Outdoor Ontario

Birding Reports => Toronto Reports => Topic started by: BIGFRANK on July 28, 2009, 04:24:54 PM

Title: Bald Eagle Fly By West To East
Post by: BIGFRANK on July 28, 2009, 04:24:54 PM

10:22am flying along the Scarborough Bluffs. I viewed it from where else?? Rosetta McClain Gardens. It was a young bird. As it flew by below eyelevel for the most part,I cant say if it was this years young or last...I suspect it was a nest year bird. We also saw a local Kestrel mobbed by Bank Swallows. They never hit it just dove at it alot and swarmed it. They did the same to a Sharp-shinned Hawk which seemed to be on a migratory flight path. Its very early for raptor migration,but it does start in August. Generally I see about 100 birds of prey in August,most after Aug 15. Ospreys move early and of 100 about 15 are usually Osprey. A few August Broadwings are seen,as well as Bald Eagle, Redtails,Kestrels,Harriers,Sharpies and a few TVs.  

Also today saw a flock of 20 Robins moving past with purpose..purists would say that its a dispersal...they migrated past me though. Several flocks of Cedar Waxwings looked migratory too. Ive been to the park every other day all month and this is the first time Ive seen these birds doing this.

Rosetta McClain Gardens is at Kingston Rd and Glen Everest Rd. It is one stoplight east of Birchmount and Kingston Rd.

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Post by: Anonymous on July 28, 2009, 04:28:15 PM

Thanks for the posting BIGFRANK.

I think that the weird weather we've been having is causing the birds to do weird things, which could explain some of the activity you saw today.  It'll be interesting to see how the numbers progress from now until winter and when the peak migration dates are.

Attila

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Post by: mr.sharp-photo on July 28, 2009, 05:51:20 PM

dumb question, but when you say you "see" the birds, do you mean that they are flying "relatively" close to the ground or you spot them soaring high?

like, are they photographable? (is that a word?)

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Post by: BIGFRANK on July 28, 2009, 05:59:42 PM

There are many which are very photographable (my highschool english teacher would hurt me for that word). We are on the western end of the Scarborough Bluffs and so sometimes the birds are below us or eyelevel. For a good idea, of photographic opportunities,this is a blog I keep once my raptor watch starts up. http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com (http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com) Any unattributed photos are mine. Neither Walter or I has fancy expensive cameras. He uses a 4megapixel video camera,I use a 6megapixel 12x Sony Cybershot I think its called. Very occassionally birds land in the park.

Incase you are unaware,there are 3 official raptor watch sites in Toronto area. One is at High Park,beside the Grenadier Restaurant,Cranberry Marsh in Whitby and Iriquois Shoreline in North Whitby. There are great opportunities for photos at all of these sites and great friendly folks to share  with and learn from.

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Post by: mr.sharp-photo on July 29, 2009, 09:08:07 AM

Quote from: "BIGFRANK"

There are many which are very photographable (my highschool english teacher would hurt me for that word). We are on the western end of the Scarborough Bluffs and so sometimes the birds are below us or eyelevel. For a good idea, of photographic opportunities,this is a blog I keep once my raptor watch starts up. http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com (http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com) Any unattributed photos are mine. Neither Walter or I has fancy expensive cameras. He uses a 4megapixel video camera,I use a 6megapixel 12x Sony Cybershot I think its called. Very occassionally birds land in the park.

Incase you are unaware,there are 3 official raptor watch sites in Toronto area. One is at High Park,beside the Grenadier Restaurant,Cranberry Marsh in Whitby and Iriquois Shoreline in North Whitby. There are great opportunities for photos at all of these sites and great friendly folks to share  with and learn from.

went to High Park last year.
i think we were romanticizing the Hawk Hill.
i kid not when we had images of hawks landing on the ground and eating lemmings.
instead, we got there and found people sitting in lawn chairs, watching specs fly above their heads :)

guess i am looking for the off chance of finding a bird at eye level (like the turkey vultures i saw last week, or the pics i got of a red-tailed hawk catching and eating a snake on Sam Smith's walkway)

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Post by: Moira on July 29, 2009, 07:50:18 PM

Would you advise where Iroquois Shoreline in North Whitby is?  I live nearby and haven't heard of it.  Thank you!

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Post by: BIGFRANK on July 29, 2009, 09:14:26 PM

Note I dont drive,so these directions are what I could find online quickly. If these dont get you there,I hope it gives U a good starting point and you are able to search better directions.

North Whitby on the border of the Town of Brooklin. Our GPS for our 10x10 platform is N 43 degrees 56' 6.3" W 78 degrees 58' 8.7".  The site is in the Heber Down Conservation Area, part of CLOCA.

This page has a map and directions to Herber Down Conservation Area
http://www.cloca.com/con_areas/CAheberdown.php (http://www.cloca.com/con_areas/CAheberdown.php)

This is another Map with some contact info too.
http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=395 (http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=395)

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Post by: Kin Lau on July 30, 2009, 08:36:18 AM

Quote from: "yogistewart"

went to High Park last year.
i think we were romanticizing the Hawk Hill.
i kid not when we had images of hawks landing on the ground and eating lemmings.
instead, we got there and found people sitting in lawn chairs, watching specs fly above their heads :)

guess i am looking for the off chance of finding a bird at eye level (like the turkey vultures i saw last week, or the pics i got of a red-tailed hawk catching and eating a snake on Sam Smith's walkway)

Cranberry Marsh/Hall's Road is likely one of the better spots in the GTA for low raptors. They often hunt the fields beside the road and perch nearby.

I've had Sharpies and Kestrels come across really low, practically in-your-face.

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Post by: Moira on July 30, 2009, 07:34:50 PM

Thanks for the directions.  I'll be sure to check it out.

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Post by: Lee on August 02, 2009, 05:08:01 PM

Quote from: "yogistewart"

Quote from: "BIGFRANK"

There are many which are very photographable (my highschool english teacher would hurt me for that word). We are on the western end of the Scarborough Bluffs and so sometimes the birds are below us or eyelevel. For a good idea, of photographic opportunities,this is a blog I keep once my raptor watch starts up. http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com (http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com) Any unattributed photos are mine. Neither Walter or I has fancy expensive cameras. He uses a 4megapixel video camera,I use a 6megapixel 12x Sony Cybershot I think its called. Very occassionally birds land in the park.

Incase you are unaware,there are 3 official raptor watch sites in Toronto area. One is at High Park,beside the Grenadier Restaurant,Cranberry Marsh in Whitby and Iriquois Shoreline in North Whitby. There are great opportunities for photos at all of these sites and great friendly folks to share  with and learn from.

went to High Park last year.
i think we were romanticizing the Hawk Hill.
i kid not when we had images of hawks landing on the ground and eating lemmings.
instead, we got there and found people sitting in lawn chairs, watching specs fly above their heads :)

guess i am looking for the off chance of finding a bird at eye level (like the turkey vultures i saw last week, or the pics i got of a red-tailed hawk catching and eating a snake on Sam Smith's walkway)

We get a lot of raptors at eye level or below, like Frank said.  We also get them very high up in the sky, so it's good to have a few people looking from different vantages.  I saw a juvie bald eagle last year flying along the bluffs below eye level but I've also seen some wayyyy up in the sky.