Very productive morning at Marie Curtis Park:
5 Northern Cardinals, 1 Great Black-Backed Gull, 1 Long-Eared Owl, 1 Eastern Screech-Owl (grey race).
I've been told that Leslie Spit is quite a good place for birding. I've also been informed that access to the entire area is limited on certain days of the week. Can you help me???
Birdwatching at lunch on Wednesday, I saw a male Hooded Merganser with 2 females among several mallards and one gadwall (I had no telescope) off the National Yacht Club (which is just west of the Island airport entrance) looking towards the mainland. Look for them west of Bathurst in the parkland along the shore off Lakeshore Dr.. There were also a hundred or so oldsquaw between the Toronto airport and the club's spit. An immature Greater Black Backed Gull was eating a dead duck (very bloody) on the breakwater of the club closest to land near the Hooded Merg.
There have been at least 2 different immature Bald Eagles at the waterfront in the last week.
At 3:45 on the 30th, a 2 year old (3rd winter) bird flew over Villiers St. It has a white belly, whitish head/throat, and white tail with dark terminal band and edges.
The other one, which was at Ashbridge's last week, is in first-winter plumage. It appears much darker except for the usual white axillar spots and white diagonal lines on the underwings and white inner secondaries.
Went to Presqu'ile Prov. Park yesterday Dec.30, 1998 with Craig McLauchlan and we found 14 Purple Sandpipers still on Gull Island. The other 30+ may have moved out before the arctic blast hit or they may just have gone out to the treed High Bluff Island just to the west as there would be a lot more shelter there from the strong cold wind. We could not get to High Bluff Island as a steady flow of wind blown water was between it and Gull Island. We also saw approx. 1200 Snow Buntings and 50 A. Tree Sparrows on Gull Island and a Northern Goshawk came out of the woods at Owen Point and tried for a bunting but they all flew up and surrounded it in a wheeling mass and it left without a meal for the time being. At the lighthouse we found an American Coot feeding at the edge of the ice and slush. Norm Murr
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, I went birding along the Hamilton and Burlington lakeshore today starting at Green Rd. in Hamilton where there were about 2000 Goldeneye offshore and mixed in with them were all three Scoters numbering about 300. Then at Windermere Basin there was a Pied-billed Grebe, a Green-winged Teal, a Pintail, and many Ruddy Ducks, Shovellers, and both Scaups, also there were a pair of Hooded Mergansers. Then over at Burlington Bay beside the Tollgate Ponds (the ponds are frozen over) were many Pintail, Shoveller, Gadwall, and C. Merganser. Then over at the CCIW there was a Mockingbird and on the north island there was a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a pair of Wigeon. Then at LaSalle Marina there were 64 Tundra Swans, 62 Coots, a female Canvasback, 2 Pied-billed Grebes, Ring-necked Duck, both Scaup, and C. Merganser. Then at Venture Inn there were about 200 Goldeneye and 5 Surf Scoters, and at the foot of Walker's Line there was a Black Scoter.
Mike
In Reply to: Brewer's black bird posted by Craig McLauchlan on December 29, 1998 at 15:09:10:
Tue., Dec.29, 1998 This was a great sighting with only my second one for Toronto, and my first female bird for the same area. Thanks to Craig picking me up in the am and Don Peuramaki for discovering and reporting it I was able to be with the Lone Birder so that this sighting would not go unrecorded. I do suggest that if anyone goes down to the area that they stand just south of the corner of Villiers and Saulter Streets ( on Saulter St.) and watch for the birds coming out of the fenced in area as some of them tend to land on the small trees at the corner of the bus depot property before moving on or going to feed on the seed and bread put out for them. Thanks again Don Norm Murr
In Reply to: Black-headed Gull posted by Don Peuramaki on December 28, 1998 at 13:27:30:
Norm Merr and I look for this Bird today with no luck not to say that it is not still around jist that we could not find it .
Craig
In Reply to: Re: Sunnybrook Park sightings posted by B. Taylor on December 28, 1998 at 10:22:13:
Hey Barb Craig and I saw thorns, they are pointy things. Just kidding ?? Happy New Year and see you on the spit Norm Murr
the female brewer's black bird was esaly seen this moring at 8:10 (12-28-98)at the cowner of Villiers st and sautler st as it left it's nightly roost it flue across the street to the bus termanall and feed on breed that lays at the foot of the fence. Seeing that this is not a lone birder observason for Norm Merr was eith me to help with the I.D of this bird. I am sher that all that need this for life Toronto list will find it with no problim. Villiers and saulter are jist south of the Done Valley pkwy and the Gardiner expresway tern east. also seen ther wear Rusty.B.bird 1,Cow bird 4,red w.b.bird1,Grackle 4, E starling 3000 ,w.t sparow 2,a.robin 1.
Craig McLauchlan
At 11:00 AM today, there was a winter adult Black-headed Gull at Ashbridge's Bay. It was swimming with a flock of Canada Geese about 20 feet from the boat ramps.
I couldn't relocate it 20 minutes later, but, hopefully it will stick around.
In Reply to: Re: Sunnybrook Park sightings posted by Mark Cranford on December 28, 1998 at 09:45:37:
At least the Robins that didn't fly south yet managed to avoid that terrible ice storm that went through the Virginia, N. Carolina and Louisiana areas. Looked pretty bad on the news.
I will take a closer look at those shrubs with the black berries...I don't remember seeing any thorns.
Bye now, Barbara
In Reply to: Re: Purple Sandpiper on the Spit posted by NORM MURR on December 28, 1998 at 09:18:19:
This species (Purple Sandpiper)would have allowed Toronto to break our all time record high species count on the 27th. did anyone see it who is prepared to write an RBR for a sighting on that date???? All of the above also holds true for Short-eared Owl also not seen by our counters on that date. If so please send to Frank Pinilla at 50 Castlegrove Blvd., Don Mills M3A 1L2. Phone him at 4492183 for a blank form or me at 535-1902.
In Reply to: Sunnybrook Park sightings posted by Barbara Taylor on December 27, 1998 at 21:11:45:
If the pickings get real thin the robins will fly south. Not sure but I think your "ink-berry" shrubs are Common Buckthorn. It's originally from Europe, keeps its leaves longer than most native shrubs, the berries make an ugly mess on parked cars and is considered invasive (a bad plant). At least robins like them.
Mark
In Reply to: Purple Sandpiper on the Spit posted by Norm Murr on December 27, 1998 at 21:52:02:
Further to the Purple Sandpiper. The bird had also been seen by others between the first sighting and Dec.26th. I mention this to fill in the gap so that the sightings seem to support it being the same bird. Also seen off and on is the female Harlequin Duck, so this bird should be watched for also. Norm Murr
For those interested the Purple Sanpiper found at Pipit Point(blue box or extreme southwest tip) on Nov.14 is still there.Seen on Dec.20 and again on Dec.26. As the Presqui'le Purples are still hanging around I can see no reason why this is not the same bird found in November. The spit can be birded all this week as it is not open for the dump trucks and you will not be stopped at the gate, but please leave your dog at home as there are too many on the spit this week and everyone say's they didn't know but by coinsidence they just happen to take them out there this week. Norm Murr
In Reply to: Re: Toronto eastern waterfront posted by Don Peuramaki on December 26, 1998 at 17:42:54:
Thanks Don. I went down this afternoon and we got everything but the Brewer's Blackbird, but I will try again Norm Murr
Merlin - 1 N. Mockingbird - 1 Rusty Blackbird - 3 Red-winged Blackbird - 4 Common Grackle - 4 Brown-headed Cowbird - 4
Today I was surprised to see so many Robins (21) still hanging around now that the ground has frozen. The "ink-berry" shrubs don't have many berries left...what will the birds feed on then?! The Pileated Woodpecker was near his usual spot, just across the road from the log cabin parking lot. On my walk through the park, I also saw 45 Chickadees, 7 Crows, 1 Wh. Br. Nuthatch, 1 House Finch, 4 Cardinals, and 3 Blue Jays. The creek was partially frozen over, so I didn't see the usual Mallards. Pretty slim pickings but heh, it's officially winter now.... : )
Regards, Barbara
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, December 27
Colder weather descended on the Quinte area this past week, but several days of brisk winds have kept local waters open, resulting in good numbers of ducks. Nick Quickert and Nels Banting checked the open water at Carrying Place during the Dec. 20th Presqu'ile Christmas count and rounded up 1 NORTHERN PINTAIL, 7 GADWALL, 4 AMERICAN WIDGEON, 3 HOODED MERGANSER and 10 REDHEAD as well as many BLACKS and MALLARDS and both GREATER and LESSER SCAUP.
The Prince Edward Point Christmas count one day earlier saw an incredible 101,718 OLDSQUAW, 8,515 GREATER SCAUP, and 1,530 WHITE-WINGED SCOTER. Also seen were TUNDRA SWAN (37), CANADA GOOSE (480), AMERICAN BLACK DUCK (68), MALLARD (1,067), NORTHERN PINTAIL (17), NORTHERN SHOVELLER (4), LESSER SCAUP (13), BLACK SCOTER (2), SURF SCOTER (1), COMMON GOLDENEYE (489), BUFFLEHEAD (165), HOODED MERGANSER (5), COMMON MERGANSER (115), and RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (18).
The open water at the Bay Bridge just south of Belleville today had MALLARDS (200+), BLACK DUCKS (30), COMMON MERGANSER (20+), HOODED MERGANSER (2), NORTHERN PINTAIL (2), AMERICAN COOT (7), COMMON GOLDENEYE (3), with an additional 150+ flying around the bridge area. Marc Johnson of Belleville, who tallied the ducks today, also found an AMERICAN ROBIN at Massassauga Point and a NORTHERN HARRIER at Fenwood Gardens.
Elsewhere though AMERICAN ROBINS are in good supply. Sandbanks Provincial Park has had about 30+ in the Richardson's Campground, the Prince Edward Point Christmas count tallied 96, and isolated reports of small wintering flocks have come in from Consecon, Green Point, Big Island and Milford.
Other interesting finds on the Prince Edward Point census included a GLAUCOUS GULL, one SCREECH OWL, YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER at Lake-on-the-Mountain (mentioned in last week's report), one RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, 1 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, a SWAMP SPARROW, and 17 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. The latter species was also seen (4) in the Consecon/Carrying Place sector of the Presqu'ile count. Up that way too are 3 NORTHERN FLICKERS, a BELTED KINGFISHER on the Murray Canal and a FIELD SPARROW at Carrying Place. Reports of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS continue to trickle in with the last sighting involving 6 at Old Kingston Road, east of Belleville on Monday.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 3rd. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, went birding along the lakeshore to see what I could find and to try out my new scope. At Oakville Harbour not much except the 3 regular gulls, Bufflehead, Goldeneye, and R-B Merganser. At Bronte Harbour there were about 5,000 Oldsquaw flying back and forth far out over the water, also present were C. Merganser, R-B Merganser, and Goldeneye. Next stop was Sioux Lookout but couldn't find much because I was snowed out, however there were about 600 Oldsquaw flying around. Then at Venture Inn there were 2 Coots sitting on the rocks, and about 300 Goldeneye. The next stop and by far the best was LaSalle, there were 2 Pied-Billed Grebes, 3 Hooded Merganser (1 male & 2 female), 54 Coots, a Ring-Necked Duck, along with both Scaup, a female Canvasback, about 15 Common Merganser and a single R-B Merganser, a few Black Ducks and Gadwall, Bufflehead, a single Mute Swan, and 14 Tundra Swans. I stopped by LaSalle just before dark, so if I had more time I might have been able to pick out a few more species.
