Good evening
A beautiful day for birding The Islands and today I came up with 86 species with only 13 Waterfowl and 1 Shorebird Species but a great day it was and tomorrow will be better (I can only hope).
I started at Wards Island as usual and by the time I got to Hanlans Point 9 hours later I had found some nice birds despite the noise of the mowers, tree cutters, mulchers, airplanes and a rescue helicopter offshore most of the day. Following are some of the birds that I found and enjoyed.
Wood Ducks, 5 Canvasbacks, 2 Surf Scoters, 5 Great Egrets, Cooper's Hawk, Common Loon, Great-crested Flycatchers, many Least Flycatchers, 5 Thrushes including Veery, Swainson's, Hermit and Wood, Thrashers, Carolina, Winter, and House Wrens, 17 Gnatcatchers, 5 Swallow species, Purple Finch, 17 Warbler species including 2 Orange-crowned, Parula, Cape May, Pine, and N. Waterthrush, 9 Sparrow species including Lincoln's, many Chipping and E. Towhee, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. and 4 Bobolinks.
A nice day to be out and not stuck in an office (or what ever) and I look forward to another day on The Islands again tomorrow for what ever surprises the day holds.
Norm
PS - this is my last report on this format. I will only be reporting on the new format fro now on.
Norm Murr
In Reply to: Big Bird - what is it ? posted by JPA Clifford on May 08, 2006 at 10:06:11:
They sound like turkey vultures (especially the up to 5 together). They should appear mostly black. If you look at them while the are flying, the wings should be spread slightly above the body making them appear like a flattened out 'V' with the feathers at the end of the wing spread out like fingers. From directly underneath, the lower edge of the wings (closer to the tail) and the very tips look gray in color compared with top (closer to the head) part of the wings looking black. I have seen quite a number in the last month as they migrate. Often see them over the Don River/Bloor Viaduct area soaring both north and south as well as east over Broadview Ave. and last weekend I saw 4 over Mt. Pleasant cemetary.
Dean
In Reply to: Big Bird - what is it ? posted by JPA Clifford on May 08, 2006 at 10:06:11:
Turkey Vultures if they are dark underneath and soar with wings at a slight dihedral. They sometimes travel in packs..They have an unfeathered red head..Napper
In Reply to: Big Bird - what is it ? posted by JPA Clifford on May 08, 2006 at 10:06:11:
REDTAIL HAWKS
In Reply to: Birding Trip Saturday to Second Marsh/Thickson's Woods posted by B. Griffin on May 07, 2006 at 15:26:12:
Helen and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - thanks again. It was our very 1st opportunity to see an Owl (any Owl) and we had never seen a Dowitcher before either. Much appreciated.
I am 15 floors up facing north from Bloor St over Rosedale. There aren't many worse views if you're going to be stuck in an office. Across the street and slightly east is the Manulife building. On top appears to be the hangout for a pair of brown hawks of some kind, but they go to ground when these big monsters appear: what are these?? OK - no camera but the silhouette is hawkish (he says) and dark underside and BIG. OK so I'm not a birdwatcher !! They hang above Rosedale, turning gentle arcs at probably 500' or so, turning and turning, while moving steadily north towards Davisville and the Mt Pleasant cemetary. You can still see them when they've hit Eglinton. If they actually flap their big wings I missed it. Five together the first few days and four the last couple of days ... Like I said, the smaller brown Manulife hawks disappear when these big folks come around. Sorry - bad post I know, but (i) has anyone seen this noontime show? and (ii) what are these Big Birds??
Thx.
I would never have expected to see a pileated here in the city but luckily did yesterday morning where Taylor Creek and Charles Sauriol Conservation Reserve meet (by the "molars").
http://www.toronto.ca/parks/parks_gardens/charlessauriol.htm
http://www.toronto.ca/parks/parks_gardens/taylorcreek.htm
In Reply to: Our Spring Visitors have returned!! (pics) posted by Lorena on May 07, 2006 at 17:09:00:
What great birds to have in your garden. How did you post your photos. I had wanted help identifying a bird I had spotted (which I now know was a palm warbler) but it would have been good to post the photo to have some of these expert birders on this site help me identify it.
Here are few pics of our favorite Spring Time Pics!! The House Finch is always here!! Lorena
About 20 birders met in an unusually congested parking lot Saturday morning before heading east to Oshawa to bird Second Marsh. We located 12 species of ducks while there but not any that were really unusual unfortunately. This included good views of both Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal up close and distant views of Hooded and Common Mergansers out in the marsh. Other highlights included six
species of shorebirds, the best one was a Long-billed Dowitcher in Jim's Pond, but we also had a good comparison of Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs and good looks at Solitary Sandpipers. A Great Egret was seen out in the marsh and a Green Heron did a flyby for us as well.
Three species of tern were found which included Black, Caspian, and Common. Songbirds included our first of the year Yellow Warbler, Palm Warbler, Warbling Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, Veery, and a first year Orchard Oriole. Other birds seen here before leaving were Belted Kingfisher, Chimney Swift, Ruby-thr. Hummingbird, House Wren, Eastern Kingbird and a Great-cr. Flycatcher just inside the Darlington P.P. boundary.
We eventually moved on to Thickson's Woods where we spotted two Great Horned Owls (thanks Charlie) and heard both Winter Wren and Wood Thrush singing. Among the many Yellow-rumpeds there we also found a Northern Parula and a Cape May Warbler (thanks Andrew) singing. White-thr. and White-cr. Sparrows were numerous and we also had excellent close-up views of both Black-thr. Green and Black-thr. Blue Warblers. We finished the morning with ten species of warblers and after lunch we made another vain attempt to find the Gargeny and then ran out of time to head north to Pt. Perry. Although we did not get to all the spots on the day's itinerary we still finished the day with about 84 species and next weekend should be even better! Have a good week all, Brete
___________________________________________________________
Brete Griffin - breteg@yahoo.ca
Peel Birding Class - peelbirding@yahoo.ca
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBC/ and
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BreteGriffin/
Most posts are from the lakefront areas,so I thought I'd let people know about the birding in north Toronto. Earl Bales is at the corner of Sheppard & Bathurst. I bird the lower part of the park, by the Don River. Yesterday from 4-5:30 pm, I saw: 1 Chestnut-sided, 1 Black-throated Blue, 1 Yellow-rumped and 1 Black & White warblers (all males); 2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and 1 Baltimore Oriole (all males);1 TV, 1 Cooper's hawk and 1 Red-tailed hawk; 1 Belted kingfisher; Chipping, Song and White-throated sparrows. In the past month, I've also seen an E. Phoebe, kinglets, Hairy woodpecker (Pileated are here, too) and a pair of Wood ducks.
In Reply to: Re: Long Point Summer or Scarlet Tanager? photos to follow posted by Stewart Ho on May 06, 2006 at 13:00:06:
Yes ,was in the provincial park at Lake Erie at the end of the road past Old Cut Blvd where they do the bird banding,park wasn't open yet so we walked in to the right and found the summer tanager on picnic benches along a row of trees by the parking lots.
The consensus from people i have asked and shown is a 2nd year summer tanager ,also what the Long Point observatory had at Old Cut same day
In Reply to: Long Point Summer or Scarlet Tanager? photos to follow posted by Andrew Don on May 05, 2006 at 14:44:26:
I would like to know which provincial park in Long point, is it the camp site at the end of country road to Long point? I am appreciated your reply. Thank you...
Good late evening all
Today was a short day on The Islands (I only walked 7 hrs from Wards Island to The Sanctuary as I had to meet a friend at 3pm to head up to Carden.
The Islands were fairly quiet but had to be checked and on the way I found 11 warbler species including Blackburnian, Black-throated Blue, Magnolia and my earliest by 8 days Orange-crowned warbler near the Firehall on Wards Island.
I also found Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Gnatcatchers, Thrashers, Blue-headed and Warbling Vireos, Carolina, House and Winter Wrens as well as the usual species down there. All the species were in low numbers including only about 75 White-throated sparrows, down from about 700 on Tuesday. Up at The Carden Alvar area we found (heard) a Yellow Rail at the Sedge Wren Marsh on Wylie Road. It was at the north end of the marsh on the west side and not too far in. Again it was very quiet there but we did hear Ruffed Grouse and a couple of Swamp sparrows only along with an A. Bittern and 3 Common Snipe.
In the Marshes on Prospect Rd we heard and saw 6 Virginia Rails, 1 Sora, 1 Moorhen, 1 Common Raven carrying food, 3 Wilson's Snipe, N. Harrier, Belted Kingfishers and both Teal. We did not see or hear any Marsh or Sedge Wrens at the two locations.
DIRECTIONS
TORONTO ISLANDS (Wards Island to Hanlans Point - without side trips is 5 km I average 18 km each time I bird there so it is a lot of walking to adequately cover the islands)
To get to the Toronto Islands from Queen and Yonge Streets on the TTC. If your on the subway southbound stay on it and get off at Union Station, walk south about 1 km to the ferry docks at the foot of Bay Street and Queens Quay and you are there. If in an auto on the Gardener Expressway or on Lakeshore Blvd, then exit at Bay Street and drive south to Queens Quay, there are lots of parking lots nearby (fee).
There is a fee for using the island ferries ($6.00 adult / $3.50 for seniors & students) and to find out the sailing times you can phone (416) 392-8193. There are washrooms on the islands as well as the city side at the ferry docks and you can pick up a schedule at the docks or check on line.
The 1st boat to Wards Island (my preferred starting point) is 6:35 am and the 2nd is 7:00 am Monday to Friday.
The 1st is at 6:35 am and the 2nd boat is at 7:15 am on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays.
The 1st boat to Hanlans Point is 8:00 am and the 2nd boat is at 8:30 am Monday to Friday.
The 1st is at 8:15 am and the 2nd boat is at 9:15 am on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays.
If arriving in early am you must obtain your ticket from a machine just inside the gate so be sure to have $1.00 and $2.00 and/or 25 cent coins before you arrive at the docks as there is no place to get change and the machine does not make change. (There is a change machine there if you want to chance it).
There are coffee shops across from the ferry docks in the building on the northwest corner and they are open early. food and beverages on The Islands when open are very expensive i.e. soft drink $3.00 plus.
For a detailed ferry schedule check the following web site.
For a detailed ferry schedule check the following web site.
http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/springschedule.htm
PS
There is a map of the Islands at each of the Island side ferry docks and the City side.
WYLIE RD / SEDGE WREN MARSH / PROSPECT RD
Wylie Road is north of Kirkfield in Victoria County and Kirkfield itself is on County Road 48 east of Highway 12 and well north of Whitby and about 130 km from Toronto if you follow the roads and not a Crow.
From the centre of Kirkfield go north on County Road 6 passing under the Lift Lock on the Trent Canal and drive about 2 ½ km further north to where the road curves left or west. On this curve and on your right is McNamee Rd, turn right here onto McNamee and drive east for about 300 yards and you will be at Wylie Road. This road is about 9 ½ km long ending at Alvar Rd (a T intersection). Birding can be good on this road as well, either way.
The Sedge Wren Marsh is about 5 ½ km up Wylie Road, you can’t miss it as it has the only bridge along the road. Park just to the south of and overlooking the bridge and walk the road. Birding is good all along the road and I find that the best birding happens when you park and walk both ways a km or 2 from your auto.
This is a narrow road with little traffic but be sure to park in such a way as to not block the road as you don’t want to rile up the locals. This is all private property but there really is no need to leave the road.
Norm Murr
PS
You may also want to drive down Rockview Rd just west of Kirkfield on your right along County Rd 48. Past the dump road (on your right) you will come to a wet wood lot that straddles the road. This is a great place for N. Waterthrush. We heard and saw 7 there on May 5/01 and May 4/02. Also along here you should find Upland Sandpiper and Grasshopper Sparrow.
Continue south to Eldon Station Rd (the next road) turn right (west) and drive to Prospect Rd. Turn right (north) and drive up to a large marsh. Here you should find many Marsh Wrens along with Sora and Virginia Rail, A. Bittern and Green Heron and watch for Osprey, N. Harrier and T. Vulture. If you continue north on this road you will come upon another small marsh and pond just short of County Rd 48. Of coarse most of the roads in this and the Wylie Rd area can be very productive and it is not a stretch saying you could spend a whole day in the area, I have.
PPS
Wylie Rd south of the Sedge Wren Marsh is good for Upland Sandpiper, Vesper and Grasshopper Sparrow and lots of E. Bluebirds. North of the marsh are the same birds and near the north end of the road watch and listen for Golden-winged Warbler and Clay-colored Sparrow.
Norm Murr
Richmond Hill, ON
It now looks like I left my binox at the base of Leslie Spit at 3PM April 29 after the TOC walk. If anyone found them or knows who picked them up please phone me at 416-535-1902
In Reply to: Raven posted by Cary on May 04, 2006 at 19:20:54:
Cary, the ontario Breeding Bird Atlass maps - 2001 to 2005 -- show confirmed Raven breeding in north Whitchurch-Stouffville, about the same latitude as the south end of Lake Scugog.http://www.birdsontario.org/atlas/map.jsp?map=be&species=CORA&no=5&stype=1 Also, someone posted a few weeks ago (the name eludes me) about observing ravens on the Leslie St. Spit. I questioned his sighting and his response sure indicated he knew what he was looking at. Al
In Reply to: Re: Long Point Summer or Scarlet Tanager? photos to follow posted by Andrew Don on May 05, 2006 at 14:46:50:
last photo promise :)
In Reply to: Re: Long Point Summer or Scarlet Tanager? photos to follow posted by Andrew Don on May 05, 2006 at 14:45:51:
2nd photo
In Reply to: Long Point Summer or Scarlet Tanager? photos to follow posted by Andrew Don on May 05, 2006 at 14:44:26:
first photo
Hi ,was at Long point provincial park and took photo of a very approchable tanager ,not sure if a summer or a scarlet ,would like people's opinions.
The photos will follow
We had 80 species for the day including bay-breasted and magnolia warblers ,indigo buntings ,black terns and sandhill cranes
In Reply to: Re: Cooper's Hawk in upper beach? posted by Bob Kortright on May 05, 2006 at 09:24:38:
Thanks for the tip. I looked it up and that really looks like it. The ravine
is on Gerrard St. East, just east of Coxwell. (at Coxwell it turns north
one block and continues as upper Gerrard.) The street is a mess
because of construction, and is only one way going west, so it's easier
to get to Gerrard from Woodbine. There are stairs to the ravine, and
two paths that are split by a creek and a fence. The tree is on the left/
west side of the fence, a large oak (?). There's a bit of black spray paint
on the bottom of the trunk as well. Each time I've seen it, it's been
around 7:30 am. Hope the directions are helpful!
In Reply to: Cooper's Hawk in upper beach? posted by Tara on May 05, 2006 at 08:20:28:
If it looks small it is more likely the very similar Sharp-shinned hawk, which is more common in any case, but either is possible, and the female Sharpshin averages almost the same size as the male Cooper's - about a foot long. I'll stop off there on the way home around 2:30 or 3 - can you give more precise directions? how far north of Gerrard?
See the link for ID tips
Hi, I don't know very much at all about birdwatching, but I'm trying to identify a bird near my house. I've seen it three times this week, in the same tree, in the ravine off upper Gerrard, just east of Coxwell. It's definitely a raptor, but looks small - about a foot high from where I can see. He has a white belly with a small bit of brown, but not too much. Its head is small and rounded, and very dark brown. Its back feathers are the same colour as its head. Each time I've seen it next to a really messy nest at the end of a branch. The first time I saw it, there was a squirrel going towards the nest and the bird flew down and squawked at the squirrel. The bird has been seen in the same spot since. I couldn't tell if it was the squirrel's nest or the bird's, but I've been told that hawks don't usually nest in deciduous trees. I searched on google images and a Cooper's Hawk looked closest to what I saw, though I'm not sure if they are normally found in Toronto. Any help greatly appreciated.
thanks!
We were strolling along the fence-line at Ashbridge's Bay about 3:30 this afternoon when Elton heard the characteristic "beeee-bzzz" of our golden (mostly) Vermivoran visitor ... he spotted another as he skipped down another kilometre or so, among the white-throats and white-crowns, a Baltimore Oreo, and an arboreal Ovenbird.
Anyone down that way recently? Very lively indeed ...
Heading down to Niagara Friday morning (if Aunt Margaret's meds are working like they should, and she stops shrieking "Mockingbird! Mockingbird! Gaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!")to check out the avian activity down there. I expect it will be quite thrilping.
I can quack like a Gadwall, and I've been working with Ted on Mallards and Blacks.
Thank You.
My wife and I went for a stroll in Mono Cliffs Conservation Area this past Monday (May 1) and heard and saw at least one raven. Mono is only about 80k north of Toronto. Has anyone else seen ravens this close to Toronto? Also, the park had at least a dozen turkey vultures in constant patrol over the park.
So within 2 days, two of my favorite migrating birds have returned!! The Orioles have arrived today and the Hummingbirds on Tuesday!! YYYEEESSS!!!! I LOVE Spring!
Great day in our back yard hear just north of High Park some of the high lights are
Blackburnian Warbler 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler 7 Pine Warbler 1 Black& White Warbler 1 Palm Warbler 1 Hermit thrush 5
A nice fall out that spent most of the day feeding and swimming in the watering house
hello I decided to take today off from work for mental health reasons. Today is proving to be as interesting as last night.
Sitting on my deck this morning and this afternoon I noticed a number of things. White crowned sparrows digging in the flower garden behind my house. Just now a Coopers hawk made a flyby at about 4 feet off of the ground(feeder height) and not more than 5 minutes later a pair of redtail's soaring. I plan on revisiting the new lagoons in the fields behind my house after all of the workers go home. All off the bird activity in and around is Surprising considering the amount of construction going on and the noise and dust. For those of you who have not used the new site here is my post from last night. Napper:)) (I apolgize for the spelling in the post)
http://outdoorontario.net/birds/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=87
In Reply to: PBC Outing to Miss/Burl/Grimsby on Apr. 29th posted by B. Griffin on April 30, 2006 at 17:09:03:
It was great! Thanks again for putting it all together for us.
Good evening eh.
Today Naish McHugh and I visited Presqu'ile Prov. Park during a beautiful spring day (gloat, gloat) and we found some interesting birds as we roamed around and the following list a taste of birds down there.
Green-winged Teals, Blue-winged Teals, N. Shovelers, Redheads, Lesser Scaup, Green Heron, Common Moorhens, Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral and Spotted Sandpipers, Bonaparte's Gulls, Hairy and 2 Pileated Woodpeckers, Least Flycatchers, Brown Thrashers, White-breasted Nuthatch, Winter and House Wrens, lots of Purple Martins, Blue-winged, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated green, 3 Pine, Palm and Black-and-white Warblers, and also Ovenbird, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Chipping and Field Sparrows, E. Towhees and Baltimore Orioles, plus a passle of the usual birds.
There are many Caspian Terns, Great Blue Herons and Black-crowned night-Herons overhead and the place seems full of Song Sparrows.
Note: - If you are birding the Lighthouse area at Presqu'ile Point be sure to walk onto the residential street just north of the lighthouse and go to a house on the right (about 3 houses up) and you will see a bird sightings board. This is the PRIVATE residence of Birder Fred Helleiner. Stop and talk and ask to enter your better sightings on his board. I did this morning but no sign of Fred so I took the liberty of entering some sightings.
Good Birding and back to the Islands.
Norm Murr
Yestday I saw a Brown Thrasher in our bird bath sitting enjoying the water & sun. He remained for a couple of minutes before jumping over to our neighbour's thicket & shrub-filled yard. Aside from his very eerie yellow eyes he was quite beautiful! He remained in the neighbour's yard and I eventually lost sight of him in the thickets.
How common are they? I've never seen one before. If he returns today I'll try to get a pic.
Also, if someone can tell me how to post pics, just this morning a N. Flicker and Robin were fighting for rights to the bird bath. The Flicker would flare his wings (so his yellow feathers were fanned out)and squak at the Robin. It was quite the sight!! The Flicker eventually won but not 'till the Robin got some splashes in!
I also got a not-so-great pic of the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak which has returned. He was visiting our almost empty feeder 2 days ago. Hoping to see him again.
Other firsts in the last few days to our yard are the Nashville Warbler and the Blk. Throated Green Warbler.
The Wht. Crwn. Sparrows returned yesterday as did the E. Towhees after being away for 3 years.
Still hanging around are about a dozen Wht. Thr. Sparrows, a single Song Sparrow, Rby Crwnd Kinglets, Ylw-Rmpd Warblers, Blk & Wht Warbler, Brwn Creeper, & Wren.
All the usual suspects are still around too, cardinals, blue jays, rd wngs, chickadees, finches - gold & house(purple finches seem to have left), cowbird and grackles, grackles, grackles, and PIGEONS!!
In Reply to: Hummingbirds are back! posted by Lorena on May 03, 2006 at 07:16:02:
Yes they are, I took this picture last night on the shore of Rice lake when I was waiting for osprey to come in for a feeding.
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p28782861.html
Hummingbirds are back!
The first male Ruby Throated Hummingbird was at the feeder last night approx 6:30 while we were bbqing!! (Willow Beach, Lake Simcoe) HURRAY!!!!!!
In Reply to: Carden Alvar Land Viewing posted by Norm Murr on May 01, 2006 at 09:12:24:
As someone who has made a modest personal contribution to the purchasing of the Windmill Ranch property and the preservation of other sensitive lands through the Nature Conservancy I strongly support Ron's work and encourage everyone to help maintain ongoing good relations with private landowners.
I would encourage everyone to financially support the continued acquisition of conservation land for the enjoyment of future generations. In addition to following Ron's good advice I would enourage everyone to make a donation to the Nature Conservancy, the Couchiching Conservancy or the conservation organization of your choice.
David
Good evening.
I went down to the Toronto Islands again today and there has been a nice change since last Friday. New migrants and increases in the earlier migrants i.e. White-throated Sparrow - up from dozens to hundreds.
During the beautiful weather I started at the Wards Island end and birded all the hot spots to Hanlans Point with 77 species despite only 7 common Waterfowl and the following are some of my finds.
Great Egret, Peregrine Falcon, Bonaparte's Gulls, Y-B Sapsuckers, Least Flycatchers, E. Kingbirds, Blue-headed and Warbling Vireos, Cedar Waxwing (1st of many on the Islands for the season), Veery, Wood Thrush, Gray catbird, 12 Brown Thrashers, Carolina, Winter and House Wrens, B-G Gnatcatchers, Purple Martins, Cliff Swallows, 8 Warbler Species including 2 Northern Parulas, Chestnut-sided Warblers, Palm Warblers, Ovenbirds, C. Yellowthroat, 11 Sparrow species including Fox Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, Field Sparrows and E. Towhees, Baltimore Orioles, and eastern Meadowlark.
A good day of birding and it is only going to get better as the month progresses. Still surprised that I only met 1 birder
DIRECTIONS TORONTO ISLANDS (Wards Island to Hanlans Point - without side trips is 5 km) To get to the Toronto Islands from Queen and Yonge Streets on the TTC. If your on the subway
southbound stay on it and get off at Union Station, walk south about 1 km to the ferry docks at the
foot of Bay Street and Queens Quay and you are there. If in an auto on the Gardener Expressway
or on Lakeshore Blvd, then exit at Bay Street and drive south to Queens Quay, there are lots of
parking lots nearby (fee).
There is a fee for using the island ferries ($6.00 adult / $3.50 for seniors & students) and to find out the sailing times you can phone (416) 392-8193. There are washrooms on the islands as well as the city side at the ferry docks and you can pick up a schedule at the docks or check on line.
The 1st boat to Wards Island (my preferred starting point) is 6:35 am and the 2nd is 7:00 am Monday
to Friday.
The 1st is at 6:35 am and the 2nd boat is at 7:15 am on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays.
The 1st boat to Hanlans Point is 8:00 am and the 2nd boat is at 8:30 am Monday to Friday.
The 1st is at 8:15 am and the 2nd boat is at 9:15 am on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays.
If arriving in early am you must obtain your ticket from a machine just inside the gate so be sure to have $1.00 and $2.00 and/or 25 cent coins before you arrive at the docks as there is no place to get change and the machine does not make change. (There is a change machine there if you want to chance it).
There are coffee shops across from the ferry docks in the building on the northwest corner and they are open early. food and beverages on The Islands when open are very expensive i.e. soft drink $3.00 plus.
For a detailed ferry schedule check the following web site.
http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/springschedule.htm
PS
There is a map of the Islands at each of the Island side ferry docks and the City side.
Another PS
If you have access to PDF then I can send an Island map if you contact me in private.
Great backyard bird...I was at a friends house in Burlington
and witnessed 2 northern Bobwhites ( male and female)
I assume they are released or escaped birds, but none the less, a great backyard sighting.
In Reply to: Humber river- Great Egret. posted by Bill Halliday on April 29, 2006 at 18:51:03:
Next time you're on the river, keep an eye out for an Osprey nest. A colleague at work says there's a nest in the marsh area of the lower Humber. Has anyone else seen this nest?
Norm Murr's account of an unfriendly landowner at Prospect Marsh is an unfortunate symptom of recent concerns among some Carden landowners that ecological values may restrict their "development rights" in future. This has resulted in considerable resistance to any form of protection for alvars and bird habitats in the proposed City of Kawartha Lakes Official Plan, and fear about the consequences of anyone finding a Loggerhead Shrike on private lands.
Through the Carden Plain Important Bird Area committee, we are working to find solutions that most landowners can live with, including offering them friendlier versions of signs. While you certainly have every right to travel on local roads and to observe birds on adjacent lands, we would suggest the following guidelines:
1) DO NOT TRESPASS on private lands - it only creates hard feelings and mistrust of birders.
2) Be aware of nearby houses and homesteads, and don't scope towards them; respect the privacy of people who live here.
3) Make sure your vehicles are not blocking traffic.
4) If you are confronted by an unfriendly landowner, respond in a polite and neutral manner, or simply move on.
5) If you are buying food or gas in the area (and we encourage you to leave some money behind), try to make sure the business knows you have come here to bird, to reinforce the connection with local economic development.
Remember that the Windmill Ranch along the west side of Wylie Road (from about 1 km north of MacNamee Road to well past Sedge Wren Marsh) is now conservation property. And most Carden landowners, even some with concerns about their landowner rights, still welcome birders to the area.
Ron
Ron Reid
Executive Director, The Couchiching Conservancy
Box 704, Orillia, Ontario, L3V 6K7
(705)326-1620
_______________________________________________
April 29, 2006, 12:30 -- hundreds swooping into Humber Bay park, landing in the water and swooping out -- and flying off northward. Amazing site.
The official start of the Spring 2006 session of the Peel Birding Class on Saturday had 18 people in attendance. We headed first for Rattray Marsh which had the resident Carolina Wren singing away as we looked around to find White-thr. Sparrows, Ruby-cr. Kinglets, Cardinals, and of course many Red-winged Blackbirds. A Common Loon, Wood Duck, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk flew overhead at various times during our visit there. Waterfowl were scarce but we did get Red-br. Merganser on the lakeside and Green-winged Teal, Mute Swan, and Mallards in the marsh with Killdeer, a Ring-billed and a Greater Bl.-backed Gull present on the mudflat. A Downy Woodpecker and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker were also spotted in the area. A few early birders got a Brown Thrasher and before we left we had good looks at a Hermit Thrush.
We moved on further west to Paletta Park where we had an extended viewing opportunity with several singing Yellow-rumped Warblers. A very large accipiter cruised by overhead just above the treetops at least twice and we IDed it as a Cooper’s Hawk. We also spotted at least 3 swallow species here including Tree, Barn and Rough-winged. A few folks got to see the local Belted Kingfisher and out on the lake we saw one Horned Grebe and several Red-necked Grebes a bit further west along the waterfront. A pair of Caspian Terns flew by along the shoreline a few times patrolling the area for fish. A female Bufflehead was seen close to shore and at a distance Long-tailed Ducks could still be seen although now in much smaller numbers. Double-crested Cormorants have now become the most obvious if not the most abundant species it seems along the lakefront.
We got up to Beamer’s Point in Grimsby in the late morning after picking up our lunches to go. We got our first Broad-winged Hawk of the year at very close range (thanks Rob) while at one of the first overlooks on the escarpment trail. We also had Red-tailed Hawks and Turkey Vultures before we were distracted by our first warbler wave of the season. We found mostly Yellow-rumpeds but we also got Black-and-white Warbler and a drab, somewhat nondescript green warbler which we were leaning towards IDing as an (early?) Orange-cr. Warbler. Also in the group was a Blue-headed Vireo and a few folks also got a good look at a calling Red-bellied Woodpecker. We then proceeded to 10th Concession where we had a quick glimpse of a low flying male Northern Harrier and also saw our 2nd Mockingbird of the day. Eastern Meadowlarks were singing and visible in the adjacent fields and we could also hear a Field Sparrow singing in the distance. A Greater Yellowlegs flew across the road in front of us and Savannah Sparrows were heard singing in several locations as we worked our way back to Ridge Road. At this point we called it a day for those who were still with us and most folks started heading down the mountain and back NE. A lucky few made a quick stop at the woods near Rebecca and BurlOak and got to see the roosting Screech Owl in its usual spot. An enjoyable day of spring birding ended with us getting about 64 bird species in total, seen and/or heard during the course of the day.
____________________________________________________________
Brete Griffin - breteg@yahoo.ca
Peel Birding Class - peelbirding@yahoo.ca
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBC/ and
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BreteGriffin/
Good day
I noticed that no one has posted about the Wigeon today so I thought I would mention that Andrew Jano and I and a couple of other birders saw the Eurasian Wigeon in the southeast corner of Second Marsh this morning.
We also saw 22 species of Waterfowl including Ring-necked, Ruddy, Wood, both Teal, all 3 Mergansers, Common Loons, Pied-billed Grebes, and Shovelers. We also saw a Moorhen, 30+ little Gulls among the 100+ Bonaparte's Gulls, Trumpeter Swan, House and Winter Wrens, the usual birds as well as Pine, Palm, Nashville and Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Northern Waterthrush. Altogether 64 species in that small area.
We were also told about a Gray Catbird and Sedge Wren sighting.
Good birding, good weather and good company.
DIRECTIONS
SECOND MARSH IN OSHAWA
If driving east from Toronto on Hwy 401 then exit at Farewell Street (Exit 419) and drive south to Colonel Sam Drive. If planning to bird the west side of the marsh then continue on Farewell Street to Harbour Street, park on the east side of Farewell at the entrance of the paved foot trail and then follow it to the marsh. If planning to bird the east side then turn left, east on Colonel Sam Drive and drive to the General Motors Head Office parking lot. Park at the northwest corner of the lot and follow the grassy trail from that corner to the viewing tower. The trail from the tower runs north into the woods to another viewing tower with another view of the marsh and of the surrounding woods and wet area.
Norm
In Reply to: Carden Plain/Kirkfield Are-Loggerhead Shrikes, etc. posted by Norm Murr on April 29, 2006 at 16:37:14:
I am from the area and it sounds like someone was having a very bad day.
Most folks up there are friendly . Anyway I believe that there is a 66 ft
road allowance . 33 ft from the middle of the road each side belongs to
the city or municipality.
surfinbird
The Great Egret is back on the Humber river. Other sites likely to be visited include High Park and the Humber Bay areas. I believe (with no proof to speak of) that they nested on the Humber river last year. At times, while kayaking on the river, we saw upwards of 6-8. Nice to see this bird returning to this area annually.
Good evening birders.
Today Alfred Adamo and I went up to the Carden Plain area to check on early arrivals and we found some nice birds.
As we drove up Cty Rd 6 north out of Kirkfield we stopped at the lift locks where we had a close up view of an overhead Broad-winged Hawk.
Along Wylie Rd we found Common Snipe, Sandhill Crane, Upland Sandpiper, several Common Ravens, Brown Thrasher, 2 Loggerhead Shrikes (Oposide Bluebird Box 10), Purple Finch, Nashville, Chipping, and Vesper Sparrows, Eastern Towhee and many Eastern Meadowlarks. At the north end of Wylie Rd we turned left (west) and drove along Alvar Rd and along here we found Nashville, Yellow-rumped and Black-throated Green Warblers as well as Purple Finch again.
At the end of Alvar Rd we turned left (south) on Lake Dalrymple Rd and along here were a pair of Osprey building a nest.
We then proceeded back through Kirkfield on Cty Rd 6 and turned right (west) and drove to Rockview Rd and along here were more Thrashers and a Cooper's Hawk. We turned right (west) at Eldon Station Rd where Jean Iron told us about both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs in a flooded field and after locating them we drove to Prospect Rd, turned Right (north) and drove up to the southern marsh. Here at the marsh we found both Sora and Virginia Rails.
We then drove a little further up Prospect to the next marsh (just south of Cty Rd 4 and here we again found Virginia and Sora Rails as well as 2 Moorhens, American Bittern and a Belted Kingfisher.
A note of caution
At the north marsh on Prospect Rd as we stood on the public road shoulder an Aggregate Co. pickup truck pulled up and the driver stared at us with an angry look without saying a word, just stared. I went over to him, said hello and said we were listening to Rails and Bitterns calling. He still stared with a angry look and I explained that we were viewing Marsh birds and that is what the Rails were. He finally reached out and pointed at a new sign up the road (in the marsh) (It said NO TRESPASSING - PLEASE RESPECT OUR PROPERTY RIGHTS and had a picture of an Osprey and Binoculars on it). He angrily told me it was his property, I said we were not on his property but on the public road looking over the marsh. His answer was that he didn't look into my backyard and that we were not allowed to look into or over the marsh. Allowing that that was ridiculous and reminding him that we were on public property he still said it wasn't allowed I asked him if that meant that I was not allowed to look into a field as we drove by he answered it just isn't allowed and drove off. We continued recording our sightings and he never returned. This is just a heads up for that location as this man looked like he could react physically if angrily confronted (MY Opinion).
DIRECTIONS
WYLIE RD / SEDGE WREN MARSH / PROSPECT RD
Wylie Road is north of Kirkfield in Victoria County and Kirkfield itself is on County Road 48 east of Highway 12 and well north of Whitby and about 130 km from Toronto if you follow the roads and not a Crow.
From the centre of Kirkfield go north on County Road 6 passing under the Lift Lock on the Trent Canal and drive about 2 ½ km further north to where the road curves left or west. On this curve and on your right is McNamee Rd, turn right here onto McNamee and drive east for about 300 yards and you will be at Wylie Road. This road is about 9 ½ km long ending at Alvar Rd (a T intersection). Birding can be good on this road as well, either way.
The Sedge Wren Marsh is about 5 ½ km up Wylie Road, you can’t miss it as it has the only bridge along the road. Park just to the south of and overlooking the bridge and walk the road. Birding is good all along the road and I find that the best birding happens when you park and walk both ways a km or 2 from your auto.
This is a narrow road with little traffic but be sure to park in such a way as to not block the road as you don’t want to rile up the locals. This is all private property but there really is no need to leave the road.
Norm Murr
PS
You may also want to drive down Rockview Rd just west of Kirkfield on your right along County Rd 48. Past the dump road (on your right) you will come to a wet wood lot that straddles the road. This is a great place for N. Waterthrush. We heard and saw 7 there on May 5/01 and May 4/02. Also along here you should find Upland Sandpiper and Grasshopper Sparrow.
Continue south to Eldon Station Rd (the next road) turn right (west) and drive to Prospect Rd. Turn right (north) and drive up to a large marsh. Here you should find many Marsh Wrens along with Sora and Virginia Rail, A. Bittern and Green Heron and watch for Osprey, N. Harrier and T. Vulture. If you continue north on this road you will come upon another small marsh and pond just short of County Rd 48. Of coarse most of the roads in this and the Wylie Rd area can be very productive and it is not a stretch saying you could spend a whole day in the area, I have.
PPS
Wylie Rd south of the Sedge Wren Marsh is good for Upland Sandpiper, Vesper and Grasshopper Sparrow and lots of E. Bluebirds. North of the marsh are the same birds and near the north end of the road watch and listen for Golden-winged Warbler and Clay-colored Sparrow.
Norm Murr
In Reply to: Re: Northern Flicker posted by Lisabelle on April 28, 2006 at 06:42:15:
Unfortunately you can't believe everything you read on the web. While it *can* be a great source of information, you have to really be careful in judging the reliability of your sources, much more so than with printed references, since anyone can post anything they want. Unfortunately, there seems to be a great deal of misinformation out there on birds (most of it probably the result of honest ignorance, but leading readers astray regardless of intent).
A couple of brief excerpts from the Northern Flicker account in the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas (1987) summarize its situation as a common species:
"There is no evidence that the distribution and abundance of the Northern Flicker have changed within Ontario in recent times."
"The widespread distribution of the Northern Flicker in Ontario reflects its capacity to breed in a variety of habitats."
"Only the American Robin was found in more [10x10 km] squares across the whole province. There are confirmed breeding records for over 60% of all southern Ontario squares, a total far higher than for any other woodpecker."
In Reply to: Prince Edward Country (just returned) posted by Sierra on April 28, 2006 at 15:08:31:
ii
beautiful down here
and May.. a birding trip
or event is taking place
..
we enjoyed our time very much
highly recommend and sure many of you go experienced birders
I go #2 highway
no 401 for me
Sierra
Hi all.
It was another slow day on The Islands today, even slower than Tuesday. I guess we are in a temporary migration slow down until the winds and temperatures change. There were a few nice birds down there though and following is a list of some of them.
Wood Ducks, Canvasback, 3 Great Egrets, Black-crowned night-Herons, American Bittern, Caspian and Common Terns, Belted Kingfishers, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, Blue-headed Vireo, Hermit Thrushes, Brown Thrashers, Carolina and Winter Wrens, 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Purple Martins, Nashville, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, and Chipping and Field Sparrows and a Fox Sparrow was reported to me.
