Wet Woods Week of April 16th

[rickeckley]

Easter was a very birdy day in the Wet Woods.    I was there from 11:30-1:30. Highlights were a Lincoln's Sparrow and an Eastern/Yellow Palm Warbler. Other highlights were Rusty Blackbird, Eastern Towhee, and Brown Thrasher

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Canada Goose Remove Species
1
Mute Swan Remove Species
6
Mallard Remove Species
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Long-tailed Duck Remove Species
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Double-crested Cormorant Remove Species
2
Turkey Vulture Remove Species
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Ring-billed Gull Remove Species
2
Herring Gull Remove Species
2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Remove Species
4
Downy Woodpecker Remove Species
1
Hairy Woodpecker Remove Species
28
Northern Flicker Remove Species
1
American Kestrel Remove Species
1
Common Raven Remove Species
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Tree Swallow Remove Species
1
Barn Swallow Remove Species
2
Black-capped Chickadee Remove Species
1
House Wren Remove Species
2
Winter Wren Remove Species
8
Golden-crowned Kinglet Remove Species
1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Remove Species
1
Hermit Thrush Remove Species
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American Robin Remove Species
1
Brown Thrasher Remove Species
1
Northern Mockingbird Remove Species
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European Starling Remove Species
1
Palm Warbler (Yellow) Remove Species
An Eastern Palm Warbler with a full front of a darker richer yellow with no white break and stronger, brighter breast striping than a Western Palm.
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Yellow-rumped Warbler Remove Species
1
Field Sparrow Remove Species
1
Dark-eyed Junco Remove Species
3
White-throated Sparrow Remove Species
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Song Sparrow Remove Species
1
Lincoln's Sparrow Remove Species
Crisp, fine streaking on a buffy breast and a streaked head - finer streaking than a Song Sparrow and no breast dot. Streaked head, so not a juvenile Swamp Sparrow. Crisp streaking so not an adult Swamp Sparrow.
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Eastern Towhee Remove Species
4
Northern Cardinal Remove Species
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Red-winged Blackbird Remove Species
4
Rusty Blackbird Remove Species
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Common Grackle Remove Species
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Brown-headed Cowbird Remove Species
2
American Goldfinch

[rickeckley]

I was in the Wet Woods today - Tuesday the 18th - from 11:30am-3pm.  I had 46 species.  Highlights included:

Blue Headed Vireo (FOY)
Harlequin Duck (close in by the Unwin Bridge)
Yellow/Eastern Palm (probably the continuing bird)
Pine
Rusty
House Wren
White Throated,Tree, Swamp, and Field Sparrows
Towhee
Sapsucker
6 Thrashers

Here is a link to my ebird checklist

http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist/S36075064

Rick

[mr.sharp-photo]

I was in the Wet Woods today - Tuesday the 18th - from 11:30am-3pm.  I had 46 species.  Highlights included:

Blue Headed Vireo (FOY)
Harlequin Duck (close in by the Unwin Bridge)
Yellow/Eastern Palm (probably the continuing bird)
Pine
Rusty
House Wren
White Throated,Tree, Swamp, and Field Sparrows
Towhee
Sapsucker
6 Thrashers

Here is a link to my ebird checklist

http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist/S36075064

Rick

i was only there for 30 min today (2:30-3). saw 1 sapsucker, one pine warbler, some yellow rumped, lots of flickers and one sapsucker. lots of rubies and a good # of yellow crowned kinglets.
no activity in the main woods area. some good activity in the northern part of the bowl. warblers were in the middle of the woods.
oh, and lots of creepers.
and one Leon

[rickeckley]

I went to the TOC's first annual Woodcock Appreciation Night down by the Wet Woods on Wednesday evening.  It was hosted by the charming and informative Justin Peter and Eric Baldo who brought along a ROM-supplied Woodcock specimen as an adjunct to their very entertaining lecture.  It was a really fun event and well attended.  We saw two male Woodcocks doing courtship display.  We watched the first one make five separate attempts to lure a mate.  We also saw a Northern Harrier flyover and a Black Crowned Night Heron zipping toward the lake in very dim light.

[tangara]

If you would have all stayed a little longer you may have heard a Whip-poor-will calling.  I saw one very well late that afternoon (19th).  Very early, like most bird species this spring.

[rickeckley]

Hi Tangara,

Where did you see the Whip?  They tend to stay in the same place for periods of time.  That would be a Wet Woods treat.

Rick

[tangara]

Hi Rick,

Are you the gentlemen with the bright orange jacket?  If so, I met you briefly yesterday afternoon about 4 p.m.

The Whip-poor-will was in the centre part of the main woods towards the west side.  It fluttered like a moth across the path and fortuitously landed on a deadfall.  I studied it for about ten minutes from as close as 5 m. before it fluttered a little ways back into the dogwoods.   It was a grey or dark phase male.

A rare sighting for the Spit - my first in over 30 years birding there.   :shock:

[rickeckley]

I'm not the man in the orange jacket, but I appreciate the heads up on the Whip and its location - a rare one for the Wet Woods, indeed.  I'll try my luck tomorrow.

Rick