Mike
In Reply to: Re: Toronto eastern waterfront posted by Don Peuramaki on December 25, 1998 at 15:28:12:
Update on waterfront:
Ashbridge's Bay today: 6 Iceland Gulls, 1 Glaucous, 1 Lesser Black-backed, the Killdeer was still there, 2 Great Blue Herons, 1 Cormorant
Villiers St. Starling roost: 5 Cowbirds, 3 Redwings, 2 Rusties, 1 Brewer's Blackbird (female, from 4:30 til 4:38)
In Reply to: Re: Toronto eastern waterfront posted by craig_mclauchlan@ago.net on December 25, 1998 at 14:49:45:
The huge Starling roost is right at the foot of the Don Valley Parkway.
Birds congregate in large numbers beginning at about 4pm around the Don Roadway and Villiers (sp.?) St. Starlings fly up under the Gardiner, but blackbirds fly south into the marshy area south of Villiers, and often more to the eastern end of this short street. I believe that street is called Saulter. The mix of blackbirds seems to change every day. I've only seen the Brewer's once, (there have been as many as seven Grackles).
Good luck.
In Reply to: Toronto eastern waterfront posted by Don Peuramaki on December 24, 1998 at 17:51:55:
wear was the brewers blackbird i wood like to look for that bird my self. Craig. Happy holladys
In Reply to: Toronto eastern waterfront posted by Don Peuramaki on December 24, 1998 at 17:51:55:
Some very nice birds Don, particularly the Brewer's Blackbird. There are very few Toronto winter records.
I'm not sure who covers this area for the Toronto CBC either but Dan Bone will know.
Failing that, if you are not covering another area you could try to re-find these goodies and report them to the compiler Sunday evening at Ron Tasker's phone number.
If you are covering another route, I hope you have this same kind of good fortune.
Merry Christmas and may 1999 fill your binos with wonderful sights.
I'm not sure who's covering these 2 areas for the CBC on Sunday - but here are a few birds to watch for.
Ashbridge's Bay: today - immat Bald Eagle, 2 Iceland Gulls, 2 Glaucous Gulls, 1 very cold looking Killdeer being sandblasted by a windchill of -19c.
Foot of Don Valley at Gardiner(Starling roost): today: 9 Redwings, 2 Grackles, 3 Cowbirds, 1 Mockingbird, and Robins, etc.
Not seen today but seen earlier this week: Merlin catching Starlings, Rusties, 1 Brewer's Blackbird (calling weakly).
In Reply to: Re: Gull data table cleaned up posted by Mark Cranford on December 24, 1998 at 15:24:56:
I did not know that such a facility was available using Netscape and I still don't know how to use or access it, but thank you for illustrating it.
BTW, the example table does not accurately reflect the relative mantle shades of Herring Gull vs. Thayer's Gull.
In Reply to: Re: Gull data table cleaned up posted by Glenn Coady on December 21, 1998 at 13:44:55:
| Dark | Great Black-backed Gull | |||
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | ||||
| Mantle | Common | California Gull | ||
| Shade | Ring-billed Gull | Herring Gull | ||
| Thayer's Gull | ||||
| Light | Iceland Gull | Glaucous Gull |
The above table does not even scratch
the surface of gull identification.
After you have spent some time reading
the standard field guides and thought about gull ID in the field. You should
take a look at two references.
Chapter 14 - The Basics of Gull Identification
in Advanced Birding by Kenn Kaufman (in the Peterson Field Guide Series)
Gulls - a guide to identification
2nd edition by Peter Grant
In addition Steve Hampton has
created an excellent website on Gull
Identification
Please email me Mark Cranford at cranford@netcom.ca
if you have any comments, questions or suggestions. Thanks.
In Reply to: Re: Gull data table cleaned up posted by Glenn Coady on December 21, 1998 at 13:44:55:
I forgot to mention that there was a Herring Gull in the loafing flocks of gulls (I saw it at 3 of the five sites eventually) that will certainly be mistaken for a 1st basic Glaucous Gull by many.
It is an ENTIRELY white bird in terms of plumage, with no light brown or coffee coloured barring anywhere. It has a mostly black bill with some faint pink at the very base.
Structurally it is identical to Herring Gull in terms of size, head shape, bill proportions, primary projection, and tarsus length.
It does not have pink eyes though, it has dark irides. Seen at same distance as adult Herring Gulls on which whitish-yellow irides were easily discerned.
In Reply to: Peregrine Falcons - downtown posted by Barbara Taylor on December 12, 1998 at 15:15:45:
Dear Barbara:
Read with interest your observations on Peregrine Falcons in downtown Toronto. I am a member of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation and if you're intrested in following the Falcon's you can do that on the WWW @ www.peregrine-foundation.ca . Also on the Web Page is an E-Mail address to send in updates through the winter and in the Spring when they hopefully set up their nest for the 5th summer.
In Reply to: Mystery Gull at Humber Bay West posted by Howard Shapiro on December 06, 1998 at 17:20:54:
I strongly suspect that Jim may have seen a different bird. The bird I saw had gray primaries not black as the one Jim describes. These pale primaries are what made the bird unusual in my mind. I, like Jim, am not an expert in Gull identification. However, Jim is probably right about the ID of the bird he saw. I am just not sure if it is the same bird as the "Mystery Gull". Hopefully, the bird will be around some more.
In Reply to: Keele Valley Landfill & environs - Dec. 19, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on December 21, 1998 at 13:27:08:
As I strongly suspected before I posted this web site will not allow tabular format with many blank spaces.
Here is the data in a format I hope this site can handle. Site numbers are as defined in the last posting.
Ring-billed Gull: Site 1 - 800; Site 2 - 220; Site 3 - 300; Site 4 - 25; Site 5 - 150 Total - 1495 Corrected Total - ?
Herring Gull: Site 1 - 3200; Site 2 - 750; Site 3 - 550; Site 4 - 130; Site 5 - 670 Total - 5300 Corrected Total - ?
Great Black-backed Gull: Site 1 - 157; Site 2 - 76; Site 3 - 44; Site 4 - 89; Site 5 - 57 Total - 423 Corrected Total - ?
Lesser Black-backed Gull: Site 1 - 5; Site 2 - 1; Site 3 - 2; Site 4 - 3; Site 5 - 0 Total - 11 Corrected Total - 10
Glaucous Gull: Site 1 - 3; Site 2 - 1; Site 3 - 1; Site 4 - 1; Site 5 - 1 Total - 7 Corrected Total - 6
Iceland Gull: Site 1 - 11; Site 2 - 13; Site 3 - 6; Site 4 - 5; Site 5 - 8 Total - 43 Corrected Total - 36
Thayer's Gull: Site 1 - 1; Site 2 - 2; Site 3 - 1 Total - 4 Corrected Total - 4
Saturday I birded in York Region at the Keele Valley landfill and several of its traditional associated loafing sites for gulls.
The gull watching was exceptional, in fact I doubt if I would have done better at Niagara Falls (perhaps more species).
I concentrated on five areas as follows:
1) Keele Valley landfill (where fresh dumping continued until 12:45 p.m.)
2) Loafing area just south of St. Joan of Arc Ave. & Rosanna Cres. (one block south of Teston Rd. & two blocks west of Keele)
3) Loafing area just north of St. Joan of Arc Ave. & Cunningham Dr. (one block north of Major Mackenzie Dr. & one block west of Keele)
4) The pond where the Don River crosses Cunningham Dr.
5) The field on the west side of Jane St. just north of Canada's Wonderland at Major Mackenzie Dr. which stretches west over to Hwy. 400.
The results of my efforts referring to the numbered areas above are summarized below. Since gulls readily move between the landfill and the various loafing sites I attempted to ensure counting duplication was eliminated as best as I could. As such I provide a corrected figure for the last four species where I believe repeat birds were seen at more than one site. Such correction was not possible for the three more numerous species. correct 1 2 3 4 5 total total
Ring-billed 800 220 300 25 150 1495 ? Gull
Herring Gull 3200 750 550 130 670 5300 ?
Great Black- 157 76 44 89 57 432 ? * backed Gull
Lesser Black- 5 1 2 3 0 11 10 backed Gull
Glaucous Gull 3 1 1 1 1 7 6
Iceland Gull 11 13 6 5 8 43 36
Thayer's Gull 1 2 1 0 0 4 4
TOTAL 4177 1063 904 253 886 7283 7274?
* The 432 Great Black-backed Gulls is a huge number in which there is undoubtedly some overlap and duplication, however some gulls were also likely missed and so I feel it reasonably approximates the numbers of gulls truly present.
Here is the age breakdown on the corrected totals for the four rarer species:
Lesser Black-backed Gull: 4 1st basic; 2 2nd basic; 1 3rd basic; 3 adults
Glaucous Gull: 3 1st basic; 1 2nd basic; 2 adults
Iceland Gull: 12 1st basic; 7 2nd basic; 4 3rd basic; 13 adults
Thayer's Gull: 1 1st basic; 3 adults
At dusk gulls left all the above sites except curiously not site 5 (the field west of Jane St.) which I assume they left after I did. Not all gulls headed south, about 5% headed north of the moraine.
I sure hope my table of gull data remains intact when I post it. Here goes .....
I also took part in the South Peel CBC on Saturday. I helped Jean Niskinen with her area. She and I found two BRANT (ssp. hrota) along the shore of Lake Ontario between the foot of Alexander and the foot of Brentwood. Neither of these reach the lake (they both terminate at Argyle), so to get to the spot you have to drive to the nearest lake access to the west of these streets (the foot of Chartwell) and walk along the cobble beach that has been exposed by the low lake levels.
= B E A K === E N V I R O N M E N T A L == S P E C I A L I S T S = Anthony Lang, PhD, Ecologist alang@beak.com Beak International, 14 Abacus Rd Fax 905-794-2338 Brampton, ON, Canada L6T 5B7 Tel 800-361-2325 ext 245
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, December 20
A persistent lack of snow and cold weather has made for some interesting birding in the Quinte area this past week, although it didn't help a whole lot with the Prince Edward Point Bird Count yesterday. Count results aren't in yet, although it is expected that numbers of some species were down due to the rain that persisted most of the day. Among the more interesting sightings was a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER along a private laneway just east of Lake-on-the-Mountain. There were high numbers, however, of some ducks. Over 100,000 OLDSQUAW staged a flyby at Prince Edward Point. Other high numbers included 8,000 scaup. There were also two LITTLE GULLS recorded at the Point along with 100 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, and a total of 39 TUNDRA SWANS at South Bay.
The SANDHILL CRANE saga of last weekend continued well into the following week with the banded pair from the Bill Lishman experimental group blocking traffic on Highway 33 east of Picton, and creating traffic tie-ups at the beer store parking lot, and when not otherwise occupied monitoring the traffic entering and exiting the Emergency parking lot at the local hospital. The pair which turned up in Belleville for one day only last weekend, spent five days in Prince Edward County due to people's misguided efforts at feeding them. Joe Bergeron of Bergeron's Exotic Animal Sanctuary captured the birds Thursday evening to overnight at his facilities. Released the next morning they promptly returned to Picton's hospitality where they were captured again Friday morning and driven to Bath, to continue their flight to Kingston, Watertown, and ultimately to their Virginia wintering grounds.
The Bay of Quinte at Carrying Place had a number of ducks present for birders Nels Banting and Nick Quickert on Friday. In with the MALLARDS and BLACK DUCKS they found 10 HOODED MERGANSER, 18 GADWALL and 7 AMERICAN WIGEON. Perhaps the best bird was a MERLIN just west of Carrying Place, on the Portage Road.
Don Craighead found 1 RED-TAILED HAWK, and 4 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS at Sandbanks Provincial Park on Monday, and added a COOPER'S HAWK to his list at West Point on Friday. Other good sightings included a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER in the Woodland Campground on Monday, and 16 AMERICAN ROBINS in the same area on Friday.