Another good bird was only a 100 yards or so from my apartment at 5 am as I crossed a Plaza parking lot. As I approached the bus stop a Woodcock flushed off the pavement. There isn't any woods, etc. within a 1/2 mile so I believe it was a migrant bird that just got tired and landed in the parking lot. A nice start to a nice day.
Norm Murr
Yesterday evening around 6:15 pm I observed a "1st Spring Male" Summer Tanager for at least 15 - 20 minutes in High Park. The area where I observed the bird was on the set of stairs that lead up from the path along the southern edge of Grenadier Pond to Colborne Lodge Road. The advantage of these stairs is that you can get at eye level with some of the tree tops. I was about 3/5th's the way up the stairs and eye level with several of the trees on the lower part of the hill and this is where the Tanager spent most of its time flitting from one perch to another. From this vantage point I was able to observe the bird at every possible angle at distances as little as 6 meters.
Except for minor pattern variations, the Tanager I observed is virtually identical in all respects to Sibley's depiction of a "1st Spring Male" Summer Tanager in the field guide. I did consult the Peterson Field Guide which shows an immature Scarlet Tanager with some similarities to a 1st Spring Male Summer Tanager (ie. some red on the sides, back, flanks and head and irregular pattern variation) however, a significant difference is the Scarlet's black wing and tail feathers as depicted in Petersen's. The Tanager I observed had greenish wing feathers and had as much red on the head and other parts of the body as depicted in Sibley's. Sibley does not show an immature Scarlet Tanager male in the Sibley Field Guide. The other noticeable feature of the bird I observed was the long bill.
Attila Fust Toronto, ON
High Park is located in west Toronto and bordered by Bloor St. and Queensway (north south boundaries) and Parkside Drive and Ellis Ave (east west boundaries). Easily accessible by subway at Keele or High Park stations.
In Reply to: Re: Northern Flicker posted by john on April 28, 2006 at 06:25:41:
Really! Wow, I was looking on birding websites and they said only a very few were spotted in Ontario. I guess there data was old. Yes it is a really cool bird! :)
In Reply to: Northern Flicker posted by Lisabelle on April 27, 2006 at 15:03:07:
On the contrary, they are relatively common in the GTA. Still a cool bird to see, though.
I have seen for the past two days a Yellow - shafted female Northern Flicker in my backyard here in Brampton, Ont. Haven't seen the male yet. I just wanted to share this as I understand there are very few of these birds. ;)
I recently managed to photograph a European Goldfinch in the Muskoka area. Has anyone seen this bird in Southern Ontario before? I was quite astonished.
http://www.endless-films.com/eurofinch.jpg
In Reply to: Toronto Islands this Saturday? posted by Quirijn Slings on April 27, 2006 at 06:16:51:
Hi there
You may want to try the Leslie st.Spit as I believe that the TOC will be doing a guided tour there , maybe someone else will know more details.
In Reply to: Toronto Islands this Saturday? posted by Quirijn Slings on April 27, 2006 at 06:16:51:
It's not quite Toronto Island ... but if you are interested in exploring the Leslie Spit instead, you (and all others) are welcome to join the Toronto Ornithological Club outing scheduled for there this Saturday at 8 a.m. It promises to feature a good variety of waterfowl and early songbird migrants, and probably some shorebirds as well - it is usually a very productive trip. See the link below for information on other upcoming outings.
Hi,
I'm new in town and I was planning to visit the islands this Saturday (29th April). I was wondering if there is someone with the same plan that I can team up with. It's my first time in North-America, I do a fair bit of birding in Europe but have no experience with the local birds.
Tia,
Quirijn
quirijnslings@hotmail.com
Good evening.
The Islands are still fairly quiet but I did manage to dig out some birds and there are some new arrivals as well as an increase in the number of Common Terns, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers and White-throated Sparrows.
The day started windy (of course) and cool (of course) with frost on the ground down there but the birds still sang up a storm despite these conditions. Most of the better birding was between the Fire Station (on Wards) and The Sanctuary with a another good showing on Hanlans.
Following is a sample of the birding today.
Canvasbacks, Great Blue Heron, Blk-crowned Night-Herons, Common Loons, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, N. Flickers (62), E. Phoebe, Blue-headed Vireo, Hermit Thrushes, Brown thrashers, rd-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creepers, Carolina and Winter Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Purple martins, Rough-winged and Barn Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglets (66), Nashville, Yellow-rumped (43), Pine (3), Palm and Black-and-white Warblers, Tree, Chipping, and Field sparrows and Eastern Towhees. These and the usual species were worth the trip down there.
Can Spring be far away ?
Norm Murr
In Reply to: Re: Amazing Backyard Sightings (or is this normal?) & Lincoln's Sparrow early sighting? posted by Ron Luft on April 26, 2006 at 12:42:11:
Thanks for the tip Ron re: Col Sam Smith. I've been there many times but just cycling through or casually walking. Not birding, well, always birding right? just never have the binos and can't count on just my poor vision!
It's only 2k from me, I'm at the foot of Royal York. I'm also not much of a morning person - how early is early? Must make a point of it!! I'll check out the 'bowl' also. Is it that playing field that's kind of sunken?? I've walked through there a number of times without even realizing it was a good spot, but again maybe just in the early am?
In Reply to: Re: Amazing Backyard Sightings (or is this normal?) & Lincoln's Sparrow early sighting? posted by Ron Luft on April 26, 2006 at 12:42:11:
Thanks for the tip Ron re: Col Sam Smith. I've been there many times but just cycling through or casually walking. Not birding, well, always birding right? just never have the binos and can't count on just my poor vision! I've heard it's a good place to go. It's only 2k from me, I'm at the foot of Royal York. I'm also not much of a morning person - how early is early? Must make a point of it!! I'll check out the 'bowl' also. Is it that playing field that's kind of sunken?? I've walked through there a number of times without even realizing it was a good spot, but again maybe just in the early am? We sometimes go to Humber Bay Park and Rattray Marsh and have seen some interesting water fowl and a Kingfisher landed in a branch right by me at Rattray - very cool.
In Reply to: Re: Amazing Backyard Sightings (or is this normal?) & Lincoln's Sparrow early sighting? posted by Ann Marie P2 on April 26, 2006 at 07:29:23:
Very good sightings for a back yard. Cherish your luck! Almost in your backyard try birding in Col. Sam Smith park (all of it)especially the 'bowl'(a ring of pines surrounding an oval field just off Lakeshore). Early a.m. can be amazing.
Can someone tell me any birding spot around Guelph? I will go to University of Guelph in June. Thanks for your help..
In Reply to: Eagles-- where can they be found in S. Ontario? posted by Julie on April 25, 2006 at 15:48:28:
There is also 3 Bald Eagle nests in the Peterborough area.
The area NE of Peterborough ( Apsley, Petroglyphs P.P.) has several Balds and usually 1 Golden Eagle wintering in the area.
In Reply to: Re: Eagles-- where can they be found in S. Ontario? posted by john on April 26, 2006 at 06:49:48:
If you're in the Pelee area, a visit to Hillman Marsh should give you a sighting.
In Reply to: Re: Amazing Backyard Sightings (or is this normal?) posted by Frank Pinilla on April 26, 2006 at 05:02:51:
Hi Frank,
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I'm loving birding and being able to see so many varieties in our yard is I guess a big bonus!!
About the "Lincoln's" sparrow I thought I saw (we really, me and the hubby - my second set of eyes), I did see in the field guide that it was way too early in the season for a sighting (March 5th) but its buff chest and its grey central streak on its head dividing a quite reddish-brown cap had us tearing throught the guide trying to figure out what else it could be. It also had grey eyebrows and a whitish belly and throat and a lightly streaked chest. No noticeable wing bars. We just kept going back to that same page.
It hung out for a week and after about the 3rd day it was not shy so we got a really good look at it. Again my field guide says they're more timid than other sparrows but I could approach quite easily which again along with the early sighting, made me think it wasn't a Lincoln. I reckon I shoulda snapped a shot!!
We've had a song sparrow hanging around since mid-March and the two seem very different in colouring. What besides a song sparrow might it have been....or has there been any early sightings of Lincoln's sparrows this year???
In Reply to: st. catherines birding posted by paul on April 26, 2006 at 06:13:51:
Short Hills Provincial Park, just southwest of the city, has decent trails with good birding.
In Reply to: Re: Eagles-- where can they be found in S. Ontario? posted by Kin Lau on April 26, 2006 at 04:51:52:
We don't have BC numbers, that's for sure, but there are decent numbers of bald eagles that nest along the great lakes. Lake Erie in particular.
You can expect to see one any day of the year along most stretches of Erie.
i am going to be in st. catherines this weekend with a few hours to kill and wondered if anyone could help me with a great place to do a little birding.
In Reply to: Amazing Backyard Sightings (or is this normal?) posted by Ann Marie P2 on April 25, 2006 at 22:00:46:
Hi Anne Marie,
You have not "wasted our time" and seeing/learning about new birds is always exciting, I still get a kick out of every new returnee in the spring!
Having said that, all of the birds you've listed are "regular" migrants through the GTA although some are great on anyone's "yard" list! The one intriguing sighting is a Lincoln's Sparrow on March 5th, that is extremely early and unexpected, is it possible that it was a Song Sparrow?? Wait a couple of weeks and, by the sounds of the birds you're seeing, you should maybe see a Lincoln's Sparrow or two come through and then you can compare to the bird in March.
Cheers & good birding,
Frank Pinilla
Thornhill, ON
In Reply to: Eagles-- where can they be found in S. Ontario? posted by Julie on April 25, 2006 at 15:48:28:
Winter is the best time. A few Bald Eagles usually winter along Lake Ontario near Toronto and Hamilton, and a few near Nanticoke off Lake Erie.
A pair now winters and nests off Goat Island (I think) right at Niagara Falls.
During the fall migration, lots of bald eagles and a few goldens pass thru Southern Ont on the way south. There's quite a few hawk watches along the north shore of Lake Ont & Erie.
During spring (aka right now), the Beamer Hawkwatch has been on for over a month and should be wrapping up if not already.
So just keep your eyes open. You might just see a baldie here or there right now.
In Reply to: Yellow Bird posted by Maureen on April 25, 2006 at 20:22:14:
Hi Maureen the bird U saw sounds like it was a Palm Warbler.
In Reply to: Eagles-- where can they be found in S. Ontario? posted by Julie on April 25, 2006 at 15:48:28:
I was lucky to spot one in March 2005 while driving along the 401 in Mississauga right around Dixie Rd. I saw it in flight then it perched itself atop one of the really tall lamp post. Beautiful!
We live close to the Lake in Mimico(south Etobicoke) and along with all the regular visitors at the feeders (red-winged bbs, cardinals, goldfinches, blue jays, chickadees, etc.) and other regulars like Juncos and White-Breated Nuthatches, each Spring/Fall we seem to be getting more & more visitors to our very regular-sized yard(or maybe we're just getting better at identifing them).
Are we in a migratory path and should I be calling any of these sightings in to someone or is this normal to see these birds in a backyard? I get so excited when I see a new bird in our yard! makes it hard to get anything done!!
Here's our list from most recent:
today 04/25 18:45 - Black-And-White Warbler, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Vesper Sparrow; 04/24 - yellow-Rumped Warbler; 04/14 - Fox Sparrow; 04/13 - White Throated Sparrow, Purple Finhes, Winter Wren; 04/10 - Song Sparrow; 04/8? - female Brown Headed Cowbird 04/02 - Brown Creeper 03/06 - Northern Mockingbird 03/05 - Lincoln's Sparrow
We've also seen the following in our yard over the last few years some are regular visitors others might have just dropped by one time:
Black Throated Blue Warbler, White Crowned Sparrows, Golden Crowned Kinglets, Common Yellow Throat, Northern Shrike, Red Tailed Hawk, Hummingbirds, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pine or Nashville Warbler (couldn't tell which, too deep in the tree branches), Eastern Towhees, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, Hermit Thrush, Baltimore Orioles and Indigo Bunting.
Anything exciting and worth calling in or did I just waste your time? Sorry if so.
At Lynne Shores last Friday I saw a small yellow breasted bird (smaller than a sparrow) feeding on a pine tree. The entire chest was yellow down to its tail and it had yellow steaks above the eyes, a chestnut cap and a little bit of brown steaking on its breast. The wings are brown with a wing bar. I thought it was a pine warbler but the very distinct chestnut cap it throwing me. Any ideas? I do have a photograph.
In Reply to: Vireo vs kinglet question posted by Julie on April 25, 2006 at 15:44:51:
Hello Julie
I am glad you had a good time around the marsh. The vireo you describe is a Blue-headed Vireo. There have been a few around the marsh over the last fews days.
Cheers
Tyler
In Reply to: Re: Hooded Merganser posted by Al Johnston on April 24, 2006 at 13:58:39:
Hi all. A had a little chat with a friend from work today, He claims to have spotted "Hooded Mergansers" in the canal near his place in Queensville. I hope I don't get in trouble for this (Ravenshoe rd) He also stated that he has spotted Belted kingfishers in the general area. napper:))
hi
BC birder here again-- where do you find bald eagles in Southern Ontario? I am spoiled and used to seeing dozens out on the coast. I've only ever seen on, one Georgian Bay, in this province.
I had heard of one at Second Marsh and we thought we saw one in a fight with a crow while there this week, but it was so fast and the trees so dense all we saw was a brief silhouette of a very large bird. Is there any chance we saw an eagle there?
I assume golden eagles are pretty much unheard of in this part of the province...
thanks again
hi
We had a great if cold time birding at Second Marsh in Oshawa-- thanks to Tyler for the directions. We saw over 40 species, among them dozens of ruby-crowned kinglets-- a bit of a shock for a BC birder like me. However, I also saw a bird that looked very like a kinglet, but was a touch larger and clearly had a longer and heavier bill. The white eye ring made me think "vireo"-- in fact, it looked just like the Hutton's I saw a month ago on the coast. But those aren't found here, right? In my book the Bell's vireo looked very close to this bird. Possible?
thanks
Julie
In Reply to: Re: Col. Sam Smith Park - Warblers, etc. posted by brian on April 25, 2006 at 10:21:38:
Brian
DIRECTIONS to COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK IN ETOBICOKE -TORONTO
To get to Col. Sam Smith Park from Queen & Yonge Streets. Take the Queen Street Car #501 (Long Branch) west to Kipling Ave. The park is across from the street car stop behind the Humber College buildings. Depending on which Queen Street streetcar you board you may or may not have to transfer from one car to another at the Humber Loop, but this is no big deal.
You can also take the 44 TTC bus from Kipling subway station directly to the Col. Sam Smith Park loop.
By automobile from downtown Toronto drive west on Lakeshore Blvd, cross the Humber River Bridge at Sunnyside and drive to Kipling Ave. turn left (south) and your in Colonel Sam Smith Park..
Hope that this is useful to you.
In Reply to: Re: Col. Sam Smith Park - Warblers, etc. posted by brian on April 25, 2006 at 10:21:38:
COLONEL SAMUEL SMITH PARK IN ETOBICOKE -TORONTO
To get to Col. Sam Smith Park from Queen & Yonge Streets. Take the Queen Street Car #501 (Long Branch) west to Kipling Ave. The park is across from the street car stop behind the Humber College buildings. Depending on which Queen Street streetcar you board you may or may not have to transfer from one car to another at the Humber Loop, but this is no big deal.
You can also take the 44 TTC bus from Kipling subway station directly to the Col. Sam Smith Park loop.
By automobile from downtown Toronto drive west on Lakeshore Blvd, cross the Humber River Bridge at Sunnyside and drive to Kipling Ave. turn left (south) and your in Colonel Sam Smith Park..
In Reply to: Col. Sam Smith Park - Warblers, etc. posted by Norm Murr on April 25, 2006 at 09:54:00:
Could someone tell me where Col Sam Smith is located. Much appreciated.
In Reply to: Col. Sam Smith Park - Warblers, etc. posted by Norm Murr on April 25, 2006 at 09:54:00:
Slip of the fingers - Tennessee Warbler should be Pine Warbler. Neat trick Eh ?
Norm Murr
Good afternoon
This morning I spent 2 hours in Col. Sam Smith Park. 80 minutes sheltering from the wing & rain and 40 minutes of uncomfortable birding. When I arrived at the park it was a balmy 8 degrees and when I left it was down to 2 degrees with a cold NW wind (as usual). I was real smart and left my gloves at home. I finally said the heck with it and left (I really didn't say heck but I can't print my real words). Even though I was only able to bird a short time I did find 46 species and following are some of them.
Red-necked and Horned Grebes, Redhead (too cold on the hands to look for the Harlequin), Common Loon, Blue-headed Vireo, Hermit Thrush, Brown Creeper, Bank Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet (lots), Tennessee, Nashville, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green and Black-and-white Warblers, and 7 Sparrow species including Swamp, White-throated, Savannah, Chipping and Eastern Towhee. Not a bad haul for a short visit.
The Warblers were at the south end of the sunken area (or bowl) ( or garbage dump).
Oh! and it figures, now I am at home - The Sun is out.
Norm Murr
In Reply to: A white Robin? (Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto) posted by Shel Tait on April 24, 2006 at 18:37:52:
Hi Shel
Here is a web site that might be of interest:
http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/JFO/v020n04/p0187-p0187.pdf
It's a PDF file so if you have problems use this HTML file:
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:Kh_lcbOJkwoJ:elibrary.unm.edu/sora/JFO/v020n04/p0187-p0187.pdf++%22albino+Robin%22&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=4
Also another site, this one has a picture similar to what you have described:
http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060414/NEWS01/604140323/1001
These sites were obtained by googling "albino robin" (use advanced search and exact phrase).
Hope these are of some help.
Mike
April 24, 2006, around noon -- From about 100 feet, I observed for 15 minutes what looked like a robin with normal colouring of a red breast and black head, but with a white back and white tail. It had spots on the white feathers, so I assume it's a juvenile. Is this a robin? I've never seen one with a white back and tail before, so i assume this is rare. I have a digital photo (fuzzy) of it if anyone is curious. Any information would be helpful.
Saw a lovely male black-throated green warbler this evening at Ashbridges Bay, near the south end of the parking lot - a little early for this bird? The yellow head and black throat were very easy to spot, but could it have been something else?
In Reply to: Re: RFI-Wrens posted by Pat Hodgson on April 14, 2006 at 07:44:51:
Thankyou for the response, sorry I havenn't gotten back to you. there are so many post now. I thought it might be. I never get to see this kind of bird in my yard. Maybe because I never new to look, now my head is on a swivel. Napper thanx again.
In Reply to: Re: Hooded Merganser posted by Al Johnston on April 24, 2006 at 13:58:39:
Hoodie & the brood skipping out in the middle of night. Sounds like a scene out of a movie ... or a country western song :)
In Reply to: Re: Hooded Merganser posted by Kin Lau on April 24, 2006 at 13:16:14:
Whitchurch-Stouffville on Bethesda Rd. between McCowan and Kennedy, an area of many ponds being a discharge zone for the Oakridges Moraine. Let me know if you spot the Hoodie and her brood in the area as I've yet to see them after the young hatch. They must bail out in the middle of the night and move from pond to pond. The only way I've determined that there has been a successful breeding is by checking the nest box the following winter with a 10' step ladder out on the ice and looking for egg shell fragments. Al
In Reply to: Re: Hooded Merganser posted by Al Johnston on April 24, 2006 at 13:00:42:
Sorry... I meant, is the general area publicly accessible? If so, where abouts is it?
I don't need the nest location, just the general area where we might see the ducklings/baby merg's later.
In Reply to: Re: Hooded Merganser posted by Kin Lau on April 24, 2006 at 10:08:14:
The first nesting was reported to Ron Fleming, the atlasser for the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlass for this square, 17PJ37 and it was recorded as the first ever confirmed breeding in this square. I'm not sure that this answers your question. Al
Harlequin still present at Sam Smith today at 1pm. See new board for details:
(http://outdoorontario.net/birds/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=1)
Iain
In Reply to: Hooded Merganser posted by Al Johnston on April 23, 2006 at 13:57:58:
Are the whereabouts of this nest public knowledge?
In Reply to: Lesley Street Spit posted by James on April 22, 2006 at 19:04:08:
Good for you James , You are a trooper 7 hours in that weather .
Rob
In Reply to: Re: Mockingbird--how common? posted by Geoff on April 23, 2006 at 18:09:16:
The 'early colonizers' were in the area as long ago as that, but it's really within the last decade that the population has increased dramatically throughout the GTA. The Toronto Christmas Bird Count has been setting new record highs almost every year for a while now, with the latest update to that being 30 last December. Thanks to a dedicated nest monitoring program coordinated by two Toronto Ornithological Club members, we know that those birds represent just a fraction of the many dozens of mockingbirds now nesting in they city every year. So far at least, many of them have favoured industrial areas, railways, etc, and as such have not been terribly conspicuous to most observers. I imagine though that as the population continues to grow, they'll be seen much more regularly throughout parks and residential areas, as they are further south.
In Reply to: Re: Mockingbird--how common? posted by Geoff on April 23, 2006 at 18:09:16:
The 'early colonizers' were in the area as long ago as that, but it's really within the last decade that the population has increased dramatically throughout the GTA. The Toronto Christmas Bird Count has been setting new record highs almost every year for a while now, with the latest update to that being 30 last December. Thanks to a dedicated nest monitoring program coordinated by two Toronto Ornithological Club members, we know that those birds represent just a fraction of the many dozens of mockingbirds now nesting in they city every year. So far at least, many of them have favoured industrial areas, railways, etc, and as such have not been terribly conspicuous to most observers. I imagine though that as the population continues to grow, they'll be seen much more regularly throughout parks and residential areas, as they are further south.
In Reply to: Mockingbird--how common? posted by Ed on April 23, 2006 at 14:24:12:
I've seen them as far back as ~1985 on the grounds of the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital (Colonel Sam Smith Park).
Several evenings ago there was a mockingbird singing on the fence at the base of the Lesley Street Spit, across the road from the parking lot. A remarkably clear and varied voice, unlike anything else around. I'm used to seeing these birds in Florida, where they're as common as house sparrows here, but this is the first I've seen in TO. When did they start moving in, and how common are they now?
Today a hooded merganser hen has been in and out of the nest box supplied by the TRCA. This'll be the 3rd. season that the hoodies have nested here in Whitchurch-Stouffville. Thank you,TRCA! Al
In Reply to: Sunday @ Leslie Street spit posted by Andreas Jonsson on April 16, 2006 at 16:14:05:
I have to withdraw the observation of the Brewer's blackbird. I don't have experience of the species, and I used Kaufmann's Birds of N. America for the ID. In this book Brewer's is glossy, while Rusty is not (it is pictured as completely dull), so I thought the ID was clear cut. However, looking in Sibley, I get the impression it is not so clear. I should have checked the beak and leg length at the time, but I didn't.
Just out of curiosity, how common are Brewer's blackbirds in the GTA?
Andreas
Today I spent 7 hours on the spit in terrble conditions (horizontal rain which soaked me through and made for a pretty uncomfortable day). I'm not sure if anything i saw was unusual but here are some of my sightings:
osprey and northern harier in off the lake over the lighthouse, yellow-rumped and palm warbler, 2 Eastern meadowlarks, several eastern towhees, red-breasted nuthatch, 2 Eastern phoebes, adult & 2nd year Iceland gull, 7 species of sparrows (most song and w-throated), 1st winter drake common goldeneye, 2 hooded mergansers, 4+ blue-winged teals, great egret.
hoping for better weather tomorrow!
James
In Reply to: yes hard to believe but you go so early.. posted by Sedona on April 22, 2006 at 14:43:46:
Sedona
If I am there I can't say where I would be at any given time. It depends on the birds and my walking speed in reaction to the bird numbers.
But rest assured that if I am down there then you are welcome to join me.
Norm
In Reply to: Toronto Islands today - April 20/06 posted by Norm Murr on April 20, 2006 at 16:08:54:
is there any way to meet up with you guys later on or something
plse advise for May or otherwise and tks
Sierra
We have had what we think is a Harris Hawk in our backyard in downtown Toronto getting water at our stream. He is obviously tame. Anyone know of a lost hawk?
In Reply to: Never seen before posted by Josh on April 21, 2006 at 17:44:02:
Hi Josh
Below is a link to some information about the Northern Flicker.
http://birdsbybent.com/ch11-20/flicker.html
At the next site you can get pictures, sounds and a video of this species.
http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/index.html
I hope that this is of some use to you.
Mike
In Reply to: Never seen before posted by Josh on April 21, 2006 at 17:44:02:
Hi Josh. Time to get a good quality field guide. Your description was perfect. So get out there and see what else you can spot.
In Reply to: Never seen before posted by Josh on April 21, 2006 at 17:44:02:
Almost certainly a Northern Flicker, yellow-shafted.
While I was walking my dog today around 6PM, I saw what appeared to be a Glaucous gull feeding with the usual Ring-billed gulls at Bluffers park in Scarborough. It was all white with a black tipped beak and it was much larger in wing span and length than the Ring-billed it was flying with.
The gull was feeding west of the supervised beach and directly south of the building that houses the Cathedral Bluffs Yacht Club.
Bluffers park is accessible via Kingston Rd. and heading south along Brimly Rd. until the road becomes unassumed. Trend left past the yacht club into the parking lot for the supervised beach.
This was one of those days where I wish I had my camera.
Hi. i live in Toronto at queen and spadina which is downtown and i was lookin out my window today and saw this strange bird. it was mostly tan with a weird leopard print black and white on its back. it also had a red mark on its head with black on the sides of the head. There was also a black patch across its breast. the underside of the tail feathers i noticed looked yellow. and it hard a longer black thin beak. If anyone can tell me what this bird is called it would be greatly appreciated.
Today, an adult Cooper's Hawk landed on our patio. I was sitting inside and was amazed to see it standing there, checking out the yard. It was wonderful to have such a long, close look. Also, I happen to like the current format.
In Reply to: Re: Harris's Hawk posted by Julie on April 21, 2006 at 12:55:47:
No, they're not a Buteo. Parabuteo unicinctus.
And yes, they are roughly the size and shape of a red-tail. A bit smaller, and slightly different proportions, but close enough.
They have them at the Toronto Zoo if you want to see one.
In Reply to: Sandhill Crane on The Don posted by Keith Sharp on April 21, 2006 at 14:18:50:
That should be Bayview and Rosedale Valley Road.
At about 11:30 a.m. while at the traffic lights at Bayview and Rose Valley Viaduct, I observed a solitary SandHill Crane flying north up the Don Valley.
In Reply to: Re: Harris's Hawk posted by Craig McLauchlan on April 21, 2006 at 07:28:46:
Yes, where? I've never seen one-- it's a buteo, right? Roughly the size/ shape of a redtail, or...?
In Reply to: Harris's Hawk posted by Max Perren on April 21, 2006 at 06:54:10:
Hi wear in Cabbagetown are you seening it ??
Craig
There is a Harris's Hawk in Cabbagetown. It has been around for about a month-I only saw it for the first time yesterday. My wife took pictures of it and that helped with a positive ID. My neighbours characterized it as dopey or young, but with the positive ID it is clearly an escapee. Anyone missing a hawk?
Regards,
Max
Good day people
Today Margaret Liubavicius joined me on The Islands and a beautiful day it was.
It is always nice to bird with Margaret and today she gave me a break and helped me beat the bushes and kick the birds out as they were not down there in large numbers except for Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Fox Sparrows. It was so nice out today that we almost strolled our way through The Islands.
Following are some of the birds we found - 4 Wood Ducks, 14 Canvasbacks, Great Egret, Cooper's Hawk, Caspian and Common Terns, Common Loons (overhead), 4 Kingfishers, Sapsucker, many Flickers, Brown Thrasher, Carolina and Winter Wrens, Purple Martins and Barn swallow, 43 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped and Pine Warblers, 12 Fox Sparrows, Swamp, Savannah, Field, Tree, and Chipping Sparrows.
We didn't find one E. Phoebe and the Golden-crowned Kinglet and Song Sparrow numbers are declining as they move north but Brown Creepers are still well represented as are the Dark-eyed Juncos.
All in all despite the temporary slump it was a fine day to be out.
For you others that are interested we also found Snapping, Map and Painted Turtles and 3 Red-eared Sliders and surprise finds of 3 or 4 Large Pike, Large Carp, Small-mouthed Bass and hundreds of young (approx. 4" long) Perch in one particular spot. We also spotted Mourning Cloaks, Cabbage White Butterflies and a dozen or so of Spring Azure Butterflies.
Hard to believe that so few people seem to bird The Islands.
Norm
In Reply to: FOS Blue Headed Vireo at Shell Park in Bronte(West Oakville) posted by Andrew Don on April 20, 2006 at 10:58:30:
Here's ok pic of the Vireo as he was flitting through woodlot behind the garden plots
Went for walk with couple ladies i know this morning at Shell park. Was glad i did as we found a FOS Blue Headed Vireo flitting at the back of the woodlot behind the gardens. Also saw Great horned owl, pair of Brown thrashers ,9 types of sparrows , carolina wren ,dozen or so yellow rumped warblers ,both kinglets ,hermit thrushes ,eastern phoebes and the usual everyday birds.
Migration is coming slowly :)
In Reply to: Re: Birding stores (was: Re: RFI warbler song Queens Park) posted by surfinbird on April 20, 2006 at 07:15:14:
The store is Birdwatch at 1907 Avenue Rd. The Stokes CD set is very good. I purchased my copy there.
In Reply to: Re: RFI warbler song Queens Park posted by Andreas Jonsson on April 20, 2006 at 06:29:45:
Just a hunch but since you're listening to various bird songs, check out the call of the Clay-colored Sparrow. I spotted one in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery after hearing it first.
In Reply to: Re: RFI warbler song Queens Park posted by Brian Bailey on April 19, 2006 at 19:26:14:
Stokes is 3 CDs. It is excellent.
In Reply to: Birding stores (was: Re: RFI warbler song Queens Park) posted by Andreas Jonsson on April 20, 2006 at 06:28:00:
There is a birders store on Avenue Rd. north of Lawrence on the east side but I can't recall the name.
In Reply to: Re: RFI warbler song Queens Park posted by Greg Stuart on April 19, 2006 at 23:08:26:
Thanks, those are really good web sites!
And yes, listening to the pine warbler, junco, and chipping sparrow, there is room for misstakes... I cannot in aftermath, ID the bird with certainty, from the song. It was certainly not a sparrow or junco that I saw -- the jizz was much more warbler like, however, I could have missinterpreted where the song was coming from (being without binoculars). There were certainly lots of juncos in the park.
I went back to Queens park this morning, but
unfortunately it was quite empty today (still JUNCOS,
KINGLETS, SAPSUCKER, FLICKER, REDTAILED HAWK though).
In Reply to: Re: RFI warbler song Queens Park posted by Brian Bailey on April 19, 2006 at 19:26:14:
Is there a birding store in town, where you can get these CDs? Or, is Internet your best bet?
Andreas
In Reply to: RFI warbler song Queens Park posted by Andreas Jonsson on April 19, 2006 at 13:50:28:
For what it's worth, I find the Cornell website http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/ to be quite useful. And I will second the motion that if you are sure that it was a warbler, pine warbler is the most likely. The vocalization is a repeated trill, and they are certainly one of the first warblers back from their vacations in the sunnier climes.
We spotted a large Snowy Owl Easter Sunday sitting on a fencepost near our church in Alma.We approached to within 20 ft before it flew a few yards and settled down again.It stayed around for a couple of hours before disappearing.Unfortunatly I didn't have a camera handy.
In Reply to: RFI warbler song Queens Park posted by Andreas Jonsson on April 19, 2006 at 13:50:28:
In addition to Ron's suggestions, I would add Dark-eyed Junco. They also do a trill at this time of year, and there are lots of them around.
As for recordings, a Google search will get you sites with very short samples. I have this one bookmarked: http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/songwav.html but there are lots of others.
As for CDs, the Birds of Canada series are very good, but kind of expensive. They have very (overly?) thorough coverage on most species, but still manage to omit some vocalizations that I would consider the primary ones. The Birding By Ear CDs are very useful for learning what to listen for, but they aren't very complete for an Ontario birder. I've never heard the Stokes CD, but I wonder how they can put meaningful song samples of so many species on one disc.
Al the CD's will point out, "There's no substitute for time in the field." That's very true, but the recordings can certainly give you a head start if your time in the field is limited.
BB
In Reply to: RFI warbler song Queens Park posted by Andreas Jonsson on April 19, 2006 at 13:50:28:
Guess at "Pine" because call doesn't describe like Yellow Rumped. both are around. Without a visual it's tough. A trill could possibly be a Chipping Sparrow but it is a bit longer and higher.
I passed through Queens Park this morning on my way to work. There were lots of activity in the tree tops. Unfortunately I didn't have my binoculars -- I guess one should never leave them behind this time of year!
Anyway, even without binos, I could identify lots of KINGLETS, SAPSUCKERS, SPARROWS, ROBINS ETC. I also found a singing warbler, but without a good look at it I couldn't say what species it was (I'm not very familiar with the warbler songs yet). Its song could best be described as a relatively hard "shrill" over in a second of two. The shrill was repeated quite frequently, every few seconds or so. Anybody care to suggest what I could have heard?
Also, are there any good websites around with calls/songs of Northamerican birds? I found a few, but mainly with a rather poor selection of species.
Otherwise, what is the best CD collection out there?
Thanks,
Andreas
In Reply to: High Park today posted by Julia on April 18, 2006 at 18:03:12:
I've seen bats in the south end of High Park in the middle of the day before. So either yours wasn't sick or there's lots of sick bats.
In Reply to: Toronto Islands today - April 18, 2006 posted by Norm Murr on April 18, 2006 at 15:31:06:
How big of a stick does one use to beat bushes? So far I've not tried this technique. Are there any regulations about which or how hard a bird may be kicked? Sometimes it seems a trick like this is the only way when the birds aren't co-operative and perching on a branch at eye level 20 feet away. You are without doubt "birder extrordinaire"!
Snuck in a bit of am. birding before work, at Rattray. I usualy only get out at lunch which is sometimes too late. Today I was rewarded. The waters were alive; Green Wing Teal, N.Pintail, Wood Duck, Horned Grebe + usuals. The woods though were less interesting; mating Cardinals, Flicker(s), Downy(s) Carolina Wren singing, no warblers or Kinglets, The 'usuals' were busy and vocal all around.
hello there....visited the peninsula again this past weekend nothing really to report other than the large wedge of Cormorants heading East out over the lake near Stoney Creek. We arrived in my home town and visited the lakefront first. Things were pretty much normal, tons of ring bills.. and surprisingly a single cormorant. (unusual for port colborne). On the home front, Mr/Mrs Cooper hawk continues to harrass the birds in the neigbourhoood along Derry .. Made a low pass tonight while I was outside working on/repairing the BBQ "intersting warning calls from multiple species".(image below from Monday Soaring pass)
We have two new commanders in our back yard, "Jays". they are are taking over control of my two ground feeders and the yard in general .......The Robins are still fighting off each other for control.
Went for a walk on Saturday and spotted a tiny little Woodpecker around the corner from my house, think its a Downy ..
Happy Easter for those of you who celebrate it..If your interested here are some links... to my "Personal" images.
http://static.flickr.com/56/131075601_9402ec66c2_b.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/56/131075599_21fa389731_b.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/55/131081628_aa511970bd_b.jpg
In Reply to: Re: RFI - duck posted by Tyler on April 18, 2006 at 14:34:28:
Thank you very much Tyler - mystery solved. My bird books don't have it listed. They were swimming in the same pond with Common Moorhens.
Spent a little while in the park today. Ruby and golden-crowned kinglets, lots of winter wrens, goldfinches and a white throated sparrow. The whole place was lousy with juncos and Northern Flickers, and I was soundly scolded by six Cardinals, male and female, on the foot bridge over Spring Creek. N. Shovellers on Grenadier, and a pair of Wood Ducks still on the duck pond, but the Great Egret I saw yesterday was not there.
I watched the Red-tailed hawk who hangs out near the greenhouses being harrassed by another, much smaller (1/2 to 2/3 the size) hawk. I don't have much experience, but I noticed the underside of his tail was barred. Sharp-shinned, maybe? They flew off into the distance, occasionally coming together Tekken-style for some mid-air wrestling.
I also saw a bat flying around near Spring Creek. A bat. At two in the afternoon. Don't know if he was sick, confused, or just elated at the fine weather. I watched him for about five minutes before being distracted by a dog who didn't seem to like my red pants.
Julia
FYI, First time in my backyard in Lorne Park Lakeshore road area.Rufous-sided towhee.Unable to note eye colour.
Good evening
Today started like a cool Fall day but ended up very nice indeed.
The birding though started slow and stayed that way all day. Last weeks wave of birds seem to have passed through and I had to beat the bushes and kick the birds out to see them but I did find some decent birds (61 species) and the following are some of the highlights.
Throughout a long day on The Islands I did find American Wigeon, 7 Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, Great Egret, 2 Cooper's Hawks (1 with an unusual white rump) (no not a Harrier), 4 Kingfishers, Sapsuckers, many Flickers, E. Phoebes, Hermit Thrushes, a not to frequent on The Islands N. Mockingbird, Winter and Carolina Wrens, Barn Swallows, Yellow-rumped Warbler, 9 Sparrow species including Fox, Swamp, White-throated, Savannah, Field and Towhees, E. Meadowlark and a singing male Rusty Blackbird.
I also saw 2 Raccoons, 16 Painted Turtles 3 Map Turtles and 1 Red-eared Slider and several singing leopard Frogs.
The Islands are a great birding area but not always with a large number of birds but when full migration (Spring or Fall) is happening it can be an exciting day down there, some days with 100 plus species not a problem and some of those days are coming.
