Green-winged Teal It looks like most of the migrants have pretty much passed through, so for a change I headed up to Cranberry Marsh near Whitby, Ontario. Arrived at 8:00am just as the light was making photography possible. I took the circle trail from the parking lot towards Lake Ontario and back. Walk out was mediocre to say the least, although I did see a small flock of about 12 Wild Turkeys, and a few White-tailed Deer. Nearer the Lake I spotted an Eastern Phoebe, several White throated Sparrows, Cardinals, a few American Robins, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a few Chickadees and 3 or 4 Waxwings. Heading back along the west trail I spotted a couple of Song Sparrows and as I reached the parking lot again a Fox Sparrow (best sighting of the day for sure!). Talked to a few Birders whilst I was there who told me a Barred Owl was in the area... likely for the winter, so I might have to make another trip in the coming weeks/months. I alos found out that Rusty Blackbirds are common here, but I did not spot any. Headed a short distance to Halls Road and checked out the lookout over the lagoon, which was full of ducks mainly Mallards, but a few dozen Green-winged Teals were also foraging as well.
On a final note: My site statistics show that I had a new high for unique visitors in one day of 67, on October 18th 2014, so whoever you all are - Thanks!
On a final note: My site statistics show that I had a new high for unique visitors in one day of 67, on October 18th 2014, so whoever you all are - Thanks!
18th & 19th October 2014
Yellow-rumped Warbler Rain had been forecast so it looked like it was going to be a morning at home, However, I checked the forecast at 6:00am and found out that the forecast had been updated and now showed that the rain wasn't scheduled to start until 2:00pm - The gods are with, so headed out to Princess Point in Hamilton - pretty much a shot in the dark which ended up being pretty good. A flock of about 15 migrating Yellow-rumped Warblers roamed around the point area, giving me decent shots every now & then.
11th & 12th October 2014
Hermit Thrush Saturday morning: Headed over to University of Guelph Arboretum looking for migrants. It was pretty quiet, but there were a few pockets of Kinglets (mainly Golden-crowned) and a few Hermit Thrushes. Also I think I spotted a Orange-crowned Warbler (winter plumage makes it tricky to ID). Managed to get a shot in but the Image quality is poor
Sunday: Fall is definitely here with -1C at 7:00am, but not a cloud in the sky. First stop was the Wellington side of Mountsberg CA. Spotted a few Golden-crowned Kinglets and that was about it. From there I headed over to Hendrie Valley and although things were generally quiet I did spot, other than the Chickadees, Nuthatches, RW Blackbirds & Cardinals, a few Kinglets, a couple of Blue-headed Vireos, lots of White-throated Sparrow, a couple of Downey's and my first Dark-eyed Junco of the season (somewhat depressing to see the 1st winter visitor). Moved over to the other side down by Laking Gardens and spotted (4) Black-crowned Night Herons and a few Egrets
Sunday: Fall is definitely here with -1C at 7:00am, but not a cloud in the sky. First stop was the Wellington side of Mountsberg CA. Spotted a few Golden-crowned Kinglets and that was about it. From there I headed over to Hendrie Valley and although things were generally quiet I did spot, other than the Chickadees, Nuthatches, RW Blackbirds & Cardinals, a few Kinglets, a couple of Blue-headed Vireos, lots of White-throated Sparrow, a couple of Downey's and my first Dark-eyed Junco of the season (somewhat depressing to see the 1st winter visitor). Moved over to the other side down by Laking Gardens and spotted (4) Black-crowned Night Herons and a few Egrets
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Saturday: Had to drop in on a project I'm involved with in Toronto, so once that was taken care off I made the small detour to Samuel Smith Park at the south end of Etobicoke. Arrived at 7:45 and headed out to do a circuit of the park. It was pretty quiet with the only sightings being a warbler that gave me a brief glimpse then disappeared and a couple of White-crowned Sparrows. However as I was almost back at the Parking lot I spotted a couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets flitting about in a thorny thicket and managed a few shots. As I reached my vehicle I came across an organized birding group (about 20 people) just about to head out - I checked my email on my return and discovered that the group I had seen earlier had found an Eastern Whip-poor-will soon after I had left - bummer!