There were 15 HORNED LARKS in a field along the highway south of the Mountain View airport on Friday, 6 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS at Fish Lake early last week, and four COMMON MERGANSER in Picton Harbour on Tuesday.
And that's it from the Quinte area this week. To all readers of this report and to everyone who contributes making this weekly report possible, a very merry Christmas and best wishes for a prosperous New Year. Good Christmas birding everyone.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 27th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Re: Black Swan? posted by Laurence Concannon on December 16, 1998 at 10:39:19:
I have seen him again along the shore near Hiawatha Park but would be interested in your photos if you contact me directly
In Reply to: Re: Night Heron Roosting posted by Glenn Coady on December 15, 1998 at 16:18:54:
All the night herons from the rookery along the lake in Port Credit have long gone
In Reply to: Red-eyed Vireo @ High Park - Dec. 13, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on December 14, 1998 at 11:41:29:
After looking for over a hour yesterday Thursday 12/17/98 I did not find the red eye vireo this is not to say that it is not there jist that could not find it or any of the birds that it had bin associating with. I hope that it has found its way to a wormier climate. Once again I think that this bird might still be their I have no reason to doubt this but with the change in weather the chains are slim.
CRAIG
In Reply to: Mystery Gull at Humber Bay West posted by Howard Shapiro on December 06, 1998 at 17:20:54:
Although I only got to see this bird ever so briefly, I believe it was likely a Nelson's Gull. This is the hybrid of Glaucous Gull x Herring Gull.
In Reply to: Re: Red-eyed Vireo @ High Park - Dec. 13, 1998 posted by Don Peuramaki on December 16, 1998 at 17:37:16:
Yes Don, good thinking. When I received word of Patrick's discovery of this bird I raced down to the park (I only live a block away) figuring Yellow-green Vireo might be just as likely as Red-eyed Vireo at such a bizarre date. The bird is definitely a Red-eyed Vireo though.
The bird was still present as of yesterday afternoon although I haven't heard whether it was seen today (Dec. 16).
In Reply to: Re: Red-eyed Vireo @ High Park - Dec. 13, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on December 16, 1998 at 10:47:24:
An ID question regarding the High Park vireo. I haven't seen the bird, but I was wondering if Yellow-green vireo has been ruled out.
Last year, Paul Lehman suggested local birders look closely at late (November/December)Red-eyed Vireos. He said this was the time that Yellow-greens tended to show up.
Just a thought.
In Reply to: Re: Red-eyed Vireo @ High Park - Dec. 13, 1998 posted by C.Mclauchlan on December 15, 1998 at 10:21:25:
Alfred Adamo has asked me to make people aware that the Red-eyed Vireo was present in the hillside gardens are yesterday at 1:40 p.m.
It is hoped this bird may stay present until the Toronto Christmas count on Dec. 27th.
In Reply to: Re: Black Swan? posted by Laurence Concannon on December 15, 1998 at 14:34:25:
The swan in question has returned to this area again. It arrived about 9:30 am and has been swimming and preening itself on and offshore for the last hour or so. It would appear to have all the markings of the black swan, generally black all over, with a reddish orange bill, around which is a very distinctive white band. Its white flight feathers were visible while it was preening. I was able to take several pictures and listen to its call which is both quite softer and of a higher pitch than that of the swans we see more commonly.
In Reply to: Mystery Gull at Humber Bay West posted by Howard Shapiro on December 06, 1998 at 17:20:54:
Howard,
I saw this bird on the afternoon of Sunday, December 13, at the mouth of the creek between Humber Bay East and West. It was in a flock of gulls, mostly R-B'd. I was able to spend five to ten minutes looking at this bird at rest using my recently purchased scope. This is the first time I've performed such an exercise. I'm not good with gulls, yet, and found myself assuming this bird to be a pale second winter Herring Gull. I consulted Ken Kaufman's "AdvanceD Birding" for guidance.
I was able to note the following in forming my opinion. The gull is very pale grey but with a mottled appearance. The eyes are very dark with no hint of colouration. I found the legs to be flesh-coloured with a slight hint of pink. The bill remained black tipped but showed alot of yellow towards the base. The bill also appeared large relative to head size. I also saw brown on the scapulars/primary coverts and black at the wing tips. I did not see the bird in flight - wish I had.
Without much experience, I've concluded the following. The pale colour suggest this bird is past its first winter. However, the essentially black eyes suggest that this bird is not a third winter bird. I end up relying upon leg colour, which I found to be more flesh-coloured than pink and the relatively large bill size to be indicative of the Herring Gull. Perhaps relying on these features isn't wise but I'm far too uncertain of my skill to make any other conclusion. I admit to being confused by the pale colouration which I would associate with a Thayer's Gull. Perhaps this gull will linger and develop some eye colour through the winter.
Advise from others would be appreciated.
Jim Heffernan
In Reply to: Night Heron Roosting posted by Ram Nambiar on December 15, 1998 at 15:40:46:
Dear Ram,
Juvenile Black-crowned Night-Herons are likely a lot hardier than you might think. Last winter one wintered all winter at the mouth of Mimico Creek and they have been seen on Toronto Chistmas Counts in the exact location you describe, at the mouth of the Humber, in the Keating Channel, along the Don River and other locations usually near warm water outflows.
It is quite out of the ordinary for them to winter here but they are capable of doing it.
Tuesday,15th Dec,'98
Hi Gord,
I visited the Spring Road pond,on the eastern most section of High Park(just west of Parkside Drive less than 1O meters south of Queesway)this morning.
A lone subadult grayish brown Black-crowned Night Heron(Nycticorax nycticorax)was resting on one leg on a tree stump merely a meter above water. It had its head tucked straight down into its breast feathers between the wings, the eyes barely visible.
When the strong wind made the nearby dry leaves fly the heron suddenly woke up revealing its full head and stout beak. The irides were bright orange or should I say nearly red?. The brownish head was devoid of filamentous feathers. Streaks and spottings on the brownish body were not very conspiceous as in summer young.
The pond hasn't been frozen yet but the sign of it is all there with the small ice flakes floating.The 'Qwok' must have been enjoying the food abundance in the water and in its perifery at night so far. With the weather going to be changed soon for the worst the future of this reluctant migrant seems pretty bleak. Already late,
we hope it moves down south at least now.
Good Birding
Ram Nambiar 3368 Hargrove Rd Mississauga.ONT birder@echo-on.net
In Reply to: Re: Black Swan? posted by Mike Boyd on December 11, 1998 at 15:28:00:
I have seen the bird on the shore East of the Port Credit marina on the 12th and 13th Dec. It is slightly smaller than the other swans and had an orange bill. I wasn't close enough to see if there was the white ring on the bill, which I believe the black swan is supposed to have, hopefully next time.
In Reply to: Re: Red-eyed Vireo @ High Park - Dec. 13, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on December 14, 1998 at 16:44:06:
is this bird still being seen?has any one heard. CRAIG
In Reply to: Red-eyed Vireo @ High Park - Dec. 13, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on December 14, 1998 at 11:41:29:
As expected Jerry Guild informed me that the Red-eyed Vireo was seen again this morning by many observers in the same hillside gardens area of High Park where it went to roost last night.
Harry Kerr told me that the woman at the warden's office above the hillside gardens thinks that this bird has been present for some time already.
Good luck to those that go seeking this bird.
Thanks again to Patrick Stepien-Scanlon who found this bird yesterday and quickly made others aware of its presence.
Two large flocks of Robins seen while at Sunnybrook Park this morning. Over thirty birds in one area near the suspension bridge over the creek at far end of the Serena Gundy parking lot. Another large flock in the shrubbery along the creek that runs beside the main road. The birds were eating black berries from some tall shrubby looking trees (ink berries?) as well as poking around in the leaves on the ground.
I could swear some of those robins thought it was spring...at least some of them were belting out songs that sounded like it should be spring! : )
In Reply to: Re: American Golden-Plover @ Leslie St. Spit - Dec. 12/98 posted by C. McLauchlan on December 14, 1998 at 11:34:05:
It sure would be nice to have access to get out on the Spit tomorrow with the high temperatures forecast for southern Ontario. Even more species of plants will likely be out and record-late occurrences by butterfly species would be useful to be searched for.
Yesterday at about 1:00 p.m. Patrick Stepien-Scanlon of Toronto discovered a Red-eyed Vireo at the north end of Grenadier Pond. After a couple of hours of searching the bird was rediscovered by Mark Cranford and myself just south of the floral maple leaf of the hillside gardens feeding in a couple of oaks at 3:40 p.m. Although Mark left quite soon after seeing the bird, I continued to follow the bird up the hill to the east as it fed. At 4:15 p.m. a saw the bird go to roost in a yew tree a few metres north of the white sign put up to commemorate the gift of the Rhododendron garden. I watched the bird at the roost for a few minutes, leaving at about 4:20 p.m.
Contrary to Mark's comment in his post below, I took no photographs of this bird.
From what I can tell this is the first winter occurrence of this species for Ontario. A nice find by Patrick - a harbinger of an unbelievably mild fall/winter to this point.
In Reply to: American Golden-Plover @ Leslie St. Spit - Dec. 12/98 posted by Glenn Coady on December 14, 1998 at 11:26:09:
On Sunday N. Murr and my self tried to refined this bird but wear ounaball to find it there is a female harlequin duck still at the blue box though and there wear 16 speeches of plants still in bloom this was a first for me for it was Dec 13 . CRAIG
Saturday afternoon as I was walking off the Leslie St. Spit and was just past the beginning of the endikement when I noticed a large flock of gulls had been scared up by something back towards bay D and then heard a plover call. It took me a few seconds to find the bird among the gulls. It was an American Golden-Plover flying east along the area over the marina. I followed the bird's flight east to the area around Ashbridges Bay where I lost sight of it.
This is the first time I have encountered this species in winter in the Toronto area (or Ontario for that matter).
In Reply to: Re: Tundra Swan migration posted by Tony Lang on March 26, 1998 at 11:04:46:
Lasalle Park, Burlington Ontario. Off the east end of the park, spotted 300+ tundra swans in the water (Hamilton Bay). They were spotted at 13:30 on Saturday December 12th. I would like some more information on their migration patterns. It was quite a site!
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, December 13
Some very good birding in the Prince Edward County area this past week, with some large numbers of certain species being seen. In addition to an incredible 52 PURPLE SANDPIPERS at Presqu'ile Park, there were 40 LITTLE GULLS at Outlet Beach a week ago Sunday. A week ago, there were 2 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and one first winter GLAUCOUS GULL at the Napanee Dump.
Members of the Kingston Field Naturalists birding the county last week found three NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS, 1 near the road on the hill on the north side of South Bay and the other two close to a feeder on Hilltop Road about 2 km west of South Bay. Other birds were 2 NORTHERN FLICKERS separately on high perches close to the road, one near the Rutherford Stevens Look-out at Smith's Bay, and another between Black Creek and South Bay on a tree near the road. The birders also found 20 to 30 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, mostly in dense Red Cedar patches near the road in 4 or 5 locations along County Road 13 and Hilltop Road.
There was an immature SURF SCOTER among White-wings fairly close to the shore, northwest of West Point. Between 30 and 40 AMERICAN COOT and 15 AMERICAN WIGEON were at Wellington, and from Highway 33 east of Wellington there was a good mixed flock of ducks with many scaup, REDHEAD, COMMON GOLDENEYE, BUFFLEHEAD and at least 1 RING-NECKED DUCK.
The BELTED KINGFISHER is still in the harbour area at Wellington, and small numbers of GREAT BLUE HERONS have been seen this past week at South Bay (2), Sandbanks Provincial Park (2), and another 2 in the Moira River at Belleville, and at least 4 others seen in flight at various locations in the Quinte area.
