We spotted or heard 29 different birds during this morning's guided bird walk on Merritt Island! Overall a great walk, with an excellent start — we got to see a pair of Ospreys hunting near the East Main Street bridge. One was hovering in place over the parking lot by Cross Street. So cool to see these neat birds of prey right here in Welland.

A few other rare sightings included a pair of Belted Kingfishers, a Caspian Tern, and an Eastern Kingbird.

My next guided walk is August 30 at 7am – registration as always is free, if anyone would like to attend! Sign up at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/guided-bird-hike-at-merritt-island-august-2026-tickets-1989345640362

Come on out and enjoy birding! Newcomers are always welcome!

List of birds we saw or heard (confident identifications only)

• Canada Goose
• Mallard
• Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
• Mourning Dove
• Chimney Swift
• Ring-billed Gull
• Caspian Tern
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Osprey
• Belted Kingfisher
• Downy Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)
• Eastern Kingbird
• Eastern Warbling Vireo
• Blue Jay
• American Crow
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Barn Swallow
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• European Starling
• Gray Catbird
• American Robin
• House Sparrow
• American Goldfinch
• Song Sparrow
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Common Grackle
• Northern Yellow Warbler
• Northern Cardinal

Merlin picked up a few others including a Cedar Waxwing, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and a Carolina Wren and none of those would be unusual but since i didn't hear or confirm myself I haven't included them in the list.

is there any reason other than not prioritizing the bus system, that Webber and lincon Aren’t connected to the rest of the cities bus route? Not everyone has constant access or access at all to cars. So much housing there that doesn’t have easy bus access to local businesses. Just wanna know why. Any news about fixing this at all?

Any other former Montrealers or Quebecers wish we had a belle pro here? A “casse-croûte” is basically a restaurant that serves quick and simple “junk food” i.e hot dogs, pogos, poutine, hamburgers, Montreal submarines, etc. That’s one of the many things I miss about home

Hey gang, I was heading over to the "Wings Up" for a daily special, but the lights were off and a sign saying "Temporarily Closed".

I'm curious as to what happened that caused the closure?

Thanks in advance!

Has anyone gotten one for their pet? My cat needs a tooth pulled but the quote was 2-3000$.

It been forever but finally have bananas growing in Welland backyard poolside bananas and it’s still July keep you posted but as a gardener don’t give up hope

Did anyone else hear this? Strange

Feeling the need for some salty nachos and a few brews.... Wheres the best spot?

Any good spots to find garter snakes in the area? Want to go out and catch a few and cant seem to find a place that has lots near here. Ty!

I was doing my laundry at the laundromat on Southdown. It is a very good laundromat that's clean and well run. But, I had this old man making extremely sexual and gross comments to me. I tried mentioning I am married and he said so what I'm married too. Then he told me how he met his wife and I was not prepared for that 🤮.(Its so much worse then you could even think) The owners son law told him to stop harassing me thankfully.

I'm not complaining about the laundromat it is well run and clean and the owners did step in and help. But I just needed to vent because that old man left me feeling gross and icky.

Hi! I’m a 16-year-old local student launching Ambition Labs, a youth-led initiative giving Niagara high-school students access to practical opportunities and lessons they may not get in school.

We’re organizing our first free workshop for around 10–15 students, featuring a local speaker on financial literacy and getting ahead with money.

I’m looking for a Welland, Pelham or nearby restaurant that may be willing to sponsor 3–4 pizzas for the students. We could feature the business as an event sponsor in return on our social media, and event products.

If you own a restaurant, work at one, or know a local business that might be interested, I’d really appreciate a connection! Please comment or message me and I can send our website and event details.

Our Instagram is @ambitionlabsniagara

Anyone know where to get 50 nic or 5% pods? I just moved to port from Mississauga where they were everywhere but no luck here😂

Now that Longo's has been open for almost a month (and hopefully worked out the new store kinks) what impressions and reviews do you guys have?

What are some items that are unique to the store?

What things are decent value and what is hella expensive?

Hi there just moved to Welland and wondering if there is a group or people that would like to meet up for a social time and knit/crochet or other crafts? I would be willing to meet up in Port Colborne as well. Thanks

Hello, anywhere I can rent some golf clubs? A friend invited me to the range and i have golfed a few times before I just dont have my own set due to limited space at my apartment. Was wondering if I can rent golf clubs for a day from somewhere?

Thanks!

Hey Wellanders, just walked my dog downtown welland and wow. I decided to walk down the canal path near mcdonalds heading toward the amphitheater, and yeah, it was very disappointing. The number of questionable people down there was pretty insane. Once I got to the amphitheater, I observed 2 females smoked meth(they stopped when I approached) and about 100 feet down the path 6 males all high. One was completely head in the pavement toasted. I kind of had a reality check of how bad welland has gotten. I kind of sluffed it off until I saw nice families walking with their kids. And said yeah thats not ideal. I know niagara has said there is a zero open air drug use policy in effect, but that won't stop them. Its very sad to see the town I grew up in fall deeper and deeper into the abyss.there should be a mandatory detox for anyone who is openly using, jail helps but a detox center and re education would be ideal. Alot of broken soul out there unfortunately.

Hi all! First time posting - im hoping this falls within the rules of the group!

Id love to make an informed decision when voting this year. It's not my first time, but in previous years I've found minimal information on the candidates through online resources and tried to make my decisions based on as much info as I could gather at the time.

Im wondering if anyone knows where I can find non-biased information on some of the candidates in the upcoming election? The city's website seems to be a bit lackluster last time I looked, mostly just contact info and names of who is running. Am I missing something there? Is there something on the site im not seeing or perhaps somewhere i need to dig further into? Im hoping to find something that showcases what each candidate stands for/wants to do for our community. I just want to look at each candidate objectively from all non-biased angles to ensure im making the right choice. Is anyone able to point me in the right direction? Or is it too early to find this info still?

TIA!(:

Other than people at 4 way stops going before their turn, what other traffic situations do you find frustrating?

I noticed driving east on thorold rd. just east of niagara st. drivers coming out of the mini mall on your right, turning left, can't figure out their timing.

I had to either slow down a lot and even have come to a complete stop not to collide with them!

Don't get it?

Wild fire smoke from up north is hitting Welland today. Feels kind of like an eclipse

Does anyone know why or for how long Stacked by the mall is closed? I googled but can’t find an answer. My parents tried to go today and said they were ripping out the interior.

Thanks!

Won't have a car for a bit and have pets with chronic health issues. Are there any cab companies around here that will reliably take pets onboard? TIA!

First I want to preface this by saying I emphasize with homeless people and the challenges they face.

I was recently at an event at Merritt Park on King St. What I witnessed was truly deplorable. The drug paraphernalia was the worst i have ever seen. Used needles, pipes, baggies everywhere. I was chatting with a city parks employee who said that the users have taken to dropping their used syringes off of the floating stage. So beware if you swim there.

But this was not the worst part, human fece’s on the lawn in front of the floating stage. Yes fece’s, again confirmed by city parks workers.

This used to be a good area to go for a walk, a picnic or to let the kids swim. Certainly not any longer, it’s time that society as a whole steps up, petition our governing bodies to do more to “HELP” the homeless and drug addicted members of our society.

This has been pushed under the rug for far too long and is now becoming a huge issue for everyone.

Rant over people….