Today Bob Tyler and I spotted the adult Slaty-backed Gull at about 2:00 pm as
it flew past going south just off the beach on the west side of Hanlan’s Point.
It flew south towards the west side of Gibraltar Point where there was a huge
feeding frenzy containing a large number of Ring-billed
At 9:00 am this morning Oct. 5/20 Margaret Liubavicius spotted an adult
Slaty-backed Gull standing on a rock about 100 feet off the west side of
Gibraltar Point, just north of the washroom.
We, Bob Tyler, Margaret and myself had great views of this gull and watched it
for about 10 minutes.
Today Bob Tyler, Margaret Liubavicius and I found a Western Kingbird and a
Louisiana Waterthrush on the Toronto Islands.
We found the Western Kingbird on Ward’s Island at 1:45 pm Between the bridge
onto Snug Harbour and the Island Church and as we return through the area we
again spotted the
I hope I’m talking for Islanders and birders but the times are not normal.
Some of my Toronto Island Friends and Residents have informed me that they have
seen a couple of birders ? down there in the last week and I noticed that one
birder posted his sightings on ebird.
For their own safety
Migration seems to be quite slow on The Islands but we did find 6 Cackling
Geese together on the harbour side of Ward’s Island between the corner of
Channel Island and First St. And the Eastern Gap concrete.
Other new birds between the ferry dock and the Snake Island bridge were a
1 Black Scoter – on the Toronto Harbour close off Snake Island
1 Lesser Black-backed Gull – adult – on Long Pond (lagoon) between Mugg’s
Island and The Sanctuary – best seen from Hanlan’s Point if you are not using a
scope.
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets – along The Boardwalk
Lesser Interest
3
Yesterday Bob Tyler and I again birded the Toronto Islands and though there
were not many passerines we did okay and below are some of the birds we found.
1 Cormorant only, 5 Great Blue Herons, 9 Trumpeter Swans including 4 grown
Signets, Wood Duck, Greater Scaup, Gadwall, Black Duck, 50+
Yesterday Bob Tyler and I birded the Toronto Islands on a beautiful Winters
day, at least it looked and felt like winter but very nice scenery.
Following are some of the birds we found.
Only 3 Cormorants, Great Blue Heron, Mute and Trumpeter Swans, high, south
bound Canada Geese, 6 Black, 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2zAUHAdaBE
A thank full and sad and bowed Norm on the coming 11th.
Semper Fi to my fallen brothers
Norm :>((
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
___
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the
Yesterday Bob Tyler, Margaret Liubavicius and I birded Hanlan’s Point and part
of Gibraltar Point on a nice cool and enjoyable day and following are some of
the birds we found.
2 Pied-billed Grebes, Great Blue Herons, 6 Trumpeter Swans, Black Ducks,
Northern Shovelers, Hooded Merganser, 148
Yesterday Bob Tyler, Margaret Liubavicius and I birded Hanlan’s Point on a
beautiful sunny day and following are some of the birds we found.
Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Wood Duck, American Wigeon, Northern
Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied
Today Friday Oct. 4 Bob Tyler, Margaret Liubavicius, Jenny Bull and I birded
Hanlan’s and Gibraltar Points and though it was a long day it was a good day
and tomorrow could be very good as well (or not).
Following are some of the birds we found.
2 Pied-billed Grebes, Great Blue Herons, Great
Yesterday, Sept. 24th Bob Tyler, Margaret Liubavicius, Paul Brooks and I birded
Hanlan’s Point and it turned out to be another good day down there. 90% of the
Warblers except for the Palm Warblers were seen in the Hanlan’s ferry dock area
and following are some of the birds we found with most
Yesterday Bob Tyler and I birded Hanlan’s Point and the area at and around the
Trout Pond on Gibraltar Point and again it was a slow migration day and about
95% of the small bird sightings were in the area at and beside the Hanlan’s
Ferry dock.
Gadwalls, Wood Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, 2
Yesterday Sept. 17/19 Bob Tyler and I birded Ward’s Island and we did come up
with some nice birds besides the 2 title birds and following are some of them.
1 female Long-tailed Duck, Great Blue Heron, Osprey, Sharp-shined Hawk, Downy
and Hairy Woodpeckers, Flickers, Eastern Wood-Pewees,
This afternoon Bob Tyler and I found an adult male Townsend’s Warbler with a
mixed flock of Warbers on Ward’s Island. We had very good looks at this nice
bird.
We found this bird t about 2 pm today as it fed in Willow Trees, etc.
It was on the north side of the trees and bushes along the
Yesterday and Wednesday Bob Tyler and I birded Ward’s Island and a small part
of Algonquin Island and though migration still seems slow and sparse we did
find some nice birds including the following.