Norm
In Reply to: RFI - duck posted by John on April 18, 2006 at 13:35:29:
You described White-cheeked Pintail perfectly. It's latin name Anas bahamensis.
We spotted several ducks in a fresh water pond when we were in the Bahamas. About size of a mallard, colouring similar to a female mallard, however, silver bill, red at the mouth, lower half of head white, upper half brown, longish tail (not as long as a long tail). Any idea?
In Reply to: Re: RFI hawk id please posted by john on April 18, 2006 at 06:51:34:
John, you're absolutely right, and as Iain Fleming pointed out in his post of the 16th. it probably is a female as indicated by the white flecking in it's wings (something that I missed). Al
The Little Gull number continue to build. This morning 22 Little Gulls and
984 Bonaparte's Gulls were counted.
This year the Little Gulls appear to be remaining in the marsh longer. They
are roosting on the gravel bar and floating logs that have been provided for
them. However if a Peregrine Falcon come by(like Monday) the birds quickly
leave the marsh and do not return for hours. At 10:45 this morning when I
left there were still 9 Little Gulls remaining in the marsh. The gravel bar
island and all floating logs are visible from the GM platform.
Other birds seen this morning include: 1 Sandhill Crane 1 Immature Bald Eagle 20 species of waterfowl ( 250 birds approx) including 5 Trumpeter Swans, 7 Northern Shovelers, 4 Redheads, 9 Ruddy Ducks, 4 Northern Pintails, and 7 American Wigeon. 18 American Coots 2 Virginia Rails 1 Sora 2 Caspian Terns 4 Pied-billed Grebes
In Ghost Road woods (forest on N side of marsh) there were 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and 1 House Wren
In Lake Ontario offshore of Oshawa Second Marsh- Darlington Provincial Park the Gulls were in 3 rafts between 200 and 400m offshore. Also seen were small numbers of Horned and Red-necked Grebes, Common Loons, and 251 Buffleheads.
Also a new species for the area appeared just west of the marsh. There was 1 Wild Turkey in the field just north of Oshawa Harbour
Mammals seen this morning include Beaver, Muskrat, Mink and White-tailed Deer.
Friends of Second Marsh will be hosting Little Gull viewing April 22 and 23, starting at dawn until 10:00 a.m. each day. Scopes and binoculars will be set up, courtesy of Bushnell, on both days and representatives of the Canadian Wildlife Service and Friends of Second Marsh will be on hand both Saturday and Sunday to assist. Coffee and donuts will be available.
Directions
Exit from the 401 at the Harmony Rd. Exit(419) in Oshawa. Go south on Farewell St. Colonel Sam Drive. Turn East onto Colonel Sam Drive and follow to the parking lot at the GM Headquarters. Park in the west parking lot close to the marsh. The east (GM) platform is visible from the NW corner of the lot.
For a trail map of the Oshawa Second marsh area visit
http://secondmarsh.science.uoit.ca/ and check the link for a trail map of
the area.
In Reply to: Re: RFI hawk id please posted by Al Johnston on April 17, 2006 at 09:30:19:
thanks, tips.
but what makes this particular bird an immature?
why can it not just be a female?
Took a little stroll out down the spit this evening, saw several muskrats, three beavers, two coyotes, and a pied-billed and red-necked grebe. Also about two dozen woodcocks lined all along the road between the gate and the booth down both sides were winnowing as we walked out, and a meadowlark as we walked in. Yesterday evening I saw two long-eared owls coursing over the fields near the beaver pond for about 20 minutes, it was really something.
Bonniebrae point Oshawa Lakewatch 7-8pm
With light winds The grebe migration was on tonight. The Scoters and grebes all fly towards the west. The gulls fly towards the south west where they roost each night some where several KM offshore and return each morning
4 White-winged Scoters
118 Horned Grebes
186 Red-necked Grebes
586 Bonaparte''s Gulls
8 Little Gulls
With patience and time,I was able to spot many of the newer arrivals spotted elsewhere. Today I saw my first Osprey of the season pass reasonably low and tite to the bluffs. Daily Turkey Vultures pass within camera range of the bluffs as well.Yellow-rumped and Pine Warblers have been seen,as well as many Brown Creepers,as many as 4 Eastern Phoebes(2 males were arguing over a female today),Barn,Tree and just yesterday Bank Swallows(they nest right in the side of the bluffs),Brown Thrasher(2 days ago not seen since),Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers,several Hermit Thrushes,many Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Down on the lake many Double-crested Cormorants can be seen flying by,as well as dwindling numbers of Red-breasted Mergansers and Red-necked Grebe. Each of the last 2 days Ive picked up one Horned Grebe.Naturally there are multitudes of Northern Flicker,Red-winged Blackbirds,Song Sparrows,Brown-headed Cowbirds and American Robins are around. A nice surprise on Sat and Sun was a Fox Sparrow. A good selection of birds of prey have been seen as well,including Kestrel,Merlin,Redtailed Hawks,Coopers Hawk,Sharpshinned Hawks,Northern Harriers,Osprey and Turkey Vultures. Please note alot of these birds move through on a daily basis,and to see what I see Im often present from 7am-3pm.
Rosetta McClain Memorial Gardens is at Kingston Rd and Glen Everest in Scarborough,one light east of Kingston Rd and Birchmount.
Hanging out at 10 york mills rd. nesting??
On Cranberry Marsh - Gadwall, A pair of ruddy ducks,Lots of Scaup and a male Eurasian Wigeon.
Also a pair of Trumpeter Swans displaying and calling. Are there any records of Trumpeters breeding at Lynde Shores ?
In the fields to the east of Cranberry Marsh, there were singing savannah sparrows, Tree swallows, a Kestrel and many Northern Harriers.
In Reply to: Re: RFI hawk id please posted by Al Johnston on April 17, 2006 at 09:30:19:
Would it help if I cropped the image and brought more of the detail out? I can crop it a fair bit without sacrifising too much of the quality.
Thanks for the help btw I wouldnt have thought of an immature N. Harrier let alone recognised one and Id rather not make a mistake with her photo history scrapbook even if it means being left as a question mark.
Great late afternoon, all through the park. By the little creek: a Towhee, Hermit Thrush, Phoebe, 1 each Yellow-rumped and Pine warblers, Brown Creeper, Flicker and Golden-crowned Kinglets. On the lake: 2 Gadwalls, many Horned and 2 Red-necked Grebes, Common Mergansers, Blue-winged Teal and a Caspian Tern. Many Tree Swallows, too. Yacht club basin: Pied-billed Grebe and a swimming Muskrat. Pond: a Coot and turtles.
In Reply to: Sunday @ Leslie Street spit posted by Andreas Jonsson on April 16, 2006 at 16:14:05:
My wife and I went on on the Spit during the afternoon. We also didn't concentrate on waterfowl, sticking mainly with some of the trails through the woods.
We saw a nice mixture of things, including our first winter wren and our first swamp sparrows. We also saw a fox sparrow, a downy woodpecker, a yellow-bellied sapsucker, two northern flickers, two barn swallows, three yellow-rumped warblers, and many tree swallows, robins, brown creepers, ruby-crowned kinglets, golder-crowned kinglets, red-winged blackbirds, grackles, cowbirds, song sparrows, and American tree sparrows.
Although we weren't focusing on waterfowl, we did see lots of scaup, long-tails, common mergansers, buffleheads, double-breasted cormorants, black-crowned night herons, and Caspian terns. There was also an American coot at the ponds.
Plus the eastern cottontails and garter snakes were everywhere.
-John
In Reply to: Re: RFI hawk id please posted by john on April 17, 2006 at 08:44:54:
John, an immature bird is one that is not old enough to have obtained it's adult plumage. This can vary from species to species --e.g. a purple martin can obtain it's adult plumage in it's second year whereas a bald eagle will take several years. Anyone else? Al
In Reply to: Re: RFI hawk id please posted by Al Johnston on April 16, 2006 at 05:44:05:
what makes it an immature bird?
In Reply to: Re: tks Norm.. appreciate u posting this .. again.. ill go when it warms up.. ps.. posted by Norm Murr on April 16, 2006 at 17:38:43:
iii
In Reply to: Re: tks Norm.. appreciate u posting this .. again.. ill go when it warms up.. ps.. posted by Norm Murr on April 16, 2006 at 17:38:43:
iii
In Reply to: tks Norm.. appreciate u posting this .. again.. ill go when it warms up.. ps.. posted by Sedona on April 16, 2006 at 07:19:45:
The Sanctuary is behind the water treatment plant on Centre Island.
The entrance is behind the new school.
I also want to make a correction.
The 16 Brown Thrashers should have read 16 Brown Creepers. Only one Brown Thrasher was found by Naish.
Norm
We had a great view of 3 Horned Grebes at Ashbridge's Bay today.
Lots of birders at the spit today. Not quite crawling with birds but quite a few migrators passing through.
I spent the major part of the day along the various trails west of the parking lot near the base of the spit, looking for Fox sparrows and pine warblers. I got a few good looks at the former species (thanks Norm) but didn't manage to find the latter. Other birders reported they had seen it though.
Other sightings that made my day a pleasant one:
Brown trasher, Hermit trushes, Kinglets (lots, both kinds), Fox sparrows, a Whitethrouted sparrow, Yellowrumped warblers, a Brewer's blackbird, a Northern mockingbird, Yellowbellied sapsuckers, Meadowlarks. Lots of Treeswallows and Caspian terns near the firsts pool on the east side.
I didn't check on the water fowl, so I can't report on that.
I looked for Iceland and Thayer's Gulls, but found none.
Thanks to all the birders out there on the trail. Very friendly atmosphere here in Toronto I must say.
Andreas
In Reply to: Re: weekend birding posted by Lynne T on April 15, 2006 at 14:16:17:
A favourite spot is High Park around the ponds... today we watched 5 pair of wood ducks for almost an hour. Many warblers coming into the park now too. Also [beside the specatcular Leslie Spit] a walk around Humber Bay park is fine for a good variety of ducks.
In Reply to: Re: RFI hawk id please posted by Bill on April 16, 2006 at 07:29:29:
As Al suggested I agree that the bird is a Northern Harrier. Either immature or female as the white flecking on the wings is substantial enough to make it a mature bird.
Iain
In Reply to: RFI hawk id please posted by Wulff on April 16, 2006 at 05:03:32:
To judge by the tailpattern you could be looking at a immature bald eagle.
In Reply to: Clarkson - Pin Warbler posted by Ron Luft on April 13, 2006 at 09:27:27:
oo
In Reply to: Toronto Islands today-Apr. 13/06 - Snow Goose, etc. posted by Norm Murr on April 13, 2006 at 16:14:44:
where is the sanctuary you speak of
I can not believe you saw so many birds what a wonderful trip!
S :))
The Little Gulls have returned to the Oshawa Second marsh. There are currently 12 Little Gulls in the marsh area. The birds are easiest seen between 7am and 9am in the marsh. After that time most gulls go out to the lake to feed. However a few remain in the marsh to preen,sleep etc. on the floating logs.
With the Little Gulls there is now approx 800 Bonaparte's Gulls present.
Waterfowl in the marsh included 1 Canvasback, 2 Redheads, 5 Wood Ducks, 5 Northern Pintails, and 6 Ruddy Ducks among the 20 species of waterfowl.
Also present today were several calling Pied-billed Grebes American Coots, and Virginia Rails.
New arrivals over the weekend included Barn and Rough-winged Swallows, Savannah Sparrows and American Bitterns.
In Reply to: RFI hawk id please posted by Wulff on April 16, 2006 at 05:03:32:
I don't think Coopers --- I'd say immature Northern Harrier. Al
In Reply to: RFI hawk id please posted by Wulff on April 16, 2006 at 05:03:32:
That didnt work. Hopefully this will, I dont want to clutter the board
http://www.pbase.com/wulff/image/58714229
While watching some Northern Harriers yesterday I took this shot from extreme long range. It wasn't untill I reviewed the image that I saw the difference.
I think its a coopers but would like to make sure before my daughter adds it to her collection of identified birds.
http://i.pbase.com/t1/49/656349/4/58714229.IMG_3939_edited2.jpg
In Reply to: weekend birding posted by Quirijn Slings on April 14, 2006 at 12:52:54:
You would probably enjoy the Toronto Ornithological Club's (TOC)outing on Saturday April 29th on the Leslie Street Spit/ Thom Thomson Park. Meet at the gates (at the foot of Leslie St @ Unwin)at 8 am. It is an all day event but you can leave whenever it suits -so bring a lunch, or not. For clothing, plan for a few degrees colder that the land temp due to winds off the lake; and waterproof footwear is a must.
There is plenty of great birding in the greater Toronto area. Go to the TOC website: www.torontobirding.ca/hotspots for all the details.
Enjoy!
Lynne
Good Day Eh
Another nice day to be spitting despite the NW winds. Lots of birds and birders out there today.
I started out on west side of the base at 7 am and was pleased to find some nice birds including A. Woodcock, Pine and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Field, Swamp. and Savannah Sparrows as well as an E. Towhee and E. Meadowlarks were singing on both sides of the base.
I then started off to walk out on The Spit and following are some of the highlights.
I saw 19 species of Waterfowl including Green & Blue-winged Teals, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Ducks, both Scaup, Hooded Merganser, and A. Coot.
One of the nicer sightings was a singing male Purple Finch beside the banding station (they had 2 earlier).
Following are some other birds seen on and over The Spit.
Common Loon, Glaucous, Iceland and Thayer's Gulls, Caspian Terns, Kingfishers, Sapsuckers, Phoebes, Hermit Thrushes, many Brown Creepers, Winter Wrens, both Kinglets, and besides the above Sparrows (I saw 9 species) I also saw Fox, White-throated, A. Tree, and many Juncos and Song Sparrows. (The Gulls are usually on a little island in the 1st bay or the isthmus between the 1st and 2nd bays) (These bays are on your left just past the Quonset Hut about 1 km out)
Another nice day on The Spit and tomorrow is going to have fair weather again but NW winds again (curse them). Be sure not to wander into the area that the banding nets are deployed.
Norm Murr
In Reply to: Re: Clarkson - Pin Warbler posted by Norm Murr on April 13, 2006 at 16:12:57:
Previous comment by me not meant for Ron Lufts post, SORRY ABOUT THAT RON.
Norm
Hi all, I'll be in Toronto next weekend (28-29 April), and I am hoping to see some birds. If you had only 2 days in / round Toronto, where would you go?
I hope this is the right place to ask this question..
Quirijn
In Reply to: Re: thought it was a Downy or Hairy posted by Napper on April 14, 2006 at 12:36:11:
That was strange lets try that again..........I should use the preview function.. oh well this one worked..
Napper :))
In Reply to: thought it was a Downy or Hairy posted by Napper on April 14, 2006 at 12:34:35:
Not great but good enough to indentify..........
Napper:))
I thought I spotted a Hairy or Downy woodpecker this morning It moved into my neigbours tree I was able to get an identifying shot.It was in fact a "Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker"
I love that name..Napper
In Reply to: RFI-Wrens posted by Napper on April 13, 2006 at 15:34:53:
sounds like a winter wren
In Reply to: Re: Rough-Legged Hawk posted by Napper on April 12, 2006 at 14:06:59:
I work just north of the airport as well and I agree with you. I was quite surprised to have seen this particular hawk. I have seen only a few Rough-Legged Hawks inside the GTA in recent years. It was very clearly a Rough-legged, I even drove around for a second look but on my third pass it was gone. I put it down to migration. Common birds are seen commonly and sometimes you get surprised.
In Reply to: Re: Clarkson - Pin Warbler posted by Ron Luft on April 13, 2006 at 13:06:14:
Don't throw stones it doesn't become anyone.
Norm Murr
I saw what appeared to be a wren of some sort tonight. It was reddish brown, tiny in size. It sat in one of the openings in the chain fence behing the house. At first I thought it was a leaf but then it started flying away low across the ground. when it stopped moving it shot it's stubby tail straight up. I have been waiting patiently for it to return unfortunately nothing so far. While waiting I noticed a brown headed cow bird in my tree. (similar call to grackle) Napper:))
In Reply to: Clarkson - Pin Warbler posted by Ron Luft on April 13, 2006 at 09:27:27:
A spell check would ID this as a "Pine Warbler"
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On my half a lunch hour saw a Pine Warbler (singing too!), Myrtle W., usual Gold crowns, Creepers at Lakeshore Park just W. of PetroCan refinery, Clarkson. Grebes on the lake but glare was against me.
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Made it out to High Park today in between the worst of the rain. Many of both kinglets, chickadees, winter wrens. Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers aplenty. A few goldfinches and Robins singing away.
Highlights included three Pie-Pilled Grebes on Grenadier Pond amongst Northern Shovelers, Mallards, and Gadwall (One of them "sank" away on me when I tried to snap his picture) and three pairs of wood ducks, males in glorious breeding plumage, on the duck pond.
One got close enough that I even got a decent shot with my crappy 4X zoom camera.
Julia
In Reply to: Rough-Legged Hawk posted by Dean on April 11, 2006 at 19:22:03:
Hello there... I see hawks in that area on a daily basis. I work right near there. Mostly redtails. I saw a redtail sitting on a hydro pole Monday morning in the residential area adjacent to the plant I work at (this was unusual) The hawks tend to hang around the airfield along the fences, windsocks, hydro poles. Some pilots report them on the landing lights aswell.( I don't recall seeing a "Rough legged" I guess I will have to look a bit closer. Napper:))
In Reply to: Pileated in Cabbagetown posted by Julie on April 12, 2006 at 08:37:55:
I was visiting a friend yesterday (East of 427 and North of Dundas). While sitting in his back yard on a sunny afternoon I Heard what sounded like a Pileated woodpecker (Jungle like sounds). Also spotted a small bird of prey soaring kind of Kestrel like (tail tapered outward and talons hanging in the wind). Mature area with lots of trees.
the bird sounded similar to this.....http://www.naturesongs.com/piwo1.wav.....
Napper:))
In Reply to: Pileated in Cabbagetown posted by Julie on April 12, 2006 at 08:37:55:
Good spotting - well done. I've never had the good fortune of sighting either bird.
In Reply to: Re: ACTUAL Coot Pic... Ignore the first posted by Kin Lau on April 12, 2006 at 07:12:35:
Hi Kin,
No I didn't use a polarizer. The calmness of the water and the high sun allowed for a reflection-less shot, not to mention the fact that I was shooting downwards on a very close subject.
Iain.
Last week we heard what sounded like a flicker on steroids and discovered a noisy pileated woodpecker perched high in a tree at the northern end of Cabbagetown. I always associate this bird with forests in BC (back home)-- nice to see it here in the city. Also saw an unusually bold yellow bellied sapsucker in High Park on the 8th.
In Reply to: RFI- Goldfinches where are they?.. posted by Napper on April 10, 2006 at 15:30:54:
3 Am. goldfinches on my feeder this a.m. in Brampton.
1 young male, 2 females
In Reply to: ACTUAL Coot Pic... Ignore the first posted by Iain Fleming on April 11, 2006 at 18:49:00:
Lovely... it's been around for a few months now, and always so co-operative.
Nice angle with the feet. Did you use a polarizer?
I saw a Rough-Legged Hawk (light phase) sitting on a fence on the west side of the Allen north of Transit Rd. and south of Sheppard Ave. West at approx. 1:30pm today.
In Reply to: Coot Pic posted by Iain Fleming on April 11, 2006 at 18:46:08:
American Coot
In Reply to: Humber Bay East today posted by Iain Fleming on April 11, 2006 at 18:37:32:
American Coot
Got 45 species today over 3 hours at Humber Bay including my first Pied-billed Grebe of the year. 7 Sparrow: House, Junco, Song, Savannah, Tree, Field, Fox. 3 Grebe: Horned, Red-necked, Pied-billed (in the south west corner of grenadiere pond). Other spring arrivals included B. Kingfisher, B. Thrasher, Hermit thrush and Eastern Phoebe. The friendly mockingbird was there as well. Usual dabblers as well as a few remaining Hooded Mergansers (all female), Long-tails, Buffleheads, Ring-necks. A bold Coot was in the stormwater pond swimming beside the floating walkway. (Photo in reply)
Good Birding.
Iain
In Reply to: Re: RFI Gyrfalcon Book Poyser (new 2005) posted by Sierra on April 11, 2006 at 16:27:24:
their prices online are cheaper than their in-store prices. makes sense. costs a lot less to run a website than it does to man a store.
their site is really secure, too. you have nothing to worry about.
besides, all the credit card companies have online safety guarantees.
In Reply to: Re: RFI- Goldfinches where are they?.. posted by Anne Marie on April 10, 2006 at 17:45:07:
Hey Anne Marie........ It has been a strange winter and even more interesting spring... there are more robin's around than I can ever recall.I am being overrun with Grackles aswell...
In Reply to: Re: RFI Gyrfalcon Book Poyser (new 2005) posted by john on April 11, 2006 at 14:41:54:
a great book dont like giving out personal detail on line
.. S..
will check it out..
did you get this book??
In Reply to: Re: RFI Gyrfalcon Book Poyser (new 2005) posted by john on April 11, 2006 at 14:41:54:
Hi.. Indigo quoted me $52.00 somethng today and dont even have it in stock
I do not give out my Visa online
so makes it a bit difficult what is wrong with going down
..
tks..
S..
Good evening.
Today was a beautiful day to be out birding and I ventured down to the Islands again and the following are some of the high lights of that outing.
The sky was full of D-C Cormorants and Ring-billed Gulls and the land was full of Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds, Grackles and Cowbirds but I searched between these guys and came up with the following.
On the water were Wood Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Canvasback and Hooded Merganser as well as the usuall waterfowl.
I dug around the Islands and came up with 3 Belted Kingfishers, 12 Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpecker, 34 N. Flickers, 26 E. Phoebes, 16 Brown Creepers, 3 Carolina Wrens, 7 Winter Wrens, 13 Hermit Thrushes, Yellow-rumped Warbler and lots of G-C Kinglets, B-C Chickadees and Tree Swallows.
In the Sparrow department I lucked out with 10 species including Fox, Swamp, White-throated, Savannah, Chipping, Field, Vesper and many D-E Juncos and Song Sparrows.
The N. Cardinal population has really done well on the Islands. A few years ago you were hard pressed to come up with 10 birds. Last week I counted 19 birds and today 21. I didn't bird Algonquin Island either day so probably these numbers are low.
THe next day and a half has southerly winds so hopefully the bird numbers will increase for the end of the wek and the weekkend.
Good birding
Norm Murr
In Reply to: RFI Gyrfalcon Book Poyser (new 2005) posted by Sierra on April 11, 2006 at 11:38:22:
I missed the title in your posting.
Indeed, Chapters/Indigio has it. $35.47. I would buy something else while you're at it, then you get free shipping (over $39).
My experience with ordering online with them has been great. The books have always come within 2 or 3 business days, and are in perfect condition.
In Reply to: RFI Gyrfalcon Book Poyser (new 2005) posted by Sierra on April 11, 2006 at 11:38:22:
Ordering online from Chapters/Indigo is your best bet, price-wise. It is also typically really good, selection-wise.
If Chapters/Indigo doesn't have it, the best place to go is Open Air Books, in Toronto St. They have things you'll never find at a normal bookstore. However, their prices aren't the greatest.
Which book is it? Are you sure you can't get it online from Chapters/Indigo?
In Reply to: Winter Wren? posted by Carla on April 11, 2006 at 10:28:49:
aye, that it be.
Hello:
Where is the best place in Toronto to buy bird books, price wise, etc?
I am looking for this one. Indigo has not got it in. It is supposed to be the best, and a beautiful book
TIA
Sierra
:)
I need some help identifying this little guy:
http://fotoreflect.blogspot.com/2006/04/winter-wren.html
In Reply to: Re: RFI posted by Ron Luft on April 10, 2006 at 07:58:52:
After some research I must agree that it was a Northern Harrier .
surfinbird
In Reply to: Shrikes alive posted by Ed on April 10, 2006 at 06:17:40:
Many thanks for the comments and for the excellent OFO website, which
was very helpful. On the whole, I'm leaning to the northern shrike at this
point. The bird stayed high in the trees and on top of hydro poles, and
when it flew any distance, it also stayed high up instead of swooping low
over the ground, like a loggerhead. Maybe best just to say shrike sp. for
this one and be ready for the next.
In Reply to: RFI- Goldfinches where are they?.. posted by Napper on April 10, 2006 at 15:30:54:
they are all at my feeder ( newtonville ) and the chickadees must be all at
your place...R.
Biked down to Humber Bay Park East today.
Lots of the usual suspects: chickadees, buffleheads, longtails, cowbirds.
The N Mockingbird was pretending to be robin today, but very softly as I think he was practising.
I saw my first female red-winged blackbird of the year today, and there were a couple of ruby-crowned kinglets in with the golden-crowned and the juncos.
An American goldfinch in full song, but not yet full colour.
Four A. Widgeon and an American Coot on the storm water management ponds, with a Savannah Sparrow nearby. Also saw a Lincoln's and many Song Sparrows, plus maybe some other ones, but I *stink* at identifying sparrows.
A tree swallow sat for quite some time on an exposed branch, preening and stretching his wings while a pair of birders and I admired him. It's rare I get such a good, long, look at those guys. Usually I just catch them twittering away overhead
I am super loving this weather.
Julia
In Reply to: RFI- Goldfinches where are they?.. posted by Napper on April 10, 2006 at 15:30:54:
Hi Napper - I've had goldfinches in my feeder all winter. They are putting on their spring colours and look great. The numbers are down the last few weeks but lots of juncos, and purple finches to keep them company. I missed seeing many nuthatches this winter. Ususally see some in the feeder but not this year.
I have not seen an American goldfinch since early March. There were quite a number of them wintering in here in Milton this year.. Am I missing something?? There are a lot more chickadee's and tons of robins around. The House finches are back next door. There are even Junko's hanging around I don't recall seeing them last year. So whats up ?? There are a lot fewer House sparrows this year and one night a few weeks ago a whole bunch of Tundra swans(all white, no tags, not snow geese) flew over heading West.. Last spring and summer goldfinches were everwhere.. Napper: )) ??
In Reply to: DUCK OR GOOSE ID PLEASE! posted by ICHI on April 09, 2006 at 18:29:04:
Thanks very much for all information.
Sorry for large letter.
In Reply to: Re: RFI posted by Dean on April 10, 2006 at 13:47:20:
A male Northern Harrier. I've included a pic I took of him yesterday. There are atleast 2 pairs of Harriers around that area. I saw 4 of them today on Halls Rd.
In Reply to: RFI posted by surfinbird on April 10, 2006 at 07:30:49:
Sounds like Marsh Hawks or their newer name Northern Harriers.
In Reply to: Re: RFI posted by Wulff on April 10, 2006 at 09:05:09:
The ones we saw (at only 30M) had the distinctive 'white rump'. Male is silver (grey) and a female brown, w/ white rump. Another was seen only briefly at a distance and might have been either or immature. Other birders we spoke to concurred.
In Reply to: Re: The Leslie Street Spit today - Apr. 9 posted by John Teshima on April 10, 2006 at 13:13:08:
Go ahead and go down there on Good Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Norm Murr
In Reply to: Re: The Leslie Street Spit today - Apr. 9 posted by Norm Murr on April 10, 2006 at 10:00:49:
Anyone know if the park be open to the public on Good Friday?
I took a youth group out on the Saturday to collect garbage. We filled three big bags and we only got as far as that area with the trailers and booths. We saw quite a few birds, although we weren't really searching: ruby crowned kinglets, brown creepers, song sparrows, grackles, redwings, an American kestrel, double breasted cormorants, buffleheads, longtails, common mergansers, scaups. We also saw several garter snakes, an Eastern cottontail, and a mourning cloak (my first for the season).
-John
In Reply to: Shrikes - Loggerhead or northern? posted by Bob Kortright on April 10, 2006 at 09:42:18:
My guess is a Northern Shrike, only because you see them over wintering here in S.Ontario. I was lucky to watch one here in Oakville for a few months over the winter. The best identifier is the black banding across the birds eyes/head. I belive the Northern's band extends below the eye, whereas the Loggerhead's does not.
In Reply to: Re: The Leslie Street Spit today - Apr. 9 posted by focusgroupimages on April 10, 2006 at 09:45:10:
Any time of day is good at this time of year on The Spit but most of the singing is in the early morning and there is less disturbances along the roads.
To visit the banding station area (try not to disturb the banders as they move about)you have to go in the morning as they cease banding around noon. And please do not approach the mist nets as this will put an additional stress on any trapped birds.
Un-officially you may start out onto The Spit at any time before 9am.
Norm Murr
In Reply to: The Leslie Street Spit today - Apr. 9 posted by Norm Murr on April 09, 2006 at 16:22:10:
When is it better to go there? Early AM or PM or is during the day fine?
Thanks.
In Reply to: Shrikes alive posted by Ed on April 10, 2006 at 06:17:40:
It is difficult to distinguish these species, especially this time of year.
The best guide to the differences that I have found is at http://www.ofo.ca/shrike.htm.
In Reply to: Re: RFI posted by Ron Luft on April 10, 2006 at 07:58:52:
Was there on saturday with my daughter and saw the same bird(s).Silver/white with grey and black tips is the best way to describe them. I managed 4 or 5 shots and we have been trying to id it and our guide had us leaning towards a merlin.
In Reply to: RFI posted by surfinbird on April 10, 2006 at 07:30:49:
Also at Lynde Sh. yesterday witnessed spectacular flight displays (swooping and diving) by as many as 4 Harriers. 2 males in particular were 'silver', black wingtips flying often at 2-3 M high. That'd be my guess. There were also Sharpies and Coopers about.
Hi There
On Sunday at Lynde Shores i took a picture of what i thought were Red Tail Hawks but after downloading in the computer i see that one has greyish head and shoulders with dark wing tips , it could have been the light as the sky was very blue yesterday . I'm just wondering what it is . I can send a picture but i don't know how to post it here.
Thanks
surfinbired
Coming back from the Leslie Street Spit on Sunday morning, I saw a shrike hunting in the empty lot next to Eastern Marine Services, across from the garden allotments. Looked like a loggerhead, but I'm no expert. White barring on the wing at rest was clearly visible, and it had a raspy, repetitive call, something like a catbird with laryngitis. Loggerhead or northern--any thoughts?
In Reply to: Re: Need one more (not a goose) posted by BIGFRANK on April 10, 2006 at 00:58:16:
.
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In Reply to: Need one more (not a goose) posted by Tom C. on April 09, 2006 at 20:22:15:
This is an Eastern Phoebe..perched it likely flicked its tail alot.
In Reply to: Need goose ID posted by Tom C. on April 09, 2006 at 17:59:47:
Thank you for the previous info. Anyone know what this is ?
In Reply to: DUCK OR GOOSE ID PLEASE! posted by ICHI on April 09, 2006 at 18:29:04:
sounds like a domestic muscovy.
In Reply to: Re: Need goose ID posted by Tom C. on April 09, 2006 at 18:01:11:
Looks like a barnyard goose to me.
In Reply to: Need goose ID posted by Tom C. on April 09, 2006 at 17:59:47:
All three birds are domestic geese known as Swan or Chinese Geese. Domestic geese are illustrated in various field guides including Sibley. There can be a lot of individual variation.
In Reply to: DUCK OR GOOSE ID PLEASE! posted by ICHI on April 09, 2006 at 18:29:04:
It's probably domestic ducks that escaped from a farm. The white one's been around for at least a few months. It's got a big "knob" on head.
I NEED ID OF GOOSE OR DUCK I FOUND AT UNIONVILLE POND.
ONE IS BALACK OTHER IS WHITE. BOTH HAVE TURKEY OR VULTURE
TYPE OF FACE. WHEN SWIMMING BOTH BIRDS HAVE ACTION LIKE
PIGEON.
PLEASE HELP. THANKS
In Reply to: Need goose ID posted by Tom C. on April 09, 2006 at 17:59:47:
Here are the photos.
http://crazyravr.smugmug.com/photos/63703303-M.jpg
http://crazyravr.smugmug.com/photos/63703319-M.jpg
thanx again.
See the following post for the photos of the geese I need to ID. They are from the weekend camping trip to McGregor.
Thank you for the help.
Saw a very healthy looking male Marsh Hawk flying low over a field at the northwest corner of Hwy's 400 and 407 around 5:00pm today.
Dean
Good evening.
Today was a beautiful day to spend out on The Spit and there were a few nice birds including some new arrivals and some still hanging in before moving north.
I was pleased to find 20 Waterfowl species including Wood Duck, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, White-winged Scoter, all 3 Mergansers, and American Coot. The numbers of Scaup, Long-tailed Duck and Common Goldeneye are way down but the number of Bufflehead still is over 130.
In the Gull department I found 6 species including Glaucous, Iceland and Lesser black-backed Gull and also the Caspian Terns have made an appearance.
Other birds seen and heard were Black-crowned night-Heron, Eastern Phoebe, Hermit Thrush, Winter Wren, Yellow-rumped Warbler, 5 Sparrow species including Savannah and Field Sparrows.
There are lots of Brown-headed Cowbirds present and I also found 7 Eastern Meadowlarks.
Next weekend should show an increase in migrants (especialy Yellow-rumps, Sapsuckers and Sparrows) and if the weather is fair and we have some Southerly winds it should be an interesting 3 day weekend to at least get down there once.
Good birding if you go down there (and if you don't).
Norm Murr
Oh! I almost forgot the 2 Long-eared Owls (they will be gone by next weekend so I don't mind mentioning them).
NM
We were enjoying our usual crowd of juncos, house finches, red wings, grackles, and mourning doves at our backyard feeder when everyone suddenly panicked and disappeared (including the squirrels, who usually don't react at all). All of a sudden there was a Cooper's hawk sitting on our fence, about 15 feet from our window. It preened a bit, hopped over to another section of fence, and then took off. Quite a nice surprise for an urban backyard near Gerrard and Broadview.
-John
In Reply to: Re: Binocular suggestions posted by norman bates on April 08, 2006 at 17:54:19:
Thanks for your insight (pun intended). Regards,
In Reply to: Binocular suggestions posted by Anne Marie on April 08, 2006 at 16:15:29:
One modest suggestion, get the "insta-focus" feature, bushnell has it. Without it I find myself trying to focus in on the bird, by then it has already flown away.
In Reply to: Binocular suggestions posted by Anne Marie on April 08, 2006 at 16:15:29:
Roof prisms are the way to go if you've got the dough (Leitz are asking +2000.00 for their state-of-the-art product), but if you want a good set, I highly recommend Mountain Co-op's (do they still have them?) line of Pentax-manufactured glasses. I scooped a pair for about 350.00 a few years ago, and they're very good indeed.
For a long while, Bushnell/Bausch and Lomb had the market cornered on mid-range optics, but the competition is fierce at this point, and there are some worthy competitors. If you can handle the price tag on Leitz or Swarovski, more power (sorry -- unintended pun)to you.
Check for an exit pupil of 4 or better (look it up), and check the "close focus" (the closer, the better)in the store -- take your time! Eye-cup extensions are essential, and you have to feel comfortable with them, even if it means going outside to have a look 'round.
They should have a decent guarantee, and check the refund policy ... the receipt should be in your mountainous stack of debits, including the one for the ill-advised fondue crock-pot you bought when you had that extre carafe of red wine at that disapointing flea-bag of a restaurant you ended up in after christmas.
Well, Mother is shrieking again, so I'd better check in on her now, in case we have some guests tonight.
Regards,
-- NB
P.S. Unless you have special requirements, 8-power binos should more than suffice. Seven-power units are fine; just avoid the cheap Bushnells, Tascos (not sure about their new products) and always remember: the sales clerk will likely tell you what you want to hear ...
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Hey fellow birders, I'm in the market for new bincos and am curious to see what others may recommend. I want them to be lightweight but don't want to give in on quality of image. I hear the roof prism type is best. Any suggestions?
In Reply to: Birding Humber Bay Park East and Colonel Sam Smith Park Today posted by Andrew Don on April 08, 2006 at 11:35:37:
Here's nice photo of 1 of the yellow-rumped warblers ,my FOS
Have updated my photo album with more photos from today's trip
Hi ,just got back from a little city birding ,highlights at Colonel Sam Smith park are 2 yellow rumped warblers, 2 fox sparrows, 2 eastern phoebes, many horned and red-necked grebes ,many golden crowned kinglets, 3 northern mockingbirds
At Humber Bay Park East found a nice field sparrow hanging along the creek keeping company with a lincoln and some song sparrows ,also saw northern shovelers and hooded mergansers in with the usual ducks.
Can't wait for more migrants to come through ,maybe tomorrow at the spit :)
In Reply to: Bald Eagle Cam!! posted by Lorena on April 04, 2006 at 11:11:09:
thanks for posting this it so cool !!
Craig
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Yes, I would like to see it. Years ago in my parents back yard there was a cat (not ours) after a fledged Robin and apparently (I missed it) a large number of Robins from all over the neighbourhood came in and started to dive bomb this cat to save the baby!! It worked - maybe it was the mesiah of Robins!! LOL.
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In Reply to: Re: Toronto Islands Today Apr. 6th posted by John on April 06, 2006 at 16:18:19:
The 1st boat to Wards Island (my preferred starting point) is 6:35 am and the 2nd is 7:00 am Monday to Friday, Saturday 6:35 am, then 7:15 am and the 1st is at 8:00 am on Sunday. The 1st boat to Hanlans Point is 8:00 am Monday to Friday and the 1st is at 8:15 am on Saturday & Sunday.
If arriving in early am you must obtain your ticket from a machine just inside the gate so be sure to have $1.00 and $2.00 and/or 25 cent coins before you arrive at the docks as there is no place to get change and the machine does not make change. (There is a change machine there if you want to chance it).
Be sure to check the following first.
http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/winterschedule.htm
Start by checking south of the houses and then just start walking west checking all the likely spots on Wards, Snake, Snug, and Centre Islands as well as the Sanctuary, Gibralter and Hanlans Point. There is a map at the ferry dock on the city and Wards sides.
