The Harbourfront Mystery Bird

I would like to say I’m one of those people who frequent Toronto’s Harbourfront a lot, especially the summer. It’s a nice place, there’s tons of people and I just like being by the water. But recently this summer, to my surprise, a co-worker told me about this wild bird that her and her sister saw one evening. As natural to them as it is to breathe, they walked toward the interesting bird and started talking to it.

Unfortunately due to a language barrier, they were unable to uncover the origins or intent of the bird, however, they were lucky enough to find an information plaque nearby.

Apparently the bird named “Charlie” started to frequent the Toronto harbourfront because of a man who fed him roasted chicken everyday at the same time. Since Charlie is an animal who couldn’t resist such tasty temptations, showed up at the same place at the same time to meet his human companion. A ritual ensued and one lonely man found a friend, and one lonely hungry bird got food! Sadly, the man succombed to cancer and Charlie was left waiting…

I felt sad after hearing/reading the story. I have never seen Charlie until one evening…

I’ve seen him a couple of times and each time there was always someone feeding him. Not always the same person, but definitely always his favourite food – chicken. Now it’s the winter and I don’t know where Charlie will go or if he’ll ever come back, but I do hope to see him again in the spring!