Christie Lake From Above

Over sixteen thousand people know Christie Lake as the Christie Antique Show place. Over seven thousand more know Christie Lake as the Greenbelt Harvest Picnic venue and even thousands more know and enjoy Christie Lake for the swimming, boating and picnic facilities. Few people see Christie Lake when it is waiting for winter to arrive, and even fewer get the chance to see it from above.

On a sunny calm day in late November, I had the unique opportunity to fly over Christie Lake and get a wonderful birds-eye view. The lake had just reached its winter elevation (six feet lower than what it is in the summer swimming season).

Looking from the southwest, the beach and Beach House Pavilions are in the center of the photo, Lakeside Pavilion is in the bottom left and the Marina and McCoy Pavilions are just visible on the right side as the Spencer Creek winds out of the frame.

Directly over the beach, the fields await the next Antique Show, vendors filling the grass around the beach pavilion and spectators parking on the other open green fields.

The Christie Lake Dam located at the south east end of the park was completed in 1971 and is the largest flood control structure in the Hamilton watershed. Built to reduce flooding in Dundas, it also provides low flow augmentation in dry summers and creates a vibrant habitat for recreation and wildlife. The McCoy Pavilion and soccer field can be seen below the parking lot at the top of the photo. As the Spencer Creek passes through the dam, white water of the Darnley Cascade are visible before the creek reaches the Darnley Mill ruins.

The opportunity to view  Christie Lake from above is an experience that very few get to have and is one that I will never forget.

Bruce Harschnitz

Park Superintendent

Christie Lake Conservation Area

Photos by Bruce Harschnitz and HCA

The Owl that keeps hooting

September 14, 2011, started out like any other day, the Conservation Areas were wrapping up the summer season and we were getting ready to ready another fall season, when staff at ChristieLake CA received a call from a local resident regarding a Great Horned Owl sitting on a hiking path in the middle of the woods. Bruce Harschnitz the Superintendent of Christie Lake, gave me a call in hopes that something could be done to help this owl. After arriving at Christie Lake CA, it was clear the owl was in distress and appeared lethargic. 

Great Horned Owl

After some discussion and debate we decided the best thing to do was to contact the Owl Foundation (Located in Vineland Station, ON), to see if they could accommodate a seemingly ailing owl. The owl foundation is a registered charitable organization that focuses on helping and rehabilitating injured, diseased or starving Canadian owl species.

With the help of a few other colleagues we were able to capture the owl and placed it in a well ventilated box, and prepare to take the owl on a road trip to the foundation so it could receive the care it needed. I got to be the lucky person who had the privilege of holding onto the box while we drove. 

Great Horned Owl

The car ride was quite the journey, as we drove down the highway, the car was completely silent, accept for the periodic “hoot” from the box. I talked to the owl in hopes we would both stay calm,  but when he managed to poke his head out of the box to see what was going on, I was startled! Imagining him coming out of the box and flying around the car! It turned out he just wanted to figure out what was going on, and tucked himself back into the box, and  let out anther “hoot”,  which I assumed meant he would not do that again.  

After arriving at the foundation, the employees met me in the drive way, then proceed inside the facility.  I held onto the owl while the employee conducted a quick assessment. I said my good-byes to the owl and thanked him for making my "normal" workday that little bit more exciting. Upon leaving I left my contact information, and was informed I would receive a call from the foundation with an update as soon as they had one.

On Tuesday September 11, 2012 while at my desk, during another "normal" work day,  I received a phone call from the Owl Foundation. (by this time I thought  sadly the owl did not make a recovery). I was overjoyed to hear the owl had gained a full recovery and was ready to be released back into nature. 

Staff at the foundation, informed me that the owl had suffered major trauma to his beak, which kept him from feeding, eventually leading him to be emaciated. The staff cared for the owl, providing much needed fluids and food, with every passing day the owl became stronger flying and hunting mice within its enclosure.

The Owl Foundation decided the time had come to release the owl back to the wild, at the same spot it was orginally found. The release party was held on Friday September 14, 2012 at Christie Lake CA, with an invitation to everyone involved in the recovery process.  At the release party, Jane, (from the Owl Foundation) selected an open area with nearby trees, so the owl may take cover quickly. The box opened and the owl poked his head out quickly, then off he flew to a tree close by. It was an experience that will forever stay with me, and close to my heart. Whenever I am at Christie Lake CA, in the futrue I will look for the Great Horned owl that received a second chance to soar through the trees. 

Lisa Jennings 

Aquatic Ecologist

Hamilton Conservation Authority

HCA would like to thank everyone involved, especially the local resident who first noticed the frail owl and the Owl Foundation that no doubt saved this owls life. Without the dedication of this organization, owls injured, diseased would not have a second chance. The tireless effort and compassion from the staff at the foundation is astounding, we are very fortunate to have a organization like in the area.

Please visit the Owl Foundation website for more information about the organization and how you can help www.theowlfoundation.ca

So this is Hamilton...

"Hamilton Conservation Authority". When I first read those words as a recent university grad on a job hunt, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. To be honest I didn’t really know what a Conservation Authority was. And my thoughts of Hamilton most certainly weren’t that of Conservation. 

I’d lived in Niagara nearly all of my life and really only knew of Hamilton as that place on the side of the QEW with all the smoke stacks. I will admit that it was a very limited perspective, but one I think many have while travelling over the Skyway bridge. It wasn’t until I started working at HCA that my view of the city (that I now call home) changed. 

As part of my training as a new HCA employee, I was given a tour of our watershed which was a real eye opener for me. I learned that not only does Hamilton have trees, but there are lots of them! It also turns out that there are a lot of waterfalls here too! Those of us from Niagara Region are taught to believe that we have the most beautiful and unique spots across the NiagaraEscarpment. After all, it is the ‘Niagara’ Escarpment, but it became obvious rather quickly that Hamilton poses some pretty stiff competition. 

Places like Christie Lake and Valens Conservation Areas showed me that it doesn’t take a 5 hour car ride to get out of the city and actually feel like you are out of the city. My drive to work in the Dundas Valley is certainly nothing to complain about either, and is quite a nice change from the hustle and bustle of downtown. 

Every now and again people will crack jokes about Hamilton, and now I find that I am the first to defend my new home. Not many people can walk out the door of their workplace and onto a hiking trail. There’s really no better way to find out what’s out there until you get out and experience if for yourself... and until you do, you truly won’t know what you’re missing. 

Brittany B.

HCA Information Services