Great Blue Herons, Osprey, Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, Kestrel, Merlins,
Woodcock,
Yesterday Bob Tyler and I birded Ward’s Island and a small part of Algonquin
Island and though migration has picked up some it’s slow but following are
some of the birds we found.
Great Egrets, Osprey, Merlin, 30+ Black-bellied Plovers flying west overhead,
7 Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher,
Yesterday Bob Tyler and I birded Ward’s Island and small parts of Algonquin and
Snake Islands and though migration is very slow starting we did find some new
birds but only only 6 warblers, 5 single species and 2 Redstarts and another N.
Waterthrush.
We also saw 4 Great Egrets, a first fall
Thursday and Friday Bob Tyler and I birded Ward’s Island, and part of Algonquin
and Snake Islands and though migration is slow coming we did find some nice
birds including 14 Warbler species with very, very low numbers of most of the.
Following are some of the birds we found:- 6 Great Egrets,
Yesterday Bob Tyler and I birded Ward’s Island a nd a small part of Algonquin
Island and migration down there in Water World is winding down and though we
didn’t get many species we did OK despite only having access to about 30% of
the better birding areas.
Red-throated Loon, Common Loon,
The Brown Pelican was seen heading west over the Queen City Yacht Club on the
Toronto Island by Bob Tyler yesterday just after 7:10 or so pm.
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
___
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the
Yesterday Bob Tyler, Marc Lichtenberg and I birded Ward’s and Algonquin Islands
and following are some of the birds found.
First off I want to thank Marc’s great ears :>)) for hearing the Protonotary
Warbler and alerting Bob and I, a great find, thanks Marc.
Turkey Vultures, Black-billed
One more warbler was seen by Alfred but missed by Bob and myself.
Alfred saw a Kentucky Warbler making it the 25th warbler species seen down
there yesterday.
Norm Murr
Richmond Hill, ON
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
___
ONTBIRDS is presented by the
Yesterday May 19th Bob Tyler, Alfred Adamo and I birded Ward’s and Algonquin
Islands and it turned out to be one of the better trips down there and
following are some of the birds.
Turkey Vultures, 3 Black-billed and 1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Ruby-th
Hummingbirds, 4 Red-bellied Woodpeckers,
Today Bob Tyler and I birded Ward’s and Algonquin Islands on a day that turned
out to be Spring like and it also turned out to be our best day bird wise this
year with good numbers of each species of warblers and following are some of
the birds we found.
Great Blue Heron , Green Heron, Great
This morning Bob Tyler and I birded Ward’s and Algonquin Islands and despite
the reduced areas accesible due to flooding we didn’t do too bad.
Common Loon, 2 Osprey, Cooper’s Hawk, 100+ Chimney Swifts, 2 Red-bellied
Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Willow, Least and Great-crested Flycatchers,
Yesterday, May 11 Bob Tyler, Owen Moorhouse and I again birded the Toronto
Islands and though there wasn’t a big number of birds there we did find the
following.
Horned Grebe, Long-tailed Ducks and Bufflehead are still hanging in down there,
Canvasback, many Chimney Swifts overhead,
Today I did a short trip to Hanlan’s Point and part of Gibraltar Point and I
arrived home this time before dark.
Common Loons, Horned Grebes, Red-necked Grebe, 4 Great Egrets, Lesser
Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper, Glaucous Gull, Caspian and Common Terns, Belted
Kingfisher, Least Flycatchers,
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: Norm Murr via ONTBIRDS
Sent: May 7, 2019 7:10 AM
To: ONTBIRDS
Subject: [Ontbirds] Toronto Islands - Fish Crows and other goodies
Yesterday Bob Tyler and I birded the Toronto Islands and following are some of
the birds we found.
Black-crowned Night Heron
Yesterday Bob Tyler and I birded the Toronto Islands and following are some of
the birds we found.
Black-crowned Night Heron, Trumpeter Swans, Gadwall, 17 Turkey Vultures,
Northern Harriers, Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, 2 VIrginia Rails, 2 Soras,
many Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers,
Yesterday Owen Moorhouse joined Bob Tyler and myself for a nice day of birding
on The Islands and following are some of the birds we found. It was good to see
that finally more migrants were on the move.
Canvasback, Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks, Killdeer, Iceland, Glaucous and
Lesser
Yesterday April 30/19 Bob Tyler, Owen Moorhouse and I birded the Toronto
Islands and though it was like birding in March we did come up with some decent
birds though the pickings were slim.
