2011 has been a year of little birding so far. One might think that unemployment would allow for days upon days of birding...but, unfortunately, when all your mind is doing is broken-record-ing on 'I need a job' skip 'I need a job' skip and so forth, there is an annoying guilty, nagging feeling when you're enjoying yourself. Maybe that's just me. Oh, but I'm employed now so I've been able to get out birding again. In fact, I wanted to get out this morning, but for any of you Toronto folks, you know we are currently under a blanket of dreariness and rain.
Anyway, there have been some highlights in my well-kept-secret birding life of late. One, which wasn't really a birding trip, but an outdoor-loving trip nonetheless, involved a group of my friends heading up to near-Huntsville, Ontario, to stay a night in a cabin and do some snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. We visited Arrowhead Provincial Park, quite a nice area from what I observed between panting for air and crashing on every hill we skied on (personally I think 'mountain' a more apt name than 'hill' but a slope one degree below a level plane could hardly be called a mountain I guess). When we first arrived, we were heading to a warming station to take a break from the walk between the car and the station (which we parked next to). As I was walking by the window of the station, from within, unknown to me, my best friend from back home-Leamington saw someone that looked familiar, cocked her head to the side and got up to investigate. Opening the door, she caused a noise that caused me to turn around and cock my head to the side. MARIANNE??!?!!?!!??!! What a great surprise. Warm hugs and frozen tears followed by boiling-over-the-pot excitement for the approaching spring migration.
Next highlight came last weekend at Humber Bay East in Toronto. Our group of birders was counting the waterfowl off the bay (Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Mallard, Gadwall, American Black Duck, Ruddy Duck, Trumpeter and Mute Swans, White-winged Scoter, Common and Red-breasted Merganser, Common Goldeneye, Greater Scaup, Canvasback, and American Wigeon), when one of us spotted a Great Black-backed Gull showing some odd behaviour a ways off. The bird was skimming the surface of the water, looking down into the water when it was landed, wings raised, and bursting up into shorts bouts of flight a meter or so before landing again. Curious, we watched and waited. To our surprise, after a minute or so, a Long-tailed Duck came to the surface for air, only to be stabbed at by a massive beak before diving to the depths again for escape. We were watching a hunt. This lasted for about 20 minutes before the Long-tailed Duck dove for one last time, exhausted, and ended up on the surface, immobile. The gull, not wasting the opportunity, bent its prey's wings to bone-breaking angles, and wrenched the duck's head under the surface of the water, inducing eventual death. The Long-tailed Duck gave a few final kicks, its life-force draining, a last struggle; succumbed, accepted its fate, its last thoughts clouded by fear and pain.
Eventually, the gull broke skin with its bill, a sword-stab, and we watched as strands of red material were pulled from the belly of the duck, the gull finally able to relish the coppery taste of blood and the feast it fought hard for. A few Herring Gulls circled, perhaps thinking of stealing some of the meal but the Great Black-backed Gull came out the victor.
Showing posts with label Humber Bay East. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Humber Bay East. Show all posts
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Sunday, March 14, 2010
A day of blunders
No force in heaven or on earth could have brought anyone out into the monstrous weather of Saturday, March 13th in Toronto. A sensible (sane) human being would have taken one look at the weather forecast and hid in fear under warm covers, sanctuary, subsequent comfort and a content smile under a mountain of warm sheets, hours passing dreaming of a summer afternoon, green meadows, rainbow flowers, wet footprints evaporating on poolside flagstones, birdsong and cicadas.
Instead,Mark Field and I (for his sake, I will conceal his identity and call him Jeb from now on to protect him from mockery, and perhaps shame, from his family and friends) stumbled out into the morning grayness, two dopes with high hopes, the thought of new spring migrants tugging at the centre of their bodies, moving them forward against reason's will. Environment Canada predicted 30% chance of showers until 10a.m., then onto 90% by 10:01a.m., and then the y axis of the graph just wasn't high enough, percentages only going to 100, you see. We tried other weather stations to see if perhaps the dependable EC could be wrong, but all other reports just told readers to not be stupid and stay inside.
