Hello, and Riverwood + Erindale birds

[Reuven_M]

Got out both this morning and afternoon at both riverwood, erindale and the university, and found lots:
1 wood duck
1 sharp-shin
2 pileated
2 blue-headed vireo
1 barn swallow
21 creepers
7 golden and 42 ruby-crowned kinglet
7 hermit thrush
6 warblers: 1 yellow, ~90 yellow-rumped, 2 black-throated green, 6 pine, 1 palm, 2 ovenbird
8 sparrows: 5 chipping, 4 field, 1 vesper, 2 savannah, ~35 song, 2 swamp, ~35 white-throated, 4 junco
2 purple finch

[Reuven_M]

very quiet this morning at riverwood:
1 common loon
1 blue-headed vireo
~15 yellow-rumped warbler
~20 white-throated sparrow
1 golden and 2 ruby-crowned kinglet
3 creepers

However, I did hear my first singing toads of the year.

[Reuven_M]

Not too much around this morning, but still got 2 new year birds: house wren and (finally!) yellow-bellied sapsucker, along with a few recent arrivals.

2 common loon
1 creeper
1 house wren
1 golden and 7 ruby-crowned kinglet
1 thrasher and 1 catbird
1 yellow, 6 yellow-rumped and 7 pine warbler
11 chipping, 15 song, 2 savannah, 1 swamp, 20 white-throated sparrow

[Bird Brain]

Reuven ... nice sightings!    Brown Thrasher has returned?  Is he close to MacEwan House again?

[Reuven_M]

It was in generally the same spot, so I guess it could be the same one.

[Reuven_M]

Rather quiet today again.

9 common loon flyovers
1 blue-headed vireo
3 tree and 1 barn swallow
1 house wren
3 gnatcatcher
4 ruby-crowned kinglet
1 hermit thrush
1 catbird
8 myrtle, 9 pine and 1 blackburnian warbler (I had forgot how incredible adult male blackburnians are, they almost glow!)
~30 chipping, 1 field, 1 savannah, ~20 song, 2 swamp, ~30 white-throated sparrow and 1 junco (getting rather late)

[Reuven_M]

VERY good today. Almost all the birds were along the ridge at the university that faces Erindale Park and Dundas St.

1 great blue heron
1 spotted sandpiper (FOY)
1 caspian tern (first for Erindale/Riverwood)
1 kingbird (FOY)
8 rough-winged and 8 barn swallow
4 creepers
1 house wren
5 ruby-crowned kinglet
5 gnatcatcher
1 veery(FOY) and 1 hermit thrush
1 thrasher
9 warbler sp: 7 nashville (FOY), 1 parula (FOY), 10 yellow, 4 black-throated blue (FOY), ~75 myrtle, 1 blackburnian, 12 palm, 4 black-and-white, 1 ovenbird
6 sparrow sp: 10 chipping, 1 field, ~25 song, 1 swamp, ~25 white-throated, 1 rather late junco
1 baltimore oriole (FOY)

2 raccoons up a tree
2 cottontails
1 tailless squirrel and the funny orange "grey" squirrel

The toads are starting their mating

1 cabbage white and 1 mourning cloak

[Reuven_M]

I got caught in the rain this morning, but from 6:30 to 8:30 at Riverwood:

2 wood duck
7 common loon
1 cooper's hawk incubating on the nest
1 pileated
1 kingbird
2 tree swallow
3 creeper
2 house wren (I'm hearing and seeing carolinas pretty much every day)
2 gnatcatcher
6 ruby-crowned kinglet
1 veery
2 nashville, 2 parula, 2 yellow, 8 myrtle, 3 black-throated green, 2 pine, 1 palm, 2 black-and-white warbler
1 swamp, ~15 chipping, ~15 song, ~10 white-throated sparrow
1 rose-breasted grosbeak (FOY)
1 baltimore oriole

[Free2run]

Having lived in Mississauga for quite a while, I do not realize there are so many birding opportunities nearby, Reuven_M.

