Blue Heron Lake
Encyclopedia
Blue Heron Lake is an "L"-shaped man-made lake located in East Riverside Park in the east of Windsor
, Ontario
, Canada
. Created in 1997, it serves to treat the outflow from a storm water drain.
s make the habitat around the lake their home; the snake
s are garter snake
, fox snake
, ribbon snake
and some massasauga rattlesnakes. There are turtle
s such as: painted turtle
s, snapping turtle
s, musk turtle
s, red-eared slider
s, yellow-bellied slider
s, and northern map turtle
s. There have been many reports of an enormous snapping turtle
with a carapace
length of 3 feet (1 m). There was a turtle slightly larger, almost 5 feet, but it died during the winter of 2004-2005. There are also many birds such as gull
s, heron
s, sparrow
s, red-winged blackbird
s, geese and duck
s. The lake area is a favorite spot for children,they sport fish off of the Blue Heron Lake bridge and other areas around the lake. There are many fish in the lake such as Sunfish
, Bluegill
, Pumpkinseed
, Perch
, Bass
, Koi
, Pike, Minnow
s, Shad
and Catfish
. It has been confirmed that there is a Muskellunge
in Blue Heron Lake. The lake has a maximum depth of 8 metres (26 ft).
in July 2006. Many people come to the lake to run or walk. During winter when the lake freezes, it is used for ice skating or to play hockey
. In summer months, people will go canoeing
and courses are held to teach how to do so. Fishing is something that many do. A park is across the street and to the southwest corner of the lake. A great blue bridge occupies the center of the lake to cross over, and a hill is near by which used to be a landfill
, called East Riverside Hill.
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Created in 1997, it serves to treat the outflow from a storm water drain.
Wildlife
Fishing is permitted in it, by catch and release only. Many reptileReptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s make the habitat around the lake their home; the snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s are garter snake
Garter snake
The Garter snake is a Colubrid snake genus common across North America, ranging from Alaska and Canada to Central America. It is the single most widely distributed genus of reptile in North America. The garter snake is also the Massachusettsstate reptile.There is no real consensus on the...
, fox snake
Fox Snake
Fox snake is the common name given to two species of North American rat snakes. Neither is any threat to humans. Unfortunately, due to the striking resemblance to the Massasauga rattlesnake , it is killed by many people who mistake it for the Massasauga.The eastern fox snake is...
, ribbon snake
Ribbon snake
The Ribbon Snake or Ribbonsnake is a common snake found throughout North America. It averages in length and is a member of the garter snake genus...
and some massasauga rattlesnakes. There are turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
s such as: painted turtle
Painted Turtle
The painted turtle is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to Louisiana and northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only species of the genus Chrysemys, which is part of the pond turtle...
s, snapping turtle
Snapping turtle
The common snapping turtle is a large freshwater turtle of the family Chelydridae. Its natural range extends from southeastern Canada, southwest to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, as far east as Nova Scotia and Florida and as far southwest as northeastern Mexico...
s, musk turtle
Musk turtle
Musk turtle is the common name given to three genera of aquatic turtles:*Sternotherus, the musk turtles proper,*Staurotypus, variously called Mexican, three-keeled or giant musk turtles, and.*Claudius, the narrow-bridged musk turtle....
s, red-eared slider
Red-eared slider
The red-eared slider is a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is a subspecies of pond slider. It is the most popular pet turtle in the United States and also popular in the rest of the world...
s, yellow-bellied slider
Yellow-bellied slider
The yellow-bellied slider is a land and water turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. This subspecies of pond slider is native to the southeastern United States, specifically from Florida to southeastern Virginia, and is the most common turtle species in its range...
s, and northern map turtle
Northern Map Turtle
The northern map turtle , or formerly common map turtle, is an aquatic turtle that belongs to the family Emydidae.-Description:...
s. There have been many reports of an enormous snapping turtle
Snapping turtle
The common snapping turtle is a large freshwater turtle of the family Chelydridae. Its natural range extends from southeastern Canada, southwest to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, as far east as Nova Scotia and Florida and as far southwest as northeastern Mexico...
with a carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
length of 3 feet (1 m). There was a turtle slightly larger, almost 5 feet, but it died during the winter of 2004-2005. There are also many birds such as gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...
s, heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s, sparrow
Sparrow
The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...
s, red-winged blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
The Red-winged Blackbird is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and...
s, geese and duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s. The lake area is a favorite spot for children,they sport fish off of the Blue Heron Lake bridge and other areas around the lake. There are many fish in the lake such as Sunfish
Lepomis
Lepomis is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The most recognizable species of the sixteen in this genus is the Bluegill....
, Bluegill
Bluegill
The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...
, Pumpkinseed
Pumpkinseed
The pumpkinseed sunfish is a freshwater fish of the sunfish family of order Perciformes. It is also referred to as "pond perch", "common sunfish", "punkys", and "sunny".-Range and distribution:...
, Perch
Perch
Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...
, Bass
Bass (fish)
Bass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch."-Types of basses:*The temperate...
, Koi
Koi
or more specifically , are ornamental varieties of domesticated common carp that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens....
, Pike, Minnow
Minnow
Minnow is a general term used to refer to small freshwater and saltwater fish, especially those used as bait fish or for fishing bait. More specifically, it refers to small freshwater fish of the carp family.-True minnows:...
s, Shad
Shad
The shads or river herrings comprise the genus Alosa, fish related to herring in the family Clupeidae. They are distinct from others in that family by having a deeper body and spawning in rivers. The several species frequent different areas on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea....
and Catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
. It has been confirmed that there is a Muskellunge
Muskellunge
A muskellunge , also known as a muskelunge, muscallonge, milliganong, or maskinonge , is a large, relatively uncommon freshwater fish of North America. Muskellunge are the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae...
in Blue Heron Lake. The lake has a maximum depth of 8 metres (26 ft).
Recreational Use
Blue Heron Lake was connected with the Ganatchio TrailGanatchio Trail
The Ganatchio Trail is a bike trail in Windsor, Ontario, the second to be built in the city. Construction on the trail started upon the closure of Clairview Avenue. The trail currently extends over 5.3 km, and passes through several neighbourhoods, such as Riverside and Little River, and...
in July 2006. Many people come to the lake to run or walk. During winter when the lake freezes, it is used for ice skating or to play hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
. In summer months, people will go canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
and courses are held to teach how to do so. Fishing is something that many do. A park is across the street and to the southwest corner of the lake. A great blue bridge occupies the center of the lake to cross over, and a hill is near by which used to be a landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
, called East Riverside Hill.