Our morning began with a missed bus. Heavy with gear, we ran toward the bus screaming out to the driver who, in seeing a fumbling pile of binoculars and galoshes approaching, looked back from his rear-view, eyes wide with horror, foot to the pedal, tires of the bus squealing sending exhaust and sharp stones into our faces as it peeled out of High Park station. Perhaps I exaggerate slightly but that's certainly how it felt. We trudged around High Park, waiting for the next bus that would eventually take us to our destination...or past our destination rather, as we missed our stop. We had arrived, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at Lambton Woods.
From a large bridge overlooking the park, we could see a trail next to the Humber River, which on any other day innocently winds through the park with calm, clear water where folks take peaceful canoe rides and Mallards rest on its surface, raising cups of tea to their beaks and discussing poetry. Today, the river looked like something out of a disaster film, brown raging waters filled with dead things and debris. I looked for destroyed homes floating by. Daring to overthrow science's studies of human intelligence, we decided, since we could see no other trails, to descend down a muddy rock-slide that seemed to connect to the river-abutting trail at its base. Our boots now weighed down by mud clumps and slashed by razor-sharp rocks, we finally were able to start birdwatching. Not even a starling was present.
Dedicated, we persisted. Eventually we found signs of life: a robin, a few chickadees and juncos, and 2 White-breasted Nuthatches. Our spirits rose infinitesimally. We saw Mallards and pigeons. We got colder. The sky grew more ominous. We grumbled. I felt something moving around in my rubber boot and figured one of my toes must have fallen off. I started to look in my pockets for paper and a pen to scribble down my will. Jeb searched his bag for a flare gun and rescue.
And then, we arrived at a spot that made the day at least somewhat worth the battle. A little oasis out of the wind where I immediately saw my first grackle of the year (second actually, but Jeb missed the first one I saw so I'll just pretend this was our shared first). House Sparrows and Mourning Doves abounded, both Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers popped out, giving a great size comparison, a Red-tailed Hawk flew over, my first Red-winged Blackbirds made an appearance, some Blue Jays flew through, and a Song Sparrow, bringing light to an otherwise dark day, lived up to its name and sang its heart out. The despondent dirge of the morning lifted for a time. A short time.
The weather decided to test us even more. After picking up a couple of American Black Ducks for our day list at a small pond at the park's north entrance (small pleasures), we took a break to have a coffee, a bite to eat, and to count our day list. The day list tally taking perhaps 3 seconds to complete, we took off for Humber Bay Park, a bizarre decision that only a deranged lunatic could possibly make. Rain falling in horizontal sheets, we dashed to the subway to catch another bus. The driver muttered something at us as we slopped off the bus, two wet rats on a death march toward the unforgiving swells and waves crashing against the lakeshore. Not a bird could be seen except a few mangled gulls struggling against fierce winds, sending bloody feathers in all directions.
Freezing rain like shards of broken glass pierced our faces and punctured our eyes, the salt of our tears burning raw skin. Rushing water raged at our ankles, a car was lifted off its tires and sucked into the maelstrom. I expected a cow to fly past in the wind but didn't see any. I may have heard a distant, terrified moo though. Still we fought onward. It may be that with these strong east winds, the ducks are taking shelter in the western bay, I suggested. I looked over my shoulder to see if the grim reaper was looming behind me. Then we reached the breaking point. That time where you finally realize what you're doing and where you are. Reality sets in and even the birds can't keep you going. You think to yourself, alright even I think this is crazy.
Standing between us and the next section of the park was a wide expanse of brown muck. Already sopping wet, we decided to try to cross it rather than swing back all the way around the trail we had just came from. Always the gentleman, I let Jeb cross first. Then, thinking my brain had finally snapped, Jeb started shrinking before my very eyes! Wait, not shrinking...sinking. I looked down and saw wet mud oozing over his boots. I pushed forward to try to lend a hand and found myself now sinking into the mud as well, a mad image entering my mind of a dog-walker sauntering through the park in the spring, tripping over the rib of one of our half-buried corpses, decaying faces still stuck in grotesque sneers, the dog beginning to chew at the fleshy remains of my skull. I took out my cell with plans of calling my mom to tell her I loved her before the mud went over my head, my hand still grasping the phone above the ground, its signal lost in the storm. By some miracle, we finally trudged through nature's death trap and dragged our bodies inch by inch back to the park's entrance.