As a newbie, do you have any suggestions on a good pair of binocular around $200 that I can start?  Which part of Riverwood that I should go to see these birds especially the common loon?  Thanks in advance for any information.

[Reuven_M]

The common loons have been flying over early in the morning (6-7:30) for the past week or so, I've never seen on land anywhere in the area. I've seen lots of birds all over, including around the parking lots, underneath the burnhamthorpe and 403 bridges and even once 3 warbler sp. in the median of Burnhamthorpe road! The best areas are generally the low, somewhat open areas along the river.

About binoculars I have no idea, but I recommend asking on this forum:
http://www.birdforum.net/forumdisplay.php?f=112

Little around today, but I did see a wood duck, 2 pileated woodpeckers,  1 blue-headed vireo and 2 yellow, 2 palm and 3 black-and-white warblers.

During a fire drill at school today I heard a familiar sound - my first chimney swift of the year.

[Free2run]

Thank you for the detailed information, Reuven_M.
I will also check out the suggested website to learn more about birding binocular.
Thanks again!

[Reuven_M]

Some decent stuff this morning at Erindale and the University, but I don't think there has been any significant migration in the past three or four days.

2 wood duck
5 common loon
1 black-crowned night-heron
about 10 rough-winged and 8 tree swallow
2 gnatcatcher
1 golden-crowned and 5 ruby-crowned kinglet
2 catbirds and 1 thrasher
warblers: 3 nashville, 10 yellow, 40 yellow-rumped, 2 black-throated green, 15 palm, 5 black-and-white, 1 ovenbird
1 field sparrow among many chipping, white-throated, song
1 baltimore oriole
1 purple finch

[Reuven_M]

Lots of migrants today, but still dominated by yellow-rumped warblers

8 common loon
1 northern harrier (juvenile)
1 spotted sandpiper
1 kingbird
1 blue-headed vireo
10 rough-winged, 4 tree and 14 barn swallow
3 house wren
2 gnatcatcher
8 ruby-crowned kinglet
2 veery and 2 hermit thrush
2 catbirds and 1 thrasher
7 nashville, 20 yellow, 1 magnolia (FOY), 100 myrtle, 6 black-throated green, 1 pine, 25 palm, 15 black-and-white warblers, 1 ovenbird, 1 yellowthroat (FOY)
15 chipping, 1 field, 30 song, 1 lincoln's (FOY), 1 swamp, 20 white-throated, 1 white-crowned (FOY) sparrows
1 rose-breasted grosbeak
5 rusty blackbird

[Reuven_M]

Very good today at Riverwood, with little at Erindale/UTM, including my second lifer of 2011, another new bird for erindale/riverwood, and a couple more year birds.

2 common loon
1 kingbird
3 warbling(FOY) and 1 yellow-throated (only my second ever, my first for erindale/riverwood and a year bird) vireo
4 tree and 8 barn swallow
12+ house wren
21+ gnatcatcher
6 ruby-crowned kinglet
1 hermit thrush
12+ catbird and 1 thrasher
10 warblers: 20 nashville, 18 yellow, 2 black-throated blue, 55 yellow-rumped, 7 black-throated green, 3 blackburnian, 24 palm, 19 black-and-white, 2 redstart (FOY), 2 louisiana waterthrush (overdue lifer )
35 chipping, 1 field, 40 song, 1 swamp, 1 white-crowned, 25 white-throated sparrow
3 rose-breasted grosbeak
2 baltimore oriole

[Will]

After you left around 9:30, I went and checked around the ravine and up the trail to the forest edge and just to add on to your list I also had:

5 Cape May Warblers
1 Orange-crowned Warbler
2 Northern Parula
2 Blue-headed Vireos
2 Pine Warblers
1 Coopers Hawk

And I found the Yellow-throated Vireo on the forest edge by the clearing!