Refuelling for the migration north.

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak has found a way station at Thorncliffe Park Community Garden.

After a winter in South America and the Caribbean, he is migrating north for the summer breeding season.

But the bird feeders at Thorncliffe are tempting. He’s checked in to refuel. His black cape, white belly and red breast add a splash of colour, and his song a new melody, to the feeding station at the east end of the garden, overlooking Toronto’s Don Valley ravine.

“He’s back this year and he’ll stay for 10 days or so,” says gardener and Thorncliffe Park resident Linda Piwowarski. “Then he’s off to Manitoulin Island and further north in Ontario for the summer.”

Retired from a Toronto financing company, Linda is the pied piper of wildlife at the community garden. And the Rose-breasted Grosbeak has fallen under her spell.

“He has a beautiful song, and he’s not shy. He’s quite happy for me to get close to him while he is feeding.”

He’s not the only one. Winged friends ranging from Cowbirds to Sparrows, from Blue Jays to Red Winged Blackbirds, and from Finches to Woodpeckers, recognize Linda’s black compact car as it turns from Beth Nealson road into the community garden, located on hydro land. They know it’s feeding time. “The Blue Jays will actually screech at me if they think I am not fast enough with the bird seed,” Linda notes.

She feeds the birds daily throughout the year and each one has a story to tell.

“Mallard ducks will come up from the valley for a week or so. There is a pair that resides in the valley near the Science Centre. The male will bring his wife up to the garden for a rendezvous, so to speak. He struts and marches around and she follows him. They are quite a pair.”

Sometimes tame birds such as Canaries and Budgies, which have flown their suburban coops, will visit for a meal.

Several varieties of Woodpeckers including Downy and Hairy stop by for a bite before finding a mature tree to knock holes in, creating a future source for tasty insects and bugs.

In winter, chickadees join some of the birds that stay put in T.O.

On the daily menu?  A healthy offering of mixed birdseed, sunflower seeds, peanuts, almonds, suet, and raisins.

Bird-feeding time at Thorncliffe Park

Linda is also the steward of a burgeoning variety of four-legged wildlife.

“The Don Valley is greening up” she says — species have moved back in or extended their range. Deer will climb the ravine hill to the community garden at dusk, sneak bites of lettuce, carrots and other vegetables, and leave hoof prints in gardens, along with the telltale powerful scent of their urine. Some gardeners ward them off with mesh fencing.

Likewise, as of last year, a Coyote is now on the scene. While gardeners use bloodmeal to repel creatures such as squirrels, it seems to have the opposite effect on a Coyote. “He dug up all my tulips trying to get at the bloodmeal,” recalls Linda.

Rabbits, squirrels, groundhogs and the odd raccoon round out the list of creatures.

Then there was Solomon the Cat. One day, Linda noticed a Siamese cat lounging near the bird feeders. He was surely lost, and had a tag, so Linda took him home, and phoned the owner. Turns out the wily cat had prowled all the way across the Valley from the Flemingdon Park neighborhood. Solomon’s owner drove over to Thorncliffe Park to retrieve him and thanked Linda.

But…

The cat came back… the very next day.

“He must like it here,” says Linda. But she will keep an eye on Solomon’s birdly ambitions.

Linda has been a Thorncliffe Park resident since the 1960s, when a new community of high-rises, schools, churches, services and a shopping plaza had replaced an old horse-racing track on the site. The Thorncliffe Park Garden Club is one of the city’s oldest community gardens, started by volunteers in the early 1970s.

“A girl-friend of mine lived on the same floor or our apartment building and we would go for walks after work,” recalls Linda. “Her mother-in-law had a plot at the garden club. It was really peaceful there, and something different to do outdoors.”

Linda applied for a plot and has been gardening – and taking care of the birds – ever since. “I started with a small feeder in my own plot, and when a cardinal landed on it, I was amazed. It kind of grew from there.” For the past several years, she has also served on the non-profit community garden’s executive committee, supporting more than 100 local gardeners and their families.

The bird feeding station with its few donated chairs and tables also acts as a scenic lookout and social space for gardeners seeking a break from weeding and watering. Today, Ann and Arielah have dropped by for a game of Scrabble in the sun-dappled shade. With two triple-scores so far.

Feeding the birds is a joy and a responsibility. “I don’t take holidays,” Linda admits. “In a way, this is my holiday each day.”

“It’s so peaceful here and the birds and animals can teach us a lesson about how to get along.”