side of the Bruce Peninsula. The marina is on the far side, but the centre of the waterfront is a public park.
We could look out a long distance past Malcolm Bluff on the left to Hay Island in the distant centre.
The old railway station in Wiarton was rescued and moved to this location some years after train service ended in 1958. Now it's operated as the office for the adjoining campground, a tourist info centre, and a small museum. I liked the sidewalk, which I presume was made to suggest railway tracks leading to the station.
The station itself was built in 1904, but the picnic shelter on the left was added only recently.
The museum did have a few momentoes of the railway age, including this picture of a locomotive. I'm fascinated with that time in rural Ontario's history, because the age of rail was so significant and pervasive when it arrived, but it has died out almost completely. They even had a stained glass window of Willie.
As for the seagulls, they were more than annoying! These are properly called Ring-billed Gulls - there is actually no such species as 'seagull', but we tend to label all the gulls that way.
These gulls had obviously learned about picnics and available food scraps. But they weren't content to pick up the scraps - they wanted right in on their share of the food! I made the mistake of taking my plate out of the van to sit at a picnic table for lunch. Six gulls were there in seconds, dropping out of the air to only a foot or two away. When one attacked my head I had had enough, and headed back to the van!
I'm afraid picnics at this location have been destroyed by these overly aggressive gulls, but as long as you have no food, you can walk around and be totally ignored!
Thus ended our little expedition up the Bruce Peninsula to Tobermory and Flowerpot Island. Hope you enjoyed it.
Thus ended our little expedition up the Bruce Peninsula to Tobermory and Flowerpot Island. Hope you enjoyed it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Oh, I did indeed enjoy this trip. Those aggressive gulls would not have been much fun, though. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe gulls can be aggressive but the sounds they make along the shore are a part of the setting I enjoy!
ReplyDeleteOh that gorgeous blue water. Bruce is such a beautiful place but one I'm afraid I'll never get to. Love your images. Carol
ReplyDeleteawwww, too bad about your picnic, i have seen them steal food right from peoples hands (i think i told you that)!
ReplyDeletea beautiful spot with a gorgeous view!!
Hello,:) Beautiful shots of the bay, and in the park, the old railway building looks good as a Tourist Information Centre, and I like the addition and the path,...it's just a pity the gulls won't let anyone have a meal there without their unwanted intervention. Nice shots of the little blighters though!:=)
ReplyDeleteLove the Bay there in Wiarton, used to hang out thee years ago. This gulls can really be annoying when you try to have a picnic.
ReplyDeleteGreat trip, thank you for taking us along! Ring-billed gulls, interesting, I never knew that. I notice the black ring on their beaks so aptly named!
ReplyDeleteHello, pretty views of the water and coast. Those gulls are determined to get your food. Great photos.
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday, enjoy your day and new week ahead!
I love rail stations..have always wished I could have one for a quilt studio. So glad they saved that one...too bad you cannot enjoy a picnic though.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful train station--glad it was preserved.I think it's sad that railroad travel has almost become a thing of the past, except for scenic rides. Automobile exhaust has added so much pollution to the world. The chipmunk window was a fun surprise!
ReplyDeleteSaving the station was a very good idea!
ReplyDeleteAt least it seemed you all had a wonderful time. Sans the Gulls of course. Truly annoying.
ReplyDeleteBay View Park near Anacortes, Wa. is the same and if you don't have food they WILL find your can and you know what happens next.
MB
Reminds me of the Disney movie (can't remember which one) where the seagulls are all squawking "mine! mine!"
ReplyDeleteNice old train station and I like the sidewalk made to look like tracts.
ReplyDeleteThey sure were some pesky gulls!!!
I like the old train station. Spent my younger years growing up only a few hundred yards from the Tavistock train station and remember well those old steam locomotives coming and going. Pretty fascinating for a young boy and I spent a lot of time playing and hanging around that old train station. Don't know if you ever read my post, 'The Rock' http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2013/03/the-rock.html but it involved the Tavistock train station and a rock that once sat at the corner of that building. Liked you Bruce Peninsula excursion.
ReplyDelete