11 waterfowl species including Red-necked Grebe, Gadwalls, Canvasbacks and
Lesser Scaup, Common
Yesterday April 25th Bob Tyler and I birded the Toronto Islands but not in the
all day sunny weather forecast but in the usual now of March weather but we did
find some nice birds including the following.
Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Wood Ducks, Gadwalls, Canvasbacks, Lesser Scaup,
White-winged
Yesterday April 21st I birded the Toronto Islands and the birding was very good
and below are some of the high lights.
Common Loon, 2 Horned Grebes, 11 Lesser Scaup, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper,
Caspian Tern, 2 Belted Kingfishers, 3 Red-belied Woodpeckers and possible 4, 13
Yellow-bellied
Good Morning,
Yesterday Bob Tyler and I again birded Ward’s and Algonquin Islands and though
bird numbers were down, especially waterfowl we did find enough birds to make
us happy and following are some of them.
Eared Grebe, 2 Trumpeter Swans, Wood Duck, 4 Canvasbacks, Red-breasted and
Yesterday April 7th Bob Tyler and I birded Ward’s and Algonquin Islands and it
is safe to say that migration has ramped up.
Some totals of the following such as Song Sparrow and Eastern Phoebe were under
counted as the Phoebes on the western end of Algonquin Island were in and
beside thick
Yesterday Bob Tyler and I again birded The Islands and though numbers of birds
were down from last Friday we still came up with some nice bids.
5 Pied-billed Grebes, (3 together), Cormorants overhead, 15 waterfowl species
including Gadwalls, Canvasbacks, Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, both Scaup,
Yesterday Friday the 29th Bob Tyler and birded the Toronto Islands and we came
up with 49 species.
Pied-billed and Horned Grebes, 10 D-c Cormorants overhead, Trumpeter Swans,
Wood Ducks, American Wigeons, Canvasbacks, Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, all 3
Mergansers, Red-bellied Woodpecker,
Yesterday Ian Cannell and I went down to Long Point and returned towards home
through the Fisherville and Hagersville areas.
Following are some of the birds we found but first the male Brewer’s Blackbird.
We found it at the Big Creek bridge along 1st Concession Road after about 1500
Grackles
Today Bob Tyler and I birded part of the Toronto Islands and despite the flip
in the weather forecast we did okay with 42 species found and following are
some of them.
21 Waterfowl species including Pied -billed Grebe, Trumpeter Swans, Gadwalls,
Canvasbacks, Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, both
This post is a tad late but on Saturday morning the 23rd Ian Cannell, Bob
Tyler and I observed 2 Fish Crows over Old Cut being chased off by 4 American
Crows.
It was a good outing with sightings in the Long Point area of Tundra, Trumpeter
and Mute Swans, Sandhill Cranes, Bald Eagle,
Yesterday Nov. 15th Ian Cannell and I drove up through Bolton and along Hwy 9
to County Road 10, up 10 through Angus and on up to Hwy 26 at Sunnidale
Corners, east along Hwy 26 to Strongville Road, along some roads around
Strongville then on over to the Muley Point Road area on the east side of
Today Bob Tyler and I birded our usual route from the Eastern Gap to the Trout
Pond and following are some of the birds we found.
we found.
Northern Shovelers, Canvasbacks, all 3 Merganser species including 26 Hooded
Mergansers, Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, A. Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon,
Yesterday Oct 12/18 Margaret Liubavicius, Bob Tyler and I birded part of
Hanlan’s Point (on the lee side) and Gibralter Point and following are some of
the birds we found despite the wind.
Trumpeter Swan, Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Turkey Vulture, 3
N. Harriers, 76
A very good day yesterday (Friday) for Margaret Liubavicius and myself as I
predicted to Margaret.
Despite the usual lie about the weather and for the 3rd time that sun was
predicted though the wind was expected.
We birded the our usual route from the dock to Gibralter and back and following
Yesterday Bob Tyler, Owen Moorhouse and for a time Alfred Adamo birded Hanlan’s
Point and part of Gibralter Point and except for a few sprinkles in the morning
(about 5 minutes long around 9 am) and a cloudy day we didn’t do too bad and
following are some of the birds we found.
2 Great Egrets,
Today Margaret Liubavicius and I birded part of Hanlan’s Point on a beautiful
day and it wasn’t as quiet as it was Monday.
On the lake we found a Red-throated Loon and 2 Common Loons.
Sparrow species are starting to increase a bit with 50+ White-throated
Sparrows, 6 Lincoln’s Sparrows, 5
Today Bob Tyler and I decided to bird Hanlan’s Point instead of Ward’s Island
and despite the winds that kept the Passerines down and hidden in the bushes we
didn’t do too bad.