Somehow, beyond belief, we managed to continue birding. Every atom in the universe was telling us to stop but my right hand was twitching for more year birds...and by golly we actually saw some. Our hands frozen to our binoculars, we found Trumpeter Swans, Long-tailed Ducks, Gadwall, Mallards and American Black Ducks, American Wigeon, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Herring and Ring-billed Gulls. Finally giving up, we made our way to the streetcar and called it a day, looking forward to the next chance to birdwatch, no situation too awful to ever stop the insanity.
Our day's list (in no discernible order):
Ring-billed Gull
Mallard
Canada Goose
Northern Cardinal
Blue Jay
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-capped Chickadee
European Starling
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
American Black Duck
Killdeer
House Sparrow
Common Grackle (FOY)
Red-winged Blackbird (FOY)
Song Sparrow
Red-tailed Hawk
Common Goldeneye
Gadwall
Trumpeter Swan
Mute Swan
Long-tailed Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
American Widgeon (FOY)
Total Species: 26
Running Year Total: 61 (pretty measly but I missed the month of January...didn't even birdwatch once during that month!)
Instead,
Our morning began with a missed bus. Heavy with gear, we ran toward the bus screaming out to the driver who, in seeing a fumbling pile of binoculars and galoshes approaching, looked back from his rear-view, eyes wide with horror, foot to the pedal, tires of the bus squealing sending exhaust and sharp stones into our faces as it peeled out of High Park station. Perhaps I exaggerate slightly but that's certainly how it felt. We trudged around High Park, waiting for the next bus that would eventually take us to our destination...or past our destination rather, as we missed our stop. We had arrived, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at Lambton Woods.
From a large bridge overlooking the park, we could see a trail next to the Humber River, which on any other day innocently winds through the park with calm, clear water where folks take peaceful canoe rides and Mallards rest on its surface, raising cups of tea to their beaks and discussing poetry. Today, the river looked like something out of a disaster film, brown raging waters filled with dead things and debris. I looked for destroyed homes floating by. Daring to overthrow science's studies of human intelligence, we decided, since we could see no other trails, to descend down a muddy rock-slide that seemed to connect to the river-abutting trail at its base. Our boots now weighed down by mud clumps and slashed by razor-sharp rocks, we finally were able to start birdwatching. Not even a starling was present.
Dedicated, we persisted. Eventually we found signs of life: a robin, a few chickadees and juncos, and 2 White-breasted Nuthatches. Our spirits rose infinitesimally. We saw Mallards and pigeons. We got colder. The sky grew more ominous. We grumbled. I felt something moving around in my rubber boot and figured one of my toes must have fallen off. I started to look in my pockets for paper and a pen to scribble down my will. Jeb searched his bag for a flare gun and rescue.
And then, we arrived at a spot that made the day at least somewhat worth the battle. A little oasis out of the wind where I immediately saw my first grackle of the year (second actually, but Jeb missed the first one I saw so I'll just pretend this was our shared first). House Sparrows and Mourning Doves abounded, both Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers popped out, giving a great size comparison, a Red-tailed Hawk flew over, my first Red-winged Blackbirds made an appearance, some Blue Jays flew through, and a Song Sparrow, bringing light to an otherwise dark day, lived up to its name and sang its heart out. The despondent dirge of the morning lifted for a time. A short time.
The weather decided to test us even more. After picking up a couple of American Black Ducks for our day list at a small pond at the park's north entrance (small pleasures), we took a break to have a coffee, a bite to eat, and to count our day list. The day list tally taking perhaps 3 seconds to complete, we took off for Humber Bay Park, a bizarre decision that only a deranged lunatic could possibly make. Rain falling in horizontal sheets, we dashed to the subway to catch another bus. The driver muttered something at us as we slopped off the bus, two wet rats on a death march toward the unforgiving swells and waves crashing against the lakeshore. Not a bird could be seen except a few mangled gulls struggling against fierce winds, sending bloody feathers in all directions.