Be sure to get a ferry schedule before boarding, If before Apr. 14 the Winter Schedule is in effect and from the 14th it changes to the Spring Schedule with more Hanlans service and Centre Island service starts then.
Norm Murr
We had an American Robin defending it's territory by repeatedly attempting to chase off "the enemy"...it's reflection in our back window. I took a short video clip of this behaviour before putting up some post-it notes on the outside of the window. If anyone wants to see it, I will email it to you (3 mb) or alternately, if someone has some space to make it available online, we could do that too.
David
In Reply to: question posted by Miriam on April 03, 2006 at 10:28:37:
What an excellent sighting! I've only seen that behaviour on TV.
In Reply to: large white crane posted by Michelle on April 04, 2006 at 05:24:37:
Did they the have those huge yellow number tags on them?
In Reply to: Toronto Islands Today Apr. 6th posted by Norm Murr on April 06, 2006 at 16:09:34:
Sounds great. I've never been birding there. Where do you recommend birding exactly? Which ferry would one take? Where to go on what island etc.? Thanks very much.
Good evening birders.
It has Been a long but nice day to be out birding.
A number of new arrivals have put in an appearance on The Islands.
Black-crowned night-Herons put in their first appearance as did Canvasbacks, Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks, Northern Goshawk, American Woodcock, Belted Kingfisher, Long-eared Owl, Y-b Sapsucker, N. Flickers, 12 E.Phoebes, Hermit Thrushes, 18 Brown Creepers, 10 Winter Wrens (most in full song), Tree Swallows, 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, Fox and Savannah Sparrows and E. Meadowlarks.
As well as the above there were large numbers of Song Sparrows, Juncos, and Golden-crowned Kinglets and Black-capped Chickadee continue to migrate through in numbers and the resident Carolina Wrens are now also in full song (I heard 3 of them) and of course the Starlings are singing as well.
It can only get better.
Norm Murr
Richmond Hill, ON
In Reply to: northern singers posted by Pat Hodgson on April 06, 2006 at 07:11:21:
I have had a singing Fox Sparrow since April 1 in my backyard in suburban Burlington.
In Reply to: Re: Which birds can I attract? posted by Al Johnston on April 06, 2006 at 09:42:03:
Purple martins are theoretically possible anywhere in southern Ontario, yet for reasons I don't think anyone understands well, they are not everywhere or at all likely to come to an offered nesting complex. Maybe somebody else can say more, but they seem much more common in Ontario near large bodies of water, (notice how they line the lakeshores on the map link below - Dufferin County is more or less that blank spot between the 9 and the 45 region labels) therefore it does not come to mind as a likely nest-box species inland. It's a bigger construction project than the other species mentioned, and you have to be very vigilant (i.e. willing to destroy nests) at keeping out house sparrows and starlings.
Pat Hodgson
Toronto
In Reply to: Re: Which birds can I attract? posted by Pat Hodgson on April 06, 2006 at 07:06:52:
Very good advice, Pat. Any thoughts about attracting Purple Martins? --- only had them 3 times in 25 years here in Whitchurch-Stouffville.
Al
Now is the time to get out to hear some northern singers - birds that will sing here now before or during migration, but will not be singing here later as they breed out of our area to the north.
This morning, for example, winter wrens and dark-eyed juncos were singing at the north end of the Vale of Avoca near the gate to Mt. Pleasant Cemetary (this is in central Toronto near Yonge and St. Clair). Somewhat wilder locations than this may have singing fox sparrows at this time of year.
Pat Hodgson
In Reply to: Which birds can I attract? posted by Steve on April 06, 2006 at 04:43:49:
It depends on what the landscape is like in the immediate area. Some parts of Dufferin County are excellent for eastern bluebirds - they can be attracted in areas with pasture or other grassy areas (more than just a lawn). If there is some forest, black-capped chickadees are very likely. Eastern screech-owls too, although it is too late to put up a house for them this year. House wrens are very possible if there is some brushy woods nearby. Open areas of all types are suitable for tree swallows.
Note that there can be conflict among the birds for nest boxes. Tree swallows, house wrens, or house sparrows may all harm eastern bluebirds. If you are trying for bluebirds but suspect swallows will be there too, you should erect two boxes several meters apart - one pair of swallows will tolerate a pair of bluebirds nearby but not a second pair of swallows.
There is a lot of info on nest box construction on the internet. Try to find ones from bluebird clubs or state/provincial wildlife agencies. The birds needs are the same everywhere, so for example a plan from Minnesota or New York should be fine for a species that occurs here too. You are on the right track in that you do need the box (and its hole) to be sized appropriately for the desired species. The vast majority of bird "houses" for sale in stores are decorative kitsch that are not functional for desirable species. A bird house with a dowel sticking out for a perch is a perfect example - these are not generally recommended, they help nest predators more than the nesting birds.
Good luck.
Pat Hodgson
Toronto
I live north of Orangeville, ON in Dufferin County. I want to put birdhouses around my yard. Does anyone know which birds I can easily attract to nest in a birdhouse in this area? I'll be building birdhouses to spec depending on the type of bird. I'm a bird amateur. Thanks.
In Reply to: Re: Lynde Shores posted by Kin Lau on April 05, 2006 at 10:22:58:
Painful to read. I hadn't been out that way for quite a while, and early Tuesday I took Brock Road instead of Brock Street and ended up at a Macedonian (I think) wedding, and woke up in my car about three hours ago ...
Cheers.
In Reply to: Re: Lynde Shores posted by john on April 05, 2006 at 09:44:11:
We were there this morning btwn 10-11. We had at least 20 Northern Pintails, 10 Common Mergansers, 10 Buffleheads, 2 Ringed Neck Ducks, many geese & mallards and 3 or 4 Mute Swans.
The majority did flyoff around 10:30
In Reply to: Lynde Shores posted by Brian Snell on April 04, 2006 at 11:48:45:
I was there Wednesday for about an hour, and the only bird I can add to your list is an Eastern Phoebe.
Oh, and a pair o' Hooded Mergansers.
In Reply to: need advice.. posted by Tom C. on April 03, 2006 at 12:15:42:
Kincardine Sewage Lagoons is definitely worth checking out. Also a visit along the coast to Miramachi Bay should provide lots of ducks as well as the odd raptor (Osprey, Bald Eagle).
Isaac Lake isn't too far away and that's a great spot for ducks, Sandhill Cranes and other early migrants.
In Reply to: RFI Cooperes Hawk posted by Napper on April 04, 2006 at 15:38:43:
Oh Yeah, I missed the "Coopers" because it was flying behind the scrub like trees back there. All I got, you guessed it, trees. napper :))
I have seen what I assume to be the same Coopers in and around the neighbourhood since early march. Checks out my feeders. Tonight at around 6:15pm it aproached from a group of trees across the road behind my house with prey in its talons. He/She perched in a tree just a few houses away to eat I assume. All of the birds around scattered and the junco I was trying to get a picture of hid under a globe cedar not moving or making a sound. Is it possible that This coopers is gonna stick around or will it follow its favourite food north??? Napper:)). Milton On. I had not seen it this week until tonight. Yesterday there were tons of Chickadee's, and various sparrows around, including a very active "Song Sparrow" running around the yard.
In Reply to: Re: Northern Harrier? posted by Maurice on April 04, 2006 at 12:34:45:
I understood they we're for me. Thanks for the help. Getting positive id on some birds as beginners has been challenging but its part of the fun to. So far my daughter mans the binoculars while I take a shot, often we'll pull out the guide and using the picture see how we do :). Not that we're keeping tally or anything but she's well ahead of me :)
I double checked the guide and its fine but yes that was primarily the source of indecision/confusion. As stated initiially it was the size that caused us to wonder if it may have been anything else and then nothing more than a matter of my daugher reading the wrong specs per the bird.. ie the NHs.
In Reply to: Re: Northern Harrier? posted by Iain Fleming on April 04, 2006 at 12:21:01:
Oops...thanks for the heads up!
In Reply to: Re: Northern Harrier? posted by Maurice on April 04, 2006 at 10:55:02:
Maurice, I believe your comments were intended for Wulff. Good comments though.
Iain
I spent a few hours at Lynde Shores today. 32 species, including Pintail, Shoveler, Wigeon, Ruddy Duck, Horned Grebe, Ring-Necked Duck, w/w Scoter, American Coot and Northern Harrier. Also several pairs of Mute Swans. In the woods, there were lots of Song Sparrows and Tree Sparrows, Juncos, Brown Creeper, White-Breasted Nuthatch, American Goldfinch, Golden-Crowned Kinglet and many Downy Woodpeckers. And appropriately enough for opening day, Blue Jays!
Here is a really cool website. www.infotecbsi.com/wildlife/
You can watch the Bald Eagles in their nest!!
Lorena
In Reply to: Re: Northern Harrier? posted by Iain Fleming on April 04, 2006 at 08:58:01:
Hi Iain. Not to go over old ground, but yes it definitely seems to be a Red Tail, probably a female which usually are larger than the males. Identifying hawks/raptors can be challenging. Colour is important, but for me the first thing I look at is the profile of their tale. Red-Tails (buteos)have the short, fan shaped tales. Harriers (accipters)have the longer more slender shaped tails. Other things like flight pattern are also helpfull. I would say 90% of the larger hawks around the GTA you see are Red-Tails, they're just so many of them around! I saw my first male Harrier last summer...in flight...brilliant white/grey...there was no mistaking that bird. Hope this helps. Loved your in-flight picture. Thanks.
In Reply to: Re: Northern Harrier? posted by Wulff on April 03, 2006 at 08:30:19:
I am not sure as to which guide you are using but if it indicates that the NH has a wingspan of 2m (over 6.5 feet) it may be throwing you off. That may have been why your original id was leaning towards the NH as oppose to the redtail.
However, the NH male is noticeably gray and white, with no belly band. The female does have a brown back but does not have the distinctive cream breast with streaky belly band. Northern Harriers are also a much more slender bird while the redtail is a typical stocky buteo.
The Sibley Guide to Birds lists the wingspan of the Northern Harrier at 43" and that of the redtail at 49". A difference of six inches may not seem big but the Harrier is a slender bird with long wings while the redtail is a big soaring bird with thick body and thick wings which give the much larger appearance.
Hope this clears things up,
Iain
In Reply to: Re: question posted by BIGFRANK on April 03, 2006 at 11:19:12:
thanks for your comments frank :)
Well everyone , I am glad to say it was not a lost Whooping crane but a Trumpeter Swan. Last night I saw 2 Trumpeters just down the road in a flooded field. I am glad there are 2 or them instead of 1 lonely one
In Reply to: Re: Tachycineta bicolar posted by john on April 03, 2006 at 07:49:28:
Just having little fun. last year I posted a message about barn swallows and got spammed for two weeks.. nasty stuff. all autoreplies from this site.. Taxinomical name/ Scientific name....Napper :))
... on where to go birding aorund McGregor Provincial Park. I will be there this coming weekend camping and will walk around the park at the usual spots. But what else is there near by that I should check out ?
thank you for any help.
In Reply to: question posted by Miriam on April 03, 2006 at 10:28:37:
It could be either a mating ritual or a territorial battle this time of year. It is a courtship display that Redtailed Hawks do. I realize this doesnt really help clear things up but....
In Reply to: Re: correction: need spring migration info and bird ID posted by D. Witzell on April 02, 2006 at 05:58:28:
We know for certain your bird is not a Common Nighthawk.
Although American Woodcock often displays near open fields well away from many trees, does display flights AFTER the ground-based "peenting" wherein it makes circular display flights with high-pitched wing-whistling much like you describe, and migrants can turn up anywhere, let's presume you are correct, and that you have not made the ever-so common early spring error of mistaking an American Woodcock as a Common Nighthawk.
In that event, a Killdeer, which often calls at all hours of the night, is also a good possibility, as is the Northern Mockingbird, which routinely sings all night and is capable of mimickry of just about any other bird species (or even machinery and sirens, for that matter).
The date range that you suggest you hear it would certainly be more consistent with a Killdeer or Northern Mockingbird than an American Woodcock, to be sure.
Without a better description it is going to be hard for anyone to know for certain what you are hearing.
GC
ok - i have a question about hawks (i've been looking online & can't seem to find the answer) ....
yesterday morning i was looking out my window (at home - cabbagetown) & saw 2 hawks. grabbed my binoculars & followed them a ways - they were flying quite high .... they looked like the were hunting ... suddenly it looked like one of them was about to attack the other & they locked talons & started spinning - first a corkscrew - & then flattened out & spun very fast .... definitely about 10-12 rotations .... quite amazing to watch .... then they let go & flew in different directions.
now - having seen that nesting has already started, i didn't think that this was a courtship ritual ... & also since the flew off in seperate/opposite directions - but could it be? or fighting for prey (that i didn't see/notice)? or a territorial issue?
any ideas?
I thought Id check and see if there was at least a small fallout of early spring birds today after it rained. From about 11am-1pm I saw many Golden-crowned Kinglets moving about in the trees,and blending well with last falls fallen leaves on the ground. A few Ruby-crowned Kinglets were mixed in. Several Brown Creepers,a House Wren,many Juncos,an Eastern Phoebe also "fell out" today.Many Robins,Chickadees,Song Sparrows,Red-winged Blackbirds,Grackles,a few House Finch and Downy Woodpeckers were seen.A couple of Tree Swallows flew by also. A Sharp-shinned Hawk made a couple of passes through the park,paying special attention above the spot where many kinglets were on the ground foraging. 2 "local" Turkey Vultures made a couple of passes by the park along the bluff. A nice couple of hours on not such a nice day!
Rosetta McClain Gardens is in Scarborough,atop the western end of the Scarborough Bluffs. It is at Kingston Rd and Glen Everest,one stoplight east of Kingston Rd and Birchmount.
In Reply to: Re: Northern Harrier? posted by john on April 03, 2006 at 07:46:45:
Thanks. I trust the judgement of others here, so a large red tailed it is unless someone thinks otherewise. One last point of reference, the berm its on id estimate at about 10ft.
I am now a little confused. According to the guide we have.
Red tails: 25 to 45 cm ( a little under 2 feet at the large end) with a wing span of 1 to 1.5 meters ( a little over 4 feet again at the large end ). So in both cases the bird in question pushes the outer limits of our conservative estimates ( I thought the wing span was closer to 5' myself, my wife 6') but is very pluasible.
Will need to recheck the guide but I seem to recall it listed a wingspan closer to 2m for the NH.
Thanks again.
In Reply to: Tachycineta bicolar posted by Napper on March 31, 2006 at 19:07:27:
what are you talking about?
what is a taxi name?
bicolar?
In Reply to: Re: Northern Harrier? posted by Wulff on April 03, 2006 at 03:54:13:
Looks like a Red-tailed.
Harriers are smaller than red-taileds, anyway, so large size would lean you toward the latter, not the former.
In Reply to: large white heron/crane posted by Michelle on April 01, 2006 at 06:42:56:
Did you consider Great Egret? Check out these pics -
http://images.google.ca/images?q=great+egret&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images
David
In Reply to: Re: Northern Harrier? posted by Iain Fleming on April 02, 2006 at 20:52:02:
When I first saw it as I was driving I thought so to and still wont discount it. As it flew to the distance spot where the picture was taken we saw it's wing span. Distance and scale is difficult but all of us put the wing span at 5 to 6 feet. If it werent for it's size I wouldnt have even checked the guide for any other possibilities. The other thing we noted is none of the pictures of red tails had the prominent "yellow" legs which even at the distance I took the shot at is noticeable. Just looking to get this identified, and if its the biggest hawk Ive ever seen Im happy with that to :)
Heres two more. First is the original uncropped
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e226/Wulff20/hawk.jpg
heavily cropped
http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e226/Wulff20/th_hawk2.jpg
In Reply to: Northern Harrier? posted by Wulff on April 02, 2006 at 14:52:04:
Looks like a Red tailed Hawk. The cream coloured chest with dark belly band are a good indicator.
Not sure where you live but if you drive the QEW from Toronto to Hamilton on a sunny day you will see plenty. I've seen upwards of twenty on good days.
Iain
I biked around the shoreline of Sam Smith Park late this afternoon and counted at least 22 Horned Grebes and 12 Red-necked Grebes. The Horned Grebes were scattered in the harbour and the outer shoreline, mainly single birds, but some in groups of up to 5. None of the Red-necked Grebes were in the harbour area. I'm always amazed at the range of plumage in the Horned Grebes at this time of year: everything from full winter, to full breeding, and all possible variations in between.
I watched part of a Red-necked Grebe courtship display. Two birds did a sort of "walk on water" with their necks and bodies held vertically. They were calling loudly and moving toward a third bird. It wasn't clear to me whether they were a pair or whether they were two males courting a female. The third bird swam away and the other two never repeated the performance while I was there.
First of year birds (for me) there today were 3 Tree Swallows flying around at the entrance to the harbour, several Cowbirds, and one or possibly two Double-crested Cormorants. I had an Eastern Phoebe there yesterday, but couldn't find it today.
Also, I've had a Fox Sparrow in my backyard all weekend, but haven't seen one anywhere else yet.
BB
In Reply to: Leslie St. Spit Today - Sunday the 2nd posted by Norm Murr on April 02, 2006 at 15:20:39:
Also seen today on The Spit.
2 Coyotes, 3 Cottentails, 1 Garter Snake, 2 Mourning Cloaks and some Gnats are flying.
Norm
In Reply to: Re: correction: need spring migration info and bird ID posted by D. Witzell on April 02, 2006 at 14:54:10:
Very well written, very little information..
check this site out
goood luck.
http://www.naturesound.org/bird_sounds_of_north_america_ico.htm
Good day
A nice day to be out and finally something other than a Northwest wind.
My first bird as I stepped onto The Spit was a Tree Swallow, the first of 50+ Tree Swallows.
The west side of the base had 3 singing E. Meadowlarks, a Northern Flicker, singing A. Goldfinch, and the 1st of 200+ Cormorants (most on breeding peninsulas) and there were 4 more Killdeer beside the second gate.
As I wandered along I found Belted Kingfisher, 4 Fox Sparrows, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers, many Song Sparrows and Golden-crowned Kinglets, 2 singing Cardinals, 2 White-winged Scoters, all 3 Mergansers, Ring-necked Ducks, A. Coots, both Scaup, more Killdeer and best of all 2 Short-eared Owls.
Not a lot of species but worth the walk.
Norm
In Reply to: Re: correction: need spring migration info and bird ID posted by Napper on April 02, 2006 at 10:09:17:
Thanks for both the response and the links. I have occasionally heard or seen a killdeer in the area in the summer during the day, but the operative word here is occasionally. Nevertheless, killdeer are not completely nocturnal birds. My mystery bird is definitely nocturnal. I start to hear it every night without fail at dusk, and if I happen to be awake, on and off repeatedly throughout the night right up until about 7:00 or 8:00 AM. It's call is somewhat different from that of a killdeer as well, although a killdeer's is also piercing and high-pitched. The bird itself I unfortunately cannot describe, as I have only ever actually seen it twice, at night, and all I could see was a dark form flying around when it was directly overhead. Its form was too indistinct to say whether it resembles a falcon in flight.
My daughter and I were out today and as we were driving between stops we saw this beauty sitting in a field. Have a 300mm so couldnt do any better but Im hoping someone can positvely identify it. Was too large for any hawk and to try to add some scale the shot was about 100-150 yards. The closest we can estimate from the guide we have is a N. Harrier
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e226/Wulff20/IMG_4806.jpg
Also managed this one earlier in the day.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e226/Wulff20/IMG_4758.jpg
In Reply to: April 1st Birding Trip to Long Point posted by B. Griffin on April 02, 2006 at 13:17:11:
Wasn't that alot of coots off the causeway? :) neat
Also can add saw 3 sandhill cranes in the marsh at the top of the causeway and a ring-necked pheasant right when you turn onto Concession A. Long Point always a great place to visit.
A very small turn-out of birders on Saturday allowed us to be spontaneous and we jumped into one car (thanks Bill) and headed for Long Point. We spotted several active raptor nests along the 403 and Highway 6 between Mississauga and Brantford/Caledonia, most were likely Red-tailed Hawks but at least one was probably a Great Horned Owl, this would make 4 known active nests for the latter species this
spring already. We headed straight for Concession A where the Screech Owl was even more obliging than ever as it sat in its Wood Duck box opening hole in the box "closest" to the bridge for a change. A Carolina Wren sang vociferously nearby and we also saw Northern Flicker and heard Wood Duck while here. A little further (west) up the road we spotted our first Eastern Phoebe of the year in the yard of a local resident. From here we moved on to Lee Browns where the
pond was full of Wigeon and our hopes began to rise of finding a Eurasian since five had been reported here less than a week ago. But to our chagrin they were all American, with a few Ring-necked Ducks and several Green-winged Teal doing their very best to "impersonate" a Eurasian Wigeon.
We next drove further south to Old Cut where the woods were hopping with birds. Brown Creepers and Golden-crowned Kinglets were everywhere, often at very close range and we also got both species of Nuthatch at this site. Other good finds here included Fox Sparrow (heard and seen), Rufous-sided Towhee, Brown Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and White-thr. Sparrow. We also briefly heard both Winter Wren and Field Sparrow in the vicinity. A few other birders found a Tufted Titmouse and a Pine Warbler but we were unable to locate these birds in the area. On the drive back along the causeway for lunch we spotted a flotilla of American Coots with a few Redheads mixed in for a visually pleasing contrast and also saw our first Tree Swallows of the year. A few lingering Tundra Swans were also seen in the marshy areas on the visibility restricted SW side of the causeway.
After lunch we headed for Turkey Point where many more Tundra Swans were seen from the overlook and the Bald Eagle could also be seen on its nest. Near the end of the road not far from the marina we spotted a large flock of Bonaparte's Gulls resting on the beach. They flushed up as we approached and we got to see at least one (maybe two) Little Gull mixed in with the flock of about 40 birds as they circled around a bit before settling back into the nearby water. On the way back north we stopped at Dry Lake and spent some time looking for the White-fronted Geese that had been seen about a week ago but they were nowhere to be found. We did get great views of three pairs of Wood Ducks up close and another 12-15 were also seen flying around this area. Turkey Vultures were abundant on the horizon on the drive home and we chose not to stop at the Hamilton Airport as at least one person's curfew was approaching sooner than we had hoped. All in all it was a great day to experience one of the first of many waves of migrant songbirds to arrive at Long Point and a few lingering waterfowl species as well.
____________________________________________________________
Brete Griffin - breteg@yahoo.ca
Peel Birding Class - peelbirding@yahoo.ca
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBC/ and
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BreteGriffin/
In Reply to: Re: correction: need spring migration info and bird ID posted by D. Witzell on April 02, 2006 at 05:58:28:
Hello there.. is it possibly a killdeer.. I hear them in the mornings before dawn in the fields around my house.Although they are a shorebird they like to hangout in farmers fields. I also spotted a couple on Thursday where I work in Toronto on and around tall flat hangers. They almost look falcon like in flight. and boy are they noisy. see links.......... images.......... http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Killdeer.html#fig1
.........sound...........
http://www.uwgb.edu/birds/wbba/species/audios/KILLDEER.MP3........Napper:))
In Reply to: large white heron/crane posted by Michelle on April 01, 2006 at 06:42:56:
Sorry, Michelle, I keep thinking of things to add. If this bird returns and you think it is a whooping crane, first of all, do not approach it. Secondly, contact Operation Migration. Also, try to get some pictures so that the leg bands can be identified.
www.operationmigration.org AND/OR contact your local Department of Natural Resources office
In Reply to: large white heron/crane posted by Michelle on April 01, 2006 at 06:42:56:
Could it have possibly been a trumpeter swan? How long were the legs? Whooping cranes fly with their necks straight out, whereas a heron has its neck in an "S" shape. I am really curious about this! The whooping cranes are migrating right now, but it would have been really off track from the Florida to Wisconsin route if it was in Ontario. This has happened before, though.
In Reply to: large white heron/crane posted by Michelle on April 01, 2006 at 06:42:56:
Did the white bird have any coloured ID bands on its legs?
In Reply to: Re: correction: need spring migration info and bird ID posted by Glenn Coady on April 01, 2006 at 21:22:01:
I appreciate your response, however the bird cannot be an American Woodcock for the following reasons. First, it doesn't dive, but flies across a wide area then circles around and returns, and the call is not what I would call a peent. Its call is piercing, high-pitched, and drawn out for about 3-5 seconds. In addition, there are few trees in my neighbourhood and as the Woodcock is a forest bird the habitat is all wrong. Lastly, I hear this same bird (?) every year calling at night as it flies throughout the summer and on into the fall until the end of September or early October, so the call is not a mating display.
In Reply to: correction: need spring migration info and bird ID posted by D. witzell on April 01, 2006 at 19:23:48:
You are correct that it is FAR too early for a Common Nighthawk anywhere in Ontario.
The crepuscular bird you are hearing is undoubtedly an American Woodcock doing display flights.
GC
Is it too early for Common Night Hawks to be back? I had thought they returned north late April or early May, but for the last week I have been hearing a piercing high-pitched call (which sounds a little like a squeaky toy) at night and the early hours of the morning up to 8:00 AM or so. The bird makes this call as it flies overhead. I live near Steeles and Kennedy Rd in Brampton, which is a residential area with a number of apartment buildings bordering on an industrial complex, not good habitat for a screech owl, so I assume it is a nighthawk. However the nights have been pretty cool, so would there even be flying insects up that high at night this time of year on which a nighthawk can feed? Hope someone has some info to share.
Is it too early for Common Night Hawks to be back? I had thought they returned north late April or early May, but for the last week I have been hearing a high-pitched call (which sounds a little like a squeaky toy) at night and the early hours of the morning up to 8:00 AM or so. The bird makes this call as it flies overhead. I live near Steeles and Kennedy Rd in Brampton, which is a residential area with a number of apartment buildings bordering on an industrial complex, not good habitat for a screech owl, so I assume it is a nighthawk. However the nights have been pretty cool, so would there even be flying insects up that high at night this time of year on which a nighthawk can feed? Hope someone has some info to share.
In Reply to: Re: Swans posted by Anne on March 29, 2006 at 09:29:40:
I'd love to see a photo.
Thanks, Anne
I was out on my deck this morning and there in one of the ponds on the farm was a large white bird. I thought it was a swan so I started to walk out. There were about 20 Canada Geese there as well. The geese flew off , but the big guy stayed. He was about two times the size of a goose. When he flew up he was huge with at least 8 foot wingspan. I thought it was a Whooping Crane but it did not have black feathers on its wings. It had a little black on the head and on the tail feathers, otherwise it was all white. It headed south and it had a slow methodical flight pattern, having difficulty taking off. I am in Haldimand County between Cayuga and Dunnville We hav many Great Blue Herons but I have never seen anything like this Any ideas?
In Reply to: Re: Golden crowned Kinglet posted by Napper on March 31, 2006 at 16:56:17:
Hi, I saw your posting and I just added a couple of these birds to my website. I just took them yesterday at Thickson woods.
In Reply to: Pelican in the GTA posted by Rob on March 29, 2006 at 07:10:30:
It's been pretty warm lately....but I doubt it was a pelican. We saw pelicans in Mexico in Feb., it was
31 C, and they were brown. Great blue heron maybe??
In Reply to: Pileated woodpecker posted by Dave on March 30, 2006 at 17:43:03:
Lucky! I've never seen one, love to though.
In Reply to: TREE SWALLOWS ARE BACK!!!!!!! posted by REE SWALLOWS ARE BACK!!!!!!! on March 31, 2006 at 07:22:28:
Please refer to this family of birds using its "taxi" name after last year's mess. I had to change my email address afterwards..Napper...:))) ref "Hirundo rustica"
In Reply to: Re: Golden crowned Kinglet posted by Napper on March 31, 2006 at 16:52:32:
these guys are so small I could barelyl make them out in the full size shot. I had to crop the images just to make them out. Not great...
Napper............
In Reply to: Golden crowned Kinglet posted by Napper on March 31, 2006 at 16:42:31:
boy are they ever small...
I think there wuz a a pair of golden crowned kinglets in the bushes behind my house tonight. They had to be the smallest birds I have ever seen.How common are they?
have imagaes poor but they are images. cloudy,rain and generally miserable. Napper ???
In Reply to: Re: Red-tailed Hawk nest posted by BIGFRANK on March 31, 2006 at 12:04:53:
thanks for your reply frank!
& glad to know that we were right about them being red-tailed's ... one time i was walking by a tree where one was perched on a branch only about 20 feet from the ground - it was so exciting to be able to get so close! i was quite sure it was a red-tailed - but since i'm not an experienced birder, i wasn't sure :)
thanks also for your comments re taking photographs. i've only got a little digital camera - so wouldn't be able to take pics of any great quality.
when submitting my original post i wondered if i should include the location of the nest - worried that there might be people who wouldn't treat it (the nest - and the location) with respect - and am now sorry to hear that this has happened.
if i/we see you on our daily walk, we'll definitely stop by to say hello.
:)
In Reply to: Red-tailed Hawk nest posted by Miriam on March 31, 2006 at 10:58:29:
Hi Miriam it is indeed a Redtailed Hawks nest,several friends and I have monitored it for the past 3 years(this being our 4th). We are there very often,so if U see us please stop and chat,I have many notes and photos Im sure Ud enjoy. Today we noted that the hawks are now sitting,and we watched them defend the territory from crows today,chasing them away. A note to those interested...the cemetary has had problems with photographers taking photos of themselves doing illicite things on headstones,also taking photos of headstones and making fun of the names on the internet.Familys of those people saw this and complained to MPC which is actually private property. They have security,and the property manager likes photographers to get written permission to take photos on the MPC grounds. Security does ask to see such a document.
I've been excitedly watching the Bald Eagle nest cam on Hornby island. It inspired my friend & I to take a walk past a nest that we've seen in Mount Pleasant Cemetery - we've been watching the site for the past few months (on daily lunch-time walks) - and last weekend we found a small feather under the tree (which suggested that the nest was in use) (though we'd never seen it used). We've had several sightings of (what I'm quite sure are) Red-tailed's (I'm a new birder :)). & Sure enough, today as we were walking by, we thought we saw something in the nest. We waited a minute or so, & then it was quite obvious that a bird was repositioning her/himself. We're both so excited to have found this! & I thought I'd share this here - as I'm sure other birders will want to have a look.
The nest is situated atop an old fir (? I don't know my trees lol) - in the west part of the cemetery (i.e. west of Mount Pleasant) - & closer towards Yonge St. (but not down the hill). Sorry I can't give a better location. If you need it, let me know & I'll try to find a plot name/letter/number.
Have a wonderful day!!
REE SWALLOWS ARE BACK!!!!!!!
THEY"RE BACK, THEY"RE BACK, THE TREE SWALLOWS ARE BACK!!!!!!! YIPPPEEE!!!!!!! I'm going to do the happy dance!!!
Lorena
There were some northern shovelers, buffleheads and ringnecks in Port Hope at the pond near the lake today.
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p27492723.html
In Reply to: finches posted by SarahSheard on March 29, 2006 at 09:05:37:
Saw my first anerican goldfinch yesterday. They didn't show up till March 5th last year. Just put up the niger feeder in time.
In Reply to: Re: swans? posted by Napper on March 30, 2006 at 16:22:50:
March 30. 8 swans flew over Ashridges Bay in Toronto about 3pm this afternoon. They landed in the lake off the sewage plant.
I decided they must be tundra swans as the beak was black and they were without large yellow plastic wing patches.
Glad to know others have seen them
This morning while waiting for the Go train at Rouge Hills station, (Port Union and Lawrence Av E) I spotted a Pileated WoodPecker south of the platform. I love those birds, and can't see then enough!
In Reply to: Col. Sam & Humber Bay Parks posted by Norm Murr on March 29, 2006 at 12:12:06:
Excellent outing! So that what's going on in the am. When I go, I'm always there in the very late afternoon.
In Reply to: Re: swans? posted by Peter C. on March 29, 2006 at 14:03:44:
Can anyone explain to me why there have been so many sightings of Tundra's this year Near the GTA. Is it normal? Is it becaused of the mild winter? I Spotted some just the other day in Milton (unheard of)and now there are reports near Guelph. What are the standard previously reported spring flyways? Napper :-)) ??
In Reply to: need bird ID posted by Tom on March 29, 2006 at 17:06:45:
it sounds like a domesticated form.
In Reply to: Re: Whats this RED bird ... posted by norman bates on March 29, 2006 at 17:01:39:
Sorry I cant offer any more info ... I saw it for about 15 seconds through my kitchen window, so I couldnt hear any sounds from it and not enough time to grab a photo. What impressed me was that it was entirely red ... and a very vivid red at that.
In Reply to: finches posted by SarahSheard on March 29, 2006 at 09:05:37:
I've seen house finches at Humber Bay, High Park, the Island, and behind my apartment in a parking lot just this week. Keep looking, they'll come.
Julia
What I saw was Mallard but not really. It had almost the same coloration but was much bigger then a mallard. Is this some sort of morph or a diff species ? ANyone know ?
thanx
In Reply to: Whats this RED bird ... posted by Harry on March 29, 2006 at 14:06:34:
If it's a wandering adult Summer Tanager -- not impossible, but ... well, I'll eat my binoculars and a 1958 Buick.
Song (they're quite vociferous this time of year), call notes, photograph ... give us something! (Cardinals are all over the place now).
Check out the Cornell University site for I.D. help. I can't eat another Buick (we had one at Christmas, and I'm still, er, "irregular," if you catch my drift ..
Regards,
--NB
In Reply to: Whats this RED bird ... posted by Harry on March 29, 2006 at 14:06:34:
Could be an escapee. Someone reported a couple of parakeets a few days ago.
In Reply to: Re: Whats this RED bird ... posted by BIGFRANK on March 29, 2006 at 14:15:36:
Sorry, not a scarlet tanager ... it was entirely red and had no black ast all. thanks though ...
In Reply to: Whats this RED bird ... posted by Harry on March 29, 2006 at 14:06:34:
I should have mentioned ... I look in the "Birds of Ontario" by the Royal Ontario Museum and could find nothing that looked like it.
In Reply to: Whats this RED bird ... posted by Harry on March 29, 2006 at 14:06:34:
Hi Harry..how about Northern Cardinal? The only other brilliant red bird that I can think of has black wings and is a Scarlet Tanager. This time of year a Northern Cardinal is more likely. Hope this helps.
I hope someone help me ... I'm trying to identify a bird I saw in my back yard in Toronto, sitting in a tree. It was about the size of a robin, but it was a bright scarlet red. It wasn't a cardinal because it didnt have a tuft n its head. But boy, was it red.sorry to be so vague but I'm not a real watcher. I just noticed this lovely bird and thought this might be a good place to ask. Many thanks ...
In Reply to: swans? posted by dawn on March 29, 2006 at 07:49:02:
There have been quite a few flocks of Tundra Swans in the area of late, that's probably what they were. I just saw a flock of 13 flying over Laurel Creek C.A. in Waterloo yesterday. They are migrating to the far north to breed, which is why you only see them this time of year - we're actually at the tail end of the migration now.
Cheers,
Peter
The lake was like a mirror when I arrived at Col. Sam Park just after 7am and in the next couple of hours I was fortunate despite not taking my scope to spot 83 Red-necked Grebes, 39 Horned Grebes, 2 Common Loons, 5 White-winged Scoters, 1 American Coot, 11 more Waterfowl species, 3 Northern Mockingbirds as well as Killdeer and lots of the usual suspects.
Over at Humber Bay Park later were 2 more Red-necked Grebes, 1 American Coot, 12 more Waterfowl species, Killdeer, another Northern Mockingbird and 2 Tree Swallows.
On my way to Col. Sam I spotted 2 Northern Mockingbirds as my train pulled into the Kipling Subway Station.
All in all not a bad early spring outing.
Had a very plain but agitated Yellow-rumped Warbler along the upper bank of Joshua Creek in Oakville behind the water treatment plant. Bird can probably be relocated by chip notes. I don't think it over-wintered.
Mark Cranford
In Reply to: finches posted by SarahSheard on March 29, 2006 at 09:05:37:
Had a couple female golden finches at my feeder in Whitby yesterday.
In Reply to: Re: Swans posted by Anne on March 28, 2006 at 18:23:44:
This proves it wasn't a mirage! My daughter took some shots, I'll ask her to send one to you. I thik they must have been tundra swans, too.
Hi All,
I'm an absolute neophyte birdwatcher wondering when I should expect finches to arrive at my feeder in downtown Toronto. Thanks.
Sarah
I can see a huge flock of what looks like swans on county rd 32(I think) on your way from Guelph to Puslinch Lake. Are these swans? It's cool to see soo many no matter what they are. Why would they be here at this location? I travel this route daily and have only seen them for the past month.
OK so I was driving home from work at approx. 0740am. I was eastbound on the 401 and this huge bird flew over the highway at Brock Road Pickering. It looked very much to me like a pelican. It was grey in colour and was flying like a pelican would. I have seen herons in the area and dont thing this was one duet to the size and profile.. MY question to all of you is.... Was I dreaming or could this have been a pelican.
Rob
In Reply to: Swans posted by Diana on March 27, 2006 at 11:59:21:
We were at the Spit at about 4 pm on Sunday and also saw a flock of about 40 swans flying in 2 Vs. They came low over the spit, flying south and later we saw some smaller flocks one of which headed north. It was a fantastic sight and sound. I would also appreciate any information. My guess was tundra swans, but could not confirm.
In Reply to: Red-Shouldered Hawk posted by Mike on March 28, 2006 at 10:24:36:
You might want to check out the Hawk Watch at Beamer CA in Grimsby. Had the fortune to see a number of Red-Shouldered and Red Tails there last Saturday
We saw a lone Great Blue Heron on Saturday flying across the flooded fields of Holland Landing. Lots of Waterfowl and Tundra Swans down in those fields as well. Have seen a few Kestrals perched on Hydro wires, quite a few Turkey Vultures flying and found one having lunch in a field down the road last week! Tons and tons of Red Tailed Hawks are everywhere! The Juncos have just recently dissapeared which is always a sure sign of Spring in Willow Beach!! My Mourning Doves are getting very lovey-dovey on the front deck today! . We also had a female Cowbird on my front feeder this afternoon!! Ya gotta love SPRING!!!!!!! Lorena
In Reply to: Re: Beauti red tail around posted by Zeuser on March 28, 2006 at 13:42:28:
this is really getting scary!!!!
see the fuzzy rhs (right hand side).. Lens is going for a cleaning next week... Napper
In Reply to: Re: Beauti red tail around posted by Zeuser on March 28, 2006 at 13:42:28:
Smoley Hokes
where did you take those images? Very nice... were you standing behing me...?? Mr. hawk was so very intent on finding food he was oblivious towards me. Usually if you pick up a camera they scoot. Kinda looks like the same shots and angles. interesting.. My little fuzzy spot tells what is mine..
Napper)))
In Reply to: Re: Beauti red tail around posted by Napper on March 28, 2006 at 11:48:03:
Amazing! This is almost identical to a photo I took last year.
In Reply to: Re: Beauti red tail around posted by Napper on March 28, 2006 at 11:49:52:
Nice shot! Reminds me of a photo I took last year.
In Reply to: Re: Beauti red tail around posted by Napper on March 28, 2006 at 11:48:03:
prior to his attempt at the prey..
Napper.........
In Reply to: Beauti red tail around posted by Napper on March 28, 2006 at 11:46:09:
Red Tail perched itself directly behind my house. Grabbed the camera jumped the fence and took a few quik shots. this bird was very intent on finding food. It made a dash at some unseen prey, missed and started circling around..Napper I am still surprised at those swans last nite..
Hello, I'm new to birding and if anyone could provide me with information on locating a Red Shouldered Hawk as close to Toronto as possible, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
This is pretty cool. Check it out ; Bald Eagle's nest
In Reply to: Re: RFI. Where to start in Durham for a child? posted by Wulff on March 27, 2006 at 03:43:31:
I like Second Marsh for kids. Lots of diversity (habitat and species), fairly easy access, and the boardwalks, observation tower, and (sometimes) deer in the Ghost Road Bush (northern) part are just plain fun. Bring a scope if you have one, waterproof boots all spring, and TONS of insect repellent later on.
In Reply to: Swans posted by Diana on March 27, 2006 at 11:59:21:
Believe it or not just a minute ago a flock of about 30 swans (tundras) flew over my house. I was and still am kind of shocked at this. They were heading along Derry road then turned West toward the Kelso. There is a large pond/reservoir there as well as the Mill pond in between..I ran out with my camera A minute later and they were just out of range for a good shot. I bet they spend the night there. Milton 6:35 pm.. Napper...
RFI re flock of about 40 swans, (not mute) , seen flying south over the Leslie Street Spit on Sunday, 24 March, about 11:00 a.m. We were assuming they would not be trumpeter swans. Never having seen either whistling or tundra swans in flight, had no idea what we were witnessing. Any information appreciated.
Saw your bird. It looks like a red-headed woodpecker. Thanks!
In Reply to: Re: RFI. Where to start in Durham for a child? posted by Mark on March 26, 2006 at 06:00:11:
Thanks for the replies. I hadn't heard of Second Marsh before and like that they offer programs and camps for youth. She loves those types of activities having done some naturalist camps in the past and is right up her alley, so that is definately on the list. Thanks for that.
A small group of birders headed out yesterday morning under cloudy skies and a hint of precipitation, somewhere between rain and snow. We headed first for the Kipling Spit where we found several Horned Grebes, a few in breeding plumage, in the marina harbor and around the edges of the lake as well. We spotted a few lingering Long-tailed Ducks and also spotted two different groups of six Tundra Swans each take off nearly simultaneously from the lake, calling back and forth as they both headed west. Most but not all of the usual waterfowl species were also here in low numbers. In the largest pond with the viewing deck we noticed several pairs of Mallards were staking out territories and a pair of Mute Swans were already nest building. Red-winged Blackbird males were also very conspicuously perched ready to defend their claims from rival males.
From here we travelled to the bottom of Fifty Point Road where no King Eiders were found but it was nonetheless a treat to try and identify all of the duck species in the rafts on the distant horizon. For a pleasant change the waters were almost perfectly calm and there was virtually no wind to contend with to interfere with extended periods of scope viewing. It was an enjoyable challenge to see how far you could see out on the lake and still ID to species, in a way almost a controlled test of the scope’s resolving power for this purpose. You can really tell the difference between say a Kowa and a Leica under these conditions, the latter of course being the most impressive, it is hard to imagine a scope that can do much better!
We noticed that the sky had cleared a bit so that a few patches of blue were evident and we decided to head for Beamer’s C.A. around 11am even though the hawk flight prognosis for today had been poor. It turned out to be a good decision as we spent close to 2 hours watching as many Red-shouldered (and Red-tailed) Hawks started to stream through the area. In addition to these two species we also saw Sharp-shinned, Cooper’s, Rough-legged, Kestrel, Northern Harrier, and Turkey Vulture before we left the area. It was relatively uncrowded that day so we got to spend some time at the top of the tower with the experts, it was an enjoyable experience. Near the big quarry we spotted Hooded Mergansers, Ring-necked Ducks, and American Wigeon in the pond and heard and saw a singing Eastern Meadowlark not far from the railroad tracks.
On the way home we were amazed at the number of Red-tailed Hawks along the QEW between Grimsby and Missisauga, there seemed to be 1 or 2 birds for every kilometer travelled! Although this may be a slight exaggeration, it was definitely the highest density I have seen in this area in recent memory. No doubt it was an uneasy mix of migrating and already established birds, we also had quite a few Kestrel sightings along this stretch of the highway as well. A last and quick stop at the Bronte Marina gave us good views of at least three pairs of Red-necked Grebes and no Peregrine Falcons were found at the Skyway lift bridge after a brief stop along the way to check there.
____________________________________________________________
Brete Griffin - breteg@yahoo.ca
Peel Birding Class - peelbirding@yahoo.ca
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBC/ and
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BreteGriffin/
In Reply to: European Goldfinch posted by Anne Marie on March 26, 2006 at 09:47:40:
Hi Anne,
See if you can get a picture the next time they return.
I was up on Rice lake this morning, on the south side of the lake. I saw common mergansers, hooded mergansers, goldeneye and an immature bald eagle. The eagle was spotted in Harwood at the lakeshore. I then went south to Port Hope at the lakefront and there was a redhead, a few buffleheads and ringnecks.
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p27342506.html---------
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p27342507.html---------
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p27335639.html---------
Surpised to see a pair of European Golfinches in my feeder in Scarboro today. Dominated the feeder for an hour - the other goldfinches got the message. Such a pretty bird.
In Reply to: RFI. Where to start in Durham for a child? posted by Wulff on March 26, 2006 at 04:21:22:
In terms of books, I would recommend the Peterson's Field guides. I have the large thick one of birds of Eastern and Central North America. I love it. I feel this book is good for all ages. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy to use. I personally wouldn't recommend looking for a book that she could use now just at her age. What I mean is, if she is going to get really into birding, then she should keep track of her sightings on a life list. There is one in the front of the Peterson Guide. If she was to get a new book when she gets older, it would be a pain to transfer that information. Also, I have found that books for younger children include far less species. I found it frustrating when I saw a bird and it wasn't in the book I had because it was a simple book.
Hope that helps!
Happy Birding!
In Reply to: RFI. Where to start in Durham for a child? posted by Wulff on March 26, 2006 at 04:21:22:
Lynde shores is nice during the spring/summer. The marshes have a lot of waterfowl, the forested areas attract a lot of migrants and the clearings are perfect for hawks and other birds of prey. Right now there are wood ducks hanging around with the mallards so it easy to get good views/photos of them. Hall's Road is good in the spring/summer. Thickson woods and the adjoining meadow are nice as well. The woods have a lot of the typical forest species, while the meadow will have some field species. Plus there is a marsh there as well. This Nature Reserve is at the south end of Thickson Road. There is also Second Marsh/McLaughlin Bay Reserves. These areas are accessed from the GM corporate headquarters in Oshawa. It will be my first chance to check it out this spring but from what I've seen and heard it should be a good spot. Lots of different trails too. I'm not sure about directions but check out the Friends of Second Marsh web-site. I believe there are directions on the site.
Mark
While not a significant sighting, it's one that is a little unique. Since Tuesday of last week, especially in the early morning, two turkey vultures can be seen sitting on the Bally's Fitness sign located on the east side of a tall building just west of Dufferin Street on the north side of Finch. I don't know if it is the same pair but two birds have returned in the spring to this building for the last 3 years that I am aware of.
Dean
My daughter is getting a little interested in birding and photography and Im trying to encourage it, shes 12. We've been to Lynde's and she had a great time but shed really like to try and see hawks, owls or fox or other wildlife.
My understanding is that the best time for owls is past (winter) and that the fall will be good along the lake shore at Lynde's etc.
But spring/summer?
We're not adverse to long walks and I have plans to visit a number of the CAs in the region but initially Im kind of lost on where to begin for her and am trying to short list a couple places as Durham I know actually has many.
Also would really appreciate a couple of book recomendations that might be better suited to a 12 year old or will any field guide be as good as the next?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
In Reply to: Re: tundra swans posted by Art on March 24, 2006 at 17:20:59:
Thanks Art this time it worked, saw a lot of nice pics.
In Reply to: Re: RFI bird Id posted by Brian Bailey on March 25, 2006 at 14:11:59:
Hey... Thanx for the reply I looked at that aswell
cowbird has different shaped beek. I had a Cowbird at my feeder(s) last year.
In Reply to: RFI bird Id posted by Napper on March 25, 2006 at 11:27:40:
How about a female Cowbird? I often see females before males in the spring and they can be very confusing without the males as a clue.
BB
I have scoured the pages of my bird guides looking for an I.D. I can't quite match. Yesterday at 6:20 am residential street while walking to work.I spotted a bird in the bushes along the sidewalk it was mostly brownish almost black not solid or strking. It had a black beek, warbler like. The bird was sleekish looking.. The only distigushing marks were slightly lighter bands that appeared to be on its scapulars . It was sparrow sized. I don't recall the colour of its legs or breast. It was strikingly different than the ususal birds along this road. I had to stop go back and have a second look. Thanx Napper..
In Reply to: Re: RFI- Blue Herons in the GTA? posted by Leslie Kinrys on March 24, 2006 at 12:48:44:
Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out.
In Reply to: Re: tundra swans posted by Rudy Riss on March 24, 2006 at 14:52:28:
Sorry Rudy, I will try putting a link in again. There are a few there if you would like to look around. Not all perfect but swans nonetheless.
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p27245078.html
In Reply to: tundra swans posted by Art on March 23, 2006 at 14:27:52:
Art, tried to see some of your pics. followed the site address to the "T" but
there were none to be seen
Rudy
In Reply to: RFI- Blue Herons in the GTA? posted by focusgroupimages on March 24, 2006 at 11:51:12:
Try the regeneration area at Grenadier Pond in High Park. You'll see herons and other interesting waterfowl to photograph.
Hi:
I've always wanted to get a good photo of the majestic blue heron and recently saw one flying overhead at Keele and Finch.
Does anyone know a good location to spot these birds in the GTA?
Thanks.
In Reply to: Re: kestrel's at Keele Street again posted by BIGFRANK on March 23, 2006 at 17:10:33:
The size difference was quite clear and a bit surprising. Colour was hard to tell. Moustache clear, Single band on tail underfeathers clear(on the male). I kind of figured they were mating.. I tried to play it down a bit. Napper..thanx...
In Reply to: kestrel's at Keele Street again posted by Napper on March 23, 2006 at 13:23:16:
Hi Napper,U witnessed a mating,the females average larger then males,but there is some overlap. Colour is different between male and female also. The male has the grey/blue wings.
I saw some tundra swans in Presquile and just east of Newcastle. i know it's hard to see the spot on the upper mandible, but I have checked and it is there.
(Presquile)http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p27245082.html
(Newcastle)http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p27245078.html
Today 3:00pm at Keele and 401 spotted lone kestrel atop cell tower. He was preening himself. Five or so minutes later along comes another larger kestrel . Kestrel number one jumps on top of kestrel number 2. 10 seconds and they separate. Kestrel number 2 flys off towards the old Howard Johnson's hotel. kestrel number 1 stays behind. I departed at around 3:10 for home. Last week spotted what I thought was a kestrel here taking a small bird from a tree same area..Is there normally a difference in size for Kestrel Male/female? I didn't think so.. Napper))
In Reply to: RFI - Visiting British Birder posted by Chris on March 22, 2006 at 04:53:39:
Probably just dumb luck, but I've seen a ruffed grouse *every* time I've been to Algonquin Provincial Park, which is worth visiting birds notwithstanding. You can drive through the park on the way from Toronto to Ottawa - not the most direct route, but certainly the most scenic - and maybe do a couple of the shorter walking trails along the way. I think it's a little early for the height of the moose invasion, but maybe you'll luck out.
If you're in the countryside you'll probably hear the grouse drumming - sounds like someone in the distance trying to start an outboard motor. . . repeatedly. . . with very little success. . .
Julia
Walked out to Humber Bay park East yesterday. The long tails were in really close to shore (boy do they ever look like penguins!)
Saw a bunch of yellow-crowned kinglets in the bushes by the storm water management facility, along with a song sparrow.
There were four ring-necked ducks in the pond, three males and a female. Life point for me, though admittedly I've not been doing this very long.
Red-breasted mergansers, buffleheads, and scaup off the east point, and robins and red-winged blackbirds all over the place. Spring! I thought, as I shoved my hands deeper into my pockets and turtled my head against the cold wind.
I'm recovering from a cold and every time my nose inadvertantly whistled I'd go "Hey! What's that bird?!" Snot-nosed warbler, no doubt. They migrate very early.
Julia
In Reply to: Re: bald eagle posted by Colleen on March 21, 2006 at 19:33:39:
On Sunday March 19th, I also saw a Bald Eagle circling the sky less than a mile south of Bobcaygeon over road 24.
In Reply to: RFI - Visiting British Birder posted by Chris on March 22, 2006 at 04:53:39:
Many thanks to all those who have already posted replies to my enquiry, your help is very much appreciated. I am already following up the leads provided! Any more advice gratefully received.
Thanks,
Chris
03/22/06 6.15 pm. sighted 31, what I believe were tundra swans. There is a large body of water 1 km north on Morgans rd. north of hwy.2 about 2km east of newcastle. I,m a very "green" birdwatcher. Looking at various fieldguides I came to this conclusion
In Reply to: Re: man vs. goose posted by tomy on March 22, 2006 at 08:36:41:
i would have gone for a pigeon. legal, and easy to catch.
In Reply to: RFI - Visiting British Birder posted by Chris on March 22, 2006 at 04:53:39:
If you're in Toronto, you really should visit the Leslie Street Spit, which
gets an extensive write-up in the Goodwin book and rarely disappoints--
see some of the recent entries on this site for what's been going on there
lately. I did kick up a ruffed grouse a couple of weeks ago while walking
through one of the wooded areas there and last week saw a coyote and a
peregrine falcon just past the entranceway in the field to the left. The
week before, meadowlarks and a cooper's hawk.
For Kingston, think of visiting Frontenac Park, a 15-minute drive to the
north, with a wonderful network of hiking trails and plenty of birds. Good
luck.
In Reply to: Re: RFI - Visiting British Birder posted by Mike Young on March 22, 2006 at 08:16:50:
More suggestions from the Important Bird Areas website would include: Napanee Limestone Plain, Presqu'ile Provincial Park, and Wolfe Island.
In Reply to: man vs. goose posted by christie on March 21, 2006 at 11:23:27:
I am aware that geese are protected under the migratory bird act in cases like this, but having said that, I can actually kind of respect that guy. He's broke, something difficult for you or I to understand (although Hemingway ate pigeons in Paris for a while too, when he was down and out), and at least he has the gumption to get his food straight from the source. These resident geese are inundating us anyway, so what's so wrong with taking a few out? For thousands of years people in the north have survived by hunting Canada and Snow geese, and they are still hunted in tremendous numbers for food and sport each year all over Canada and the U.S. I agree that hauling a live goose through town back to the pot is a little medieval for Toronto in this day and age, but really, what is the big difference between this guy catching a goose, and somebody fishing in lake Ontario? Plus spring goose is delicious, maybe you should try some....just kidding.
In Reply to: RFI - Visiting British Birder posted by Chris on March 22, 2006 at 04:53:39:
Hi Chris.
One suggestion would be to visit the BirdingPal website for Ontario. There you will find information on local birders, a checklist, and birding clubs for the areas you will be visiting.
http://www.birdingpal.org/ontario.htm
Another suggestion is to visit the Important Bird Areas website (and go to the Ontario link).
http://www.bsc-eoc.org/iba/IBAsites.html
Here are some places, listed at that site, that will be close to your visiting locations if you have a car: Amherst Island, Carden Plain, Dundas Valley and Dundas Marsh, Lac Deschênes, and Leslie Street Spit.
April is a beautiful time to visit Ontario. I hope these suggestions will be of some help to you.
Enjoy your trip.
Mike
In Reply to: RFI - Visiting British Birder posted by Chris on March 22, 2006 at 04:53:39:
Chris,
Ruffed grouse is actually quite common and easy to find (at least hear) in many non-urban forested areas, as it's wing-drumming display in the spring is very noisy. They can often be seen early or late in the day eating buds off deciduous trees along forest edges.
A much better source of rarities info is the ontbirds listserv. You can read it at the link below.
Good luck,
Pat
In Reply to: Varied Thrush in Brooklin posted by Robin Mason on March 19, 2006 at 08:56:55:
Where do you live in Brooklin?? Is the bird still there? Male or female?
Hi,
I'm a British birder (living in Norfolk) and am coming over to Ontario for the first three weeks of April. I will be visiting friends and relatives in Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa and hopefully making a brief visit to Montreal. Have got a copy of the Clive Goodwin book on birding in Ontario, so have a got a reasonable idea of what species to expect and where. Would appreciate any help or tips on finding the more tricky species (e.g. Ruffed Grouse?). Presumably the best site to keep updated on any rarities is this one (where I shall also post my sightings). Not sure this is the right place for my request but could not find any other chatrooms/forums. Any help much appreciated.
Regards,
Chris
In Reply to: bald eagle posted by robin kaufman on March 21, 2006 at 09:22:05:
Amazing!!!
Whereabouts on Dufferin did you see the Bald Eagle?? I live just west of Dufferin/King Rd. and will have to keep my eyes open for it.
today on may daily walk around the park near the island ferry docks I saw a man grab a canada goose! He sat on the bench petting it while it's mate honked frantically. when I confronted the man, he said "eat", I asked the person at the ticket counter for help but she didn't know what to do. I watched him for 10 minutes then he got up and left the park. I confronted him again telling him he can't do this, it's a wild animal...etc, he kept walking down yonge street, people looking me yelling, finally the goose broke free and flew to the lake. I can't beleve I saw that! what is wrong with people!
I was shocked by what I saw today on my lunch hour walk at the park near the toronto island ferry - a man grabbed a canada goose and sat on the bench ptting it, when I asked him what he was doing, he said "eat". I told the people who work for the ferry but there was nothing they could or would do. I watched the man "play and pet" the goose while it's mate was honking frantically for 10 minutes then he left the park, I confronted him and yelled at him to stop, it's a wild animal..etc. He proceded to walk down Yonge street, people just looking and me yelling, finally the goose broke free and flew back to the lake. I can't believe I actually saw that, what is wrong with people?
Monday March 20,2006
single Bald Eagle spooted in tree and flying in Oakridges/Richmond Hill along Dufferin Street at 2:oo p.m.
In Reply to: The Spit Saturday posted by Norm Murr on March 20, 2006 at 07:59:36:
Hi Norm Could you explain where to find the following at the Spit: Pipit Point, Peninsula's A,B,C,and D. I have a copy of the map from http://www.interlog.com/~fos/Getto.Spit.html
Thanks in advance
Mike Young
A traverse of roads in The Carden Plain area was transitional winter/spring birding. Wylie Rd. still impassable. Holdovers were Snow Buntings and Horned Larks. Spring migrants in force (not over-wintering); Robins, Grackles, Red-wings, many Crows. Also note worthy a Red Breasted Nuthatch. Usual assortment of Chickadees, woodpeckers, Can geese. The sun was most welcome, the cold wasn't.
I think I saw a red-headed woodpecker at Thickson woods flying by today. Is it normal at this time of the year? Or am I crazy?
Paul
Good Day
A couple of reporting days late and despite the cold, cold wind on Sat. March 18th the birding on The Spit wasn't all that bad.
Seen were 19 Waterfowl species including Trumpeter Swan, Ring-necked Ducks, Green-winged Teal, A. Wigeons, all 3 Mergansers, A. Coot and the usual Waterfowl. Most are now in breeding mode and are displaying and pairing off before moving off to their breeding areas so some interesting sights to be observed.
Also found were A. Woodcock, N. Shrike, A. Robins, N. Flicker and sundray other Paserines and other birds.
All in all a good sign of birds to come.
Pipit Point, Peninsula's A & B are now covered with Ring-billed Gulls so should not be birded and as of Apr. 1st will be off limits and as of Apr. 15th Peninsula C will also be off limits.
The bird banding station goes back into operation on Apr. 1st so take note that there will be many mist nets set up on Peninsula D so try not to interfere with the banders and volunteers.
Good Birding
Norm
Saw a Northern (Loggerhead??) Shrike in Leslie Spit Sat., March 18th, noon. Near new wetland development road. Fresh kill in its beak.
Also American Kestrel.
Out this AM at the bottom of the Don Valley BikeTrail, saw about 4-5 Northern Mockingbirds. Haven't seen that many in Ontario at once before.
Leslie Street spit was pretty quite. Killdeer and lots of ducks as usual. Snowy Owl from last week apparently gone. Another birder said saw Hooded Merganser.
We sighted (for the first time) a single male Varied Thrush in our backyard just northwest of Brooklin (north of Whitby). March 19/06.
In Reply to: Re: Algonquin Birding Trip Mar. 17-18th posted by Andrew Don on March 19, 2006 at 08:20:41:
oops try http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew-don/sets/72057594085517198/ for the algonquin set
In Reply to: Algonquin Birding Trip Mar. 17-18th posted by B. Griffin on March 19, 2006 at 07:08:29:
I had a great time and the photos came out quite nice ,hope i wasn't too much trouble for Bill :)
Lots of waterfowl in and around Lynde Shores Conservation Area. There is a flock of Ring-necked ducks that were visible in Cranberry Marsh. Also a pair of Northern Pintails were with a group of Mallards in Lynde Marsh.
We saw 6 snowy owls on Amherst Island yesterday.
For those interested. A couple of shots:)
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p27020692.html-----
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p27020691.html
I have had a Northern Mockingbird living in my backyard (King City) for the last 5 days or so.
In Reply to: Lasalle Marina in Burlington Today posted by Andrew Don on March 16, 2006 at 14:29:50:
Nice shot of the redhead! Plus, the water looks crystal clear.
Went to Lasalle marina ,is at the bottom of lasalle park road which runs after Waterdown Road if you come off the 403 hamilton. It is a great spot in the west end for waterfowl at this time of year. There was a tundra swan and a redhead duck right in close to shore looking for hand outs as this the area where Trumpeter Swans are fed in the winter. Also some great trails to walk here
The first Chimney Swifts of 2006 have been spotted on the Gulf Coast. Once again this year we will be plotting the swifts' movements northward over the next few months. Please let us know when you see the first ones in your area. The results will be posted on our web site at:
www.chimneyswifts.org
You can help us get the word our by passing this message along to any groups or organizations who might want to contribute.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Best Regards,
Paul and Georgean - Driftwood Wildlife Association, 1206 West 38th, Suite 1105, Austin, TX 78705
Please visit our web site: www.chimneyswifts.org
14.3.2006 Past 2 days mixed flock of Tundra Swans and Canada Geese in pond on curve of Hwy 27 north of Highway 9.
Best seen driving South on 27 on right hand side.To-day many Swans are hunkered down to keep out of the wind and they look like big mounds of snow.I have lived here for a long time and don't remember seeing Tundra Swans in this pond---- really a great sight!
In Reply to: Re: Osprey in Port Credit posted by Katherine on March 13, 2006 at 18:06:24:
In North America veterinarians have a saying,
"If you hear hoof beats think horse not zebra!"
It recognizes the probabilities of the location
In Reply to: Re: Osprey in Port Credit posted by George Daszkowski on March 13, 2006 at 17:58:33:
Thanks for the follow up. And yes, I agree that could have very well been a Bald Eagle. From a distance, and not having my guide handy at the time, they do resemble each other.
In Reply to: Re: Osprey in Port Credit posted by Katherine on February 28, 2006 at 06:49:16:
There have been multiple sightings of bald eagles in Port Credit, both mature and immature, so odds are that it was a bald
Walking the dog this afternoon I heard and then saw a flight of tundra swans.
I thought I counted 50 but the number is suspect as they were flying in and out of the mist
In Reply to: Chickadee with White Tail posted by Bob on March 28, 2005 at 09:45:50:
We have had a Chickadee with a white tail at our feeder this week, and got a couple of photos. I can't find any reference to this in the literature. Did you ever find out anything more about this bird?
Thanks - Nancy Baker - SF bay area, California
In Reply to: The Spit Today posted by Norm Murr on March 11, 2006 at 14:48:52:
Made a late dash to the spit and saw the Snowy Owl was still around in the inner ponds, also a Long-eared around 5pm. at the first yacht club. Certainly alot more activity than last weekend. Spring migrants definitely moving in!
In Reply to: Birding Trip to Long Point on March 11th posted by B. Griffin on March 12, 2006 at 06:11:30:
Thanks Brete :) was just lucky found the owl at Bird Studies Headquarters as heard the alarms of chickadees on the group of conifers. Would have taken you to the owl if could find you.
In Reply to: Re: Upside down goose picture. posted by Al Johnston on February 23, 2006 at 13:10:24:
When we first moved to Oakville we would frequently see the Canadian Geese engaged in this strange performance. After some enquiries we were told that after long flights the geese preen to get the oil flowing along their feathers again to maintain buoyancy. The dunking and diving is the gauge for when the feathers are sufficiently lubricated again.
In Reply to: Re: Red Tail nest posted by LilFrark on March 12, 2006 at 08:40:22:
We'll keep our fingerrs crossed. If memory serves the actual destruction was happening up Ottawa way but I know OFO doesn't post exact locations of raptor nests if only to give the birds some privacy.
good birding!
Peter
In Reply to: Re: Red Tail nest posted by peter monahan on March 12, 2006 at 05:32:02:
I hope you are wrong about raptor nests being destroyed as I would feel awful if I was responsible for this nest disappearing. On the other hand its location was posted by our local municipal counsellor which is how I found out about it.
Saw an american coot, american widgeon and many trumpeter swans at Humber Bay park east. Also Scaups in bay and few buffleheads. Red-winged blackbirds also spotted.
In Reply to: Re: The Spit Today posted by Craig McLauchaln on March 12, 2006 at 07:11:34:
Andrew tuck a look at the one photo I was aball to get and hear is his remarks !! so NO to snow goose
Craig
Hi Craig,
This is the bird all right, and I'm sure it is not a snow goose. Too big, almost the size of a Canada, too dark for a white phase, too light for a blue phase snow goose. It lacked the black grinning patch as well. No black wingtips either. It could be a hybrid of a snow and something else.
Andrew
In Reply to: The Spit Today posted by Norm Murr on March 11, 2006 at 14:48:52:
ther was also a snow goose on the Ice past the salers club rood ! I did not get to see the wings and could not ree find the farm goose so only 90% sher of my ID
Craig
Seven eager PBCers headed to Long Point yesterday to herald the arrival of spring with the return of the Tundra Swans. The morning was very foggy which created a surreal atmosphere as we drove the back roads of this region and listened to the Tundra Swans muted calls as they flew over and around us sight unseen. We did manage to find a few good birds in the morning fog along Concession A which included a Golden-crowned Kinglet, several singing White-throated Sparrows, a few Purple Finches, (without any purple), and a singing Rusty Blackbird. Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles were also conspicuous as we drove around the area.
A visit to Old Cut provided good views of a vigorously singing Carolina Wren and Northern Cardinals, House Finches, and Song Sparrows were also testing their singing skills. Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos were still around as well. We then headed back north along the causeway just before lunch and managed to get some good views of several hundred Tundra Swans out in the bay as the fog slowly started to clear in the area. A variety of waterfowl were also seen with them. We returned here after lunch and identified several species including Wood Duck, American Coot, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Canvasback, Mallard, American Wigeon, Gadwall, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, and Northern Shoveler. Bill thought he spotted a female Eurasian Wigeon but we could not be sure, if only we had stopped at the Townsend lagoons on the way home!
We then headed north to the intersection of County Road 60 and ¼ Line West where we found a few pairs of Eastern Bluebirds staking out their territories in their traditional locations. At the Turkey Point Marsh overlook we spotted one of the Bald Eagles sitting on its nest and at Lee Browns on the way there we finally found three Sandhill Cranes foraging in an open field at the edge of the distant treeline. A quick visit to the Sandusk Road golf course failed to relocate a Snowy Owl found there a few weeks earlier but it was not surprising given that we also spotted no fewer than six Red-tailed Hawks actively patrolling this area. As we continued to make our way north we decided to visit the Hamilton airport and very quickly found the gray and white Snowy Owl sitting by one of the orange barrel pylons, actively preening while several planes taxied by. Congrats to Andrew on discovering the Saw-whet Owl at Old Cut, all in all it was a fantastic day to be out birding!
____________________________________________________________
Brete Griffin - breteg@yahoo.ca
Peel Birding Class - peelbirding@yahoo.ca
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBC/ and
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BreteGriffin/
In Reply to: Red Tail nest posted by LilFrank on March 11, 2006 at 09:48:59:
really neat to find a active nest!
I haven't been "in" birding in a while but I know that a few years ago some goups stopped posting exact locations of raptors nests because they were being systematically destroyed. I hope this kind of senselessness has stopped!
In Reply to: noticed posted by Gail Christoff on March 10, 2006 at 06:00:41:
Sad, but true: our civic leaders want to pave more of our waterfront greenspace.
You can learn more about it at http://www.ccfew.org/html/skateboard_park.html
BB
In Reply to: First robin posted by christie on March 03, 2006 at 07:11:55:
Robins have arrived in Brockville.
In Reply to: Early arrivals! posted by Lorena on March 11, 2006 at 11:11:38:
Robins have arrived in Brockville!
Good evening all.
This morning I again went down to The Spit and it was a beautiful Spring like day.
Following are some of my observations.
- Tundra Swan - 90 in 2 flocks flying west. - Northern Pintail - 1 flock of 31 birds overhead - Ring-necked Duck - 4 - Redhead - 64 - American Wigeon - 21 (Total 18 Waterfowl species with more to come) -watch for Barrow's Goldeneye in the next 2 weeks. - Peregrine Falcon - 1 bird was able to flush 15,000+ birds in one quick pass. - Killdeer - 6 - Ring-billed Gulls - 25,000+ - Glaucous Gull - 4 - Iceland Gull - 1 - Northern Shrike - 1 - Song Sparrow - 4 on territory - Red-winged Blackbird - 132 on and over spit - Eastern Meadowlark - 1 - Common Grackle - 10 on and over spit - Horned Larks, A. Tree Sparrows, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Cardinal (on the spit and on Leslie St.,Robins along Leslie St.,all 3 Mergansers, both Scaup plus 2 Raccoons.
Norm Murr
In Reply to: Red Tail nest posted by LilFrank on March 11, 2006 at 09:48:59:
We saw them again early this afternoon (March 11), saw a brief mating attempt, saw them flying around and out of the ravine towards the north, and saw one sitting on a tree branch near Glencedar Bridge. No hunting that we saw.
In Reply to: Re: help with this hawk this morning (9:00 am) posted by Al Johnston on March 11, 2006 at 10:01:33:
I was trying to get an image of a really colourful red winged blackbird behind my house (across derry road). A bit of motion made me look up and I was directly under this hawk. Rwblb about an hour later. I guess I should have been closer.. I had to really crop this one ..the hawk image is untouched. Napper:-))
It sure is a nice day here today on Lake Simcoe, 7C and sunny. Our Red-winged Blackbirds, Grackles, Robins, and Canada Geese are back in droves!!!!!! YAY!! Lorena
In Reply to: Re: help with this hawk this morning (9:00 am) posted by tomy on March 11, 2006 at 06:40:37:
I agree with Tomy. Another split second and you'd have missed that shot. Thanks for sharing.
Al
A pair of large Red Tailed Hawks are building a nest about 75 yards to the west of the Glencedar bridge. Near Strathearn Rd. THey spent at least 2 hours gathering branches and hunting for food in the early morning
In Reply to: Re: help with this hawk this morning (9:00 am) posted by Napper on March 11, 2006 at 06:23:02:
I think you are correct in that it is a Cooper's Hawk. (Awesome photo,
btw)
The chest markings, tail pattern, and relative size (which is tricky to
judge in a zoomed shot like this) all suggest Cooper's.
In Reply to: This morning posted by Napper on March 11, 2006 at 05:14:04:
I think it is an immature "Coopers" Rounded tail feathers, but what do I know... I can't/couldn't see its head although in appears rounded in the image. This happened in a flash. Hawk was in the tree for 10 seconds and then gone. just long enough to look over my feeders.
This explains a few things. Interesting morning so far and it's only 9:30 am. Napper:))
Morning all. Stepped outside (6:30 am) this morning and was suprised at all of the activity, mostly sounds of birds.I Saw a flock of "Grackles" fly past.One stopped for a moment in my tree. My First sighting of a "Robin". "Sparrows" singing, "Jays" screaming, "Geese" in the distant fields.... A little later around (7:30 am) my neighbour flushed an "Opossum" off of his patio. The Possum played Possum by the back fence for about ten minutes. Then finally moved on."see wildlife posting"..
Napper..:))
In Reply to: Pittsburgh Pigeons? posted by Tomy on March 09, 2006 at 05:31:04:
Interesting, but not the first(or last)time these mischievous --(but dangerous)-- avian beings flagrantly treat us as an inbred pseudo-species ..."Rulers of the World -- Someday Soon" bumper stickers declare the vehicle, unknown to the driver and thereby infecting human thinking ... We have to fight these courier squads! Is that their big "put-down"? Pretty lame, but when they take over Communications, their bilious propaganda will, without protective strategies, be the sort of laughs we'll habituate to while the vile columbids eat our children and leave burning cigarettes on dressers, sofas and even the laundry basket, where Little Billy's head now resides ... We have to do something, NOW!
Ah, time for my meds ...
Regards
Prepare!
Red-winged blackbirds (male) are back. Cawthra/Lakeshore. There was an article about a skateboard facility in Col Sam Smith Park. vs birders in the Toronto Star today.
In Reply to: Re: Eastern bluebird - Gahbauer posted by Curtis on March 09, 2006 at 15:29:34:
Apologies for the message above, though I have no idea how my message was transformed after the fact. Just to be on the safe side, I've run two different virus checks and have nothing on my system, so I think it was a random attack on the board.
Just to briefly reiterate my earlier point, I heard a few reports of Eastern Bluebirds in the Rouge Valley during the winter, so it may be that the birds now being reported are the same (although early migrants are to be expected soon too). Although bluebirds are still quite a rare sight here in winter, they're able to survive well on fruit, as do the hundreds of robins that now routinely stay in Toronto year-round.
Marcel
In Reply to: Re: hawks posted by Derek on March 08, 2006 at 09:18:37:
Spotted two redtails yesterday 6:30 am looking West from Wilson subway station's top platform. The sun was just brightening the sky. One was perched atop a tall street lamp at TTC grounds overlooking Downsview airfield when another approached and scared it off.. It landed on the same Lamp.. At least one Redtail is around here near the field most days. Throughout December while I was carpooling my ride and I would see one perched on the "windsock" Just North of Wilson across from the fire station almost Daily.. The name of the road is Beffort rd. it is what Dufferin becomes north of Wilson..............A Windsock is a large red and white cirular flag that shows wind direction and wind speed..Napper:))
In Reply to: Re: Eastern bluebird posted by Ron Luft on March 07, 2006 at 13:38:21:
That's strange. The post by M. Gahbauer was legitimate a few days
ago, but it now opens a seperate ad website . Unfortunately, I did not
save his message in my e-mail inbox.
In Reply to: Re: Pittsburgh Pigeons? posted by Pat Hodgson on March 09, 2006 at 10:47:20:
Or how about Dave Winfield throwing a well-aimed baseball at a gull in August '83 at Toronto's old Exhibition Stadium?
In Reply to: perigrine or red tail? posted by Tori Smith on March 07, 2006 at 20:33:53:
I doubt we have enough to make an ID on here, but based on the size evidence, I'd suspect sharp-shinned hawk or merlin.
Pat
In Reply to: Pittsburgh Pigeons? posted by Tomy on March 09, 2006 at 05:31:04:
Actually this sort of thing comes up more than you might imagine, birds seen in the background of baseball or football games on TV (including nighthawks at night games) have definitely been discussed on Birdchat before.
At least they didn't shoot it (on camera anyways) like the famous guinness/dominoes/house sparrow/Netherlands incident!
Pat
For those who missed it, last night's Washington Vs. Pittsburgh Hockey game featured some great plays....and a bizzare sideshow as a pigeon flew back and forth across the ice perching just above either goalie, and even occasionally flying down to the ice to peck at the face-off points. Several times, players had to gently push the bird aside as the game went on uninterrupted by the extra man (bird) on the ice.
