Outdoor Ontario

Birding Reports => Toronto Reports => Topic started by: bosh on January 15, 2012, 05:13:32 PM

Title: Leslie Street Spit 1/15- Horned Larks, possible Oregon Junco
Post by: bosh on January 15, 2012, 05:13:32 PM

Birded the Spit today - the sun was shining but the iced-over water made for far fewer ducks and gulls than usual. Apart from the Larks, the Oregon Junco was a pretty good rarity (assuming it was one - please see the attached photo, with apologies for including this here instead of in the Bird ID forum). Here's my eBird list, 28 species total:

Canada Goose  11
Mute Swan  6
Trumpeter Swan  2
Gadwall  30
American Black Duck  13
Mallard  25
Redhead  8
Greater Scaup  X
Greater/Lesser Scaup  13
Long-tailed Duck  380
Bufflehead  22
Common Goldeneye  56
Common Merganser  29
Red-breasted Merganser  94
duck sp.  20
Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern)  1     Leslie St. outside park gates
American Kestrel (Northern)  1
Ring-billed Gull  6
Herring Gull  11
gull sp.  20
Downy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  1
Northern Shrike  1
Horned Lark  2
Black-capped Chickadee  11
Golden-crowned Kinglet  2
American Tree Sparrow  70     10 on Leslie St. outside park gates
Song Sparrow  4
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)  1
Northern Cardinal  2     Leslie St. outside park gates
American Goldfinch  2

(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6703971899_26b108c63e.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/59284775@N04/6703971899/)

Title: Re: Leslie Street Spit 1/15- Horned Larks, possible Oregon J
Post by: thouc on January 15, 2012, 07:44:34 PM

Nice list, but sorry, it's not an Oregon Junco, which should have reddish brown on sides and back.

Here's a picture of one: http://outdoorontario.net/birds/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9216&p=39212&hilit=oregon#p39212

Title: Re: Leslie Street Spit 1/15- Horned Larks, possible Oregon J
Post by: bosh on January 15, 2012, 08:48:55 PM

It did have a two-toned brown colouration (I know the picture's not the greatest, but I think you can still see it here). The photo you link to is very bright, but many of them are duller: http://www.pabirds.org/PORC/Dark-eyedOregonJunco.htm (http://www.pabirds.org/PORC/Dark-eyedOregonJunco.htm).  I know there are some brownish Slate-colored Juncos, but this is definitely browner than the conventional Slate-colored (http://www.briansmallphoto.com/dark-eyed_junco.html (http://www.briansmallphoto.com/dark-eyed_junco.html)).  Also the "bib" has a more convex shape, which indicated Oregon to me.

Could also be an intergrade, or just a browner Slate-colored, but it was definitely different than the other Juncos I've seen around here.

Title: Re: Leslie Street Spit 1/15- Horned Larks, possible Oregon J
Post by: thouc on January 15, 2012, 09:37:27 PM

Quote from: "bosh"

Could also be an intergrade, or just a browner Slate-colored, but it was definitely different than the other Juncos I've seen around here.

I would think either of those two. Juncos are complicated. See http://www.oceanwanderers.com/JuncoID.html.

Title: Re: Leslie Street Spit 1/15- Horned Larks, possible Oregon J
Post by: bosh on January 22, 2012, 01:50:29 AM

Similar results today as to last week, although the Kestrel, Shrike, Junco, and a few others were nowhere to be seen. I did however see an American Pipit, more Larks, a Ruddy Duck (on the "outer" side of the spit facing Ashbridge's Bay), two Peregrines...

Title: Re: Leslie Street Spit 1/15- Horned Larks, possible Oregon J
Post by: frozenice7885 on January 30, 2012, 01:18:02 AM

looks like a dark eyed to me