Two SANDHILL CRANES spent most of yesterday on Keller Drive in Belleville. The birds whose leg bands ultimately identified them as Frank and Edna arrived at 7:00 a.m. and spent the day wandering around the front lawns of Keller Drive residents. According to Bill Lishman who escorted seven cranes to southern wintering grounds last year, these two have been all over southern Ontario this past summer. They are on their own this fall with no escort, but according to Bill are right on course, arriving in Grafton earlier in the week, and touching down in Prince Edward County today, at Clark Road just south of Picton, the identical route taken by the birds last fall. After peering in the open windows of some cars, untiing the shoe laces of at least one resident, and slurping down the contents of a bird bath, the birds left at about 3:30 in the afternoon.
Ann Anthony of Peterborough spent Saturday birding Prince Edward County and came up with a RUSTY BLACKBIRD in Cherry Valley and one LITTLE GULL at West Lake just northeast of the causeway leading to Sheba's Island. She also found 16 TUNDRA SWANS at Wellers Bay just north of Consecon, and another 26+ at South Bay. The swan activity last week was quite heavy in fact, with even others being reported by other observers at Elmbrook (19), and Huff's Island (9). There were 5 MUTE SWANS in the marsh near the entrance to Presqu'ile Provincial Park on Friday.
Nick Quickert of Trenton spent this afternoon in the western part of the county coming up with 2 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, 2 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, 3-RED-TAILED HAWK, 1 SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, 1 PILEATED WOODPECKER, 1 RUFFED GROUSE, and 5 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS along the Bryant Sideroad, between Victoria and Rednersville roads. Along Old Orchard Road there were 5 AMERICAN ROBINS. The Bay of Quinte at Carrying Place contained MALLARDS, 5 BLACKS, 4 GADWALL, 8 AMERICAN WIDGEON, and 12 SHOVELER.
Although considerably north of this report's coverage area, Algonquin Park had some good birds on Wednesday for Don Craighead, Maureen Riggs and Albert Boisvert of the Belleville/Trenton area. They reported RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD and 90 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in Whitney, COMMON RAVENS on the Whitney garbage dump road, 12 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS on the Opeongo Road, 2 BOREAL CHICKADEES and a SPRUCE GROUSE on the Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail, a GRAY JAY and 15 EVENING GROSBEAKS at the Visitor Centre, and 2 PINE GROSBEAKS and PURPLE FINCHES elsewhere in the Park.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 20th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Where have all the ducks gone? posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 12, 1998 at 17:56:05:
The smaller lakes are not frozen over yet. On Saturday I was at Mountsberg Conservation Area. Normally at this time the lake is frozen and 'duckless'. Righ now the lake is full of ducks. Lots of Am Wigeons, Green-winged Teal, Gadwall, 30 Pintails, 20 Ring-necked Ducks, Buffleheads, Common Mergansers, 40+ Hooded Mergansers, lots of Coots and 3 Tundra Swans. It's worth wile to check out the lake. Best timing is in the afternoon from the Dam.
In Reply to: Re: Where have all the ducks gone? posted by Mike Boyd on December 12, 1998 at 18:46:01:
Mike I was up at Algonquin Park a week ago. The lakes were open and NO waterfowl. Northern lakes aren't appealing to ducks this time of year. Lakes and marshes south of the Shield (Lake Simcoe, Wye Marsh) could be ducky. Last weekend, Cranberry Marsh had as many ducks and geese in it as I have ever seen. I bet diving ducks are in Lake Ontario right now but well offshore.
BTW I saw Red-eyed Vireo in High Park today at 3:30 pm in tall willows on the east side of Grenadier Pond hanging in with Goldfinch. Photos were taken.
In Reply to: Where have all the ducks gone? posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 12, 1998 at 17:56:05:
I agree that duck numbers do seem to be down. A couple of places with lots of ducks are the Tollgate ponds in Hamilton Harbour and the foot of Grays Road in Stoney Creek. At Grays Road this morning in addition to all three scoters there was a Red-throated Loon and the immature Northern Gannet.
In Reply to: Where have all the ducks gone? posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 12, 1998 at 17:56:05:
Hi, one reason why there might not be as many ducks as usual is because it has been such a warm fall. I suspect that the lakes further north haven't frozen over yet, and the ducks are still up north using them. However, this is just a guess they could be wintering elsewhere this year. But, I bet that once (or if) the cold weather hits we will probably find more ducks. One spot I have found some ducks this winter is Bronte Harbour, there are almost always Bufflehead, Goldeneye, and R-B Merganser, and there is a good chance the Grebes are still around.
Mike
In Reply to: Re: Unusual goose in Etobicoke posted by Graham Bryan on December 11, 1998 at 12:26:14:
If anyone spots this unusual goose again (i.e. the grayish-white one with the black bill), I would very much appreciate it if you would e-mail me to let me know. I didn't have my camera with me when I first saw it, and would really like to take some pictures of it.
Marcel Gahbauer gsteve6@ibm.net
Today I bounced my way along the Lake Ontario shoreline, starting at 4th Street in Etobicoke, and going as far as the Venture Inn in Burlington, stopping at Sam Smith, Marie Curtis, Appleby Line, Walker's Line, Guelph Line, and Sioux Lookout along the way.
I was amazed at how few ducks were to be seen. Among the species which I did not see at any of the locations mentioned were Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Oldsquaw, both Scaup, and all three merganser species. I had expected to see all of these (and more) somewhere along the way.
I suppose it's possible that I just had really bad luck, and missed the spots where the ducks were hanging out today. However, I find it hard to believe that I wouldn't have come across at least a few somewhere. Has the continuing warm weather perhaps caused the ducks to move from their usual wintering areas?
For all my travel today, the only birds worth reporting are 7 American Wigeons at the foot of 4th Street (the Harlequin Duck and unusual Brant-like goose were also no longer there) and a high count of 96 Gadwall at Sam Smith Park.
Good birding,
Marcel Gahbauer gsteve6@ibm.net
Two Peregrine Falcons were seen flying around the King & Victoria St. area of downtown Toronto today between 10:00-10:30 a.m. I guess they have decided to spend the winter close to the old nest site once again.
In Reply to: Re: FON trip program posted by Anon.... on December 08, 1998 at 13:32:21:
Both what we are hearing from John Miles and our anonymous correspondent is consistent with what you see on the FON web page when you look under trips. No announced trip beyond Oct. 25/98 is on the web site.
The fact that no mention of this occurred in the latest issue of Seasons (even as an insert!) is also most disappointing. Although the Board has a mandate to make such decisions for the federation it would be nice to think they consulted members first or at the very least informed them after the fact.
Sounds like the FON is beginning to take its membership for granted. First the American Birding Association and now the FON. Maybe these organizations are just growing too big to be bothered to try to keep the lowly member informed. Two months and no mention on the web site - pitiful! This is clearly a sign of disdain toward the membership.
I wouldn't mourn for the trip program though. The private tour companies will invariably move in to pick up the slack and it will be the FON's loss. Such a pity.
In Reply to: Black Swan? posted by George Daszkowski on December 11, 1998 at 13:21:15:
Hi, there has been a Black Swan present at Humber Bay this fall, which is likely the bird that you saw, but it decided to visit Mississauga for awhile.
Mike
I have just seen a bird that looks like a swan flying past my, home on the Port Credit waterfront. Size, neck length, etc looks like a swan but it is black with white wing tips.
I have sighted this before but no one ever seems to know or have suggestions?
Any suggestions or other sightings?
In Reply to: Unusual goose in Etobicoke posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 08, 1998 at 07:19:18:
I live on 7th st. and while walking my dog in the morning have noticed a few odd geese in the parks around 3rd and 6th streets. Unfortunately, I am not much as knowledgable about waterfowl as I'd like to be, so I have a hard time interpreting what I've seen. I believe I've seen your unusual goose, but likewise am mystified. I have also encountered a larger than normal Canada Goose with much larder white cheek patches - much more like a domestic goose. Again I am at a loss to explain this, other than it being, I assume, some sort of cross.
Is there anything else in this location that perhaps I should be monitoring? Between myself and my wife we are at at least one of these parks every morning. We might as well be logging what we see.
In Reply to: FON trip program posted by John Miles on November 30, 1998 at 15:02:50:
This is indeed true. Not only have they cancelled the member's trips program, they have not seen fit to bother informing the membership! The staff have been hung out to dry with no support and the members left in the dark. This decision was made by the board TWO MONTHS AGO! The Bpard of Directors have much to answer for. I regret that for the present I wish to sign this anon.
Monday, 8th Dec,'98 ERINDALE PARK IN DECEMBER
David Culham Trail, at Erindale Park in Mississauga, is the best place to see the left over Robins at this time of the year. I saw several of them here yesterday
American Goldfinches were seen.Permanent residents of this park?. The male doesn't have that distinctive black crown of summer any more and the yellow is kind of duller.
I made a count up to 3O Tree Sparrows(Spizella arborea).The black spot in the centre of the grayish breast, the red cap, were unmistakable.They were on the floor of the dried leafless bushes surrounding the pond on the left side of David Culham trail. Some flew over the River to the west side bushes.
At least in this area the Credit River was running fast. Thanks to the rain of previous night. The coffee water from the river has gone into the dry pond at the Park and several Mallards were displaying for a mate.
Good Birding
Ram Nambiar,3368 Hargrove Rd,Mississauga,ONT,birder@echo-on.net
We've probably all seen a variety of strange domestic geese, but most of those are easily recognized by their orange bills and often irregular coloration. The goose I saw yesterday morning (Dec. 7) was sufficiently different that I thought it would be worth mentioning. It was about the size and shape of a Brant, and even had the same kind of delicate blackish bill. The entire goose was a delicate white and gray - it looked like perhaps each feather was white and lined with gray. Is this just another variety of domestic goose, or is it something else?
The goose was at the foot of Third Street in Etobicoke yesterday around 10 am, and was swimming with several Canada geese. Also in the area were several Am. Wigeons and Gadwalls, while further offshore there were many Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye. Just to the west, at 4th Street, the female Harlequin Duck was on a rock by the shore, near a male Hooded Merganser. I could not find the gnatcatcher or mockingbird that had been reported in this area.
Marcel Gahbauer gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Re: European Goldfinch posted by John Miles on December 06, 1998 at 10:18:09:
I would be just as likely to be suspicious that such a large number of European Goldfinches were likely the result of an escape and/or intentional release. This species is seen annually somewhere in the Toronto area which tells me they are imported not uncommonly for the cage bird trade.
In Reply to: Re: Sunnybrook Pileated Woodpecker posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 04, 1998 at 20:48:30:
The Sunnybrook Pileated Woodpeckers have been in the area since at least 1984, and probably before. Last year, they spent quite a bit of time in the ravine behind Glendon College. Both of them could often be seen perched in the same tree. They move around quite a bit though and can be found anywhere from that location to Wilket Creek.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, December 06
Birders throughout the Quinte area were out on Tuesday for the official start of the winter season and a good start on the winter bird list for the year. South Bay had 30 TUNDRA SWANS for members of the Kingston Field Naturalists, along with some 25 KILLDEER and a COMMON SNIPE near the Black River Cheese Factory. The best find was BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE along the south shore of Prince Edward Point, just west of the lighthouse.
Amherst Island has lost its numbers of shorebirds. Meanwhile, the PURPLE SANDPIPER population just continues to grow at Presqu'ile Provincial Park with an incredible 56 on Gull Island according to the most recent report received. If Prince Edward County ever DID have any, they're long gone now in favour for whatever the mysterious attraction seems to be at Presqu'ile.
