Leslie Street Spit - Sat Feb 9th/2008

[Andreas Jonsson]

I took a walk out to the lighthouse on the Leslie Street Spit and back between 1pm and 5pm yesterday, on Saturday the 9th of February. Conditions were suboptimal, with wet snow or rain throughout most of the time, and so I guess the owls were all hiding from the weather, cause I didn't see any. Of course the time of day wasn't optimal either. Nevertheless, I didn't leave empty handed. Below are some of the birds I saw:

Northern shrike
Kestrel
Tree sparrows
White-winged scooters
3 kinds of Mergansers
Scaups
The rest of the usual waterfowl

[gb_eh]

Thnx for the report.. i was going to venture over there today.. but i figured with the wind and all it would be a lost cause.. I did however look for the snowy at Col Sam Smith.. but it too was all for not.

[chanceychelsey]

My husband and I made our first visit to the Leslie St. Spit on Saturday, in the early morning.  Not the best day to venture out.  We went into Tommy Thompson Park, and found ourselves at the sailing club.  We made our way back and then headed home.  We were not really sure which path to take, and didn't see many birds at all.  Is there any area that is better than the next for viewing?  I have seen numerous photo's on this site of different owls, and we were looking specifically for them, with no luck.
And, do they generally open the gates at 9 or not, as they were not opened during the time we were there, and we were out of the park after 9.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like it was quite the enjoyable little trek...

I was out on the 401 yesterday and really, it wasn't a nice day to be out at all - good on you for taking the effort!

Attila

[Andreas Jonsson]

chanceychelsey,

there are quite a few reports in this forum regarding the owls on the Spit. Have a look at them. There are a few hinters as to where to look for them. Especially in the wooded areas on the right of the main road before and after the bridge. Don't be fooled though. Unless they move, they are tricky to find. I know the photos on this site make it look like they are all over the place, but you have to be lucky to find them. Snowy and short eared owls can be seen in daylight, hunting in the open field, while the forest based owls are hiding out in the trees throughout the day.

[gb_eh]

The owls are very hard to spot.. Even after being told this one was just off the side of the road, I still managed to walk by it three times... Another very kind birder almost had to take be by the hand and point him out to me...

[Howieh]

Nice shot! (even looks good on my lousy monitor!). Was this shot taken a little past the bridge? - if so this may be the most photographed owl on the spit. Btw, on weekends it's probably easier to look for photographers than birds because once an owl (or anything else interesting) is found it will generally attract a crowd.

[chanceychelsey]

When we went into the park, we followed the roadway, went onto the pathway and then veared off towards the Sailing Club.  Where is it that we should go, to get to this bridge?

[Joe]

Stay on the main road.  It leads to the bridge.  The bridge is about 800m or so past the path that leads to the sailing club and the bird banding station.  Check google maps (satellite) to get an idea of where to walk.  It's about 45 mins. of walking to get there.  I, too, have had no luck spotting the owls.  That Barred shot is outstanding.

Joe

[Howieh]

I forgot to mention that the photographer that directed us to the barred owl also told us that he had also seen a great horned owl off the road leading to the sailing club. I was on my way out so I didn't bother going back but I think you can probably get pretty close to the club before the road becomes 'private'. Maybe someone else can confirm (or deny) this. Btw, any sign of the bald eagle? We saw him but couldn't get close enough for a decent shot.