Outdoor Ontario

Birding Reports => Toronto Reports => Topic started by: Tyler on May 16, 2008, 05:52:34 PM

Title: Colonel Sam Smith noon visit
Post by: Tyler on May 16, 2008, 05:52:34 PM
Having a hour to kill and being in the area I decided to visit the Colonel. Not alot of birds but a nice diversity. and alot of visible nesting going on.

Highlights 56 Species
Waterfowl 8 species including 175 Long-tailed Ducks, 8 Buffleheads and a American Wigeon drake.
Common Loon 9
Red-necked Grebe 1
32 Bonaparte's Gulls
Cooper's Hawk female sitting on the nest. The nest is located directly above the main N-S trail east of the powerhouse and 80 feet south of the main road along the trail. I predict there are going to be a few passersby chased by the adults once the chicks hatch.
Black-bellied Plover a flyby heading east.
1 Dead Long-eared Owl appears something killed it recently. hmm....Cooper's?
Warblers 30 birds approximately of 10 species: 1 Blackburnian, 1 Northern Parula, Chestnut sided 1, black-throated blue 2, Black-throated green 2, Black and White 1, Yellow-rumped 2, Ovenbird 2, American Redstart 2, and rest were yellow warblers.
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
Flycatchers: 1 Eastern Wood Pewee, 1 Great Crested, 1 Eastern kingbird and 1 Olive-sided
Also seen Wood Thrush, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Bobolinks, and several Baltimore Orioles including one that does an irritating pseudo olive-sided flycatcher call.

The small spruces and white pines in the park seem to have an active nest in 1 in 4 trees.  Mostly Robins and Mourning Doves. One 15 foot White Pine was a condo. The top nest (9 feet up) was last year's robin nest being used by a mourning dove and down at the 4 foot level was this year's robin's nest.
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Post by: Anonymous on May 16, 2008, 08:18:01 PM
Tyler - where did you find the Long Eared?
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Post by: Tyler on May 16, 2008, 08:31:20 PM
Below some 15' spruce trees south of the powerhouse adjacent to the harbour. I use to see long-eared owls predated at my old farm in Oshawa yearly by the local great horn. This bird still had it head attached so I figure the predator was more along the lines of the coopers, red -tailed or even a racco0n. It remains can be easily seen just off the paved trail unless someone/something moves them.
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Post by: Brian Bailey on May 16, 2008, 10:27:21 PM
That sounds like the same owl carcass I saw there last weekend.  It looked like it had been there for a week or so at that point.  It wasn't obvious how it met its end, but I was wondering about the Cooper's Hawks.

BB
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Post by: Anonymous on May 17, 2008, 12:51:42 AM
Could have been anything from a Coopers to a Great Horned...

What I'm wondering is whether it was one of the birds found this past winter which was left behind while the other was taken to the ROM....

Attila