David and Yvette Bree found the four LITTLE GULLS on Friday that have been pretty reliable at the mouth of the Outlet River for some days now. However, their numbers had burgeoned to 10 times that number by noon today! By far the largest number of this species that has ever been seen at Sandbanks, although high numbers here are not uncommon at this time of the year.
COMMON GOLDENEYE, AMERICAN WIGEON and MALLARDS were at Wellington Harbour on Friday and the resident BELTED KINGFISHER was also present. West Point at Sandbanks had WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, OLDSQUAW, COMMON GOLDENEYE, and BUFFLEHEAD.
There was a GREAT BLUE HERON today at Weller's Bay. NORTHERN SHRIKES continue to put in an appearance with individuals this past week being reported at Amherst Island, Roblin and Napanee. There were two seen today at Wooler and Carrying Place.
Despite the unseasonably mild weather this past week, most feeding stations are reporting brisk activity with plenty of TREE SPARROWS present, with some areas reporting DARK- EYED JUNCOS. BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, DOWNY and HAIRY WOODPECKERS, HOUSE FINCHES, and BLUE JAYS are regulars at all feeders now. Beyond the feeder, rural areas are seeing good populations of ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS. A few small flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS have also been seen.
A total of 41 Brighton area residents turned out for the second annual birdfeeding seminar at Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Centre, north of the town. This brings to an end the fall series of birdfeeding workshops that have been held in Madoc, Picton, Napanee, Belleville and Brighton, presented by Quinte Conservation and sponsored by local feed mills, and bird specialty outlets in the Quinte region. A total of 330 people attended the seminars this fall. Quinte Conservation will resume its program of outdoor events and workshops in April, with an event every weekend until early December.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 13. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Mystery Gull at Humber Bay West posted by Howard Shapiro on December 06, 1998 at 17:20:54:
I forgot to spell-check the posting before I sent it off. I apologize for some of the errors, especially the Glaucoud-winged Gull whick should be a Glaucous-winged gull and the pill which should be a bill.
I was at Humber Bay West on Friday and Saturday (Dec 4 & 5). There was a gull which which I could not identify. It was present on the docks south of the boardwalk leading to the gazebo. The following observations are from both days. The gull was Herring Gull sized or larger. It had a stalky short legged appearance. The head and breast were mainly white with faint black spots visible. Its mantle and scapulars were grey. This grade was the same shade or lighter than the nearby Herring Gulls. Visible on the second day were brown and white feathers on the lesser and median coverts. The primaries on the sitting bird were about the same color or just a touch darker than the mantle and tipped with white. When the bird flew its wing tips were dark. Its eyes were dark. The legs were pink. The bill was heavy and tipped with black in the manner of a first year Glaucous Gull. The rest of the pill was pink near the black tip and getting lighter near the base. This bird did not seem to fit any description that I could find. It is probably a third winter bird although second winter may be possilbe. It is probably not a Glacous Gull or Iceland Gull because of the dark wing tips and grey primaries. It could be a Herring Gull that is late moulting. The primaries would be grey because they are faded and worn. However, the eye is usually pale,the pill is not so extensively blacked tipped by 3rd winter and the head and breast are usually more mottled. It could be a Thayer's Gull but I thought Thayer's would be a bit smaller than a Herring Gull, not have a heavy bill tipped as this bird and not show as much dark in the primaries when flying. A very very remote possibility is a Glaucoud-winged Gull which has grey primaries on a sitting bird about the same shade as the mantle. However, the bill is supposed to be yellow not pink on a third winter bird and the mantle is supposed to be darker than a Herring Gull. The last possibility is a hybrid of some sort such as Herring x Glaucous and about which I have no idea how to identify. There were two other birders present with me on Saturday but unforetunately the gull flew off before either could see it for more than about 5 seconds. I'd be interested on any comments people have about the identity of the bird and be thrilled if someone went to see it and knew what it was.
In Reply to: European Goldfinch posted by K. Adams on November 29, 1998 at 21:38:38:
Further to the message of November 29th Ian McLean reported on "BIRDCHAT" that on Nov. 9, 1998 that there appeared to have been a major landfall of European Goldfinches at E. Laurencetown Beach a few miles N, E. of Halifax. Also found was a Brambling.
For the second day in a row I've seen a Rough-legged Hawk at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, near the office by Mount Pleasant Rd. Maybe the hawk has decided to spend the winter there...lots of nervous squirrels around.
In Reply to: Re: Gannet posted by Mark Cranford on December 05, 1998 at 07:09:49:
OOPS The Gremlins are loose. The correct URL to review ONTBIRDS follows - I hope.
http://www-stat.wharton.upenn.edu/~siler/birdmail.html
Good Birding Mark
In Reply to: Re: Gannet posted by Chris Clark on December 05, 1998 at 00:20:45:
Chris This is from the listserv ONTBIRDS which currently has 400 subscribing getting the lastest unusual bird sightings in the province. Eastport Drive is the first exit on the QEW past the Hamilton 403 cutoff (heading towards Niagara). You might consider subcribing to ONTBIRDS You can also read ONTBIRDS on the web at http://www.erols.com/gregorym/rarities.html
Enjoy your birding
Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Street
In Reply to: Gannet posted by Mike Boyd on December 04, 1998 at 11:42:02:
Where, exactly, are you talking about? Sorry, but the "Toll Gate Ponds" is something that I am not familiar with. Also, which lighthouse and canal? I know of a few. (Leslie spit, Welland...) My wife and I have seen Gannets in Cape Breton and I was lucky enough to see Avocets on a business trip to Palo Alto. However, my wife has never seen an avocet so we would welcome some directions. Thanks!
In Reply to: Re: Sunnybrook Pileated Woodpecker posted by Barbara Taylor on December 04, 1998 at 19:36:04:
Unfortunately, I only caught a brief glimpse of the Pileated as it flew through the forest - I don't know whether it was a male or female. However, since I was so pleasantly surprised with my visit to Sunnybrook the other morning, and it's not out of the way for me, I'll probably be dropping by more regularly from now on. If I do get a better look at the Pileated, I will definitely check whether it is a male or female. Marcel
In Reply to: Sunnybrook Park - December 3 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 04, 1998 at 07:13:45:
Was the Pileated you saw a male or female? I have often seen a male Pileated near the foot of the concrete steps leading down from the sports fields...near the log cabin parking lot. I have wondered if he had a mate but I've never seen her around. P.S.- I was at the park same day as you but at the east side of the sports fields. Didn't see the Pileated but there were at least 20 Robins eating berries off the small trees at the edge of the field.
Dear Fellow Birders Hi, I finally had a chance to go out to try and find the Gannet
and Avocets this morning. And I had 100% success, I first
stopped at the canal at about 9:30, and just as I got down to
the beach I thought I would take a look out, and sure and behold
the Gannet was out there circling around the lighthouse, and
I even saw it dive once. But, shortly after a boat went through the
canal and scared off all of the gulls and ducks (including the
Gannet). This bird is a lifer for me, so I was really glad to see it.
When I was leaving I Mike Street informed me that the Avocets
had moved over to the Toll Gate Ponds, and I found them on the
far end of the east pond, I have only seen these birds once
before in California, so I was really happy to see them. Also
at the Toll Gate Ponds were many Scaup, Ruddy Duck,
Shovellors, Ring-Necked Ducks, Bufflehead, and Oldsquaw,
also in the bay right beside the ponds was a Cormorant. Mike
Planning to bird Saturday. Looking for Franklins Gulls Toronto or east to Cobourg. Have any been seen in the last couple of days. I'm driving down from Muskoka.
Thanks. Eleanor Kee Wellman
keewell@muskoka.com
I went to Sunnybrook Park this morning for the first time in years, and found that there were actually a lot of birds to be seen. Highlights included 1 Pileated Woodpecker at the west end of the sports field, 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets and 1 Robin south of the Toronto Field Naturalists cabin, 1 Winter Wren just west of where the road forks to Wilket Creek park, and 13 Goldfinches. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998 posted by Jonathan Higbee on November 28, 1998 at 11:21:28:
Judging by what Glenn, Craig, and Norm have written, what I have to say might make me
somewhat unpopular around here, but I have to disagree to some extent on this issue. I must admit that when the original message was posted by Jonathan Higbee, I skimmed
through it only briefly. Since I have never owned any birds, nor do I have any plans to, I
didn’t think that this issue affected me directly. Moreover, at a quick glance, it looked to
me like a good way to prevent the trade of endangered species. However, I have since read the text of the proposed by-law in its entirety, and have
become quite concerned about some of the implications of this legislation. Here are three
scenarios that come to mind which would be affected by this by-law: 1) A bird is found dazed or injured. My impression from the by-law is that it would now
be illegal to pick up this bird and keep it to be brought to either a vet or a suitable place
for release. How would this affect a group like FLAP, who pick up stunned birds
downtown during migration, keep them in a quiet place to allow them to recover, and then
release them in a safe place? Alternatively, what would happen if a situation were to
occur, as it did several times this year, where a fledgling Peregrine Falcon from one of
Toronto’s nests came to the ground? In the past, volunteers have rescued these birds,
kept them for examination, and then released them. According to the new by-law, this
would no longer be legal - are we now supposed to let an endangered species get run over
by traffic instead of helping it? 2) Captive birds or other animals used for educational purposes. Let me first clarify that I
do not unconditionally endorse keeping wild animals in captivity. However, there are
many institutions and organizations which legally keep non-releasable animals on a
permanent basis. Some of these animals are physically disabled to some extent, while
others are human imprints; in either case, they would not be able to survive in the wild.
Many of these animals have long been used by educational facilities to teach children and
adults alike about environmental issues and bird biology. I have seen from personal
experience that exposure to even a single ‘educational’ bird can have a profound effect on
people, who generally come away with a greater respect for birds and nature in general.
Many people in our society know very little about our native fauna, and I know of at least
a few who were stimulated to learn more only after being introduced to one of these
captive birds. To my knowledge, all of the birds (and snakes, turtles, etc.) that I have seen used for the
purposes of education are animals which are in captivity only because they are
non-releasable. If they were not being used for education, chances are these animals
would be put down, because the cost of keeping them could not be justified. I see no
harm in allowing educational programs to continue using live birds (and other animals),
PROVIDED THAT these animals are non-releasable and are not taken from the wild
unjustifiably. In my opinion, the cost of further distancing people in the city from nature is
far greater than allowing these animals to be in the city. (I should note - in the proposed by-law, there is an exemption granted for educational
purposes, but only to institutions accredited by the Canadian Association of Zoological
Aquariums or the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. In many of the cases I am
familiar with, these educational programs are carried out by individuals or small
organizations that would probably have difficulty becoming accredited by these
organizations. This exemption should be broadened to include these educational programs
as well). 3) Hacking birds. As many of you may be aware, an important part of the Peregrine
Falcon recovery program in Ontario involved hacking young Peregrines from several sites
within the city (including York University and Queen’s Park among others) in the 1980s.
Under the proposed by-law, this too would be illegal, as the chicks would be kept on city
property for several weeks before being released. At the moment, no additional hack
releases are planned for the City of Toronto, but as a matter of principle, I object that they
would not be allowed. Who is to say that additional Peregrines, or other birds, won’t
have to be released in the future? I see no provision in the current version of the by-law
which would allow for this to take place. These are just three examples - I’m sure there are other cases I haven’t thought of. I
certainly don’t want to give the impression that I am against everything in the proposed
by-law, or that I agree with everything on the BFBS home page; in fact I think that the
bulk of the by-law is quite reasonable. However, I do think that this by-law as it is
currently written could have severe implications for conservation and education in
Toronto and other cities that may follow suit, and that both people and animals will suffer
as a result. I would encourage everyone to carefully read the text of the by-law and
consider the examples I have listed above. If you agree that this by-law should not be
passed in its present form, I would urge you to write to Mayor Mel Lastman and the city
councillors with your comments and concerns. Sincerely, Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998 posted by Jonathan Higbee on November 28, 1998 at 11:21:28:
3 cheers for Glenn and Craig and 4 cheers for the authors of the proposed ban.
