New bird-viewing platform to highlight threatened species along Grand Trunk Trail

By Galen Simmons

Birdwatchers using the Grand Trunk Trail will soon have a new place to observe threatened grassland birds thanks to a partnership between the Town of St. Marys, the Rotary Club of St. Marys, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority and a local farmer committed to protecting their habitat.

At its July 21 meeting, St. Marys council unanimously approved construction of a bird-viewing platform on the west leg of the Grand Trunk Trail overlooking fields at Thames Vista Farm, where threatened bobolinks and eastern meadowlarks return each year to nest. The project has been in the works since it was first proposed to the town’s green advisory committee in late 2023.

Director of public works Jed Kelly told council the project came together through the efforts of Thames Vista Farm’s Derek Ruthig, whose farming practices encourage the birds to nest in fields adjacent to the trail.

“Mr. Ruthig’s engaged in a farming practice where his fields are kind of preferable for bird nesting,” Kelly said. “It would kind of highlight his efforts and then give other people opportunities to view it from our trail network.”

According to Kelly’s report, Ruthig delays cutting his hay, sacrificing potential crop yield to provide nesting habitat for bobolinks, a threatened species in Ontario that was also named the Ontario Field Ornithologists’ 2024 Bird of the Year.

The project will include a raised viewing platform accessed by a stone-dust pathway, a culvert crossing and a switchback ramp leading up the embankment. Interpretive signage designed by the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority will educate visitors about the birds and their habitat.

Deputy mayor Brogan Aylward praised the proposal as an example of the kind of community partnership council has long hoped to encourage.

“This is exactly the kind of project that we typically have looked for as council,” Aylward said. “We have a gentleman with skin in the game who’s willing to show off a unique feature about his property and the threatened birds. And then he’s already gone and talked to a service club to get skin in the game and they have already pledged $5,000.”

Coun. Fern Pridham asked what farming practices make the property attractive to nesting birds.

Kelly explained Ruthig uses a delayed hay harvest, reducing the number of cuts each season to avoid disturbing nesting birds.

“He’s probably taking a hit in that he’s not getting as much hay,” Kelly said. “It’s a very generous and a very nice thing to be able to do.”

The Rotary Club of St. Marys has committed $5,000 for construction materials, while the town will contribute project management, culvert installation, site preparation and other in-kind services through existing public works operating budgets. The completed platform will become a town-owned asset with an expected service life of about 20 years.

Staff say the platform will complement recent investments in the Grand Trunk Trail while creating a new destination for birdwatchers, environmental education and nature-based tourism.