Greetings,
This evening (23 Aug. 2005) Bruce Di Labio, Diane Whitman and I saw
three juv. Buff-breasted Sandpipers near Owen Pt. Also present were
42 juv. Baird's, 4 Pectoral, 1 juv. Black-bellied Plover, 1 ad.
Turnstone, among the 200+ shorebirds present. Also seen was an
Osprey heading SW over the lake, 4 female Redhead off the natural beach.
Incidentally, for those interested in escapees, there is a Chukar
that has taken up residence in the north part of Brighton. It
"appeared" about a month ago and has been seen within a triangle from
Mt. Hope Cemetery to the High School to Proctor Park. It frequently
calls (sounds somewhat like a distant flock of crows) and usually
perches on house roof tops! If you are coming into town from the
401, watch on the rooftops in the area of the Ford dealership.
Directions:
Presqu'ile is well signed off Hwy. 401 or Hwy. 2 at Brighton, Owen
Pt. is the spit facing Gull Island.
Cheers,
Doug McRae
From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tue Aug 23 20:57:50 2005
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From: "NORM MURR" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 22:30:33 -0000
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Subject: [Ontbirds]Toronto Islands Migration Part 4
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Good evening all.
I ventured down to the Islands again today and a good move that was. As =
I arrived at the ferry docks I could hear Warbler chips outside the =
ferry terminal and this is always a good sign and it was again today. I =
was fortunate to go on a day that a mini fallout occurred.
It was a beautiful day for a not part (any more) of the rat race birder. =
I feel for all you other birders, (yea) and again I had the Islands to =
myself as far as other birders are concerned. I started behind the =
houses on the southeast end of Wards Island as usual.
It was a busy day trying to see the birds in the heavy foliage but I did =
find a few birds and the following are some of the high lights.
Great Egret - 1, Northern Goshawk -1 (adult) 1st surprise, Merlin - 1 =
(adult) 2nd surprise, Chimney Swifts in large numbers, 8 Flycatcher =
species including Olive-sided Flycatcher - 2, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher =
- 4, Great Crested Flycatcher - 13, Carolina Wren - 3, Blue-gray =
Gnatcatcher - 10, 100's of Barn and Tree Swallows, 18 Warbler species =
including Yellow Warbler - 7, Chestnut-sided Warbler - 13, Magnolia =
Warbler - 16, Yellow-rumped Warbler - 21, Pine warbler - 1 male, =
Bay-breasted Warbler - 6, Blackpoll Warbler - 5, Black-and-white Warbler =
- 6, American Redstart - 23, Wilson's Warbler - 22, Canada Warbler - 17 =
and Baltimore Oriole - 26. I also found some Swainson's and Hermit =
Thrushes, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.
For those that keep track of such things I also observed about 150 =
Monarch Butterflies in the Wildlife Sanctuary and about 200 more along =
the beach side of Hanlans Point. Also observed were about 50 green =
Darners over the south end of the Island Airport.
Directions
TORONTO ISLANDS
To get to the Toronto Islands from Queen and Yonge Streets on the TTC. =
If your on the subway
southbound stay on it and get off at Union Station, walk south about 1 =
km to the ferry docks at the
foot of Bay Street and Queens Quay and you are there. If in an auto on =
the Gardener Expressway
or on Lakeshore Blvd, then exit at Bay Street and drive south to Queens =
Quay, there are lots of
parking lots nearby (fee). There is a fee for using the island ferries =
($6.50 adult / $3.50 for seniors)(yes they raised the adult price AGAIN) =
and to find out the sailing times you can phone (416) 392-8193 and there =
are washrooms on the islands as well as the city side at the ferry =
docks.=20
The 1st boat to Wards Island (my preferred starting point) is 6:35 am =
and the 2nd is 7:00 am Monday
to Friday, Saturday 6:35 am, then 7:15 am and the 1st is at 8:00 am on =
Sunday.
You can pick up a schedule at the docks or check on line.
If arriving before 7 am you must obtain your ticket from a machine just =
inside the gate so be sure to have $1.00 and $2.00 and/or 25 cent coins =
before you arrive at the docks as there is no place to get change and =
the machine does not make change.
Norm Murr
Richmond Hill, ON
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