Norm Murr
I have been informed by the FON trip co-ordinator whose job is terminated today that the FON Trip program has been cancelled by the FON Board of Directors.
This program introduced many people to birding especially in the Metro area and will be missed.
In Reply to: Re: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on November 30, 1998 at 11:38:30:
I agree with Glenn on this one, even moor after going to the site's web page and reading it ,the city gets my vote of approval on this ban CRAIG
In Reply to: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998 posted by Jonathan Higbee on November 28, 1998 at 11:21:28:
Who do those of us who are delighted at this
prospect write to in order to congratulate
them on their excellent courageous proposal? I would be quite interested in supporting
such a ban.
A European Goldfinch was observed today between 09:30 and 10:45 at a backyard niger feeder along the fenceline in the southeast quadrant of York Cemetary on the west side of Senlac Road. It was amongst a group of 8 to 10 American Goldfinches that visited the feeder every 20 minutes or so. Four birders observed the specimen. No pictures were taken. It was not seen again for the balance of the day.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 29 There is an immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER coming regularly to feeders at two adjoining houses located at 1177 and 1201 Fry Road (1/2 km N. of County Road 5, and 6 km NNW of Picton. The best time to see it is mornings between 8 and 9. The bird, first observed on Wednesday has been seen collecting peanuts from the feeder and sticking them into holes in a nearby telephone pole. There are still a few shorebirds around. Presqu'ile Provincial Park had a LESSER GOLDEN PLOVER on Tuesday, along with 11 PURPLE SANDPIPERS and a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER. There was also a PURPLE SANDPIPER on the Kingston Field Naturalists property on Amherst Island this past week, as well as 3 DUNLIN, 3 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, 2 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER and one RUDDY TURNSTONE. Lots of waterfowl around. Prince Edward Point had thousands of WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS and OLDSQUAW on the north side of the peninsula in Prince Edward Bay this week. Similar numbers of ducks were observed by Albert Boisvert and Maureen Riggs in West Lake today and elsewhere around Prince Edward County. At Pleasant Bay they found MALLARD, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, AMERICAN WIGEON, along with 3 MUTE SWANS and 15 TUNDRA SWANS in Pleasant Bay. Wellington had MALLARD, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, AMERICAN WIGEON, COMMON GOLDENEYE, BUFFFLEHEAD, COMMON LOON and 29 AMERICAN COOT. At Salmon Point, the duo found HORNED GREBE, OLDSQUAW, and WHITE-WINGED SCOTER. The 21 WILD TURKEYS are still in the Woodlands Campground area at Sandbanks Provincial Park where NORTHERN HARRIER, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, and RED-TAILED HAWK were also seen by Albert and Maureen. They found 2 LITTLE GULLS at the mouth of the Outlet River where what are thought to be the same two were observed one day earlier. Another individual turned up at West Lake, behind the Isaiah Tubbs Resort. A total of 40 species seen during the day - not bad for this time of year. Yesterday in the Woodlands Campground, there was a PILEATED WOODPECKER at Campsite 631, where both WHITE-BREASTED and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH were also heard calling. A small flock of PINE SISKINS flew over on the other side of the same campground loop. This would appear to be a very good season for both ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS which are turning up everywhere, and NORTHERN SHRIKES which are being reported regularly. New sightings of NORTHERN SHRIKES in addition to those reported last week, have come in from Tweed, Napanee, Fish Lake, Huyck's Point, and Plainfield. Another was seen at Big Island this afternoon.
A total of 53 Belleville area residents turned out for the fourth annual birdfeeding seminar at the city's Foster Ward Community Centre Centre today. For Brighton area residents this coming weekend there is the second annual Bird Feeding Seminar being held on December 6th, at 2:00 p.m. at the Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area, north of Brighton off Highway 30. Refreshments and plenty of door prizes. There will be a slide show presentation on ways of attracting wildlife to the backyard, and a discussion on nesting and roosting boxes for bats, birds and butterflies. The program is being presented by Quinte Conservation, Lower Trent Conservation and The Birdhouse (Wooler).
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 06. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
the vegae/herring gull was back at the sunnyside beach at the foot fo ellis ave today at 11:55 am . CRAIG
In Reply to: Leslie St. Spit sightings posted by Barbara Taylor on November 28, 1998 at 18:07:32:
all so at the spit today was a PURPLE SANDPIPER 1 at the blue box 26 hooded merganser
1 bonaparte gull 1 Iceland gull and 4 R.C.kinglet all and all a good day CRAIG
Today along the Leslie St. Spit I saw 5 Kestrels. Great-horned Owl was out towards the end of the spit, not far from the porta-outhouse. Lots of Oldsquaw near the lighthouse. Along the way saw Mallard, Mute Swan, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Common Goldeneye, Redhead, Gadwall, Scaup and Black-backed Gulls.
Aviculture is about to be banned in Toronto, and subsequently in the surrounding area. The final hearing to stop this from happening is December 1. A lot of people who have chosen to devote their lives to the study of wild birds did so because of their exposure first hand to birds when they were young. I submit to you that if aviculture is banned in Toronto, that the wild birds we also enjoy so much will take a hit. If the children of Toronto are barred from interacting on a first hand basis with birds that are otherwise legal to interact with elsewhere in Canada, I predict there will be far fewer new ornithologists coming out of that area of the country for years to come. To learn how you can help to stop the ban, please contact the following persons: CHRISTOPHER HOLOBOFF
Suite 500, 27 Queen Street East
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 2M6 M9R 2N8
(416) 868-0878
(416) 362-5013 (fax)
choloboff@aol.com BRIAN EDDY
91 Waterford Drive
Etobicoke, Ontario
(416) 244-6976
(416) 244-2154
briane@pathcom.com Complete information is available at the following web site:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/5470/ Sincerely, Jonathan Higbee
In Reply to: Merlin? In Etobicoke posted by Dave Nelson on November 02, 1998 at 21:50:00:
Am quite sure I saw one here in the spruce tree in our backyard several weeks ago, possibly late summer. We live in Georgetown, and back onto a ravine.
In Reply to: gull site posted by C.McLauchlan on November 26, 1998 at 15:28:16:
Craig Thanks for the link. There is a lot of information in there to mull over. I just wanted to point out that your link only works with a www at the front. http://www.west.net/~dj/gulls.htm Mark
In Reply to: Vaga Herring gull ?? posted by Craig Mclauchlan on November 24, 1998 at 07:37:35:
hear is a great site for gulls including the vegae http://www.west.net/~dj/gulls.htm
CRAIG
In Reply to: Re: Gannet? posted by Andy on November 25, 1998 at 13:33:00:
It is always frustrating to see an interesting
bird while driving. The description two
observers have given me of the bird at Sunnyside
sound like that of a 2nd year Northern Gannet not
a juvenile. Thus, still quite dark dorsally but
becoming quite light (though not white) ventrally. You will probably never know for sure what you
saw, but undoubtedly will be more prepared to
consider oddities like Northern Gannet next time.
In any event it sounds like keeping the car on
the road was a better option than a better look
at the bird.
In Reply to: Re: Gannet? posted by C.McLauchlan on November 25, 1998 at 09:02:35:
I disagree that it is strange that there have not
been many multi-observer sightings of inland
Northern Gannet in Ontario. Although I do not
dispute that inland sightings are possible (in
fact the record I referred to attests to this), I
do contend that they are almost certainly about as
frequent in s. Ontario as snow in June - that is
to say a very rare phenomenon indeed. Apart from colonial activity, which itself is
coastal, an average Northern Gannet's life history
is decidedly pelagic - this is indisputable. Stand
at the Cape May sea watch in fall and face away
from the ocean. Have an observer beside you face
the ocean. I would venture to say the ratio of
Northern Gannet sightings the ocean-facing
observer tallies will be decidedly higher. Better
still, carry the same exercise out in the Gulf of
Mexico, only this time have the ocean-facing
observer go out in a boat. The ratio of sightings
from the boat will be even more decidedly higher
than the observer facing inland. Inland occurrence is a definite aberration from
the life of an average Northern Gannet and thus
merits withstanding greater scrutiny. This only
seems reasonable.
In Reply to: Re: Gannet? posted by Glenn Coady on November 24, 1998 at 17:58:50:
I'm afraid my description won't be of great use. It
was a glimpse I got as I momentarily glanced up
at a "gull" as I was driving. My initial reaction
was that the head and neck seemed out of proportion
to the body. Looked very "chunky" and heavy. All I can say
for sure is that it was very light, but not white, very
large head and heavy neck. It was more of an impression
rather than a real observation. But, if I had been
elsewhere, "Gannet" would have registered in the
data banks. Sorry, but I saw too little, too
briefly, to say confidently anything other than I saw
a gull-like, light-coloured bird that resembled,
in shape, a Gannet. Too bad I wasn't aware of
the reported sighting. Had I been, I would have
made an effort to pursue the beast and get it
in my binoculars. I'll be sure to do so if I see
a similar odd bird again.
In Reply to: Re: Gannet? posted by Glenn Coady on November 24, 1998 at 17:58:50:
All though inland Gannet sightings are rare I fell that it is jist a myth that they do not fly inland. A number of years ago I had a sighting of one west of Kingston along the 401 all though the lake was in sight it was still 2 to 3 km. away and the bird was heading in land (this report was rejected by the o.r.b.c only do to bill collier not do to inland sightings).
All though Gannet is a pelagic bird it is a bird and as we have all seen before birds do what ever they want, and are always finding new ways to keep us on our toes. I must agree though it is strange that their hasn't bin many multi-observer sightings my car co driver was a sleep at the time of my sighting. I also fell that the over land sightings are as rare as seeing a gannet in Ontario, this may be the answer for I am sheer that they fly over land in the Maritimes. CRAIG
In Reply to: Vaga Herring gull ?? posted by Craig Mclauchlan on November 24, 1998 at 07:37:35:
You may have already consulted Peter Harrison's Seabirds,
but in case you haven't, I found some information.
On page 338, there is only a vague description
of the Vegae race (breeds former USSR, Laptev Sea
East to Bering Strait) - "Legs pink or yellow. Grey
underparts and upperwings considerably darker than Argenteus.
In the text on the Herring Gull, all races are compared
to Argenteus race (Scandinavia East to White Sea, former
USSR). Unfortunately, there isn't a colour plate
on the Vegae race on page 58, all that is shown is an
adult-non breeding of the Argenteus race with a small
comparison to Vegae. What isn't clear on this page
is whether both races share the same red eye ring
and darker patch below the eye in this plumage.
I hope this helps.
In Reply to: The Northern Shrike posted by Ram Nambiar on November 24, 1998 at 09:09:36:
This bird is also common in Kenya and Tanzania!!!
But I have yet to see it here. Black-crowned night herons are also found there.
