Outdoor Ontario
Birding Reports => Toronto Reports => Topic started by: crawshaw on January 11, 2014, 10:43:37 PM
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Despite the ice and the wind, walking around Humber Bay and Colonel Sam Smith Park was quite productive on Sunday afternoon Jan 5th. Wintering birds close to shore included BLACK DUCK, MALLARD, BUFFLEHEAD, GOLDENEYE, GADWALL, LONG-TAILED DUCK; COMMON, RED-BREASTED and HOODED MERGANSER (1), WHITE-WINGED SCOTER (3) plus good numbers of REDHEADS, RUDDY DUCKS, MUTE and TRUMPETER (2) SWANS, several COOTS, and a WIDGEON. A single PIED-BILLED GREBE was bobbing around among the ice. A subadult BALD EAGLE flew over the Bay, and a single NORTHERN SHRIKE and a KESTREL were seen at Col Sam, along with MOURNING DOVES and a few ROBINS. No sign of a Snowy Owl or unusual gulls but we did get within a few feet of a large healthy COYOTE hunting in the snow. That SNOWY OWL was still at Yorkdale Mall on the evening of the 3rd.
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I visited Humber Bay East and West this afternoon. The bay at HBE was almost completely frozen over. I found a Pied-billed Grebe off the eastern headland. It's a good place to find Greater Black-backed Gulls, waiting to steal fish from the Common Mergansers.
Amos Waites Park is a good place to view HBW right now, because that's about where the edge of the ice is. There were lots of gulls there, including 2 Glaucous and several GBB. 5 White-winged Scoters, 2 coots, and 3 Trumpeter Swans there as well.
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Also noteworthy here and most other parks: it's really slippery! Using Yaktraks or some similar traction aid is highly recommended.
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