Outdoor Ontario
Birding Reports => Toronto Reports => Topic started by: Reuven_M on December 29, 2013, 05:24:37 PM
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I spent all day today birding the lakeshore from Colonel Sam Smith Park to Bronte Harbour, and had a number of great sightings.
Colonel Sam Smith Park:
1 Harlequin Duck (the continuing adult male was right close to shore in the innermost bay on the east side)
1 Horned and 2 Red-necked Grebe
1 Kumlien's Iceland Gull (second-winter) roosting at the harbour mouth with other gulls before flying west.
1 Northern Shrike
1 Snow Bunting
Scanning the pier very distantly to the west, I'm fairly certain I spotted a Snowy Owl. However, this is nearly 3 km away, and the base of the pier where it was can't be seen from anywhere closer.
Marie Curtis Park
I tried to get a closer view of the pier, but it wasn't possible. However, a male Hooded Merganser was in the creek mouth.
Lakefront Promenade Park
2 Trumpeter Swan
1 Hooded Merganser
1 American Coot
1 Song Sparrow
Port Credit: I covered everything from the harbour on the east side of the river mouth to the eastern edge of the Rhododendron Gardens
2 Trumpeter Swan
2 American Wigeon
1 King Eider - a female foraging with a small flock of Greater Scaup at the end of the concrete barrier on the east side of the river mouth. When foraging, it was invisible below the wall until you walked right to the end and scared the ducks out a bit from the edge. The eider and scaup were bringing up masses of zebra mussels, presumably pulled off the concrete. This is presumably the same bird seen in the area a couple of weeks ago.
1 Long-eared Owl (was being chased around J. C. Saddington Park by Blue Jays before flying off to the west)
1 Peregrine Falcon - juvenile flew in, harassed the gulls in the river mouth and then flew out to perch at the harbour mouth. It then flew out to the big ship used as a breakwall and dove at something on the back edge. I suspect there was a Snowy Owl hidden on the other side of the ship.
4 Yellow-rumped Warbler - the continuing birds were still present near Snug Harbour Restaurant, and I saw them a bit later in J. C. Saddington Park.
Lakeside Park
5 American Wigeon
6 White-winged Scoter
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler - foraging along the lakeshore, I suspect it came from the inaccessible water treatment plant across the road to the north.
Arkendo Park
a female Common Goldeneye was swimming in the water treatment plant - doesn't seem like the ideal habitat!
1 Belted Kingfisher - 'foraging' in the water treatment plant. I can't imagine it was finding much!
1 Merlin
3 Yellow-rumped Warbler - continuing birds around the water treatment plant
Downtown Oakville
A brief stop at the creek mouth revealed nothing but the common waterfowl
Sedgewick Park
1 Carolina Wren
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler - one of the continuing birds around the water treatment plant
1 Song Sparrow with no tail
Bronte Harbour
Much like the rest of my stops today, I couldn't find the Snowy Owl that has been present.
about 30 Common Merganser and 6 American Coot were the most notable birds otherwise
Reuven
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The Harlequin Duck was in the same area at Colonel Sam Smith Park today.
I saw one Yellow-rumped Warbler behind Snug Harbour restaurant and the were probably a couple of more that flew across the river before I could ID them. I wasn't able to find the King Eider.
/Thomas