Dear Fellow Birders Hi, on Sunday I was birding along the shoreline hoping for the
Gannet, but no luck. However at Bronte Harbour there was a
Coot and the pair of Red-Necked Grebes with one offspring. At
South Shell Park there were 2 adult Red-Necked Grebes, alomg
with another at Sioux Lookout. There were also about 1000
Scaup offshore, along with Red-Breasted Merganser, Goldeneye,
and Bufflehead. At Venture Inn there was a Hooded Merganser
following a Red-Breasted Merganser. And at LaSalle there was
60 Coots, along with a Cormorant, also present were the Trumpeter
Swans, Bufflehead and Scaup. Mike
In Reply to: Gannet? posted by Andy on November 20, 1998 at 12:01:01:
Inland Northern Gannet sightings are extremely
rare indeed and I know of no multi-observer
sightings. I do vaguely recall that Ron Scovell
may have seen one in Rexdale while coaching a
high school football game many years ago. I'm sure that occasionally Northern Gannets that
get trapped in southern James Bay (similarly to
Northern Fulmars) in late fall probably fatally
venture inland. Overwhelmingly Northern Gannet is a pelagic bird
though. It IS interesting that it is not being seen along
the lake now though. A bird that was seen many
places along western Lake Ontario several years
ago was later found along the Niagara River near
the Adam Beck generating station. It is not
inconceivable that one might move inland along
the Don River but I would certainly consider it
improbable. A description of the bird you saw might rule out
this remote possibility.
Monday,23rd Nov,1998 THE NORTHERN SHRIKE The highlight of my trip to Humber Bay Park East this morning was the sighting of a Northern Shrike(Lanius excubitor). Its hunting area was the eastern most edge of the park along the sparse naked tree line facing the Lake. I spent nearly half an hour watching the hunting methods of this 'butcher bird'. It made few fast droppings on some thing on the ground among the dry grass and sticks, definetely not on an avian prey, but most likely some grasshopers. Within seconds it went back to its observation towers of the lower branches. I got a close up view later when it flew to a near tree. The underside showed fine bars. It is surprising this species exists in South East Asia also. Couple of months ago I have had the opportunity to watch this Shrike in the southern State of India called Kerala. There they call it Grey Shrike but the same bird. The specific name is still Lanius excubitor. Good Birding, Ram Nambiar,
Mississauga.ONT birder.echo-on.net
Vaga gull has any one heard any thing ells regarding this gull seen at Suneyside Park last weekend. Is their any good id book with a full reference on this sub species of the herring gull?that gives eye ring coller,and other id hints. CRAIG
In Reply to: Re: Pileated Woodpecker - Sunnybrook Park posted by Ray Mitchell on November 23, 1998 at 09:28:05:
Nearest intersection is Leslie and Eglinton East. The main entrance is on the west side of Leslie just a stones throw north of Eglinton. Right across Leslie St. from the old Inn on the Park, now a Holiday Inn hotel. The park's entrance road splits into two directions...take the main road to the right to find the birds. Sunnybrook Park is attached to Serena Gundy Park, and Taylor Creek Park further south. You can walk a long way...even connects to the Don River trail down to the lakeshore! You can also enter the walking trail system from Edwards Gardens at the north end (Lawrence E. & Leslie). Hope you find the Pileated! Barbara
In Reply to: Pileated Woodpecker - Sunnybrook Park posted by Barbara Taylor on November 21, 1998 at 14:48:30:
Where is Sunnybrook park?
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 22
This afternoon at Wellington Harbour there was a good collection of birds, including hundreds of RING-BILLED GULLS and quite a few BONAPARTE'S GULLS with the odd
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. Other birds present were MALLARD, GADWALL, AMERICAN COOT, COMMON MERGANSER, AMERICAN WIGEON, CANADA GOOSE and a lone KILLDEER. There was an immature THAYER'S GULL and an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at the Napanee dump today. Trenton area birders, Nick Quickert and Nels Banting had a pretty fair day's birding in Prince Edward County on Saturday, chalking up 4 TUNDRA SWANS and an adult BALD EAGLE at Weller's Bay. There was a COMMON SNIPE at Wellington, where the duo also found 1 LITTLE GULL. The mouth of the Outlet River at Sandbanks Provincial Park produced an additional 4 LITTLE GULLS. Don Craighead on Wednesday had a bit better luck at Outlet with 15 LITTLE GULLS, in addition to some 30 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, 10 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS and 2 HERRING GULLS. EASTERN BLUEBIRDS seen this past week included 12 at Point Petre yesterday, and four at the entrance to the Girl Guide Camp at the end of Helyer Road, north from Telephone Road in the Trenton area. There were also four in the East Lake area at the beginning of the week. On Saturday, there were at least 50 WHIT-WINGED SCOTERS, some MALLARDS and AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS at West Point. Don Craighead also stopped at East Zwicks Island where a large flock of CANADA GEESE (100+) were near the mouth of the Moira River. Other species with them included MALLARDS, AMERICAN BLACK, BUFFLEHEAD, 2 OLDSQUAW, 2 COMMON MERGANSERS, and 1 AMERICAN COOT. There were 100 AMERICAN COOTS at Trenton on Tuesday. A CANADA GOOSE with a target arrow through its wing is still on the Moira River at West Riverside Park where it has been for several weeks. Efforts by Quinte Conservation staff and others to capture the bird have been unsuccessful, as despite the protruding arrow, the bird flies quite well, although at low altitude. It looks like a favourable year for ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS with numbers of these birds being seen and reported almost daily. A dark phase was along the S-turns of County Road 12 at Sandbanks, and another dark phase was seen at Bethel Road today, and one at Wellington yesterday. NORTHERN SHRIKES have been seen this past week at Napanee, Point Petre and north of Wellington. A total of 83 Napanee area residents turned out for the second annual birdfeeding seminar at the town's Flip Side Entertainment Centre yesterday. For Belleville area residents this coming weekend there is the fourth annual Bird Feeding Seminar being held on November 29th, at 2:00 p.m. at the Foster Ward Community Centre. Refreshments and plenty of door prizes. There will be a slide show presentation on ways of attracting wildlife to the backyard, and a discussion on nesting and roosting boxes for bats, birds and butterflies. The program is being presented by Quinte Conservation, Thrasher Feeds, and Backyard Birds of Quinte.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 29th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
I've seen a Pileated several times now near the large parking lot on right hand side of main road (where the concrete steps lead way up to the playing fields). He lets you get pretty close so you can have a good look. Someone has been feeding the chickadees in the park! I was divebombed by three of them when I stopped walking along the creek bank. I put out my hand and bang...one came right to me! Lots of cardinals and robins around too.
In Reply to: Re: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19 posted by Glenn Coady on November 19, 1998 at 15:17:59:
Driving on Bloor St. over the Don Valley this morning,
I glanced up at an odd-looking gull. Hmm, I must
need glasses, I thought to myself. That bird looked
like a Gannet... Maybe I wasn't seeing things?
In Reply to: Re: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19 posted by Mark Cranford on November 19, 1998 at 16:01:27:
The exact scenario you are describing occurs daily
off the Humber River mouth and indeed both Bob
Yukich and I in conversation on Sunday speculated
that the Northern Gannet might be seen at this
location which duly happened when Bob found it
there late in the afternoon on Tuesday. Wouldn't it be delightful if an alcid would join
the festivities amongst one of these active
feeding flocks?
In Reply to: Re: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19 posted by Glenn Coady on November 19, 1998 at 15:17:59:
Pay attention to where the Great Black-backed Gull are heading to feed. Last Sunday I saw the Northern Gannet well off shore at Van Wagners beach in Hamilton. It and many Black-backed Gulls were circling and exploiting a feeding frenzy of Merganser (Red-breasted). Oldsquaw may have been in on the action but the distances were a bit long for my 20 power scope. I have heard that a Gannet was also seen off Thickson Woods, Whitby. It's likely the same bird and I'll bet that if you see a feeding free-for-all the Gannet will evently see it also. The bird can motor, so stick around.
In Reply to: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 19, 1998 at 14:52:03:
On November 15th in the afternoon I saw 362 Great
Black-backed Gulls at Sunnyside (mostly 1st winter
birds)- which is TRIPLE the highest number I have
ever seen at a single locality in the Toronto
region. Even more impressive though were the eight
Lesser Black-backed Gulls (4 - 1st winter; 2 - 3rd
winter; 2 adults) I found there. All birds were
seen simultaneously so I know there was no
duplication. It likely represents an all-time peak
for the Toronto region. I also had a Black-legged
Kittiwake there that afternoon as well. Even more noteworthy was the immature Northern
Gannet seen by Bob Yukich in this same area late
in the afternoon on November 17th. It should be
watched for to return to this area again in the
next few days.
In Reply to: Humber Bay - Nov. 13 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 14, 1998 at 11:03:46:
Three of the four Franklin's Gulls seen in the
mouth of Mimico Creek on November 12th by Bob
Yukich were still present at 8:15 a.m. on November
13th. The three that I saw were all adults.
In Reply to: Humber Bay - Nov. 13 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 14, 1998 at 11:03:46:
Three of the four Franklin's Gulls seen in the
mouth of Mimico Creek on November 12th by Bob
Yukich were still present at 8:15 a.m. on November
13th. The three that I saw were all adults.
