Outdoor Ontario

Birding Reports => Toronto Reports => Topic started by: Charline on April 05, 2022, 02:29:24 PM

Title: Spring is here
Post by: Charline on April 05, 2022, 02:29:24 PM
Lots of songbirds have arrived.



Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Charline on April 05, 2022, 02:35:23 PM
This one was captured in March.
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Axeman on April 06, 2022, 11:55:31 AM
ummm neither of those signal spring to me....winter actually....the juncos are some of my biggest customers at the feeder...and I only see Goldeneyes on Lake Ontario in winter....although I guess I never see them up at my home in winter but do expect them moving through in spring...yesterday I saw 4 to 6 hooded mergansers on a small pond on my road....how many ducks to you need to make a raft?
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Shortsighted on April 06, 2022, 01:48:58 PM
Well, that would entirely depend upon how motivated they all were.
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Charline on April 06, 2022, 11:42:57 PM
These birds may not symbolize spring, what about the lack of snow  on the ground and ice in the water?
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Shortsighted on April 07, 2022, 08:15:37 AM
Exactly! Just look at that RICH green grass.I'm waiting to see a picture of the FIRST wildflower of the year.
Who will be the first to fulfill that request, I wonder?
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Dr. John on April 07, 2022, 12:40:05 PM
No wildflowers yet, although maple trees are flowering.  Lots of robins, redwings - I know some overwinter, but I'm seeing lots more.  Had a song sparrow in our backyard too.
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Charline on April 07, 2022, 01:02:06 PM
This golden-crowned kinglet was captured in Toronto on April 2.


By the way, I have seen wildflowers, but didn't bother to take a photo.
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Shortsighted on April 07, 2022, 03:48:41 PM
An admirable down-to-earth capture. The earliest that I have ever seen GCK was on April 1st. I have not yet seen any here in Pickering this year. Were you stationed close to the ground right from the get-go, or did you genuflect only for this little king?
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Charline on April 07, 2022, 04:16:56 PM
Thanks, SS. I was following the bird high and low, lol.
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: cabz on April 08, 2022, 06:04:09 AM
No pictures but i saw some Colt’s Foot Flowers blooming the other day.  Many people mistake it for a type of dandelion.


It’s coming!!!!!
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Shortsighted on April 08, 2022, 11:38:38 AM
 Ah yes, Coltsfoot, that unassuming and sometimes alien-looking early wildflower. Actually, it really is alien to North America, having been introduced here from the Old World in the early part of the 20th century. There seems to be controversy afoot regarding its potential health benefits because extracts have been shown to reduce inflammation in lab mice. So, if you have an angry mouse this wildflower might assuage its lividity. I must write that down. Oh yah, I just did. Anyway, Coltsfoot also may be hepatotoxic and also cause DNA damage thereby causing cancer, so give it a wide berth when you encounter it in the wild. As with so many complex chemical compounds, whether toxic or therapeutic, it is all a matter of dose. Its medicinal use was so thoroughly entrenched in Europe that its leaf was used as an apothecary symbol.  Its leaves will not appear until the summer when the blooms are gone.

(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-tZNnBZX/0/ea97a38f/M/i-tZNnBZX-M.jpg) (https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-358cgw/i-tZNnBZX/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Nc8zkwm/0/2abaf916/M/i-Nc8zkwm-M.jpg) (https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-358cgw/i-Nc8zkwm/A)
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Shortsighted on April 08, 2022, 07:39:16 PM
Snowdrops taken today.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-rRkRF3b/0/9666a505/M/i-rRkRF3b-M.jpg) (https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-358cgw/i-rRkRF3b/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-FDCsDmB/0/7ec4d8d7/M/i-FDCsDmB-M.jpg) (https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-358cgw/i-FDCsDmB/A)
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Bird Brain on April 10, 2022, 12:11:04 PM
Quote from: Shortsighted on April 08, 2022, 07:39:16 PM
Snowdrops taken today.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-rRkRF3b/0/9666a505/M/i-rRkRF3b-M.jpg) (https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-358cgw/i-rRkRF3b/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-FDCsDmB/0/7ec4d8d7/M/i-FDCsDmB-M.jpg) (https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-358cgw/i-FDCsDmB/A)
Beautiful!   Much nicer than the rain, snow + hail I'm seeing here in Mississauga.  Is it Summer yet?! 
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Charline on April 15, 2022, 11:16:26 AM
Saw this one last week in my neighbourhood. My friend was taking a cell phone photo while it took off in her direction. The huge wing almost touched her head. She was not really close to the tree.


Haven't found its nest yet, although they have a nest every year in the area.
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Ally on April 15, 2022, 12:38:05 PM
What a handsome hawk!
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Axeman on April 17, 2022, 11:55:13 PM
I am terrible at ID'ing raptors....RTH?
Title: Re: Spring is here
Post by: Dr. John on April 18, 2022, 12:51:15 PM
Looks like a redtail with the belly band.


On a walk in the Don Valley yesterday, we saw two downies, several golden-crowned kinglets, many grackles, a brown creeper, many song sparrows, many redwings, a belted kingfisher, several mallards, a Canada goose, and many, many robins.