Freezing rain like shards of broken glass pierced our faces and punctured our eyes, the salt of our tears burning raw skin. Rushing water raged at our ankles, a car was lifted off its tires and sucked into the maelstrom. I expected a cow to fly past in the wind but didn't see any. I may have heard a distant, terrified moo though. Still we fought onward. It may be that with these strong east winds, the ducks are taking shelter in the western bay, I suggested. I looked over my shoulder to see if the grim reaper was looming behind me. Then we reached the breaking point. That time where you finally realize what you're doing and where you are. Reality sets in and even the birds can't keep you going. You think to yourself, alright even I think this is crazy.
Standing between us and the next section of the park was a wide expanse of brown muck. Already sopping wet, we decided to try to cross it rather than swing back all the way around the trail we had just came from. Always the gentleman, I let Jeb cross first. Then, thinking my brain had finally snapped, Jeb started shrinking before my very eyes! Wait, not shrinking...sinking. I looked down and saw wet mud oozing over his boots. I pushed forward to try to lend a hand and found myself now sinking into the mud as well, a mad image entering my mind of a dog-walker sauntering through the park in the spring, tripping over the rib of one of our half-buried corpses, decaying faces still stuck in grotesque sneers, the dog beginning to chew at the fleshy remains of my skull. I took out my cell with plans of calling my mom to tell her I loved her before the mud went over my head, my hand still grasping the phone above the ground, its signal lost in the storm. By some miracle, we finally trudged through nature's death trap and dragged our bodies inch by inch back to the park's entrance.
Somehow, beyond belief, we managed to continue birding. Every atom in the universe was telling us to stop but my right hand was twitching for more year birds...and by golly we actually saw some. Our hands frozen to our binoculars, we found Trumpeter Swans, Long-tailed Ducks, Gadwall, Mallards and American Black Ducks, American Wigeon, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Herring and Ring-billed Gulls. Finally giving up, we made our way to the streetcar and called it a day, looking forward to the next chance to birdwatch, no situation too awful to ever stop the insanity.
Our day's list (in no discernible order):
Ring-billed Gull
Mallard
Canada Goose
Northern Cardinal
Blue Jay
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-capped Chickadee
European Starling
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
American Black Duck
Killdeer
House Sparrow
Common Grackle (FOY)
Red-winged Blackbird (FOY)
Song Sparrow
Red-tailed Hawk
Common Goldeneye
Gadwall
Trumpeter Swan
Mute Swan
Long-tailed Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
American Widgeon (FOY)
Total Species: 26
Running Year Total: 61 (pretty measly but I missed the month of January...didn't even birdwatch once during that month!)
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Waterfowl Inventory 2009
Some members of the Toronto Ornithological Club who were kind enough to offer me a ride to the waterfront this morning picked me up at 8am to start our group's section of the waterfowl inventory. It's a count done each winter to get an estimate of waterfowl populations on Lake Ontario along the GTA waterfront from the east to west end.
We had a great section to cover from Humber Bay East all the way to the Keating Channel (east of Ontario Place) and including High Park (for Mallards that overwinter on Grenadier Pond where it doesn't freeze over in the north end). I used to live within walking distance of this section of the Toronto waterfront and it's a wonderful place to birdwatch. There are good numbers of duck rafts, many Mute Swans, and a chance for a some uncommon gull species (Glaucous, Iceland in particular). A breakwall along the shore creates shifting ice patches that almost always have good numbers of gulls to look at.
Weather: the temperature, though frigid, was not as bad as it could have been due to very low winds. Had there been winds, it would have been a miserable day. Fortunately, the sun shone bright, there was no fog and little haze, and visibility was high.
Our team consisted of Margaret Kelch, Doug Woods, Celia Harte, Mark Field, Harvey, Josh, and Zoe (I didn't get the last 3 members' last names). What we would often do when we encountered a large group of ducks (the Keating Channel proved the most difficult), would be to assign a species to each birder to count. It made the task much quicker and much easier. I was the official Redhead counter, which was fun but also a challenge...of all the waterfowl we tallied, Redhead had the highest numbers! There was also the issue of distant birds looking superficially similar to Scaups, which were also present in fair numbers. We had one scope in the group so Doug would often be our official distant-raft tallier and just count each species himself while we tallied the closer birds.
Obviously, as birders do, we also looked for other species as well. Some species of note include 3 Common Redpoll at Sunnyside Park, a single Iceland Gull at Keating Channel (LIFER), and an adult Bald Eagle that flew directly over our heads at Ontario Place. Yes, yes, I know...it took me this long to see an Iceland Gull?! Interesting, too, that I got Thayer's before Iceland. It was one of those species that always just seemed to be out of reach for me. I tried hard last year but was unsuccessful (got 2 Glaucous though) so it was a pleasure to get one so close and easily identifiable on this trip (it flew next to a Herring Gull for size comparison and Glaucous Gull was immediately eliminated).
Our numbers for the day were as follows:
Mallard .................. 229
American Black Duck ...... 2
Redhead .................. 1017
Gadwall .................. 16
American Widgeon ......... 8
Greater scaup ............ 576
Lesser scaup ............. 11
Ring-necked Duck ......... 1
Common Goldeneye ......... 128
Bufflehead ............... 49
LongTail ................. 932
Common Merganser ......... 40
Red-breasted Merganser ... 37
Hooded Merganser ......... 11
Mute Swan ................ 23
Tundra Swan .............. 4
Canada Goose ............. 115
The count for American Black Duck is an error. We had more than 2 birds at our first location so I don't know what happened to the final tally. We had closer to 10 birds for the day. Four species that were expected but missed include Trumpeter Swan, Harlequin Duck, Northern Shoveler, and American Coot (more likely in the interior of Humber Bay where we didn't cover).
Day list:
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Tundra Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Redhead
Greater Scaup
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Bald Eagle
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Iceland Gull *lifer
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
European Starling
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Common Redpoll - 3
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Total Species: 33
Duration: 8:30am-12:30pm
We had a great section to cover from Humber Bay East all the way to the Keating Channel (east of Ontario Place) and including High Park (for Mallards that overwinter on Grenadier Pond where it doesn't freeze over in the north end). I used to live within walking distance of this section of the Toronto waterfront and it's a wonderful place to birdwatch. There are good numbers of duck rafts, many Mute Swans, and a chance for a some uncommon gull species (Glaucous, Iceland in particular). A breakwall along the shore creates shifting ice patches that almost always have good numbers of gulls to look at.
Weather: the temperature, though frigid, was not as bad as it could have been due to very low winds. Had there been winds, it would have been a miserable day. Fortunately, the sun shone bright, there was no fog and little haze, and visibility was high.
Our team consisted of Margaret Kelch, Doug Woods, Celia Harte, Mark Field, Harvey, Josh, and Zoe (I didn't get the last 3 members' last names). What we would often do when we encountered a large group of ducks (the Keating Channel proved the most difficult), would be to assign a species to each birder to count. It made the task much quicker and much easier. I was the official Redhead counter, which was fun but also a challenge...of all the waterfowl we tallied, Redhead had the highest numbers! There was also the issue of distant birds looking superficially similar to Scaups, which were also present in fair numbers. We had one scope in the group so Doug would often be our official distant-raft tallier and just count each species himself while we tallied the closer birds.
Obviously, as birders do, we also looked for other species as well. Some species of note include 3 Common Redpoll at Sunnyside Park, a single Iceland Gull at Keating Channel (LIFER), and an adult Bald Eagle that flew directly over our heads at Ontario Place. Yes, yes, I know...it took me this long to see an Iceland Gull?! Interesting, too, that I got Thayer's before Iceland. It was one of those species that always just seemed to be out of reach for me. I tried hard last year but was unsuccessful (got 2 Glaucous though) so it was a pleasure to get one so close and easily identifiable on this trip (it flew next to a Herring Gull for size comparison and Glaucous Gull was immediately eliminated).
Our numbers for the day were as follows:
Mallard .................. 229
American Black Duck ...... 2
Redhead .................. 1017
Gadwall .................. 16
American Widgeon ......... 8
Greater scaup ............ 576
Lesser scaup ............. 11
Ring-necked Duck ......... 1
Common Goldeneye ......... 128
Bufflehead ............... 49
LongTail ................. 932
Common Merganser ......... 40
Red-breasted Merganser ... 37
Hooded Merganser ......... 11
Mute Swan ................ 23
Tundra Swan .............. 4
Canada Goose ............. 115
The count for American Black Duck is an error. We had more than 2 birds at our first location so I don't know what happened to the final tally. We had closer to 10 birds for the day. Four species that were expected but missed include Trumpeter Swan, Harlequin Duck, Northern Shoveler, and American Coot (more likely in the interior of Humber Bay where we didn't cover).
Day list:
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Tundra Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Redhead
Greater Scaup
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Bald Eagle
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Iceland Gull *lifer
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
European Starling
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Common Redpoll - 3
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Total Species: 33
Duration: 8:30am-12:30pm
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Half-lifer! - Harlequin Duck male
Someone told me this week that Sunday was supposed to go below 0 degrees but fortunately, the afternoon ended up being really nice (except for a chilly wind). Therefore, I decided to try again for the male Harlequin and after about 10 minutes of being at Humber Bay East, I found it along with the 2 females. I had seen a single female a while back on a TOC trip but I missed the male then. Thankfully it stuck around. There were quite a few people taking photos and watching the trio. They were right where the latest poster on Ontbirds said they had them Saturday. I was able to see the male within about 30 feet of the shoreline, diving and sometimes being chased by the other waterfowl present (Long-tailed Ducks and Greater Scaups).
What a beautiful bird. My best bird of 2008 so far. There will be more good birds though. The year has just started and May is just around the corner. I'm trying for a week to two weeks off during spring migration and I'll be making the most of it. I really can't wait. I also want to be around the area so I'm not out of the loop on news of the cull as I'm sure it will be a hot topic of debate at Pelee this spring.
What a beautiful bird. My best bird of 2008 so far. There will be more good birds though. The year has just started and May is just around the corner. I'm trying for a week to two weeks off during spring migration and I'll be making the most of it. I really can't wait. I also want to be around the area so I'm not out of the loop on news of the cull as I'm sure it will be a hot topic of debate at Pelee this spring.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Humber Bay East/West and High Park OFO Trip
On Sunday, December 9, David Milsom lead an OFO trip to Humber Bay, Colonel Sam Smith Park (southwest of Humber Bay), and High Park. All in all, it was a great trip lasting from 9:00am to 4:30pm with a total of 56 species, good for a day of birding in December.
I personally knew I was in for a good day within minutes as the first birds we saw walking away from the parking lot in Humber Bay East were a group of Trumpeter Swans in the small ponds adjacent to the bay. There were 2 adults and 2 juvenile birds, all trumpeting a few meters away from the group (32 people total to start). This was a lifer for me, as the species is now considered countable after enough years post-reintroduction. This is one of many lifers I've gotten this fall, probably due to being on Lake Ontario versus Lake Erie where some of the species that are difficult to find in my hometown are quite easily found here. Other waterfowl (and waterbirds) present in the ponds and also at Humber Bay East/West included Common Loon (3), Horned Grebe (1), American Coot, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard, American Black Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Redhead (good numbers mixed in with large rafts of Scaup), Greater and Lesser Scaup, Long-tailed Duck (numerous), singles of Black and White-winged Scoter (each only seen by a few members of the group), Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Hooded, Red-breasted, and Common Merganser, and a single, nonbreeding male Ruddy Duck.
Landbirds were few and far between but in Humber Bay East/West we saw Northern Shrike, American Tree Sparrow, Chickadees, 2 Northern Mockingbirds, and a Killdeer at the warm-water outlet near the white archway connecting Humber Bay East and West.