This morning there were 34 Common Mergansers on Grenadier Pond, but no other waterfowl except for a few scattered Mallards near the south end. At Sunnyside, an impressive 134 Greater Black-backed Gulls were present, mostly on the breakwaters. There were also smaller numbers of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, as well as some Bufflehead, Oldsquaw, and Gadwall. At Humber Bay West there were 28 Mute Swans - the largest number I've seen here in quite a while - maybe numbers are building for the winter? 4 Redheads were at the east end of the north bay, while small numbers of Bufflehead, Goldeneye, and Oldsquaw were out near the west end of the bay. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 15
A few more signs of winter are beginning to turn up in the Quinte area. SNOW BUNTINGS are being reported quite regularly now across the Quinte area, and three NORTHERN SHRIKES have been spotted by observers this past week - one at Milford, one on Big Island, and another at the corner of Smoke Point Road and Gardenville Road, south of Trenton. A GREAT GRAY OWL was observed at Presqu'ile Provincial Park a week ago today
near Owen Point. A late BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER observed at the lighthouse was also noteworthy. An adult HARRIS`S SPARROW was seen Saturday at a feeder on the outskirts of Brighton. Birders are welcome to look for the bird from the deck overlooking the feeding area. To reach the site, approach Brighton via HW 30 and immediately before the
first lights in town, turn left on Dundas St. proceeding east for 1.2
km. Turn left on Georgina St. and drive north for .9 km. The house is new-looking, has two storeys and grey siding. Visitors are asked to park on the street. Also from the Brighton area this week (Friday) was a convincing report of a MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, seen in
fields opposite the Government dock. There was a CAROLINA WREN singing repeatedly at the corner of Sidney Street and Highway 2 in Belleville early Saturday morning. A NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was seen at Big Island on Thursday, but it is not known if the individual spotted at South Bay a week ago is still in that area. However, the 6 TUNDRA SWANS are still on the bay, along with 2500+ GREATER SCAUP and 2 HORNED GREBES. Similar numbers of scaup were reported from Point Traverse on Wednesday, and there were some 5,000 GREATER SCAUP there this weekend, along with 1,000s of scoters, mainly WHITE-WINGED with a few BLACK and SURF SCOTERS. OLDSQUAW numbers were about 10,000. A RED-NECKED GREBE was present just south of the lighthouse. There were 67 HOODED MERGANSERS in the Trenton area on Friday. The Brighton and Presqu'ile Field Naturalists on their field trip into the county this past Thursday had PIED-BILLED GREBE, HORNED GREBE, CANADA GOOSE, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, MALLARD, GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON, BUFFLEHEAD, AMERICAN COOT, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER(2), all in the Wellington Area. WILD TURKEY (10-12), RED-TAILED HAWK (3), and NORTHERN HARRIER were recorded by the group near the new Woodlands Campground at Sandbanks Provincial Park, and 3 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS were checked off at the Milford end of the Old Milford Road. ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS have also been seen and/or reported at Prince Edward Point, Consecon, Stinson Block, Demorestville, Stirling, Napanee, Bath, Hartington and Glen Miller. Wolfe Island has added its two cents worth to the plethora of FRANKLIN'S GULL reports this past week across Ontario. There were three seen at Wolfe Island yesterday. A SANDHILL CRANE was seen in flight over Grimshaw Bay. Shorebirds continue to hang in there with some interesting sightings this past week. There was a RED PHALAROPE at Ostrander Point in Prince Edward County last Sunday, and a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE at Amherst Island on the same day. Amherst Island also had COMMON SNIPE, 1 PECTORAL SANDPIPER, 100 DUNLIN, 4 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER , and both GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS. Along the south shore of the Long Point Peninsula, just west of Prince Edward Point there were both BLACK-BELLIED and AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER and GREATER YELLOWLEGS this weekend. Prince Edward Point also had small numbers of NORTHERN HARRIERS, GOSHAWK, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS and MERLIN observed this weekend. Numbers of passerines were also said to be down according to the Kingston Field Naturalists Information Hotline. A GOLDEN EAGLE was seen over Amherst Island last week, and a PEREGRINE FALCON was seen at Fawcettville (northern outskirts of Picton) on Wednesday. A total of 112 Picton area residents turned out for the ninth annual birdfeeding seminar at the town's Regent Theatre today. For Napanee area residents this coming weekend there is the second annual Bird Feeding Seminar being held on November 21st, at 2:00 p.m. at the Flipside Entertainment Centre, on Dairy Avenue. Refreshments and plenty of door prizes. There will be a slide show presentation on ways of attracting wildlife to the backyard, and a discussion on nesting and roosting boxes for bats, birds and butterflies. The program is being presented by Quinte Conservation and O'Neill's Farm Supply.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 22nd. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
At the foot of Fifth Street in Etobicoke this morning there was a female Harlequin Duck swimming with 18 Bufflehead. Over at Colonel Sam Smith there were 5 Hooded Mergansers among the 110 Oldsquaw, 40 Red-breasted Mergansers, and 2 Common Loons (east of the peninsula). There were also a total of 22 Greater Black-backed Gulls there. Up at MacGillivray and Huntington (northwest of Rutherford and Hwy 27) there was a Rough-legged Hawk. I later saw a second one north of Rutherford, east of Islington. In the same area as it were 2 Song Sparrows, 4 Goldfinches, and a male Kingfisher. In Kortright Conservation Area there were additional Song Sparrows and at least 6 White-breasted Nuthatches. A Pileated Woodpecker was on a tree just beside the visitor's centre. Marcel
I visited Humber Bay East and West Friday morning, but there were few birds to see. The Franklin's Gulls reported on Thursday did not seem to be around, and most of the waterfowl present a week ago were either absent entirely, or present in much smaller numbers. In the hour I spent there, I saw a grand total of one passerine, but a good one - a Northern Shrike on the south shore of H.B. East. There were still ~200 Oldsquaw off to the south, but few other ducks on that side. Along Mimico Creek there were still a few Green-winged Teal, and close to 20 Bufflehead, many of them actively courting and chasing each other. Marcel
Hi ! This is not a bird report but, I thought the information would be useful or of interest to some of you..... At no time was the entrance into Humber Bay East closed. The entrance is being realigned an there is a new entrance to Humber Bay East. The construction may have caused some confusion but, if you look for the signs directing you, you will see the new entrance. The entrance realignment is not being done as a result of the condominium, it is being done as part of the construction of the new Humber Bay Shores Park and the storm water treatment wetland. Good birding :-) Tamara
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 08
One of the more profitable areas to bird this past week has been in a hay field right behind our own house at the east end of Big Island, north of Demorestville. This is the same field in which 2 Henslow's sparrows were seen for two weeks in June of 1997. This past week there have been up to three SHORT-EARED OWLS coursing to and fro over the field. Today, there were within sight of each other, a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, NORTHERN HARRIER and a NORTHERN SHRIKE hunting in this field. The fence rows on two sides of the field today also contained a RUFOUS-SIDED TOWHEE, GOLDEN CROWNED KINGLETS, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, DARK-EYED JUNCOS, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and four EASTERN BLUEBIRDS. EASTERN SCREECH OWLS have also been calling from the woods adjacent to this field. EASTERN BLUEBIRDS this past week have also been reported from Milford, Prince Edward Point, Bethesda, Wellington, Ameliasburgh, and outside of Prince Edward County at Napanee, Lonsdale, Tucker's Corners, Stirling and at Frankford. On Tuesday, Don Craighead was at Sandbanks and saw only 19 species, including many BUFFLEHEAD, 3 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, 3 NORTHERN HARRIERS, 1 COOPER'S HAWK, 3 RED-TAILED HAWKS, 4 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 1 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, 2 CEDAR WAXWINGS, DARK-EYED JUNCOS, AND 1 AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. A Brighton & Presqu'ile Field Naturalists outing to Prince Edward County on Thursday resulted in COMMON LOON, HORNED GREBE (4), CANADA GOOSE, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, MALLARD, BLUE-WINGED TEAL (3) and CANVASBACK 1, (Wellington) being seen, along with 4,000+ scaup species, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, BUFFLEHEAD and OLDSQUAW. Also picked up were AMERICAN COOT, NORTHERN HARRIER (3), RED-TAILED HAWK (2), ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (1), BLACK-BELLIED PLOPVER (4), AMERICAN PIPIT, CEDAR WAXWING (57), YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, and AMERICAN TREE SPARROW. A week ago Thursday, one member of the Kingston Field Natuiralists chalked up an impressive list of raptors at Prince Edward Point during a strong hawk flight brought on by good northwest winds. Seen were an incredible 11 GOLDEN EAGLES, and hundreds of RED-TAILED HAWKS and SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, with smaller numbers of RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, COOPER'S HAWKS, AMERICAN KESTRELS and MERLINS. Last Sunday, there was a very late GREAT EGRET and a GOLDEN PLOVER on the south shore of Hay Bay, east of Sillsville. The TUNDRA SWANS and NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD are still present at South Bay, according to observers there. For Picton area residents this coming weekend there is the ninth annual Bird Feeding Seminar being held on November 15th, at 2:00 p.m. at the Regent Theatre in downtown Picton. Refreshments and plenty of door prizes. There will be a slide show presentation on ways of attracting wildlife to the backyard, and a discussion on nesting and roosting boxes for bats, birds and butterflies. The program is being presented by Quinte Conservation, Picton Farm Supply and Picton Home Hardware.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 15th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Humber Bay update - November 6 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 06, 1998 at 18:06:03:
Hi. This is my first birding report, as I'm rather new to this. However, I wanted to let you know that I was able to get into Humber Bay East this morning -- maybe it's only closed during the week. Anyway, the highlights for me were a Northern Shrike and a male Hooded Merganser that was hanging out with a couple pair of Common Goldeneye. In the small ponds near the washrooms were American Wigeon and Gadwall, while I also way the Green-winged Teal in Mimico Creek. The main excitement for the couple hundred gulls, oldsquaw and the few red-breasted mergs seemed to be several schools of small fish which were sending the gulls into a feeding frenzy. Quite the show. Another note, I was also at Humber Bay West last Sat. and found a small flock of snow buntings, which was a new bird for me.
This morning I visited Humber Bay for the first time in several weeks, and was shocked to find that Humber Bay east has been closed to public access. The sign indicates that it will be closed during the construction of the Humber Bay Shores project (i.e. the condominiums on the north shore). This is kind of ridiculous - why close off the whole park when it's only the first ~50 metres that are part of the construction zone. I can see closing it off to traffic, but access on foot could surely be allowed to bypass the site. Does anyboRe: Gannet
Posted by Chris Clark on December 05, 1998 at 00:20:45:Re: Sunnybrook Pileated Woodpecker
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 04, 1998 at 20:48:30:Re: Sunnybrook Pileated Woodpecker
Posted by Barbara Taylor on December 04, 1998 at 19:36:04:Gannet
Posted by Mike Boyd on December 04, 1998 at 11:42:02:Franklins Gulls
Posted by Eleanor Kee Wellman on December 04, 1998 at 10:04:37:Sunnybrook Park - December 3
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 04, 1998 at 07:13:45:Re: Sighting: RIP Aviculture (long)
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 02, 1998 at 21:01:51:Re: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998
Posted by Norm Murr on November 30, 1998 at 21:46:08:FON trip program
Posted by John Miles on November 30, 1998 at 15:02:50:Re: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on November 30, 1998 at 12:38:37:Re: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 30, 1998 at 11:38:30:European Goldfinch
Posted by K. Adams on November 29, 1998 at 21:38:38:Quinte Area Bird Report - Nov. 29/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on November 29, 1998 at 20:02:58:vegae/Herring gull
Posted by craig M clauchlan on November 28, 1998 at 21:19:17:Re: Leslie St. Spit sightings
Posted by craig Mclauchlan on November 28, 1998 at 21:13:18:Leslie St. Spit sightings
Posted by Barbara Taylor on November 28, 1998 at 18:07:32:Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998
Posted by Jonathan Higbee on November 28, 1998 at 11:21:28:Re: Merlin? In Etobicoke
Posted by Janet Duval on November 27, 1998 at 15:33:31:Re: gull site
Posted by Mark Cranford on November 26, 1998 at 20:49:12:gull site
Posted by C.McLauchlan on November 26, 1998 at 15:28:16:Re: Gannet?
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 25, 1998 at 17:53:18:Re: Gannet?
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 25, 1998 at 17:39:28:Re: Gannet?
Posted by Andy on November 25, 1998 at 13:33:00:Re: Gannet?
Posted by C.McLauchlan on November 25, 1998 at 09:02:35:Re: Vaga Herring gull ??
Posted by Graham Nord on November 25, 1998 at 07:33:52:Re: The Northern Shrike
Posted by Sandra Eadie on November 24, 1998 at 23:30:25:Burlington Shoreline
Posted by Mike Boyd on November 24, 1998 at 20:16:13:Re: Gannet?
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 24, 1998 at 17:58:50:The Northern Shrike
Posted by Ram Nambiar on November 24, 1998 at 09:09:36:Vaga Herring gull ??
Posted by Craig Mclauchlan on November 24, 1998 at 07:37:35:Re: Pileated - location of Sunnybrook Park
Posted by Barbara Taylor on November 23, 1998 at 14:12:24:Re: Pileated Woodpecker - Sunnybrook Park
Posted by Ray Mitchell on November 23, 1998 at 09:28:05:Quinte Area Bird Report - Nov. 22/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on November 22, 1998 at 21:05:29:Pileated Woodpecker - Sunnybrook Park
Posted by Barbara Taylor on November 21, 1998 at 14:48:30:Gannet?
Posted by Andy on November 20, 1998 at 12:01:01:Re: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 19, 1998 at 18:43:10:Re: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19
Posted by Mark Cranford on November 19, 1998 at 16:01:27:Re: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 19, 1998 at 15:17:59:Re: Humber Bay - Nov. 13
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 19, 1998 at 15:06:19:Re: Humber Bay - Nov. 13
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 19, 1998 at 15:06:14:West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 19, 1998 at 14:52:03:Quinte Area Bird Report - Nov. 15/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on November 15, 1998 at 21:08:18:Col. Sam to Kortright, Nov. 15
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 15, 1998 at 16:58:36:Humber Bay - Nov. 13
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 14, 1998 at 11:03:46:Humber Bay East
Posted by Tamara Chipperfield on November 10, 1998 at 14:57:54:Quinte Area Bird Report - Nov. 08/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on November 08, 1998 at 20:35:09:Re: Humber Bay update - November 6
Posted by Sue Schultz on November 07, 1998 at 13:41:10:Humber Bay update - November 6
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 06, 1998 at 18:06:03: