Western Grebe at Colonel Sam Smith Park

[AlvanBuckley]

Hi everyone,

Thanks to Bernie Monnette for posting the sighting to Ontbirds. The bird was easy to
find right where it was said to be. Almost too easy!

I first found it on its own at the mouth of the marina to the lake - this
was at 5:45. Coordinates: 43.588668, -79.516350

But within five minutes it had swam several hundred meters west from the
park and approaching a flock of Red-necked Grebes. Hugh Currie and I
searched for it from the base of Twenty Eighth street for about 30 minutes
only to find that it had returned to the mouth of the marina.

I returned there and had great looks of the bird right up until 7:45.
Photos are posted on my blog:
www.alvanbuckley.blogspot.com

A scope isn't necessary if the bird is in the marina but if it decides to
swim out into the lake a scope may become handy.

Other birds include several hundred Red-necked Grebes (I estimated 400)
mostly west of the park. An Eastern Phoebe and a Pied-billed Grebe inside
the marina area.

Good luck!

Directions:
Colonel Sam Smith is south of Kipling and Lakeshore Blvd. Exit off the
Gardiner and go south. Parking is free (but often filled with Humber
students' cars) just south of the Power Station (paid parking).

[stvgarrett]

Lots of birders were out to see the Western Grebe as well as significant numbers of Red Necked and Horned Grebes. It was out a ways so you could pick it out with binoculars - that white chest really stands among the other birds -  but it was hard to get a really good look without a scope. Roughly here (green arrow) at 12:30 p.m:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=43.586484 ... 54417&z=15
Hopefully it will come back in near the mouth of the marina later.

[ravynne40]

I would like to thank the people that let me look through their scopes this morning or I would never have seen the Western Grebe Thank you so very very much.
This was exciting and fun, but the wind got to me so I moved on to stay warm.