We then headed to Colonel Sam Smith Park (at the foot of Kipling Avenue), which was a new area to bird for me and it produced some good birds. There we had 8 Snow Buntings, an American Kestrel, an American Pipit, American Tree Sparrow, Golden-crowned Kinglet, a single Winter Wren, and 4 Red-necked Grebes. At this point, it began to snow a bit more intensely so visibility was low. There was also the trouble with ice; two members slipped and fell leaving us with a knee and ankle injury.
Those brave enough to stay out in the snowfall then drove to High Park to visit the north end of Grenadier Pond where open water is still available. Here there were Mallards, a Great Blue Heron, 3 Swamp Sparrows, and the highlight for the day, a secretive Virginia Rail found by Chris Escott. In this area, we also picked up American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, American Goldfinch, and a few other passerine species.
The trip proved that winter birding can be a great time, especially when some of our common species produce the most excitement. Unfortunately, no white-winged gulls were present.
I personally knew I was in for a good day within minutes as the first birds we saw walking away from the parking lot in Humber Bay East were a group of Trumpeter Swans in the small ponds adjacent to the bay. There were 2 adults and 2 juvenile birds, all trumpeting a few meters away from the group (32 people total to start). This was a lifer for me, as the species is now considered countable after enough years post-reintroduction. This is one of many lifers I've gotten this fall, probably due to being on Lake Ontario versus Lake Erie where some of the species that are difficult to find in my hometown are quite easily found here. Other waterfowl (and waterbirds) present in the ponds and also at Humber Bay East/West included Common Loon (3), Horned Grebe (1), American Coot, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard, American Black Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Redhead (good numbers mixed in with large rafts of Scaup), Greater and Lesser Scaup, Long-tailed Duck (numerous), singles of Black and White-winged Scoter (each only seen by a few members of the group), Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Hooded, Red-breasted, and Common Merganser, and a single, nonbreeding male Ruddy Duck.
Landbirds were few and far between but in Humber Bay East/West we saw Northern Shrike, American Tree Sparrow, Chickadees, 2 Northern Mockingbirds, and a Killdeer at the warm-water outlet near the white archway connecting Humber Bay East and West.
We then headed to Colonel Sam Smith Park (at the foot of Kipling Avenue), which was a new area to bird for me and it produced some good birds. There we had 8 Snow Buntings, an American Kestrel, an American Pipit, American Tree Sparrow, Golden-crowned Kinglet, a single Winter Wren, and 4 Red-necked Grebes. At this point, it began to snow a bit more intensely so visibility was low. There was also the trouble with ice; two members slipped and fell leaving us with a knee and ankle injury.
Those brave enough to stay out in the snowfall then drove to High Park to visit the north end of Grenadier Pond where open water is still available. Here there were Mallards, a Great Blue Heron, 3 Swamp Sparrows, and the highlight for the day, a secretive Virginia Rail found by Chris Escott. In this area, we also picked up American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, American Goldfinch, and a few other passerine species.
The trip proved that winter birding can be a great time, especially when some of our common species produce the most excitement. Unfortunately, no white-winged gulls were present.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Lifer! Red-necked Grebe
My second trip to Humber Bay East (November 20) was just as exciting as the first. This time around, I had all the same duck species and more. Long-tailed Duck still outnumbers all others (it's amazing how common they are on Lake Ontario compared to the western basin of Lake Erie where I'm used to). There are also good numbers of Red-breasted and Hooded Mergansers and Bufflehead. However, Scaup numbers in the vicinity are low (I only saw 3 Lesser), and Scoters are virtually absent (the single White-winged Scoter female is still present in one of the marshes). Only 1 Common Loon was present again today.
In terms of marsh ducks, Mallards are very common while Gadwall, American Black Duck, American Wigeon, and Green-winged Teal are also present but in fewer numbers.
Somewhat surprisingly, I still had not seen a Red-necked Grebe until today so I was very excited to see a nonbreeding individual at close range, its yellow bill and buffy crescent quite distinctive. I believe this species is much more common on Lake Ontario but I'm not sure of its status in the eastern basin of Lake Erie (any comments here on its abundance on Lake Ontario versus Erie would be greatly appreciated). The Toronto Ornithological Club's status forms has peak numbers in the triple digits.