Because of the winds we decided to try the Hanlan’s beach that was out of most
of the wind.
When we got to the beach
Yesterday Friday, Sept 7th Bob Tyler, Margaret Liubavicius and I again birded
Ward’s Island and the western end of Algonquin Island and following are some of
the birds we found.
Great Egret, 3 Ospreys overhead, 5 flycatcher species, 3 vireo species
including Philadelphia, Brown Creeper, both
Today after Bob and Margaret left ( she never learns :>)) ) I continued on
towards Centre Island and though there were not many birds, 6 species of
warbler only and a total of only 16 of these but 3 of them were Pine Warblers
and 3 were Connecticut Warblers, 2 males and 1 female. The female
This morning Ian Cannell and I birded part of Ward’s Island on the Toronto
Islands and following are some of the birds we found though we did not get the
fall out we hoped for.
We first heard and then observed a pair of Fish Crows for 10 plus minutes ( one
of the birds did his ca-ha call
Monday Bob Tyler and I birded Hanlan’s Point and yesterday Ian Cannell and I
birded Ward’s Island and yes migration is moving along and following are some
of the birds the 3 of us found.
Common Loons, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebes, Great Blue Herons, 9 Wood
Ducks, Canvasbacks, White-winged
Yesterday (April 20th)Bob Tyler and I again birder the Islands and this tie
only from Ward’s Island to Gibralter Point and though it was still Sprinter it
looks like Spring may be on it’s way.
Following are some of the birds we found 7 Common Loons, 2 Pied Billed and 32
Horned Grebes, Great
Good Day Eh,
Today Bob Tyler and I birded the Toronto Island from Ward’s Island to Gibralter
Point and for only the second time on the Islands (for us) we both saw 4
species of Grebes including 1 Eared Grebe, 2 Horned Grebes, 3 Pied-billed
Grebes and 7 Red-necked Grebes. The only other time
Had a White-fronted Goose flying low past the Ward’s Island ferry dock area
this afternoon heading east towards Cherry Beach.
Some other good Islands birds today were Cackling Goose, Trumpeter Swans,
Horned Grebe, Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, White-winged Scoters, Hooded and
Common
Yesterday Ian Cannell and I birded along some roads from Long Point to Cayuga
(Norfolk and Haldimand Counties) and we found 200+ Horned Larks.
A better sign of the coming Spring than that Groundhog.
Good to see these early migrants.
Norm.
___
Good Morning
Yesterday Ian Cannell and I birded Algonquin Provincial Park and though we did
not find a Spruce Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker or Boreal Chickadee we think
we did fairly well anyway.
It started with 9 Common Ravens flying west together over Hwy 60 just west of
the West Gate
Margaret Liubavicius phoned me last night to tell me that she had found the
Tufted Duck close in to the shore at Amos Waites Park after 3 pm ish.
Amos Waites Park is a the lake end of of Superior Ave. and also south of Mimico
Ave. south of Lake Shore Blvd which is west of Humber bay Park West.
Today Dec. 20/17 Bob Tyler and I birded the Toronto Islands and I want to give
a big thanks to Gavin Platt for his finding of a female Barrow’s Goldeneye in a
Hanlan’s Point lagoon.
This morning Bob and I started our walk down there heading to Hanlan’s Point
hoping to find the Barrow’s but as
For those that don’t or can’t travel far from the Toronto area but keep a
winter list.
Horned Grebe, Lesser Scaup, 4 Great Blue Herons, 2 Cormorants, 2 Ruby-crowned
Kinglets, 2 Peregrine Falcons, Common Raven, Black Scoters, many White-winged
Scoters, 20+ Hooded Mergansers, Cooper’s Hawk,
OOPS
That's Townsend's Solitaire.
Norm Murr
Richmond Hill
Ontario, Canada
You can't see birds if you don't go out but sit and wait for others to find
them.
-Original Message-
From: Norm Murr via ONTBIRDS
Sent: Friday, November 17, 2017 4:03 PM
To: ONTBIRDS
Subject: [Ontbirds
The Townsend was easily found this morning at 9 Am at the edge of the Carrow
Tract on 4th Line SW.
See previous posts for directions.
Norm Murr
Richmond Hill
Ontario, Canada
You can't see birds if you don't go out but sit and wait for others to find
them.
Yesterday Bob Tyler and I birded the Toronto Islands (7:30 am to dusk) from the
Eastern Gap to half way up Hanlan’s Point and on that very nice day we found
the following birds.
Red-throated and Common Loons, D-c Cormorants still present in numbers, Great
Blue Heron, 9 Tundra Swans, Black
Yesterday Sept.6th Margaret Liubavicius, Bob Tyler and myself birded Ward’s
Island and following are some of the birds we found.