I thought my two passions in life would remain separate for ever!
In Reply to: hawks posted by surfinbird on March 08, 2006 at 05:35:23:
Hi,
Right now, Red-tails are courting - they're more visible now because they displaying and want others to see them. They can take cats, but it would be rare and probably a old/sick one; same with a rabbit. They usually take mice and voles; they're really an opportunist - taking anything that moves (or flys) the size of a cat or smaller.
Derek
I noticed yesterday that there were lots of red tail hawks [10] around work here in Mississauga . I also saw a pair of Kestrels . I know that a red tail likes to hang out in a tree in mid Etobicoke and on my way home i stopped to check it out and found a carcass of some sort. It looked like it could be a small rabbit or cat. Do red tails eat cats? Then i saw 3 more at the 427 and QEW chasing each other around but for obvious reasons i lost track of them.
surfinbird
In Reply to: perigrine or red tail? posted by Tori Smith on March 07, 2006 at 20:33:53:
Hi Tori,of course I cant say with certainty,but almost always,Peregrines take their prey inflight. Redtails would definetly go for a pigeon. Around yards and feeders Coopers Hawks would run at pigeons,whether or not they could take them or not.Either way,have your friend keep their eyes peeled,if hunting is good around there,the bird is liable to be back.
Last Wednesday (Mar 1) some bird of prey swept into my backyard and tried to kill a pigeon. I sadly missed the whole episode! The pigeon survived after the neighbour startled the attacker and the only evidence is a mess of feathers. There has been a perigrine in the neighbourhood maybe it was a red tail - she said the bird wasn't that much larger than the pigeon (but she's not a birder so makes a poor eye witness). Any thoughts or similar sightings around Bloor/Ossington, Dufferin Grove area?
In Reply to: Re: Barren back yard posted by Andrew Don on March 02, 2006 at 08:26:48:
Still playing with the setting's, I kind of like this
Napper........
In Reply to: Re: Barren back yard posted by Andrew Don on March 02, 2006 at 08:26:48:
just testing to see if this works
In Reply to: Re: Barren back yard posted by Andrew Don on March 02, 2006 at 08:26:48:
just testing to see if this works
In Reply to: Re: Eastern bluebird posted by Kin Lau on March 05, 2006 at 06:49:54:
Beware the entry under Eastern Bluebird by the name M.Gahbauer it ain't about birds. SPAM! At least that's what comes up.
I followed the directions to this owl on Anderson line. Remarkable bird.
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p26678689.html
In Reply to: Birding Trip to Bobcaygeon and area posted by B. Griffin on March 04, 2006 at 18:46:26:
Yeah was a great trip ,will never forgive myself for forgettign to take a photo of the Eastern Wolf, so busy watching it i never got out my camera in time.
Great gray owl came out nice though :)
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In Reply to: Mating Red Tailed Hawks posted by Lorena on March 06, 2006 at 15:32:55:
Hi Lorena,Ive watched a pair of nesting Redtailed Hawks for the last 3 years in Toronto. They were mating last week when I visited. This pair stays all year so gets an early start,fixing up their old nest,courting and mating. Along the highways when we go looking for raptors this time of year,we often see pairs,right beside each other. Further a group I go out with found Redtailed Hawks adding to a nest,making preparations for the coming season. Its great to watch and learn various behaviors. Enjoy them!
Up here on Lake Simcoe, we still have tons of snow and our nights are still extremely cold -15 celcius.
On my way home today I witnessed a pair of Red Tailed Hawks in their mating dance. Is this normal for this time of year up here???? We have a large population of these wonderful birds in this area.
We also have some very hearty Robins singing quite loudly lately. They have been here all winter but this was the song of Spring!!! Lorena :-)
In Reply to: Re: First robin posted by pcoo on March 04, 2006 at 08:51:07:
I think blackbirds are a much better indicator of the return of spring.
In Reply to: ttp posted by tomy on March 06, 2006 at 04:23:41:
Hi Tomy,
Thanks for the post. Yes, spring is on the way. I haven't been down to the Spit for some time but ravens would seem to be an unusual sighting. Have you seen them there before? Al
In Reply to: Re: ttp posted by surfinbird on March 06, 2006 at 06:48:21:
Spit was ultra quiet. No Owls, raptors either. Did have a N.Shrike flyover. Winter ducks still around. Later walk in High Pk. produced even less; Chickadees and Junco. I'm ready for spring.
In Reply to: Re: Swans Update posted by Conny Kunz on March 04, 2006 at 18:37:42:
It is easy.. post your image to a "web image hosting service", preferably a free site. Copy the "image link" into the "optional image url" See the bottom box when creating a follow-up.... Note most hosting sites limit the size of images to under 1 meg so you may have to manipulate you image(s)first ie: cut/crop/reduce.. Napper:))..here is one... http://imageshack.us/
In Reply to: Eastern bluebird posted by Curtis on March 04, 2006 at 16:42:43:
Where abouts in the valley, near the zoo, Twyn Rivers, 401/Campground or down near the beach?
Realizing that our chances of finding a Great Gray Owl this winter were fading fast as spring continues to approach, a half dozen PBCers ventured northeast to the Bobcaygeon area today to try and find one. We checked locations in the Fenelon Falls area first, both recent and from reports about 2.5 weeks ago, and did not find any GGOs at those sites. There was a lot of area to cover with large sections of suitable habitat so we cannot rule out that there may still be GGOs in this region, just none that we could see during our morning roadside surveying routes. We did find a few Common Ravens and many Crows but the best surprise of this effort was a Gray Wolf sighting just south of the dump on Ledge Hill Road and north of Bury's Green Road just east of Fenelon Falls. It was standing in a field watching us when we paused on the road and it then bolted for the woods when a few folks got out of their cars to try and get a better look at it.
We continued east to Bobcaygeon and checked out a location just a few km NW of the town at the intersection of Cosh and Anderson Roads. It was here that sharp-eyed Andrew spotted a GGO less than one hundred meters north of the stop sign at the aforementioned intersection. We surmised that it has been using this perch site in a Paper Birch tree for some time as Andrew found foot prints in the snow from the road to where one could get a good view/photo of the bird without getting too close. After lunch in town we drove around the side streets of this charming place to try and find some crab-apple trees and the Pine Grosbeaks that prefer to feed on them.
We found several flocks of Starlings and some noisy Crows for our efforts initially but we eventually got lucky on some roads near Riverview Park. We noticed while driving around this area that there were many shrubby trees with the black/blue fruit on them like we had noticed in the Bolton area a few weeks before and sure enough Darlene spotted a few Bohemian Waxwings only minutes later feeding on them very close to the road. We stopped and enjoyed good looks at five of them as they perched and then foraged on the fruit with the sun backlighting and illuminating their diagnostic features perfectly! We also had a White-breasted Nuthatch and a Blue Jay in this area before we left but ultimately dipped on the Pine Grosbeaks. We then headed back south after enjoying a successful outing in a very scenic area under sunny skies, not only were the roads mostly clear but we were splashing through puddles of recently melted snow on them during much of our travels today. Bon voyage to all of those GGOs starting to move to points further north to start their breeding season and bon chance!
____________________________________________________________
Brete Griffin - breteg@yahoo.ca
Peel Birding Class - peelbirding@yahoo.ca
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBC/ and
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BreteGriffin/
In Reply to: Re: Swans Update posted by Al Johnston on March 04, 2006 at 18:10:55:
According to Mr.Harry Lumsden these 2 are both females and were released in this general area in June 2005. I'd still like to know how I can post a pic on this site, 'cause I got a really nice pose. Does anybody know how to do this?
In Reply to: Re: Swans Update posted by Conny Kunz on March 04, 2006 at 16:25:20:
Great news! Thanks for the update. Interesting that you know # 883 is a female. Next time you're close enough, check to confirm that the band is on the left leg. Thanks again, Conny. Al
In Reply to: Re: First robin posted by pcoo on March 04, 2006 at 08:51:07:
there were quite a few singing at cranberry marsh today
I saw a pair of eastern bluebirds today in Rouge Valley Park,
Scarborough. The male was singing and both birds spent a lot of time
hunting from short perches. There is still snow on the ground here...I
wonder what these birds could be eating? Springtails, mites?
In Reply to: Re: Swans Update posted by Al Johnston on March 04, 2006 at 14:05:31:
Yes, No.883 was the one and she's fine now.
In Reply to: Swans Update posted by Conny Kunz on March 04, 2006 at 12:24:58:
Conny, is one of these trumpeters the one that was bleeding from the beak that you posted about on Jan. 21? Al
In Reply to: Swans Update posted by Conny Kunz on March 04, 2006 at 12:24:58:
Conny, is one of these trumpeters the one that was bleeding from the beak that you posted about on Jan. 21? Al
Despite the horrific Feb 3rd snowstorm up here on the Bruce and the subsequent freezing temperatures, our No.877 and No.883 are surviving very well. They've teamed up with a couple of Canada Geese and all are being well fed by various birders from around here. I'll stay in touch with them during the year and will let youze all know.
I'd post a pic but I don't know how to. sorry
In Reply to: Re: First robin posted by Marnie on March 03, 2006 at 15:44:43:
It's well-known to Christmas counters that Robins are perfect normal winter residents in Southern Ontario, but that doesn't take away from Christie's original sighting, or rather "hear"ing - a Robin singing! Now, that is a real sign of spring!
(They've been hanging around my neighbourhood in Kitchener, on and off all year, but they've been mostly quiet - the odd "buck, buck, buck", but note a single note yet).
Peter
In Reply to: First robin posted by christie on March 03, 2006 at 07:11:55:
As others have pointed out, some robins over-winter, so It's hard to know when you're seeing the first migrant. I saw my first likely migrant robin last saturday at Sam Smith Park. I haven't seen a robin there since last fall, and this one appeared to be searching for worms. I doubt he found any though. The sunny areas were thawing a bit, but it was still mainly frozen.
BB
In Reply to: Re: Barren back yard posted by Norman on March 01, 2006 at 23:32:46:
Dear Mst. Bates enclosed is the image that I was telling you about. It is, or apears to be a hybrid not unlike myself. :)) Napper... Jan 22, 2006 Niagara river. As you can see the hybrid is quite large. Your post's are very imaginative pls don't stop...
In Reply to: Re: First robin posted by christie on March 03, 2006 at 08:43:45:
I saw one in January in Riverdale Park. It just didn't seem right to see one so long before spring starts.
In Reply to: Re: First robin posted by Jean-Guy Gagnon on March 03, 2006 at 07:18:38:
It was bitterly cold today walking to work along Ancaster rd. into that North wind. I noticed a few firsts during this time... First time sky was light to the East before 6:30 am.... First Mourning dove calling and first Cardinal signing..These are good signals, Yes....Napper:)
In Reply to: Re: First robin posted by Craig McLauchlan on March 03, 2006 at 10:40:35:
there have been a few winter cardinals in high park, i saw my first song sparrow of the year in high park also on the weekend.
In Reply to: First robin posted by christie on March 03, 2006 at 07:11:55:
saw my first Robin of the year 3 days ago and I had a Cardinal sing in my back yard to day this was the first I have heard this year !! Ya spring is in the air !!
Next will be the song sparrows singing
Craig
In Reply to: Re: First robin posted by Ron Luft on March 03, 2006 at 08:42:10:
I guess this could be a winter resident but it's the first one I've seen in my area all winter so I'm taking it as a good sign that spring is on it's way.
In Reply to: Re: First robin posted by Jean-Guy Gagnon on March 03, 2006 at 07:18:38:
I'm with J-G. Have seen them all winter in Rattray, S.Mississauga and Oakville.
In Reply to: First robin posted by christie on March 03, 2006 at 07:11:55:
I HAVE SEEN MANY ROBINS ALL WINTER LONG IN rATTRAY MARSH MISSISSAUGA.
On february 26 I saw my first robin of the spring singing it's heart out in my backyard near high park, anyone else see a robin yet? Spring is on it's way...
In Reply to: Re: Barren back yard posted by Norman on March 01, 2006 at 23:32:46:
norman,
how is aunt margaret..........we haven't heard from her in a long time.
In Reply to: Re: Humber Bay Park East posted by john on March 02, 2006 at 08:13:14:
Sorry.. my mistake. I went back to earlier postings and did see a NM being sighted. I was under the impression that there was only a NS.
In Reply to: Re: Humber Bay Park East posted by john on March 02, 2006 at 08:13:14:
I saw the mockingbird in january and early february, it doesn't seem to mind the cold.
In Reply to: Re: Barren back yard posted by surfinbird on March 02, 2006 at 07:05:27:
The Snowy Owl was there on Sunday ,check out by pipit point on the lakeshore side of the spit ,he liked to sit on both sides of the bay and right on the lakeshore.
I'm going down sunday morning for one last day of winter birding then after that, time to start spring birding :))
In Reply to: Re: Humber Bay Park East posted by Kin Lau on March 01, 2006 at 15:16:30:
Why would it have to be a shrike, instead? There is usually a mockingbird at that park.
In Reply to: Re: Barren back yard posted by Norman on March 01, 2006 at 23:32:46:
Hi There
I don't put out feeders as there are way to many cats roming around but my wife feeds the squirrels and last week there were 4 Cardinals hanging out watching her . I went out and bought some shelled safflower seeds in hope that they would be back and i could get a picture on the weekend but they have not showed up yet. Just my luck. I hope to go down to the spit this weekend to see if the Snowy Owl is still around.
Surfinbird
bird is the word
In Reply to: Re: Barren back yard posted by Napper on March 01, 2006 at 16:12:43:
Got me to thinking about back-yard creatures -- I had a backyard once, long ago. It was south of Lake Simcoe, and it was a big redpoll winter with the occasional Hoary and a Canada Jay.
I decided that the "big one" had to be a non-bird visitor. I went out late to check the situation in the barn and noticed something hunched in the feeder, crackling away ... I got a little closer, when the feeder unit jumped, seemingly gliding to the base of a nearby tree.
I ran in to the house to retrieve a flashlight,tripping over Aunt Margaret (no gruesome injuries to report,) who perhaps was loading up on her meds that evening, and when I returned, there it was, crackling away. The eyes were bright-red under illumination and the odd folds between the upper and lower limbs cinched the I.D. My only sighting, ever, of a Southern Flying-squirrel. Cute!
In Reply to: Barren back yard posted by Napper on March 01, 2006 at 15:28:55:
here are couple of links
http://flythecat.com/james/photos.htm
http://www.venturenorth.com/trumpeterswans/
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/SwanID.htm
http://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/washington/Swan_Goose_ID%20Web.pdf
............The last one is very informative.
I have not seen a bird in my yard in almost two weeks..Feeders are still full, the sunflower seed bell disappeared a couple of days ago. I am sure that it was a squirrel.. The only thing that seems to be moving aside from the squirrels are a pair of fairly tame "Voles".They have hunkered down under a corner of my deck below one of my feeders.........If you haven't noticed i have become obsessed with Swans. In keeping with this I noticed something for future reference. (left Trumpeter, right Tundra) . The Shape of the tail is considerably different.see link. Noticed it in other images online aswell..
http://img322.imageshack.us/img322/5425/swancompare8kl.jpg
Napper :)
In Reply to: Humber Bay Park East posted by John Teshima on February 28, 2006 at 17:05:20:
We were there today, same usual suspects + 1 common Moorhen. We didn't see the Harlequin.
That probably wasn't a mockingbird you saw, but the Northern Shrike instead. We followed the shrike around for about 10 min's today, and other's have also reported seeing the shrike this winter.
The longtail numbers are down considerably at Humber and Col Sam.
In Reply to: is it a red tail? posted by anne on February 25, 2006 at 13:18:46:
Could also have been a Cooper's Hawk. They love pidgeons.
When I was a bit younger -- I resent "locking down" when the cold hits -- I can understand the enthusiastic winter squad: 1/ "listing" and 2/ a fascination with birds that people don't get.
Varied Thrush, Fieldfare, The Parliament of Owls, Amherst 1989, Summer Tanager, Lewis's Woodpecker, etc,
suggest it's time to crawl out of my casket and jimmy the mausuloem door and have a look around.
In Reply to: Re: Picture (56k warning posted by rubbybubby on February 26, 2006 at 15:03:54:
That moron should be castrated and have his balls fed to his dog while he watches.
Finally the swans may have some peace and quiet!
- Prime Minister Harper
We were out for about an hour and saw a fair bit of interesting waterfowl: gadwalls, hooded mergansers, common merganswers, longtails, scaups, trumpeters (I assume because they had yellow tags), and the usual mallards and Canada geese. Plus there was one lone mockingbird fluttering around in the freezing wind. Impressive for a bird that I used to associate with the south.
-John
In Reply to: Re: Osprey in Port Credit posted by Dan S on February 28, 2006 at 06:25:15:
Katherine, "a lot of white on it's chest" suggests a red-tailed hawk, also a large raptor. Al
In Reply to: Re: Osprey in Port Credit posted by Dan S on February 28, 2006 at 06:25:15:
It's a toss up. I compared the two pics in my Peterson's Guide and for a near-sighted amateur they do have many similarities. It was a huge bird with an impressive wingspan, and a lot of white on its chest.
Prior to my spotting the Osprey/Eagle I had heard the intermittant 'hooooooo' of what sounded like an owl and was actually scanning the trees for the owl when the Osprey/Eagle came into view.
In Reply to: Osprey in Port Credit posted by Katherine on February 27, 2006 at 19:12:11:
thst'a pretty early for an Osprey - perhaps it was a Bald Eagle - even a better sighting!
This morning while waiting for the bus at Elizabeth and High (approx 10:35) I saw a majestic sight - an Osprey circled above the building across from me, finally coming to rest on one of the antenna on top of the roof. In all honesty it may have been a Bald Eagle; however, photos I have seen show somewhat more white on the Osprey which is more similar to my sighting. As the Osprey approached all the other birds took flight!
In Reply to: Re: Niagara part 2 posted by Al Johnston on February 27, 2006 at 11:41:36:
I was looking for "Trumpeters" I will settle for the "Tundra's". There were four more swans, unfortunately they had their heads turned around and what looked like underneath their wings. Without a proper pair of bino's I use my digital camera with long lens to view birds and snap shots. With digital equiv factor of 1.5 plus lens is about 750 mm focal length. I just started playing with a 1.4 teleconverter aswell but its a bit tricky getting a good shot. Napper
In Reply to: Re: Niagara part 2 posted by Napper on February 26, 2006 at 13:57:11:
Nice pics of the Tundra Swans, Napper, Al
In Reply to: Re: Leslie Spit (Tommy Thompson Park) Sunday ,Owls and Pipit posted by Sierra on February 27, 2006 at 05:08:02:
Just for that sunday there was a waterfowl viewing day Sierra ,the conservation officers were running school buses to the viewing area for people. I still walked both ways ,like the exercise and to see what i could see
In Reply to: Leslie Spit (Tommy Thompson Park) Sunday ,Owls and Pipit posted by Andrew Don on February 26, 2006 at 15:29:41:
After Andrew and I split up, I went back to see if the Barred was still there and whether I could see the Long Eared once more. Well the barred has moved (I guess ppl bothered it too much) and I spotted it at the same area where we saw the Long Eared owl.
Had a nice time (mostly as it wasnt as cold and windy as last week) and was nice meeting you also.
In Reply to: Leslie Spit (Tommy Thompson Park) Sunday ,Owls and Pipit posted by Andrew Don on February 26, 2006 at 15:29:41:
I was down there in the afternoon, and just past the small beaver pond,
into the turnoff for the eastern headland, there was a rough legged hawk
sitting in the top of a tree to the south. As I watched, a kestrel flew to a
tree nearby and then right at the hawk, which took off to the east. It
would stop for a moment at the very top of a tree and then take off again,
and several times it hovered in place before flying on. It went all the way
out to the eastern end before I lost sight of it. Lots of things in pairs,
including hairy woodpeckers, gadwall, and a pair of redheads in the
beaver pond.
In Reply to: Leslie Spit (Tommy Thompson Park) Sunday ,Owls and Pipit posted by Andrew Don on February 26, 2006 at 15:29:41:
Thanks for sharing this I still have not been out but will go in warmer weather
PS I did not know they had buses Are these for the public, then?
Where do they go?
tks :)
Went again to the spit today. Ran into Tom who posts here and had a friend with me also,the 3 of us started across the little red bridge and at the first path went down into the opening there and in a couple minutes had flushed a Long-eared owl out ,great way to start the day. Then went to the tree that Saw-whets seem to like alot but instead of a little owl found the Barred owl sitting at the top of the tree ,don't like the Saw-whet's chances if was still in the tree when the barred decided to join it. After that walked out further along the path and saw across the bay a northern shrike in a bush and watched a hairy woodpecker and many tree sparrows + couple white-throated sparrows.
Then walked over the lakeside and down towards pipit point and found a Common Loon out on the lake. Just about at the point then i flushed the snowy oul out! So nice to see him again ,he flew over to the point so we went over to watch the owl for a while from a distance go about his daily business. Then as was walking back down the road along the lakeshore flushed an American Pipit which flew back behind us onto the road.
More than happy with this my friend and i decided we had good enough day so started back ,about 1km we had walked and there at the lakeside was the snowy owl again :) Was like he was following us. Also as a bus passed the first lagoon ~20 snow buntings flew up into the air.
Was a another great winter birding day in Toronto ,hope you had a good time and was nice to meet you Tom
In Reply to: Picture (56k warning posted by Zeuser on February 20, 2006 at 11:53:40:
He sure looks like an idiot. What a funny bunny! Ha!
In Reply to: Re: Niagara part 2 posted by john. on February 26, 2006 at 13:28:41:
I deleted the funny post I had written and I will only submit this.. here is the Tundra swan...
In Reply to: Re: Niagara part 2 posted by john. on February 26, 2006 at 13:28:41:
Sorry No "Sage Thrasher". "Ketrels" (many) along hwg 3 and QEW(Friday and today). Today, was a little suprised to see a large hawk, assumed "redtail" on a sign at Appleby exit QEW east,Burlington. Almost within reach 10 feet off the ground. Napper... p.s.. beware of the bathroom attendants at "Rainforest Cafe" Niagara..
In Reply to: Niagara part 2 posted by Napper on February 26, 2006 at 12:13:31:
no sage thrasher?
My family and I spent the weekend at Niagara falls. Spent is the correct term for more than one reason. Anyway, to my wife and kid's dismay we made a slight diversion along the way. Yep, you guessed it the Niagara parkway. I was looking for the swans that I had seen on Jan 22. Unfortunately I only spotted 6, most had their heads buried in feathers for warmth one adult tundra swan the other was a juvenile (where can i find info on Juvenile swans cause it didn't look like the adult)...The river was teeming with Ducks mostly until you arrive near the falls and then it is all gulls, thousands of them. Oh yeah the freaky looking goose hybrid was standing by the road with it's neck fully extended It looked as big as a swan....I took a few images if anybody's interested.. Swans only.. No dogs used, No flashes, had little time. Napper..:)
I was driving north on Reesor Rd. from Old Finch Rd. and I spotted a pair of wild turkeys feeding along a railway line. This is the closest to the city I've seen turkeys. Probably won't be long before they're in the Don and Humber valleys.
In Reply to: is it a red tail? posted by anne on February 25, 2006 at 13:18:46:
Yes, Anne, chances are it was a red-tailed, probably our most common hawk at this time of the year. Surprisingly, even though they appear very large they weigh about half your estimated weight. Al
Being spontaneous today paid dividends for five PBCers as we opted to head "south" this morning to Port Weller to try and see the Sage Thrasher, a stray species from the western part of the US, described as a casual vagrant to eastern North America. While on the way there we spotted a large bird perched in a tree in a small woodlot just off
of the QEW near Exit 57. Thinking that it looked like an owl in terms of its "jizz", we scooted off at the exit and drove back along the service road to identify it as a Great Horned Owl. Not far away was an active nest which had the (presumably) female Great Horned Owl likely incubating eggs since they are very early breeders. While we watched, two Red-tailed Hawks entered the same woodlot about 200
meters away and one was carrying nesting material. We found this nest still under construction not much more than a few hundred meters from the Great Horned nest.
It will be interesting to see how this potentially troublesome "sharing of space" for these neighbors will work out this spring. These species frequently co-occur in the same habitat over much of their widespread ranges in eastern North America so it is really not surprising to find them together in the area. The unfortunate closeness of their nests is probably because of the ongoing fragmentation of woodlands in southern Ontario. This sometimes results in some species which require large stands of mature trees being forced to try and survive in more crowdedconditions in islolated, widely scattered woodlots. In this particular instance, food may not be a limiting factor for these ecologically equivalent predators, but the availability of suitable nesting sites may actually be. Let's hope they are able to tolerate each other's existence and that both species will successfully raise their young.
Other birds of interest seen today after heading back from seeing the Sage Thrasher near Port Weller included a Cooper's Hawk flying over our car while driving west along the QEW near St. Catharines. A Bald Eagle was seen soaring near the QEW not far from Exit 55 just east of 18 mile creek. We stopped along Kelson Road in Stoney Creek and looked for both Northern Shrikes and Saw-whet Owls but came up empty. One other new bird for the year that was spotted today which should be mentioned was a Double-crested Cormorant looking for fish in the canal along with both Red-breasted and Common Mergansers. Both Song Sparrows and Cardinals were heard in song this morning as well, a sure sign that spring is just around the corner, bring it on!
____________________________________________________________
Brete Griffin - breteg@yahoo.ca
Peel Birding Class - peelbirding@yahoo.ca
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBC/ and
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BreteGriffin/
several sightings of the largest bird i have ever seen in thorncliff park area. very large feet. was eating a pigeon. looked to be bigger than 5 lbs.
was it a red tail?
Harlequin duck at the eastern most part of the park in the open water and a northern shrike. All the usuals are around.
In Reply to: Re: snowy owl posted by Fuzzy1 on February 24, 2006 at 14:23:53:
I only saw Coyote two weeks ago (very close to the sencod gate). BUT Did Not see any owl. :-<
Even I went to owl woods (3 weeks ago), did not see any owl there, but a white tailed deer and 4 snowy owls in the open field. last week, I went to Lynde shores 3 times... No Owl .... Where I can find, when I can see ...
Maybe I am an OWL REPELLER. Ha... ^^
In Reply to: Re: snowy owl posted by Dave on February 24, 2006 at 17:21:35:
I'll probably be down there also... I'm a Spit addict.
In Reply to: Re: snowy owl posted by Fuzzy1 on February 24, 2006 at 16:38:28:
Nice shot. I'll be out there tomorrow if I see him I'll let you know.
In Reply to: Re: snowy owl posted by Dave on February 24, 2006 at 16:18:55:
There where is hard to explain. Past the banding station. I've seen more than one out there. I plan on shooting from a blind to see what I can get.
here is the very first shot I got:
In Reply to: Re: snowy owl posted by Fuzzy1 on February 24, 2006 at 14:23:53:
Hi Fuzzy,
Where and when did you see the coyote out there?
Dave
In Reply to: Leslie Spit Saturday(Tommy Thompson Park) posted by BIGFRANK on January 28, 2006 at 16:31:11:
Big Frank... Did you get those pics of the Snowy? (I'm still cleaning mud off my shoes!)
In Reply to: Re: snowy owl posted by Andrew Don on February 23, 2006 at 11:40:44:
Haven't seen the Snowy in 2 weeks. Did see the Saw Whet and a couple of Coyotes... Will be out for Coyote Sunday morning.
Link to Saw Whet Pics:
http://x4.putfile.com/2/4916160470.jpg
http://x4.putfile.com/2/4916131136.jpg
I was treated to a great show outside my office window on the 18th floor of 1 yonge street. Two peregrines were chasing a pigeon doing a great acrobatic routine, one peregrine did a dive bomb but missed, unforunately they flew out of view but I believe they were successful, there is a dismembered pigeon wing outside the building.
In Reply to: RFI -pelee island posted by christie on February 22, 2006 at 08:26:06:
Hi Christie,
Put me down as a vote for the Island.
I spent two weeks in a cottage on Pelee Island two springs ago, and a long weekend there last spring. It can be excellent for migrants in late April, it largely depends on how the whether is behaving. In 2004, for instance, we had sightings of both Prothonotary Warbler and Black-billed Cuckoo there - about two weeks before their usual arrival dates! There was also a Piping Plover on the Fish Point beach that April, something you don't see every day (or year, even).
I think that the best reason for going to the Island, however, is that it is NOT the National Park. I find that the crowds there (at PPNP) are simply too annoying to take; I stopped going years ago. Of course, it might not be so bad in April, if you're going then. However, the hassle of getting to Pelee Island by ferry has so far prevented it from ever getting terribly crowded, even in mid-May; there may be a hundred birders or so on a busy weekend, rather than the thousands in the National Park. In April, the Island is blissfully peaceful, almost uninhabited; to me, this much more pleasant than the situation on the Mainland (but then, I'm an anti-social type, I much prefer birds to people).
You might want to contact The Anchor and Wheel Inn - we got the cottage through them, and they have various sizes of rooms for rent as well. If your budget can stretch a little farther, I've heard good things about the Tin Goose Inn, but I've not stayed there myself. However you go, you might want to start looking for accomodations soon - precisely because there's so little traffic, some of the places don't open until May, so your choices for April may be limited.
have a good time,
Peter
In Reply to: Upside down goose picture. posted by Kin Lau on February 22, 2006 at 12:27:15:
Nice pic. Actually, these antics are not uncomon. It seems to be a group activity and is probably a form of bathing. I've seen geese dive and pop to the surface 15 to 20 feet away. Al
In Reply to: snowy owl posted by surfinbird on February 23, 2006 at 07:22:21:
The Snowy Owl wasn't seen last sunday as far as i know ,not seen the weekend before but it could be around,big area :)
Did see the Barred Owl still there, a Great Horned Owl and a 2nd Saw-whet Owl, also saw an American pipit near the beginning of the spit ,not a usual bird for winter here.
I'm going again on sunday at 8:30am to see if what i can find this weekend :) gotta love city birding ,even in the winter.
In Reply to: Falcon/Halk/Eagle posted by Hunter Williamson on February 22, 2006 at 11:03:49:
Sounds like the resident redtail hawk to me. One has been harassing the pigeons at Wellesley and Parliament every morning and soaring above St Jamestown. There's another one resident further east-- the Don Valley over to Riverdale hospital is its usual hunting grounds. They're fairly common in the city but amazing nonetheless. There was also a kestrel (a much smaller falcon and brightly coloured) that used to hang out between Carlton and Wellesley, east of Parliament but I've not seen it in a while.
Hi There
Is the snowy owl still hanging around the Leslie Spit . I have yet to see it.
surfinbird
bird is the word
In Reply to: Duck ID needed posted by Tom Cudzilo on February 22, 2006 at 19:13:26:
Sure is a Common Goldeneye, and a great photo.
Is this a common goldeneye ?
thanx for help
http://crazyravr.smugmug.com/photos/57353589-M.jpg
In Reply to: Funny/weird Canada Goose behaviour posted by Kin Lau on February 22, 2006 at 12:20:34:
Here you can see the goose completely upside down.
While at Corner Marsh today around noon, a large flock of Canada's flew in, and then proceeded to do something I've never seen before.
They dived completely under water and also turned upside down in the water, as if to get the back feathers wet/clean while they were preening. Anyone else ever seen this kind of behaviour?
Picture of the upside down goose in the next posting.
Today at my apartment on Parliament st. in Cabbagetown about 10am, I had alarge Brown Falcon about 1'1/2''-2' high. dark to cinnemon borown top feather, white underfeather, large yellow beak, huge yellow claws, come and sit on my rail above my solarium. He sat and did its buisness, then proceeded to look in the window at me then fly away. Really strange to see this type of bird almost downtown Toronto, I thought maybe it was from the Don Valley. Any info back on this I would greatly apapritiate.
In Reply to: RFI -pelee island posted by christie on February 22, 2006 at 08:26:06:
Hi Christie, Are you sure you want to go to Pelee Island? Most birders will go to Point Pelee National Park which is on the mainland and just to the north of Pelee Island. Not that the island isn't a pleasant outing and if you like wine.....well, that's great. But it does require reserving a spot on the ferry.
Late April should be fine for spotting many spring migrants although the bulk, especially a lot of the warblers, will come later. The birds should be easy enough to spot as the vegetation growth is minimal at that time of year. May is usually the month of choice for most birders but you won't be disappointed.
Contact the Leamington Chamber of Commerce for accomodations. They should also be able to provide you with information on Pelee Island as well. Also, Point Pelee National Park has a website especially geared toward birders.
In Reply to: Re: Beware of this Moron at Lasalle park posted by Napper on February 20, 2006 at 18:21:22:
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Napper. My contact is Harry Lumsden, founder of the Ontario Trumpeter Swan Restoration Program almost a quarter century ago. He's a remarkable man who has received the Order of Canada, mainly for his swan related activities. Harry lives in Aurora and his number is listed in the directory. He's always pleased to hear from people who spot Trumpeters, particularly if there's a yellow tag number to report. I emailed him a link to this site and referred to this thread so that he's aware of the moronic activities at Lasalle park, although, as Chris pointed out, the dogs aren't likely to cause any damage to the swans (might be the other way around) Many thanks to all who participated in this thread and showed concern. Al
I have some time off near the end of april, is this a good time to see migrants at pelee island? I want to book a room soon for a discount.
In Reply to: Re: Beware of this Moron at Lasalle park posted by Zeuser on February 21, 2006 at 08:12:19:
Thank you for posting the photo of the dog and providing further information about this situation at La Salle.
I will pass on this information to those that will be looking into this matter.
I agree that we cannot blame the dog(s) for running after the swans or, other waterfowl.
I have seen many people walk their dogs unleashed at La Salle.
Most people are not aware of the fact that swans are strong enough to harm a dog seriously if they are attacked.
Thanks againChris
This wood duck was at Lynde shores conservation area today.
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p26194657.html
In Reply to: Beware of this Moron at Lasalle park posted by Zeuser on February 20, 2006 at 11:52:32:
Just an FYI.. If you take a shot for legal purposes I believe only RAW images are admissible in court. Jpg's can be altered too easily.
Dave
In Reply to: Re: Great photographers posted by Tom Cudzilo on February 21, 2006 at 11:50:00:
Woodland cemetery in Burlington. I added an entry for 2 of the Eagles. I know there were 3 of them but I only saw 2 of them and could confirm they were juvenile Eagles. I couldn't positevly assertain if the 3rd was an adult or juvenile since I never got a good glimpse of it because of all the trees in the area.
I included a Geobirds link to the area where the Eagles were spotted.
In Reply to: Great photographers posted by Zeuser on February 20, 2006 at 12:31:28:
Would you care to post where you saw the eagles? I would love to come by have a look sometime this weekend, that is if they will still be hanging around there.
In Reply to: Re: Beware of this Moron at Lasalle park posted by Chrystia on February 21, 2006 at 06:10:07:
Date and time of offence was 2006/02/18 @ 4:25 PM.
The guy was walking in the park with his two unleashed dogs and his girlfriend. I didn't see him get into any car but he could've simply had his car parked further away.
One of the dogs stayed away, I think he was busy with something else. The other dog came charging down on the beach and drove the swans off the beach. Here's a photo of that dog caught in the act.
Don't blame the dog, he doesn't know any better. Point the blame at the stupid owner.
In Reply to: Beware of this Moron at Lasalle park posted by Zeuser on February 20, 2006 at 11:52:32:
Thank-you for the information that you provided about this guy with his dogs at La Salle park.
I reside in Burlington and, I know the volunteers who feed the trumpeter swans on a regular basis. They also take count of the swans daily.
As far as I know, none of us were aware of this situation.
I have passed this information onto the people who are involved with the Re-introduction program for the trumpeter swans and, they do plan to take steps about his unacceptable actions.
For your information, it is against the law to disturb, disrupt or, harm trumpeter swans or, any other migratory bird in any way. There are hefty fines for these actions.
I don't have the internet website or, webpage where it states these laws however, migratory birds are protected.
Should I find this information, I can post the link in this message board.
Is it possible to find out approximately what time this guy was down there with his dogs? This information is crucial since the volunteers go down to La Salle at different times of the day.
Thanks for your informationChris
In Reply to: Re: Beware of this Moron at Lasalle park posted by Napper on February 20, 2006 at 15:49:34:
I have a better idea.... Respectfully contact Mr. Al Johnston, he often has posts info here. He is "very helpful" and He has a contact at the "Trumpeter swan society".
http://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/contact.htm
see previous post from Jan 21, 2006
http://outdoorontario.net/birds/Bmessages/12183.html
Napper.......
In Reply to: Beware of this Moron at Lasalle park posted by Zeuser on February 20, 2006 at 11:52:32:
I am sure it also contravenes a number of Federale and provicale acts regarding migratory birds and endangered wildlife. Napper.. :) I have been looking throught the regulations and I cannot find any specifics to Trumperers I'll keep looking...
In Reply to: Re: Need bird ID posted by Kin Lau on February 20, 2006 at 13:55:22:
Oh really. Ok then... my bad. I thought they were incapable of floating at all. At first I was really sure it was a GBH. It's the whole floating/no floating thing that threw me off.
It would make sense though. That area has lots of GBH. In fact, there's a nesting colony about 1Km from that area.
Ah well, at least I can rejoice in the fact I've seen my first GBH floating on the surface and I also got a nice photo of it taking off with a fish.
Thanks for clearing things up guys.
In Reply to: Need bird ID posted by Zeuser on February 20, 2006 at 13:26:57:
Hi Zueser,
Nice shot, I've seen Great Blue Herons floating around in deep water before. You don't see it very often though.
Dave
In Reply to: Need bird ID posted by Zeuser on February 20, 2006 at 13:26:57:
It's a GBH. Yes they can swim. I also have pictures of a Black-Crown Night Heron swimming/floating.