Inland, I had a single Mockingbird, both Kinglet species, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a lot of Dark-eyed Juncos and Chickadees, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Tree Sparrow, and a few migrating Goldfinches. Also present in the estuary were Killdeer, a Great Black-backed Gull, and a large group of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls.
In terms of marsh ducks, Mallards are very common while Gadwall, American Black Duck, American Wigeon, and Green-winged Teal are also present but in fewer numbers.
Somewhat surprisingly, I still had not seen a Red-necked Grebe until today so I was very excited to see a nonbreeding individual at close range, its yellow bill and buffy crescent quite distinctive. I believe this species is much more common on Lake Ontario but I'm not sure of its status in the eastern basin of Lake Erie (any comments here on its abundance on Lake Ontario versus Erie would be greatly appreciated). The Toronto Ornithological Club's status forms has peak numbers in the triple digits.
Inland, I had a single Mockingbird, both Kinglet species, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a lot of Dark-eyed Juncos and Chickadees, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Tree Sparrow, and a few migrating Goldfinches. Also present in the estuary were Killdeer, a Great Black-backed Gull, and a large group of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Humber Bay East / West - Long-tailed Ducks
Just thought I'd write a quick post on my first trip to Humber Bay East/West Metro Parks on Saturday. They were much smaller than I expected, but there are a few great lookouts onto Lake Ontario to scan for ducks, the majority of which were Long-tailed (about 200-300 birds would be a conservative estimate). The East and West parks are split by Mimico Creek Estuary, a marshy area that contained many Mallards, Green-winged Teal, and American Black Ducks as well as a few Bufflehead. The marshes within the park contained these species as well as a number of Gadwall, American Wigeon, Hooded Mergansers, and two single birds, a female White-winged Scoter, and a female Redhead. Also on the lake was a single Common Loon, Red-breasted Mergansers, many Bufflehead, and a few Common Goldeneyes.
For other birds, I had a flock of 6 Snow Buntings fly over, a good number of Red-breasted Nuthatches, 3 Northern Mockingbirds, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 10 Killdeer, a ton of Chickadees, a few flocks of Goldfinches, many American Tree Sparrows, 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, and an immature Black-crowned Night-Heron hunting along the estuary. I still haven't been lucky enough to have any winter finch flocks but I'll be checking out High Park this week and some areas along the lake to try my luck.
My final counts were as follows:
Green-winged Teal - 16
Bufflehead - 30+
Killdeer - 10
American Black Duck - 11
Redhead - 1
Hooded Merganser - 39
Gadwall - 28
Mute Swan - 29
White-winged Scoter - 1
Long-tailed Duck- 200-300
Common Loon - 1
Common Goldeneye - 3
Red-breasted Meganser - 30+
The highlight was the constant, musical OW OWeLEP! calls of the Long-tailed Ducks that I could hear all morning. The lake was also extremely calm and I had great, close views of this handsome species.
Here's a short video where you can hear the Long-tailed Duck calling.
For other birds, I had a flock of 6 Snow Buntings fly over, a good number of Red-breasted Nuthatches, 3 Northern Mockingbirds, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 10 Killdeer, a ton of Chickadees, a few flocks of Goldfinches, many American Tree Sparrows, 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, and an immature Black-crowned Night-Heron hunting along the estuary. I still haven't been lucky enough to have any winter finch flocks but I'll be checking out High Park this week and some areas along the lake to try my luck.
My final counts were as follows:
Green-winged Teal - 16
Bufflehead - 30+
Killdeer - 10
American Black Duck - 11
Redhead - 1
Hooded Merganser - 39
Gadwall - 28
Mute Swan - 29
White-winged Scoter - 1
Long-tailed Duck- 200-300
Common Loon - 1
Common Goldeneye - 3
Red-breasted Meganser - 30+
The highlight was the constant, musical OW OWeLEP! calls of the Long-tailed Ducks that I could hear all morning. The lake was also extremely calm and I had great, close views of this handsome species.
Here's a short video where you can hear the Long-tailed Duck calling.
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