What kind of bird is this? At first I thought it was a Great Heron but I just remembered that herons don't float.
Here's how the photo happened: I was on my friend's fishing boat, a small 18ft aluminium boat, and we saw what looked like a Heron land in the water. I pulled out my camera. The bird poked his head in the water 3 times and then came up with a fish. That's when I was properly setup to take pictures and I got off this shot.
I know it was floating because the spot where he landed on water was 5ft deep. We had just been in that area only a few minutes ago and the sonar echoed back 5ft of dept. To my knowledge, no Heron has 5ft long legs.
My friend talked about this bird to a birder and he thinks it might be a pelican. Really? Doesn't look like one to me.
Photo was taken in august 2005 in Sorel, Quebec.
Saturday I was in Burlington taking photos of the Eagles. I was directed to the site where they hang out by a person in the know.
When I came upon the site I saw 2 photographers already there. 2 more joined up later.
For a grand total of 5 photographers spending a few hours taking pictures of the Eagles. Oh man... what a sight! We got some really great photos that day.
And I can hear the birders lamenting this already. Well you know what? This is the best bunch of bird photographers I've ever met! Very quiet and they kept their distance. They knew that they needed to be absolutely transparent to get the best photos.
Compared to the loud crowds I saw at Hall's road last year, it sure was a relief to see some respectable photographers. And even though the Eagles, there were 3 of them, were well aware that we were there, we weren't disturbing them any more than a birder with binoculars and his bird list.
So the point is this: Not all photographers are asses !!! You can usually spot the good ones by the gear they carry. Look for expensive digital SLR cameras, long lenses and expensive tripods.
In Reply to: Re: How Many Photos posted by Kin Lau on February 16, 2006 at 11:09:53:
I totally agree with you Kin.
Let me just add that some of the seasoned vets here sure do know a lot about birds but don't have a clue on how to deal with people.
http://www.geobirds.com
They use google maps with their own database. Seems pretty good and you can create your own account to save and share your own birding locations.
What do you think about it? Anyone have more detailed info (good or bad) about this site? Anybody here even have an account there?
In Reply to: Beware of this Moron at Lasalle park posted by Zeuser on February 20, 2006 at 11:52:32:
For some reason I couldn't attach the pic to the original post. Oh whatever... here it is:
This moron walks around the park with his two dogs unleashed and thinks it's funny that his dogs chase the Trumpeter swans on the beach.
And he thinks it's really funny when they're being fed by a conservation group.
This guy is such a moron he'll event wave at the camera knowing full well his picture will be on the internet with the label "Moron" attached to it.
If you're at Lasalle Park in Burlington, look out for this moron and his dogs. Do the Trumpter swans, and all other waterfowl there, a favor and get him charged. It's illegal to have your dogs unleashed in that park.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/Zeuser/Morons/DSC_1224.jpg
Three birders set out this morning to find some Bohemian Waxwings in the Bolton area and after a few hours of adventuring some backroads between Duffy's Lane and Innis Lake Roads we finally found them around 1230pm. Ironically they were almost exactly where an Ontbirds poster had found them several days earlier, it was 1.6 km north of King St. on Duffy's Road on the right hand (or east) side.
We almost did not see them initially as they were flying around low in the small trees and shrubbery only about 10-15 feet off of the ground. After awhile they flew up into some taller trees nearby and perched conspicuously in the open where our original search strategy would have located them very quickly. But they did not stay up high for long as they dropped back down to feed on small trees or shrubs with dark fruit and foraged in them often times only 5-10 feet off of the ground. We estimated that there were about 50 birds in the flock as at one point they flew up and circled over our heads and then settled back down into the same area but even closer to the road (about 20 feet from the shoulder). Be patient if you go to look for them and remember that they could be low in this area actively feeding.
We also spotted a Great Blue Heron of all things on one of the backroads northwest of Bolton which spooked up from a creek near the road and we spotted 4 Wild turkeys in a field on Finnerty Road near its intersection with Highway 50. Two Red-tailed Hawks were also present sitting together in a tree overlooking the same field. It was almost as if they were watching and wishing (dreaming perhaps the better word without being too anthropomorphic) they could grab one of the turkeys, or maybe they were hoping the grazing turkeys would flush up a rodent or two, perhaps it was opportunistic predatory behavior in action. We checked out a few feeders along Patterson's Sideroad before calling it a day but did not find any bird species out of the ordinary to report.
____________________________________________________________
Brete Griffin - breteg@yahoo.ca
Peel Birding Class - peelbirding@yahoo.ca
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBC/ and
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BreteGriffin/
In Reply to: How may Photos posted by bob on February 18, 2006 at 00:49:51:
What good is that going to do?
Birding... and indeed bird photography is something that should be enjoyed by all. Passwords, secret bird locations... blah blah blah... that's useless and quite honestly; it's backwards thinking.
The important part is educating people about conservation. Some photographers don't know any better and some just don't care. You can't do anything about the ones who don't care, but the others ones, who don't know any better, can be educated.
And not just point them to a URL or a document on ethics either. That gives the person a bad feeling of being brushed off. Get personal with the people... you see them doing something wrong... confront them. Don't go into a yelling match or try to self validate yourself, just educate the ones that don't know in a polite fashion. You'd be surprised at how many people will listen to you when you don't act like an ass.
And that's the key part... acting like an ass. I see too many self proclaimed birders here that are conceeded, arrogant, hypocrites and just plain rude. That's no way to act with people and it certainly is no way to represent the birding community.
I hate to say it.. but you guys are actually hurting the birds more... in the long run.
In Reply to: Re: How may Photos posted by Richard Johnston on February 18, 2006 at 07:25:29:
This is a birding site not a photography site, yet everyone is welcome. May I suggest that birders and photographers alike read the birding ethics posted on this site. I am tired of all the attacks and rants. Aren't we all nature lovers? Have common sense and respect. Can't we all get along?
In Reply to: How may Photos posted by bob on February 18, 2006 at 00:49:51:
Maybe learn how to spell.
In Reply to: Re: How Many Photos posted by Norm Murr on February 15, 2006 at 12:05:18:
Great Idea I neve thought of flushing them out....My lab will be great at it...
All you birders are just crying fowl....If you really have your presicious birds in mind dont post thier locations.
Maybe one of you blubering birdies should take a stand create a website with password protection......dont give it to photographers. Maybe charg a yearly fee that can be donated to wild life preservation.
In Reply to: Re: How Many Photos posted by Tom Cudzilo on February 15, 2006 at 11:15:24:
we,ve come a long way from the days when birders would take a 410 along and blast the birds they wanted to get a better look at.astro
In Reply to: Re: How Many Photos posted by Tom Cudzilo on February 15, 2006 at 11:15:24:
we,ve come a long way from the days when birders would take a 410 along and blast the birds they wanted to get a better look at.astro
In Reply to: Re: How Many Photos posted by Norm Murr on February 15, 2006 at 12:05:18:
No one likes to be criticized, and we _all_ make stupid mistakes. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is still as timeless as ever.
We can speak of people in a patronizing and ridiculing manner, or seek to educate.
Unfortunately, I frequently see the 1st part and only occasionally the second part.
The tone of voice and cold-shoulder that I've experienced from many anti-photographer birders only serves to alienate. I have many good birding friends who've taught me alot about birding and photography. There are also many people who start off in such a untactful or scornful manner, that it's hard to see how anyone could take any advice from them.
There are many people who are quite new to photography and birding. They simply don't know better. It's hard to believe, but most people are guilty of stupid things when they venture into a new field. It's not that the people are stupid, it's just that they don't have any experience, and haven't been taught. Just think about... what kind of birds are most people used to? Seagulls, mallards, Canada geese, sparrows, chickadees and pigeons. What do you think their experience has taught them?
I'll do my part to teach and educate, I hope others will also.
In Reply to: Re: How Many Photos posted by surfinbird on February 16, 2006 at 07:12:28:
Last winter on the spit people were sending their families to stand next to the great gray owl for photo ops. When I suggested they were stressing the bird, I got a patronizing, "If it was stressed it would fly away."
Maybe natural selection is the best we can hope for: "Go stand next to the bear."
In Reply to: Re: How Many Photos posted by Ian on February 16, 2006 at 06:32:34:
Some how i thought that photographers that take pictures of nature and it's creatures would respect their environment . I guess i stand corrected. I am a photographer although not a very good one and take pictures from a good distance away and you can tell because the photos could be better . I don't want a picture of a frightened bird or animal for that matter , just photos of them going about their everyday lives .
surfinbird ,
bird is the word
In Reply to: Re: How Many Photos posted by BIGFRANK on February 16, 2006 at 04:34:27:
As a photographer and nature lover I am both disturbed and extremely irritated by the irresponsible behaviour of so many photographers out there. The primary purpose of going out on nature walks is to see animals in their natural environment and study them, not to disturb and damage. The birding code-of-conduct should be followed by all people visiting any natural areas, and that should be followed up with some basic common sense! Not only is it morally irresponsible to break branches, stomp around, use flash etc, it is also disturbing to the wildlife and is eventually going to ruin the very activity you enjoy doing. Grow up! Your images will not end up in National Geographic anyway. An owl staring at you in fright with flash highlights in its eyes is not going to win you any prize -- go to the zoo to shoot captive animals.
I see this argument come up in all sorts of circles, Mountain biking vs. hiking, 4WD vs horseback, birding vs. photography, etc. The main problem is education and responsibility. Everyone can work together, but it's always the few bad apples really ruin it for everybody.
In Reply to: Re: How Many Photos posted by Norm Murr on February 15, 2006 at 12:05:18:
As if another sad sad example is needed...I was at a former quarry in Hamilton area,where there were nesting Rails. There is a small boardwalk through a little marsh. There was a log in abit of a clear spot in the reeds,so if the Rail came through there U got a very nice view and if U had the lens for it a reasonably unobstructed photo opportunity. A guy hops off the boarwalk over the railing,goes over to the "clearing" and proceeds to use hedge clippers to cut down reeds that were in the way of his photos. I was jaw dropped!
In Reply to: Re: How Many Photos posted by Tom Cudzilo on February 15, 2006 at 11:15:24:
Don't give them any ideas or they may start flushing the Owls just to get their "action" shots. It may take a few days for that part to sink in but they may eventually have a dim lightbulb light up.
I am aware of the idea of multiple photos and the cheapness of digital shots but not a good enough defense for those guys or their ilk.
I know you were in NO WAY excusing them. I am just voicing my opinion.
In Reply to: How Many Photos posted by Norm Murr on February 11, 2006 at 17:23:26:
Well... one doesnt need 100s of photos... what you saw was a bunch of guys with more equipment then brains. These guys operate their cameras as "machine gun", you have to remember that now adays digital film is very very cheap. Before, when ppl had to shoot film, one thought 10 times before pressing that button. This is not the case anymore. Now its better to shoot 100 photos and pick 2 that are good quality, rather then to shoot two photos that are good quality.
Now what a real photographer would do is find a nice spot, where he would not interfere with the owl, and wait for things to happen (catch is in flight, hunting, eating etc). Standing by the tree and taking 100s of photos of the owl just sitting there is really pointles.
In Reply to: Re: brockin branches posted by Andrew Don on February 15, 2006 at 08:27:03:
And SHAME on birders, etc. that take these people in to show them these Owls. There can be no defense to what is happening. Just look how many that have defended the 3 in my last post "How Many Photos" Feb.11/05. Not many are there ?? Could it be that there is no defense ?
Norm Murr
In Reply to: brockin branches posted by Craig McLauchlan on February 15, 2006 at 07:57:11:
I know, i actually told 1 photographer to stop breaking branches ,that tree just not the same since the boreal owl was in it last year, about 1/3 of the tree gone ;( there are always some bad apples in every bunch unfortunately
In Reply to: Re: Leslie Spit (Tommy Thompson Park) Saturday ,Owls and Hoary Redpoll posted by Andrew Don on February 13, 2006 at 12:24:39:
It’s too bad that the photos of the saw whit owl in your photo album show the damage down to the tree by Photographers bracking of branches!!
Craig McLauchlan
In Reply to: Re: Cedar Wax Wings posted by Sierra on June 13, 2005 at 05:08:18:
A MOST UNUSUAL SITE. WE LIVE NEAR GREEN BAY WIS., AND ON FEB. 14 OF THIS YEAR, A FLOCK OF WAX WINGS PASSED THROUGH OUR ARE GOING NORTH. THEY STOPPED AT OUR TREE THAT HAS SEVERAL BERRIES LEFT FROM LAST SUMMER / FALL. THESE BIRDS ARE AT LEAST TWO MONTHS EARLY...WE ARE WORRIED BECAUSE THIS WEEKEND WE ARE SUPPOSED TO GET AN EXTREME COLD SNAP...10 DURING THE DAY, -10 AT NIGHT. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST ARTICLE THIS YEAR SIGHTING SEVERAL SPRING BIRDS THAT HAVE ALREADY ARRIVED. SOMETHING STRANGE IS HAPPENEING THIS YEAR.
In Reply to: Redtail at Sunnybrook Hospital posted by Philip Sharkey on February 03, 2006 at 17:33:25:
I've seen this bird-- she looks strong and very alert! Maybe it should give blood.
Meanwhile, up here at St Clair and Avenue Road, I have the office window open and I'm repeatedly hearing a redtail's piercing cry. Am in a movie, in the bush, or in a downtown office??
In Reply to: Re: Great Horned owls posted by christie on February 13, 2006 at 12:30:17:
West end of Oshawa. Take the Thickson ramp and follow to the lake.
In Reply to: Great Horned owls posted by Art on February 13, 2006 at 12:18:50:
Where is Thickson Woods?
In Reply to: Re: Leslie Spit (Tommy Thompson Park) Saturday ,Owls and Hoary Redpoll posted by Andrew Don on February 12, 2006 at 13:03:27:
Here's some photos of the birds i saw on saturday and sunday on the spit. Were taken with my little konica digital camera and never use flash ,can still get nice photos even without the huge lenses
I saw two great horned owls in the same tree this morning at Thickson woods. I also saw an adult bald eagle as I was leaving. I got some shots of the owls, but alas, none of the eagle. Link to owls for those interested,
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p25921337.html
In Reply to: Thickson woods posted by Art on February 11, 2006 at 16:03:25:
Thickson's Woods ... I remember, some thirty years ago, when the east side of Duffin Creek (Pickering)was where I would frequently find myself in late April / early May, half-awake, just before sunrise, walking back to my car to do the "work thing" at 0900h with between 50 and 60 species I.D.'ed -- mixed beech, hemlock, white pine and probably sugar maples, all gone now becuause of real estate greed -- and then I'm reminded of Thickson's, and I get I depressed ...
Sadly, the original woodlot has been reduced to a fragment which appears to be doomed over the long haul -- it's so susceptible to wind damage, and it sounds like the neighbours have other plans. We fight the good fight, but we're losing.
I believe it's legal to carry pepper (Capsicum) spray to deal with possible attacks by pit bulls and other genetic aberrations. I strongly advise you to protect yourself.
Regards
NB
In Reply to: Leslie Spit (Tommy Thompson Park) Saturday ,Owls and Hoary Redpoll posted by Andrew Don on February 11, 2006 at 14:14:01:
Walked the spit again today and found the Barred and Great Horned owls i missed yesterday ,also new were a few american widgeon in one of the first bays on the right.
In Reply to: Re: Long-eared Owl posted by Maurice on February 10, 2006 at 07:13:18:
Where abouts in Oakville?
Seven birders headed west Saturday morning to visit birding spots in the Cayuga region. One of the first stops was at the raptor preserve near Fisherville where 5 Short-eared Owls were visible and active when we got there around 9am. Not long after a Red-tailed Hawk zoomed in low through the area where the owls were and produced an interesting response by the latter birds. Very quickly the owls started circling in the sky, they were joined by three other birds for a total of eight individual owls. They circled higher and higher ABOVE the Red-tailed Hawk, calling frequently, until the hawk had left the area. They then flew lower back towards their roosting sites where some flew back in but a few others continued to fly around the area. Two of which then chased off a male Northern Harrier which had also ventured by to see what was happening. It was very interesting to see how “complementary” predators interacted when their usually “distinct-in-time” activity patterns overlapped. Although I’m sure crepuscular species are used to overlapping and contending with their nocturnal and/or diurnal counterparts.
From here we moved on to Selkirk P.P. but not before driving along Lake Erie (thanks Bill) for a small stretch near Hoover Point. Here we found what was probably the largest concentration of Mergansers in one area that I/we have ever seen, at least in the Great Lakes region. There was around 150-200 birds just offshore in this vicinity, most of them were Common but there was a smattering of Red-breasted Mergs as well. At Selkirk P.P. we spotted a Great Horned Owl fly across the marsh not far from the bridge. While trying to get a better view of its perch site in the distance a few sharp-eyed birders found 3 Eastern Bluebirds at the edge of the woods. It did not take us long to find about 9 Long-eared Owls roosting in one of their traditional sites in the park. We also saw what looked to be like a possible Carolina Wren keeping low in the underbrush in the woods but it was very skittish and did not allow us a conclusive determination. A Red-bellied Woodpecker was also heard several times calling near the maintenance area not far from the Wheeler road entrance.
While driving NE from Selkirk we spotted a dark bird soaring just south of Nelles Corners which turned out to be a dark phase Rough-legged Hawk. We stopped our vehicles and had good views of it as it hovered over adjacent fields searching for prey. We also checked out a few homes with feeders along River Road but did not find any redpolls or siskins for our efforts. In total today we had eight raptor species, 4 were hawks and 4 were owls. A few Kestrels were seen hunting along the sides of the road during our travels for the day and a quick stop at the Hamilton airport by at least one person on the way home produced a Snowy Owl as well. One group which took the scenic route home along highway 56 spotted 18 Wild Turkeys in the corner of a field, yes we stopped to count them and be sure, just a few km south of the turnoff for the Binbrook Conservation Area on the west side of the road. Horned Larks were also seen and heard at various locations in the Cayuga area to round out an enjoyable day’s birding total.
____________________________________________________________
Brete Griffin - breteg@yahoo.ca
Peel Birding Class - peelbirding@yahoo.ca
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBC/ and
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BreteGriffin/
In Reply to: Leslie Spit (Tommy Thompson Park) Saturday ,Owls and Hoary Redpoll posted by Andrew Don on February 11, 2006 at 14:14:01:
I can add to Andrew's list: four horned larks on the field by the light house.
I went to Thickson woods today and didnt see anything,,but,,,,,I was walking near the south side of the woods, the trail goes kind of close to some houses. I had a pitbull come running toward me. I thought I was toast. I was wondering if anyone else has ever had this problem there. I headed out of there and went to second marsh, I saw the barred owl down there and got a few shot of him. I posted one on my webstite. This may not be for the faint of heart because he is holding onto prey of some sort.
here is the link if interested.
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p25841306.html
Hi ,was a nice winter day so decided to bird the Leslie spit in Toronto. Highlights are: 1 Hoary redpoll in with a flock of 30 Common Redpolls, Northern Saw-Whet Owl, Snowy Owl, light phase Rough-legged Hawk, flock of ~100 Snow Buntings by the lighthouse ,5 types of gulls including Glacous and Iceland, White Throated, American Tree and Song sparrows, all 3 mergansers ,Common Loon, Northen Shrike and all the usual winter waterfowl and chickadees,downies,juncos and such. Also as i started walking the spit at the base was followed for a while by 2 coyotes ,1 beige and 1 gray. Guess they wanted my egg mcmuffin i was eating :)
I am walking the spit tomorrow as missed a barred owl and a great horned owl being harassed by a peregrine falcon and want to try to get a photo of the hoary redpoll, have great photos of the snowy and northern saw-whet owl and the buntings in a tree ,can post if want to see them. Anyone welcome to join me on the walk tomorrow ,will be at the gate at 9:30am ,i will be wearing a red ny rangers coat.
Directions: By car you may drive to Lakeshore Blvd and Leslie St. then south to The Spit. Remember the spit is only open on the weekends and is 7km long so quite a hike.
Northern Mockinbird seen today near Shell Park in Oakville.
In Reply to: Long-eared Owl posted by Jeff Adams on February 09, 2006 at 09:43:04:
I have observed some Long Ears in the north Oakville area for the last two winters...they are truly a spectacular bird!
In Reply to: Re: Halls Road Owl posted by Dave on February 09, 2006 at 09:35:59:
I am a photographer with a long lens although i don't have much experience yet , i have found that you can't get to close to the bird as the closer i get the harder it is for me to a good picture [so far most of my settings are auto], i took a picture of a barred owl on the spit and was 40 to 50 yards away. I may be wrong but i think that the birds may be bothered more by folks with a little camera that have to stand under the tree to get a picture .
surfinbird
bird is the word
In Reply to: Re: Red-Tail Hawk nesting in my back yard posted by BIGFRANK on April 12, 2005 at 05:43:44:
I recently got my daughter a chiwahwah for her birthday. The puppy is 8 months and about 8 to 10 pounds. She is bigger than the average rodent, but does anyone out there think I should be concerned about the Red Tail Hawk that lives close by? I see him now out my rear window sitting about 2o ft up in a tree. Is he waiting for the little dog to come out or am I just nuts?
There was a long-eared owl sleeping (all day) in a pine tree in my company's parking lot Tuesday. This is in the Sheridan Sci. and Tech. Park in Mississauga, just north of Winston Churchill and the QEW. I brought my camera yesterday (and today) to get a picture to post, but it's gone. Oh well.
In Reply to: Halls Road Owl posted by bob on February 08, 2006 at 17:31:17:
I guess it would be too much to assume people would respect the Owl and give it a wide berth. Usually its photographers with long lenses trying to get a look up the Owl's nose, but ocassionally it the clown with a camera in his cell phone trying to take a million dollar pic.
In Reply to: Leslie Street spit: access times posted by Andreas Jonsson on February 07, 2006 at 15:08:07:
weekends and holidays but not (legally) after hours through the week - you could be charged with trespass
I have read all the posts on the Halls Road subject. I think most of the photographers stay on the trail but some times will move a little closer. I dont feel there is anything wrong with that as the Owl doesnt seem to mind. The problem I have is with the person who is not a Birder or Photographer going up to him and poking him. If you ask me thats a little offside. If you guys were really interested in the birds wellfare you would have a private website for all you birders to log in on. The type of site this forum is on permits access for all people to view. The best way to look after the birds is to not tell the world of thier location. Get together create a website with password access and only givre it out to birders who you trust.
In Reply to: Re: Amherst Island posted by Kin Lau on February 08, 2006 at 10:59:33:
Thanks Kin, I never made it up to owl woods. I got onto the island kind of late. I caught the 3:30 ferry over. I may try to get up there Friday. I was using the Sigma EX 50-500mm F4-6.3 APO DG.
In Reply to: Amherst Island posted by Art McLeod on February 07, 2006 at 19:40:48:
Very nice Art, which lense were you shooting with.
How was Owl Woods?
We went down to Wolfe island today. Didnt see much, a redtail and a kestrel. We went to Amherst to check in on the snowy owls. It was getting on in the day. We saw three. I was able to try out my new lense on one. Link address here for those interested.
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p25733694.html
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/
In Reply to: Leslie Street spit: access times posted by Andreas Jonsson on February 07, 2006 at 15:08:07:
Yeah, Sat and Sun it is open all day, and also weekdays after 4 or 5 in
the afternoon.
It is closed during the week because dump-trucks are constantly
coming in and out on the road. The whole park is one huge landfill, so
during the week, it is slowly growing! Look at trees next time you are
there, and notice how much younger/sparser the ground-cover is
towards the newer fingers of the peninsula.
In Reply to: Leslie Street spit: access times posted by Andreas Jonsson on February 07, 2006 at 15:08:07:
Yes it is only open weekends (and holidays) ... because during the week it is an active C&D (construction and demolition) landfill!
Pat
In Reply to: Barred Owl at Halls Road posted by Norm Murr on January 29, 2006 at 11:00:41:
I have read all the posts on the Halls Road subject. I think most of the photographers stay on the trail but some times will move a little closer. I dont feel there is anything wrong with that as the Owl doesnt seem to mind. The problem I have is with the person who is not a Birder or Photographer going up to him and poking him. If you ask me thats a little offside. If you guys were really interested in the birds wellfare you would have a private website for all you birders to log in on. The type of site this forum is on permits access for all people to view. The best way to look after the birds is to not tell the world of thier location. Get together create a website with password access and only givre it out to birders who you trust.
Being relatively new in Toronto, I have a question about the access times to the Leslie street spit. I remember reading somehere that the spit is only open to the public during the weekends. Is this correct? If so, why, I wonder?
In Reply to: Redtail at Sunnybrook Hospital posted by Philip Sharkey on February 03, 2006 at 17:33:25:
I have seen redtails here at Sunnybrook pretty often over the past few years. One morning there was one perched on the corner of the F-Wing, staring down at everyone coming in to work. I've seen one perching on the big aerials above the main building. I often see them soaring around the campus (presumably) hunting. There's plenty of pigeons around for food.
-John
The six black-crowned night herons continue to roost in the tree north of the Queen Street bridge along the Don River. Two adults and four immatures. There has been a group wintering here for several years now.
Don Baxter
In Reply to: Re: Feb. 4th Birding trip to Burlington/Stoney Creek area posted by Andrew Don on February 05, 2006 at 06:15:40:
Hi Andrew, it was the reddish-grey one, we scoped it from the trail, it blended in very well with the color of the tree. It moved briefly only to watch something fly over head(possible raptor?). It was a treat to see a "reddish" phase bird, I've only had two others of this color morph in the Toronto area before but have seen many of them at locations much further(7 to 8 hours) south. The Screech Owl call is one of my favorite early spring bird songs, I may have to visit there again near dusk just to refresh my memory. I know Alexa would enjoy it! Thanks again, Brete
In Reply to: Feb. 4th Birding trip to Burlington/Stoney Creek area posted by B. Griffin on February 05, 2006 at 05:49:42:
Hi Brete :) surprised the owl was out in for you to see,last few times for me they been sleeping. Was it the grey or the reddish grey owl the group saw?
Fortunately for the small group of PBCers that ventured out on Saturday morning, the weather forecast timing was a bit off. The freezing rain did not hit the area until early afternoon so we had the whole morning to bird without getting wet. At the very first stop at the CCIW grounds under the Skyway bridge Len and Lucy quickly found the Snowy Owl at the "soccer" field, some dogwalkers then flushed it to a higher perch on a light pole in the parking area for even better viewing(luckily) for us.
From here we moved on to Gray's and Millen Road and a few other lakefront stops where we had good views of a few interesting waterfowl species (Surf Scoters, Red-breasted Mergs, etc. in breeding plumage) but we did not locate the King Eiders. The ducks were not concentrated at any particular site that we visited and the cold winds convinced us not to spend too much time searching the various waterfront sites.
We then headed up on the escarpment to the Quarry area and walked halfway in (from the 8th sideroad?) on the Dofasco trail to find a vantage point to look for raptors. We had at least 4 Northern Harriers which included 2 adult males in their impressive gray and white plumage but no Short-eared owls were seen by us here. We did flush a female Ring-necked Pheasant from beside the trail on the walk back to our cars.
With our luck with the weather still holding, we decided to stop by the Burloak and Rebecca Street area and check on the Screech Owl tree. We were not disappointed and found it in its reasonably well concealed location. By now it was lunch time so we headed off feeling good about having made the effort to get out to bird this morning in spite of the nasty forecast.
P.S. I'll be working on the spring schedule this weekend and will circulate a tentative schedule within the next week or so. Hope to see everyone next weekend, have a good week, Brete
____________________________________________________________
Brete Griffin - breteg@yahoo.ca
Peel Birding Class - peelbirding@yahoo.ca
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBC/ and
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BreteGriffin/
In Reply to: RFI Toronto first-timer posted by james hanlon on February 01, 2006 at 09:00:32:
Lynde Shores and Thickson's Woods
are not too far if you have a car
Take 401 or go by #2
Sedona
Have a great time in our fine city!!
A redtail hawk flew in next to my office today. He/she was 20' away (closest I have ever been) through the glass. He hung for 20 minutes and flew North. I got a couple of Pics.
I think he was donating blood :)
Bill Sharkey
In Reply to: Leslie Spit Saturday(Tommy Thompson Park) posted by BIGFRANK on January 28, 2006 at 16:31:11:
With all the warm weather recently, do you think the Snowy is still there? I'm thinking of going to the Spit on the weekend.
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Announcing the 13th Annual Winter Robin Round-up! Dates: February 1 - 14, 2006 ************************************************************
Calling All Robins! Where do robins spend the winter, anyway? Let's find out!
Before the spring migration begins this year, we'd like to know if you have robins over-wintering in your town. We hope you'll help with Journey North's Annual Winter Robin Round-up! (See instructions below.)
Surprised observers have been reporting robins already. Now we need to hear from YOU, too. Join the fun, send your sightings, and get on the map of Journey North's Winter Robin Round-up!
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How to Participate 1. Today: Go outside and look for robins. Ask your neighbors if they have seen robins. Contact your friends and relatives in other parts of North America. Ask everybody you know to help you look for robins!
2. February 1-14: Whenever you spot a robin, come to the Internet and report your observations to Journey North. We will add your robin observations to the winter map whether the robins are seen alone, in waves (groups), singing their first true song. We ask you to:
* Report the First Robin You SEE http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/robin/ReportSee.html * Report the First Robin You HEAR SINGING (hear the song at the link below) http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/robin/ReportHear.html * Report WAVES (groups) of Migrating Robins http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/robin/ReportWave.html * Report Your First EARTHWORM http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/spring/AboutWorm.html * Report OTHER Robin Behaviors You Observe http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/robin/ReportOther.html
IMPORTANT: Our goal is to show where robins are present in early February. This means that ANY robin seen during this time is considered a "winter" sighting.
Thank you!
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The Next American Robin Report Will Be Posted on February 7, 2006.
Copyright 2006 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our Feedback Form: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/contact/help_contact.html
In Reply to: Re: RFI Toronto first-timer posted by Peter C. on February 02, 2006 at 09:14:38:
I'd just like to thank everyone who has replied (both on the forum and privately) with local information - quite an overwhelming response, and more than enough to keep me going! Looks like i may be meeting up with some of you too when i come in April. good birding to all, James Hanlon (UK)
In Reply to: RFI Toronto first-timer posted by james hanlon on February 01, 2006 at 09:00:32:
Hi James, Given the kind of winter we've been not having, April might be really good here, with many migrants showing up somewhat ahead of time (no guarantees, though). I concur with the suggestions of the previous posters - I especially like the Islands at migration time - but if you're willing to hire a car to go farther afield, I highly recommend Long Point, on Lake Eire. It's only a couple of hours away, and all the roads are good (if you want for directions, email me privately).
Fabulous place! Big marsh, a bit like a wilder version of Minsmere (but without the wonderful hides, alas), and a real magnet for passerines as well. The species seen might not be any more than in the Toronto area, but the numbers can be really impressive, and migration will be just slightly ahead. The real bonus is the publicly accessible ringing station there, at Old Cut Blvd. - great for getting to know some of the more cryptic species up close.
There is a ringing station in Toronto too, at Tommy Thompson park ('the Spit') but it's only open to the public on weekends.
Cheers,
Peter
Kitchener, Ontario
In Reply to: Life of Birds --TVO posted by norman bates on February 01, 2006 at 15:46:57:
Agreed - we look forward to every Wednesday at 7.
In Reply to: RFI Toronto first-timer posted by james hanlon on February 01, 2006 at 09:00:32:
Humber Bay Park East is located directly south of the corner of Park Lawn Road and Lakeshore Blvd. West in Toronto. It's another good spot, open 7 days a week.
Well, they're running it again; tonight at 7 -- #2 of 6. Really quite good, even if you've seen them before (Aunt Margaret taped the series the first time 'round, and we've seen it I don't know how many times). It sure beats all the murdering and lame comedy and anything else on the box.
Enjoy.
--norm
In Reply to: RFI Toronto first-timer posted by james hanlon on February 01, 2006 at 09:00:32:
High Park is another good choice. You can get there on the subway. I enjoy walking by Grenadier Pond, especially the marsh area.
In Reply to: RFI Toronto first-timer posted by james hanlon on February 01, 2006 at 09:00:32:
Toronto Islands- Yonge St. subway south and a 10 min. ferry ride. Will be great in April.
Hi
I'm staying in Toronto for c10 days in April and hoping to do some birding in the area. Can anyone give me tips on where to go for the best days out? I'm hoping to use public transport or might hire a car for a few days. It's my first visit to anywhere in N America (I'm from UK) so I'm not after any specialities - just as many new birds (and other wildlife) as possible!
thanks
James
In Reply to: Re: Barred Owl at Halls Road posted by Robert Beeney on January 31, 2006 at 05:42:44:
Hi Robert
I agree with Lloyd's commits but I also wood earge you to reed the ABA birding ethic's found buy the link provide on this page and the OFO code of ethics found by flowing the link ( that I will try to provide) below .
But remember that this are Birding code of ethics not photogefers , although I have bin photographing for 25 years I wood not know wear to find thoues !? But this being a Bird sighting web sight not a photo website this should do .
Craig McLauchlan
In Reply to: Re: Leslie Spit Saturday(Tommy Thompson Park) posted by Norm Murr on January 29, 2006 at 10:55:59:
So you have never left the road at the Spit?
Dave
In Reply to: Barred Owl in Willow Beach(Lake Simcoe) posted by Lorena on January 30, 2006 at 19:15:47:
Hello there.
I so enjoyed perusing your site and often have been to Pfefferlaw but never birded at W. Beach
We go there to visit the farm for the disabled and used to hike in the back
we will go up for sure when the weather gets warmer
dont like going up 400 though
tks..
any other tips send me private
your site is v. pretty
.. Sedona :)
i will pass it on if that is ok
In Reply to: Re: Barred Owl at Halls Road posted by Robert Beeney on January 31, 2006 at 05:42:44:
Hi Robert. If you ever get the opportunity, visit Point Pelee National Park for the annual spring migration as my wife and I have done for almost twenty years. Great throngs of people are often within just a few feet of our tired and hungry feathered friends. All are birders, of course, like you and I but many are professional photographers toting cameras with huge lenses and big, clunky tripods. But it all seems to work. Every visitor there follows a few simple rules of protocol. Stay on the trails and paths (well marked at Pelee) and never get too close as to worry or harass the birds (and birders). People will be quick to remind you of these simple rules, if necessary. But I've witnessed very few such incidents over the years. All should experience the joy of birding. And all should be respectful.
In Reply to: Barred Owl at Halls Road posted by Norm Murr on January 29, 2006 at 11:00:41:
When i took some pictures of a Barred owl on leslie Spit i was lucky enough to have met a nice woman who was an experienced birder and she was nice enough to give me some tips about how close to get and what to do so i don't bother the bird.[basically don't get close to the bird, thats why i'm in the market for a better lens]. I don't know her name but i'd like to thank her anyway. On another note when i go to Halls rd or Cranberry marsh i stay on the trails. My question is where are we allowed to wander around and are there any rules that i should be aware of ?
Robert Beeney
While out driving this morning I was pleased and surprised to see a beautiful Barred Owl sitting in a tree(10 feet from road) on Kennedy Road North, Willow Beach. I have heard them when we were camping but have never seen one. Very cool!
The bird activity is very busy around our house lately. We have LOTS of Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, Redpolls,House Finches, Cardinals, Chickadees, Mourning Doves,White and Red Breasted Nuthaches, Juncos, and 1 lone American Tree Sparrow that sits in my front feeder for long periods of time. The Crows are very active as well as vocal and some very busy Downy Woodpeckers at the suet. Haven't seen any Blue Jays around here since October but I have seen them in other areas.
I am filling my Nyger feeders(3) and Sunflower feeder every other day lately!! I don't mind at all!! Lorena
Lorena www.willowbeachbirding.com
In Reply to: Re: Niagara parkway last image posted by Kin Lau on January 30, 2006 at 14:12:00:
Thanx
Unfortunately they were silent. Next time I go down that way I'll have another look and maybe some better images.
Thanx again
Napper..
In Reply to: Re: Niagara parkway last image posted by Napper on January 30, 2006 at 13:49:19:
Trumpeter. The yellow tag gives it away. I'm not aware of any tagging program for Tundra's.
In any case, one "honk" and all doubts will be dispelled :)
In Reply to: Re: Niagara parkway posted by Kin Lau on January 23, 2006 at 10:22:00:
Thanx. I responded privately. Your correct I have another image that shows more of the Hybrid's profile and its yellow legs. I am going to post another image of the swans maybee you can help identify Trumpeter or Tundra I still have my doubts..Thanx
In Reply to: Re: Barred Owl at Halls Road posted by JamesT on January 30, 2006 at 07:39:16:
My main issue is the photographers off the trail(s) as I noted Saturday afternoon. You dare not say anything to SOME of them unless you want a confrontation.
Norm
In Reply to: Re: Barred Owl at Halls Road posted by JamesT on January 30, 2006 at 07:39:16:
My main issue is the photographers off the trail(s) as I noted Saturday afternoon. You dare not say anything to SOME of them unless you want a confrontation.
Norm
In Reply to: Re: Barred Owl at Halls Road posted by JamesT on January 30, 2006 at 07:39:16:
There's also the flash issue. For some reason, a lot of these photographers don't realize that Barred Owls are nocturnal, and thus sensitive to flash photography.
Also, if you are indeed seeing a Barred hunting during the day as you mention, then it is likely under some amount of stress already. Hounding it with cameras certainly doesn't make that better.
In Reply to: Re: Barred Owl at Halls Road posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 29, 2006 at 20:22:34:
From what I have seen with this Barred Owl on Halls Rd he doesnt seemed to be bothered at all by people. I have been there and I am a photographer and have had him fly out of the trees and grab prey and fly towards myself and others in a fairly large group and eat is meal right in front of us all. I feel if there was an issue with the people he would have taken his meal and went away from us rather than toward us. I am talking about 10 feet from us. So close that for me to take photos I had to back up several feet. In this case, I dont think this Barred has a problem with people taking his picture...
James
In Reply to: Re: Leslie Spit Saturday(Tommy Thompson Park) posted by Norm Murr on January 29, 2006 at 12:20:31:
Like others out near the pond, precautions were taken to not disturb any plants and definitely not the owl, we are all nature lovers and follow birding ethics.
In Reply to: Re: Barred Owl at Halls Road posted by JamesT on January 29, 2006 at 18:16:14:
"Well I guess if it was really bothered by the photographers it wouldnt stay in that area now would it?"
It might. Food is often a limiting resource for birds in winter, something especially apparent with raptors which can vary in distribution considerably from year to year in response to prey populations. Individuals tend to settle where there is a food base to support them. There may or may not be other suitable habitats with adequate resources in the area - and if these are already occupied by other individuals, intruders may face a battle. In short, an individual forced to leave in search of a less disturbed area may starve before finding one.
Yes, owls and other birds do have the option of taking off if a habitat becomes unsuitable due to human disturbance or any other reason. Sometimes doing so is likely to be a minor inconvenience, but not always. Birders do have a responsibility not to cause unnecessary stress to birds, and while most take this seriously, there are always some who push the boundaries.
The fact is that we have no way of quantifying exactly how much stress an owl (or any other bird) experiences in response to human approach. No doubt there is variation among species and individuals, and the overall condition of the bird (including weather and nutrition-related stresses) is also relevant. Given that none of us can hope to accurately assess these factors for any wild bird, I would hope everyone chooses to exercise more caution rather than less, or else some of them are going to end up being loved to death.
In Reply to: Barred Owl at Halls Road posted by Norm Murr on January 29, 2006 at 11:00:41:
Well I guess if it was really bothered by the photographers it wouldnt stay in that area now would it? It does have wings so I guess it would fly to a location where people would not have access to it if it was being bothered as you say???
In Reply to: Re: Leslie Spit Saturday(Tommy Thompson Park) posted by Marina on January 29, 2006 at 11:59:19:
This area is under ree generation and many new plants have (and will be) intradoust to keep the land from eroding, it might be best to stay to the rood for your own safety and that of the environment. Trust me if you keep going out to the park this will not be the last Snow Owl you will see .
Craig
In Reply to: Re: Leslie Spit Saturday(Tommy Thompson Park) posted by Marina on January 29, 2006 at 11:59:19:
As I suspected.
I like many others use binoculars so we don't have to approach these birds.
Norm Murr
In Reply to: Re: Leslie Spit Saturday(Tommy Thompson Park) posted by Norm Murr on January 29, 2006 at 10:55:59:
To get a better view of the Snowy, viewers descended toward the pond, which was extremely muddy. After seeing the Snowy, I ventured on and did see and photograph the barred owl and the saw-whet. Also had a close up view of a Kestrel near the front gate, and spotted a couple of white-winged scoters amongst all the other waterfowl. What a beautiful day!!
I felt sorry for the poor Barred Owl on Halls Road at Cranberry Marsh yesterday afternoon. It must be very disconcerting for the bird with cameras in front on the path and beside and behind it in the woods off the path. I wonder when it gets any sleep ?
Norm
In Reply to: Re: Leslie Spit Saturday(Tommy Thompson Park) posted by christie on January 29, 2006 at 10:06:47:
I'm confused.
Is the road now covered in mud ??
Norm
In Reply to: Leslie Spit Saturday(Tommy Thompson Park) posted by BIGFRANK on January 28, 2006 at 16:31:11:
I also saw my first snowy in the pond - aka mud trap- sitting on a stump, great view if you don't mind getting stuck in the mud. Did not see the other owls but heard they were there. It was a great day for a walk.
I arrived at Leslie Spit before sunrise,my mission to view my first ever Snowy Owl. Before 8am I'd found it,not much of a view,I was on the outter road looking back towards the city,in cell one(first embayment?). After waiting awhile,I decided to go back around the other side and hope I could get a better view. I did,and stayed in the vicinity watching it move a few times,once upsetting an adult Peregrine Falcon,which I spotted on the ice by following its alarm calls! The Snowy moved several times but didnt leave the vicinity. I was thrilled!
Song/Tree and House Sparrows were seen,Mute Swans,Scaup,Redheads,Common and Red-breasted Mergansers,2 Red-necked Grebe,Long-tailed Ducks,Gadwall,American Black Ducks,Mallards and Common Goldeneye among water birds. Reported but not seen by me were also Barred Owl,Northern Sawhet Owl and Long-eared Owl,a probable Purple Sandpiper was also reported.Good Luck if U give it a go.
In Reply to: Unidentified Grimsby Birds posted by Barb on January 27, 2006 at 17:32:46:
Sounds like a jail break from a local collection.
While my friend and I were out birding Jan.26 at The Grimsby Pumphouse, we came across three birds which we could not give a positive I.D. I was hoping that perhaps someone has been there recently or has I.D.'d the following and could help.
1)The first is a very black duck. It is with a large group of Mallards and approximately the same size. The duck is totally black with an iridescent green tinge except for a teal speculum. Its legs appear to be a dark brown almost black and its bill is black. The closest we could come to matching it was a wild Moscovy Duck. The gentleman who feeds the ducks daily said that it arrived about two months ago.
2)The second is a basically white duck, again with another group of Mallards but a fraction smaller in size comparison. It has a black/grey bill and orange legs. The breast is covered with brown speckles and the tertials are a mottled brown. It has a teal speculum. The same gentleman said the white duck has been there about a month.
3)The third bird we believe is a Barnacle Goose/ Canada Goose Hybrid but are looking for some confirmation. It has been with the other geese most of the winter. I have not seen any postings on Ontbirds regarding these three birds.
Happy Birding!
Directions: Take the QEW to Grimsby exiting at the Maple St. exit. go north and make a left on Olive St. then turn right on Elizabeth St. and proceed to the Pumphouse parking lot at the lake.
In Reply to: Bird ID posted by Jeff on January 25, 2006 at 04:48:29:
Speaking of NOMOs, I'm reminded of a little excursion to the Long Point area a few years back ... my dear aunt was behind the wheel, and there was a fair bit of snow coming down. Just as I suggested we slow down a bit, she shrieked, "Mockingbird! Mockingbird!" as our Ford Fiesta began a series of circles on the fortunately deserted highway. "Mockingbird! Mockingbird!" she continued, as our vehicle shot off the highway, through the ditch and mowed down four fenceposts, a mailbox, and a small European Buckthorn. "Mockingbird! Mockingbird" was the last thing I heard before being catapulted through the windshield and being impaled on a barbed-wire fence.
Well, it was indeed a Northern Mockingbird, a relatively rare sighting back then, but I still have nightmares about mimids. And I do the driving now.
In Reply to: Re: Bird ID posted by Al Johnston on January 25, 2006 at 05:57:51:
Thanks to you both. I had thought that even the underside of the tail was supposed to be reddish or pink, which is why I wasn't sure. He/she also has a lot more white on the breast than the ones in my book.
Thanks again,
Jeff
In Reply to: Bird ID posted by Jeff on January 25, 2006 at 04:48:29:
Nice pics, Jeff. I agree with Dan about the mockingbird and the hawk is a red-tailed. The pic doesn't show the upper side of the tail. Al
In Reply to: Bird ID posted by Jeff on January 25, 2006 at 04:48:29:
Northern Mockingbird
In Reply to: Bird ID posted by Jeff on January 25, 2006 at 04:48:29:
Northern Mockingbird
Just wondering if anyone can help identify these birds. The first, I saw on Friday (in Mississauga: near Speakman and Winston Churchill) on the edge of a large field in kind of a bramble thicket. I thought it might be a mockingbird, but the beige, almost yellow-ish breast is strange. I snapped 2 small picks with my digital:
http://www.chem-eng.utoronto.ca/~martham/bird1.jpg
http://www.chem-eng.utoronto.ca/~martham/bird3.jpg
On the same day I saw a downy woodpecker and a red-tailed hawk.
And since I'm posting, I snapped this shot of a raptor at the Don Valley Brickworks in October. I thought it might be a red-tailed hawk as well, but it lacks a red tail... It was feeding on a large mouse (or small rat?) at the time I saw it.
http://www.chem-eng.utoronto.ca/~martham/bird2.jpg
Thanks for any help. These may be easy, but the pictures in my bird guide don't look like either of them.
In Reply to: Re: Sunday on Leslie Spit posted by Tommy on January 23, 2006 at 19:44:27:
COuld someone please email me (more or less) where abouts the owls were seen ? I have been to the spit only once and that was a long time ago.
In Reply to: Re: Humber Bay East/ High Park... Bald Eagle PHOTO posted by john on January 24, 2006 at 07:30:58:
Oh, and that looks like the bird's right wing, to me.
In Reply to: Re: Humber Bay East/ High Park... Bald Eagle PHOTO posted by Kin Lau on January 23, 2006 at 13:55:11:
Hasn't there been a BAEA in the Niagara area with a green tag for many years? Are there any Canadian authorities using wing tags with BAEA? I thought they only used FWS and colour bands.
In Reply to: Sunday on Leslie Spit posted by Claus on January 23, 2006 at 09:20:10:
I was a kind of upset a week ago about the report of the dead Barred Owl, but I could assure everyone now that the friendly Barred Owl is still well, as most birders have seen it again Sunday.
Nice day at the Spit for both birders and photographers. Other than the regular waterfowl and what’s been mentioned already. I have taken photos of a Great Black back Gull, the Snowy Owl and the friendly Barred Owl again.
And my 50 cents worth…
In Reply to: Re: Snowy owl-Amherst Island posted by Sedona on January 23, 2006 at 15:20:28:
Thank you Sedona, that is very much appreciated and I am glad both you and your friends are enjoying the pictures.
In Reply to: Re: Snowy owl-Amherst Island posted by Sedona on January 23, 2006 at 15:20:28:
Thank you Sedona, that is very much appreciated and I am glad your friends are enjoying the pictures.
We went to the island and saw at least 10 snowy owls, 5 in one field on the south end of the island. Along the lake shore. Here is a link to one of the pictures taken today.
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p25230625.html
In Reply to: Re: Humber Bay East/ High Park... Bald Eagle PHOTO posted by Kin Lau on January 23, 2006 at 13:55:11:
My apologies, hopefully this one works...
In Reply to: Snowy owl-Amherst Island posted by Art McLeod on January 15, 2006 at 20:22:16:
Beautiful photos Art and I want you to know I have passed them on to several groups of mine who enjoy them.
tks..
Namaste
Sedona
In Reply to: Re: Swans posted by Al Johnston on January 21, 2006 at 17:16:46:
Liverpool Road Pickering .. banded/tagged.. whatever a few weeks ago
why on earth do people do this? with the hooks etc.
I surely hope this Swan is cared for..
Sedona
In Reply to: Re: Humber Bay East/ High Park... Bald Eagle PHOTO posted by Iain Fleming on January 23, 2006 at 13:14:13:
The inline pic won't work from fotopic.
Very nice pic tho.... if you blow it up, you can see that it's got a green tag on it's left wing.
In Reply to: Humber Bay East/ High Park... Bald Eagle posted by Iain Fleming on January 23, 2006 at 13:02:04:
Shrike and Mockingbird photos can be found in the Toronto Birds section of Fleming Photography.
Thanks,
Iain
Had a good day in the West End. 33 species total with highlights being a Northern Shrike, Northern Mockingbird, feeding Kestrel and an adult Bald Eagle at the southeastern point of Humber Bay Park East as well as a Cooper's in High Park.
See reply for photos.
Iain
In Reply to: RFI.. re Leslie Spit.. quickest route.. from.. posted by Sedona on January 20, 2006 at 12:36:40:
By car, just get on the DVP and go straight south, exit at Lakeshore, thru the intersection, left at the 1st light, all the way to the end, right again and about 3/4km, when the road turns right, there it is.
Parking is always free... they're not plowing the lot, so the parking lot is actually closed during the winter, but there's plenty of street parking.
BTW, the park is open _ONLY_ on weekends and holidays. The rest of the week, it's a landfill site. Of course, if you have a friend with a dump truck and some clean fill, you could go for a ride.
1/2 way out is okay in spring, summer and fall, but in winter, the best stuff is all the way at the end.
There's a couple of "portable toilets" out there. Best to bring your own toilet paper and some hand sanitizer.
In Reply to: Re: Niagara parkway posted by Napper on January 23, 2006 at 07:29:36:
I think it's too big to be a Snow Goose. It's probably a barnyard/Canada hybrid.
Yesterdays higlights on Leslie Spit include: 1 Snowy Owl, 1 Barred Owl, 1 Common Loon, 1 Northern Shrike, 2 Peregines and 1 Kestrel + a nice number of waterfowl!
In Reply to: Re: Niagara parkway posted by Napper on January 22, 2006 at 18:16:07:
Here is what I think is a blue morph snow goose can any one confirm this. looked really odd swimming with the other geese.
Napper... thanx
Hi There
I went down to the Leslie st. Spit on Sunday and saw a barred owl. This may not a big thing for you folks but i have not seen an owl ever and i'm from the Minden area . I would like to thank the young fellow who ever he is for the directions. I managed to get some pictures but have not downloaded them yet.
Robert
I saw the Northern pintail at Humber Bay East at about 12:00 on Sunday. It was among many mallards.
In Reply to: Re: Niagara parkway posted by Napper on January 22, 2006 at 19:11:38:
Ok. Now my computer is working and I can actually see the images that I posted. I Had to use an older computer. Here is the image from Port Colborne. Like I said there were quite a few Swans here today.. You cannot see the whole bay in this image.Napper
In Reply to: Niagara parkway posted by Napper on January 22, 2006 at 11:16:30:
(1)This was in the Niagara river. Shortly after taking this image I spotted a couple of people using spotting scopes from the shore..... My dad told me to go see all the swans up at the lake (Erie that is) these swans(2) were in gravelly bay port Colborne. My what a noise they were making. Many people were out to see them. I didn't count them but there must have been at least 100 of them. http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/1238/niagaraswan8zk.jpg http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/8292/napperswans3og.jpg
Napper..
In Reply to: Niagara parkway posted by Napper on January 22, 2006 at 11:16:30:
Hello, spotted this today near Fort Erie hopefully this works been having lots of trouble with computers today..
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/8884/mute0uh.jpg
In Reply to: Re: RFI: Hawks Guide posted by Craig McLauchlan on January 22, 2006 at 10:26:14:
I haven't seen Liguori's book yet, but heartily second Craig's endorsement of Wheeler's book, which is useful not only for basic identification queries, but also for much more detailed ageing and sexing challenges and thorough research on distribution and races.
Just arrived at my parents house.What a beautiful day. We used the scenic route, The niagara Parkway. Spotted a number of Mute Swans and Trumpeters in the river. Will post images later when I get home. Odd looking Goose as well. I think it is that blue morph snow goose again. Napper p.s finally some sunshine.
In Reply to: RFI: Hawks Guide posted by Joanne on January 21, 2006 at 14:01:37:
Hi you might also want to look at “Raptors of Eastern North America “by Brian K Wheeler.
All though it might be to large to tack out in to the field it is a amassing book and one that I have a hard time putting down!
Also Kaufman’s Field guide to birds of North America has a great Raptors area and Peterson guides to Hawks is good also, all thought my copy started to fall apart the day I bout it ..
Only six weeks to go before the hawk migration from the south begins ..
Craig McLauchlan
For those interested, the male Wood Duck is still cohabitating with the Mallards and Canada Geese at the Lynde Shores foot bridge as of 11 a.m. this morning.
Lynde Shores conservation area is off Victoria Street just east of Halls Road in Whitby.
In Reply to: Swans posted by C. Kunz on January 21, 2006 at 15:54:56:
Thanks for posting this report. Can you give the location and I'll contact Harry Lumsden, founder of the Ontario Trumpeter Swan Restoration Program, to see if, perhaps, he can assist the swan in some way. Thanks, Al
Today, Sat 21st 2006 3PM, I stopped by one of my favourite birding haunts and spotted a pair of Trumpeter Swans. They are tagged and probably originiated from the Wye Marsh sanctuary. Unfortunately one of them seemed to be bleeding from its beak. No doubt picked up a hook/tackle from some stupid fisherman leaving hooks/tackle behind without any thought of the damage it could present to wildlife.
I want to buy a field guide to hawks and someone had recommended Sutton's "Hawks in Flight" When I went on the internet to order it, I came across a book published in 2005 "Hawks from Every Angle" by Jerry Liqueri. Is there someone who knows it and would recommend it over "Hawks in Flight"?
About 5 PBCers braved some "unpleasant" weather early this morning to bird the Toronto west waterfront. Strong winds and heavy snow made visibility difficult at Kipling to start the morning but we still managed very good views of a number of waterfowl species. This included several Common and Red-breasted Megansers and a few Hooded as well to complete the merganser hat-trick. The Long-tailed Ducks were up close and actively courting and there were many "large" gulls, mostly Herring and Greater Black-backed. There may have been a Glaucous or Iceland around but we didn't stay too long, only long enough to be sure there was no Snowy Owl around the marina.
From here we moved on to Humber Bay east where we added a few more waterfowl species including American Widgeon, Gadwall, Redhead, and several more Hooded Mergansers at close range. Not long after we found the Northern Shrike that has been hanging around the area this winter so far. It was low and close in the top of a sumac shrub to give us good looks befor flying back west as we headed east along the peninsula. Shortly after this we headed south to view the open lake and the first duck I put my glasses on turned out to be the Harlequin Duck that has been seen "off and on" in this area over the last several weeks.
We walked a bit more along the south shoreline in hopes of flushing a Purple Sandpiper but our luck was not all good today. We ended a bit earlier than ususal as a few of us were feeling wet and cold and headed for a warm, dry spot for brunch to plan for next weekend's outing. In total we had about 14 different species of waterfowl on today's relatively short outing, including both Trumpeter and Mute swans. No Northern Pintail today but there's always next week to try again.
____________________________________________________________
Brete Griffin - breteg@yahoo.ca
Peel Birding Class - peelbirding@yahoo.ca
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBC/ and
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BreteGriffin/
In Reply to: Coopers Hawk at Edwards Garden posted by Bill on January 20, 2006 at 18:32:18:
I've seen this hawk as well once in the summer time, and saw it in the distance around october. I went back many times but i guess my timing was off and never saw him again.
thanx for the heads up.
This is probably not news to some but I was surprized to when I stopped by Edward's Garden this afternoon to say hi to the Mallards when a Cooper's Hawk landed in the tree above my head. He stayed for 45 min and went to another tree for a short time and flew to a third tree. Must be a resident of the area... I'll be looking for him next week and I'll be sure to take my big lens with my camera ... just in case. BTW it was an adult, not sure of the sex.
Bill
Sighted a Peregrine Falcon on Thursday January 19, 2006 just outside Milton, Ontario.
In Reply to: Re: Taylor Creek Park posted by Ed on January 20, 2006 at 06:05:26:
You can also get in (and park) off Dawes Rd. (#23 bus). A couple of weeks back there was a big typical winter mixed flock, incl. golden-crowned kinglets, just west of parking lot. Can be good in migration, especially east of Dawes (tanagers, golden-winged & many other warblers, MANY orioles), also screech owls, pileated WP. Summer (nesting?) wood thrushes in western section. Worth it if you're nearby anyway.
Yonge Lawrence area.. Please
and also..
is there lots to see if you just go out l/2 way I would think so.. .. so pretty there..
tks in advance
do they charge for parking on the weekend ..
Sedona also . do they have bathroom facilities
tks in A..
In Reply to: Re: Leslie St. Spit - Barred Dead posted by Kin Lau on January 18, 2006 at 10:12:36:
ii
In Reply to: Re: Taylor Creek Park posted by John on January 19, 2006 at 16:23:46:
Go to the intersection of Woodbine and Cosburn and continue east on
Cosburn past Stan Wadlow Park to Haldon Ave. Make a left there and at
the bottom of the hill you'll find a parking lot and paths into the park,
which is actually a ravine that to the south leads into the Don valley. In
May, Taylor Creek is a magnet for migrants--one year I saw a whole flight
of scarlet tanagers working through the treetops--and it's a nesting site
for orioles, catbirds, cardinals, etc. in the summer. Good luck.
Ed
In Reply to: Re: Taylor Creek Park posted by Ed on January 19, 2006 at 13:29:39:
Where is Taylor Creek Park?
In Reply to: Taylor Creek Park posted by Robert Beeney on January 19, 2006 at 11:28:38:
Hello Rob:
There's a pair of redtail hawks in the park that I often see when I'm
walking south, to the elevated wetlands. It's also a good area for pileated
woodpeckers--I saw one there a couple of weeks ago, and have seen
them often in the past. Chikadees, nuthatches, the usual suspects, as they
say.
Ed
In Reply to: RFI: Trip to Toronto & Mississauga posted by Jamie Simmons on January 16, 2006 at 23:04:24:
Red-headed woodpecker is not at all likely.
Red-bellied woodpecker is much easier to find south of the lake rather than in Toronto itself. If you go to the Falls (highly recommended for both scenery and gulls), try going into the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and drive around looking for feeders in neighborhoods with some larger trees. Tufted titmouse will also be there.
As to migrants in early February, the short answer is no.
Next time I'm in OR you can find me a white-headed woodpecker!
Pat Hodgson
Toronto
Hi There
Does anyone do any birding around Taylor Creek Park? I live nearby and hope to check it out but i'm just wondering what kind of birds might be in the area.
Rob
In Reply to: Re: Leslie St. Spit - Barred Dead posted by Kin Lau on January 19, 2006 at 10:17:21:
A slow moving Barred Owl in the open is an easy target for a peregrine, they are plenty big enough to take one down. Although it's not their usual prey.
In Reply to: Re: Leslie St. Spit - Barred Dead posted by Dave on January 18, 2006 at 14:03:53:
Not likely. Just about any hawk or falcon will bother a GHO or just about any other owl. Sharpies & Merlins seem to be the most daring, but they have the least chance of taking a GHO.
Crows also like to bother raptors, and they have zero chances of taking one out.
Peregrines aren't really big enough to take a Barred Owl either. GHO's have _very_ powerful claws, enough to take a rabbit or goose.
In Reply to: Re: mystery bird in Cedarvale Ravine posted by Jennifer on January 18, 2006 at 14:03:08:
Thank You for the directions i was hoping that the ravine was near Cedervale Ave near Taylor Creek park.
Rob
In Reply to: RFI: Trip to Toronto & Mississauga posted by Jamie Simmons on January 16, 2006 at 23:04:24:
If you have time, follow the Niagara Parkway from the Fall's toward Fort Erie. Last year my brother and his wife claimed to have spotted "Mute Swans" near Fort Erie in the river during the winter. Another tidbit. I was watching a NFL broadcast in December and during a commercial break they showed a quick video clip from under the Peace bridge showing a few "White Pelicans". Napper.
In Reply to: Leslie St. Spit - Barred Dead posted by Bill Sharkey on January 17, 2006 at 16:53:45:
despite the "likely this" hypotheses, you can't really say what killed the owl without a closer inspection. it could have just died, and been eaten by a fox. who knows.
In Reply to: Leslie St. Spit - Barred Dead posted by Bill Sharkey on January 17, 2006 at 16:53:45:
More likely the peregrine. I've seen them really harrassing the Great Horned Owls out there
In Reply to: Re: mystery bird in Cedarvale Ravine posted by Robert Beeney on January 18, 2006 at 10:11:08:
I'm speaking of the Cedarvale Ravine in the St. Clair and Bathurst Area. If you travel north on Bathurst from St. Clair and make a left turn on Heathdale (the street just before the bridge) you will come to a foot bridge across the ravine. The birds have been there almost everyday between 7:30-8am but they are always gone by the time I cross again at 8:30. They might be there earlier but I'm never up at that time to check.
In Reply to: Leslie St. Spit - Barred Dead posted by Bill Sharkey on January 17, 2006 at 16:53:45:
Probably the GHO... same thing happened to a Barred Owl in Cranberry Marsh back in 2004.
In Reply to: mystery bird in Cedarvale Ravine posted by Jennifer on January 18, 2006 at 06:18:58:
Hi There
Is the Cedervale Ravine near Woodbine & Cosburn area . I live nearby and would like to get a picture of this bird if i can.
Rob
In Reply to: Re: mystery bird in Cedarvale Ravine posted by Iain Fleming on January 18, 2006 at 08:36:30:
I'm leaning towards the red-tailed hawk. I'm going to put my digital camera in my coat, it has a 10X zoom so hopefully I can get a bit closer.
I love your photography btw, beautiful images!
In Reply to: mystery bird in Cedarvale Ravine posted by Jennifer on January 18, 2006 at 06:18:58:
The white head is puzzling. Have a look at Red-tailed Hawks and Barred Owls. If neither of them match then a shot in the dark might be Rough- legged Hawks.
Barred Owls and Red-tailed Hawks are in the 19-21 inch range (head to tail), the Owl being on the larger end.
Photos of both can be found at:
Almost every morning when I walk my dog I see this bird. I don't own binoculars so I can't get a close up but they are big birds. Some of my fellow early morning walkers say eagle or owl. The bird seems to have a smaller head than an owl and be a bit big for an owl. Has any birder spotted this bird, sometimes he/she is there with a friend who is the same but slightly smaller. They are mostly brown with white chests and white heads. I do not see the characteristic yellow beaks of an eagle and they seem too big to be hawks.
In Reply to: 2 Snowies - Leslie St. Spit posted by Iain Fleming on January 16, 2006 at 08:48:09:
I was out the spit on Sunday and at the end of the Marina I found a Dead Barred Owl carcass. It was half eaten with the head gone. Probably killed on Saturday. Would the Snowy or Horned Owl be able to kill the Barred or another raptor?
Thanks
Bill
In Reply to: RFI: Trip to Toronto & Mississauga posted by Jamie Simmons on January 16, 2006 at 23:04:24:
Niagara should have all the gulls you're looking for.
American Black Duck can be very common, but probably Humber Bay East will be the easiest spot (very accessible, not much walking) for this assuming we don't get a massive freeze, and there's no open water. This is really the big problem for waterfowl as none of us know what the conditions will be like in 2 weeks.
There's a few feeders north of the city that have Redpolls now, but the ones I've been to are northeast of Toronto in Markham/Stoufville.
There's usually a Red-Bellied WP in the east part of the city near the Zoo. I haven't seen it recently, but it was there all fall and winter last year.
The only Red-headed WP that I know of as being a "sure thing", are the ones in Constance Bay near Ottawa.
In Reply to: RFI: Trip to Toronto & Mississauga posted by Jamie Simmons on January 16, 2006 at 23:04:24:
Humber Bay Park East is located directly south of the corner of Park Lawn Road and Lakeshore Blvd. West in Toronto. It's another good spot, open 7 days a week.
In Reply to: RFI: Trip to Toronto & Mississauga posted by Jamie Simmons on January 16, 2006 at 23:04:24:
The Leslie Street Spit (AKA Tommy Thompson Park) is a good choice for gulls, waterfowl and raptors. But, it is only open on Saturdays and Sundays. Expect to walk a lot, because it is about 7 km long.
I will be in Toronto and Mississauga for a few days on a business trip, probably starting January 31.
I'm particularly interested in finding birds not typical to Oregon, such as some of the gulls (Great black-backed, Little, Lesser black-backed, Iceland) and American Black Duck, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Redpolls. (I realize some of these are probably unrealistic, but am mentioning just in case.) Any good spots in the Toronto area?
I may also go to Niagara Falls (gulls, etc.) after my business is done, so any advice on places on my way there is welcome too.
Are there any migrants that typically begin to show up in early February, and, if so what species are they?
Any advice will be appreciated!
Jamie Simmons
Corvallis, Oregon
woodpecker97330@yahoo.com
All shots taken between Brighton(roughlegged),,Belleville(redtail) and Amherst Island(snowy, great grey and redtail)
Links for those interested.
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p25013070.html
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p25013069.html
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p25013068.html
In Reply to: Re: Unknown Ducks - Port Credit posted by Brie on January 16, 2006 at 17:15:08:
Good stuff Brie. Congratulations on a new bird! It always fun to see something new and different!
In Reply to: Re: Unknown Ducks - Port Credit posted by BIGFRANK on January 15, 2006 at 19:33:34:
That is definately it! The feet are a dead giveaway!
No red on the nose, but the rest is perfect.
Another one to add to the lifer!
Thank you for your help.
In Reply to: Re: Help me identify this bird. Possibly an owl posted by john on January 15, 2006 at 19:12:17:
Thank you very much. This is exactly the guy I saw only I don't remember seeing the black and white cheek markings. The one I was looking at had grey cheeks. But the rest of it checks out. Thanks for solving this mystery for me.
In Reply to: Help me identify this bird. Possibly an owl posted by Louise Ramsay on January 15, 2006 at 18:55:30:
here is a link to the site I like the best. Napper
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Kestrel.html
In Reply to: Re: Snowy PHOTO posted by Iain Fleming on January 16, 2006 at 08:58:27:
Thanks for the photo, we looked (yesterday afternoon)but we didn't see them. We didn't walk far enough.
In Reply to: 2 Snowies - Leslie St. Spit posted by Iain Fleming on January 16, 2006 at 08:48:09:
Good looking bird...
Found two Snowy Owls on the spit yesterday (January 15th). Both were found approximately 400m east of the lighthouse sitting low on the shoreline and were at one point together. One was a heavily barred 1st year female and the other either a first year male or adult female. I have a photo of the latter and will upload it if someone wants to tell me how.
There was also a female kestrel actively hunting at the base of the lighthouse hill. The usual waterfowl were seen in all of the ponds.
We saw a couple of snowy owls on Amherst Island today. A couple of kilometers east of the first intersection after getting off the ferry.
Here is a picture for anyone interested.
http://art-mcleod.fotopic.net/p24976354.html
In Reply to: Help me identify this bird. Possibly an owl posted by Louise Ramsay on January 15, 2006 at 18:55:30:
This is an American Kestrel, I took this last year near Burlington.....I have seen Kestrels in and around 401 & Keele also at the Downsview Airforce base..
Napper. .
In Reply to: Unknown Ducks - Port Credit posted by Brie on January 15, 2006 at 13:20:25:
How about American Coot? A shot in the dark.
In Reply to: Help me identify this bird. Possibly an owl posted by Louise Ramsay on January 15, 2006 at 18:55:30:
sounds like an american kestrel. i'd bet three dollars.
So I live in Toronto just south of Yorkdale mall. This morning I was opening the shutters that look out on to my balcony on the 21st floor and there was the most incredible bird sitting on the balcony railing. I'm not a bird watcher but this guy really caught my eye. After hours now looking at bird/owl websites, I think he might have been an owl, but the colouring's off. I could really use your help figuring out what kind of bird he is. The details are...
-About 6-8 inches tall - could be a youngling -About 12 inches from top to tail -About 4 inches in diameter around the belly -Breast colour was camel with dark brown or black spots -Camel colour went right up to his chin -From looking from the side, he had 3 layers, the bottom one was the camel and then a grey layer. I think this might have been the wings -The wings tapered down to a black layer, probably the tail -The back was the most beautiful rust colour with black markings that looked like overturned half-moons. They were probably 1/4" thick at their widest. They covered the back. -The face was round - no ears -The face was grey with white on the chin and the lower cheeks
If anyone has any idea what this bird might be, I'd be interested in knowing.
Louise
Was lucky enough to see 2 Great Horned owls in the same tree at Thickson Woods They started by calling to each other and one flew over to the same branch as the other. The larger of the two then walked along close to the truck and snuggled while the smaller, I assume the male was very vocal. They were at the west end of the woods about 60ft up. Was lucky enough to get some pictures though I had to shoot at 1600 ISO so quality is not great. It was however nice to listen too.
I was down at Port Credit today and in amongst the PCYC docks (end of dock C to be exact) I saw two ducks that I can't seem to identify. I checked my Peterson's guide front to back numerous times.
It was a diving duck, about the size of a Scaup. It had a black head, that faded into a dark grey body. No ring around the neck, but no black trailed down the chest (not like a lesser scaup). It had a WHITE bill with a black ring close to the tip. This bill was unusual to me because it was large. Like that of a surf scoter or common eider (that's the closest I can compare it). It was quite a fat duck. I'm pretty sure it had red eyes.
Can anyone help me identify this? Did I see something rare?
In Reply to: Re: Or... Long tail duck :) posted by john on January 13, 2006 at 10:33:56:
http://www.seaduckjv.org/meetseaduck/Oldsquaw_name_change.pdf
In Reply to: Re: Or... Long tail duck :) posted by Peter Monahan on January 08, 2006 at 03:31:02:
Perhaps this is why it was changed...
In Reply to: Re: Long tailed ducks posted by Mike Young on March 18, 2005 at 12:41:27:
I live on a boat in Ridge, Md. that is right near to
Point Lookout. There are these beutiful and very
verble birds, I have identified as "Longtailed Ducks"
I would love to learn more about them.Hope someone
responds..thanks..
In Reply to: Re: GREY vs. GRAY posted by Lat Correa on January 21, 2005 at 16:47:51:
who cares? dorks
In Reply to: peregrine at humber posted by joel on January 09, 2006 at 17:10:54:
Many years ago on a warm spring or summer day I was in High Park with my two year old son, Rosaire. He was playing in the long grass in a field near the gawdy steel beam art display. I was sitting some distance away on a picnic bench.
What I thought was a large hawk landed high up ontop of one of the girder beams of this art display. I was not concerned, raptors don't eat kid's, right. To my suprise this large bird dove at my son. It was a race as to who was going to reach my son first, me or the raptor. Definetly the bird was going to strike first but it must have realized that I was not going to be far behind to pounce on it. It changed flight direction and flew directly at me until it changed course and flew into the forest near by. That was a suprise I will never forget.
We often ventured into High Park before and after this incident. To my suprise this same bird seemed to identify my son as a missed meal because for the next few days it hung around us as we strolled through the park.
After visiting a Raptor display at the Sportsman Show I now believe that it may have been a Golden Eagle.
In Reply to: Re: peregrine at humber posted by John on January 09, 2006 at 17:18:59:
I run a local kayaking company that mainly operates on the Humber River. We have been operating for about 7 years.
I believe we have sighted Peregrine and Osprey along with many hawks along the lower Humber. We see deer, fox, coyate, beaver, etc. on a regular basis south of Bloor Street.
We see more wildlife on our Humber River adventures then we do when
we trip to Algonquin. I believe that the many sightings are due to
limited space, the corridor, and a learned tolerance for people.
Pictures at www.TorontoAdventures.ca
In Reply to: Spit- Peregrine and Barred Owl posted by Leslie Kinrys on January 09, 2006 at 07:19:07:
I have a very good photo of a Northern Goshawk taken in north Pickering a few years back, but the denomination (46 cents) leaves me feeling somewhat inadequate ...
I remember Aunt Margaret sitting in the car, all googly-eyed from the medications, but she actually ID'ed it as it flew across the 4th concession, dispersing a remarkable number (1500-2000) of Snow Buntings.
The lady continues to astonish me with her powers of observation.
We're off to The Spit on Saturday -- sounds like a lot of activity down that way!
Cheers,
-NB
In Reply to: peregrine at humber posted by joel on January 09, 2006 at 17:10:54:
Could be one of the Peregrines that live at the Clarica Centre at Bloor and Islington. Drove by the other day and saw one circling near the nest on the 18th floor.
In Reply to: Re: Spit- Peregrine and Barred Owl posted by Tommy on January 09, 2006 at 08:32:59:
Thanks for sharing your pictures with us. I haven't managed to spot an owl or a falcon yet. I'll be going to the spit soon though.
In Reply to: peregrine at humber posted by joel on January 09, 2006 at 17:10:54:
Excellent sighting whether it was or wasn't a Peregrine, wish we had seen it.
saw what i'm nearly sure was a peregrine falcon sitting in a small tree just west of the humber bridge on the shore. what a beautiful thing to see!
In Reply to: Re: Spit- Peregrine and Barred Owl posted by Tommy on January 09, 2006 at 08:23:18:
Here is the Great Horned Owl photo taken 10 days ago only 100 feet east of where the Barred Owl is.
In Reply to: Spit- Peregrine and Barred Owl posted by Leslie Kinrys on January 09, 2006 at 07:19:07:
There was also the American Kestrel by the gatehouse and the Downy Woodpecker in the same general location. The Peregrine Falcon was on that same lightpole the last 2 times I was there.
Here is the picture of the Barred Owl.
We saw an adult Peregrine Falcon. It spooked a flock of Snow Buntings. Also, it chased a Bufflehead at one point. It spent a lot of time sitting on a lightpole, which was just past the bridge. Also, we were told where to find a Barred Owl. It was snuggled up to a tree trunk, snoozing away. Another birder pointed out a Lesser Black-Backed Gull to us. All the other winter ducks were there, too. A great day on the Leslie St. spit.
In Reply to: northern mockingbird posted by Dan on November 28, 2005 at 17:42:51:
A Northern Mockingbird has inhabited my backyard for the past 3 weeks. He is very aggressive chasing the other birds away as though he is defending his territory. I particularly enjoy his flashy wings as he flies around. Yesterday I observed him on the ground spreading his wings as though he was trying to dry them.
He never comes to the feeders. I'm trying to find out what diet he survives on.
I live in the Southwest end of Mississauga (S. of QEW on Oakville border).
In Reply to: Re: Anyone here do birding.. near Yonge/Lawrence area?? posted by David Shilman on January 08, 2006 at 13:13:25:
David I will e-mail you some flood damage photos directly rather than post them here. I don't have those photos uploaded yet to a host.
Kevin