Great Egret, Blk-crowned Night –Heron, Turkey Vulture, Ruby-th Hummingbirds,
Belted Kingfishers, E. Wood-Pewees, Great Crested Flycatcher, a late Eastern
Kingbird,
Today Ian Cannell, Bob Tyler and I birded Ward’s Island on another beautiful
day despite the forecast being a little off and we found 56 species of birds
including 14 warbler species and some nice views of Giant Swallowtails that
appeared to be resent emergent butterflies, so crisp and vibrant
Yesterday Margaret Liubavicius, Bob Tyler, Gunnar Bessell and I birded Ward’s
Island and a bit of Algonquin Island and though it started off slow it ended
with a small bang.
We came up with 56 species of birds and 2 young Mink and the following are some
of those 56 species that we found.
Today Ian Cannell, Jay Peterson and I birded the area north and northeast of
Kingston and among some very nice birds we found 5 Loggerhead Shrikes and on
the way home Ian and I stopped and observed the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron at
8:15 pm at the pond on Morgans Road, just east of Newcastle.
During the last 5 trips between Apr. 9th and yesterday we were finding 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker on every trip, a bird we are lucky to see once or twice
a year and then for just one day.
I was wondering if the same bird was hanging around but was seen throughout The
Islands.
Today Ian and I
Today Bob Tyler and I birded Ward’s Island and despite the cool wind we did
find a few nice birds.
On Lake Ontario off Ward’s Island we found Red-necked and Horned Grebes, all
close in near the boardwalk but the surprise was a nice Eared Grebe (halfway
between winter and breeding plumage)only
Good Morning.
Yesterday Ian Cannell and I birded the Long Point area and it was a waterfowl
show with approx. 75 to 100 thousand birds between Long Point’s Inner bay and
Turkey Point as well as 10 Juvenile Bald Eagles (we missed a reported adult
bird).
For the first time we stopped off at
Today Margaret Liubavicius and I birded Ward’s and Algonquin Islands and though
we only found 2 migrants the highlight was a first of season adult Olive-sided
Flycatcher. We watched it for about 10 minutes and at all times the white rump
patches were quite apparent.
The other migrant was a
Today Margaret Liubavicius and I headed down to The Islands for one more kick
at the can down there until about mid-August and the fall migration.
Along with the Connecticut Warbler and Black-billed Cuckoo we also came up with
a Mourning Warbler and 10 other species of Warbler including
Thanks to Ian Cannell my sighting was posted about 30 minutes after I found the
bird this morning.
I first thought it was a White-eyed Vireo as I have never, ever thought I would
find a Bell’s in the Toronto area.
The bird at times was 5 feet in front of me at eye level in some bushes. I
When you get to the washrooms turn LEFT not right.
Norm Murr
Richmond Hill
Ontario, Canada
___
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca
For information
Yesterday Ian Cannell and I spent the morning and part of the afternoon in the
Carden Alvar / Kirkfield area and among the 101 species we found were some of
the following high lights.
First off at the Sedge Wren Marsh we too heard and also saw one of the Yellow
Rails discovered by Jay Peterson
Pardon the late posting but I got home late last night and I was kind of tired
and I didn’t even open my computer until this morning.
Yesterday among the 24 Warbler species that were seen I found a nice male
Prairie Warbler and as a further bonus a Mourning and 2 Orange-crowned Warblers
were
Today I only birded Hanlan’s Point and that seemed to be enough as with 20
species of Warblers I found I spotted a nice male Yellow-throated Warbler in
the wooded area between the tennis courts and the sand dunes.
This bird makes it 300 species on the unofficial Toronto Islands Check List.
Common Loon, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, both Scaup, Osprey, Cooper’s and
Broad-winged Hawk, Virginia Rail, A. Woodcock, Glaucous Gull, R-t Hummingbird,
5 Red-bellied Woodpeckers, E. Wood-Pewee, Alder, Least, Willow and
Great-crested Flycatchers, E. Phoebe, E. Kingbird, Cliff Swallow, Winter,
Just to clarify the sightings of the subject birds that were observed from 3:30
to 3:45 pm as close as 40 to 50 feet from us.
The two flocks of blackbirds were not together.
The 12 Brewer’s (there may have been a few more behind the cedar hedge), (both
males and dark eyed females) were in the
This morning Ian Cannell, Jay Peterson and I birded the morning in the Whitby
area stopping at Thickson Woods after 8 am and at the south end (lake side) we
found 3 singing Pine Warblers and on the lake were approx. 200 Red-necked
Grebes.
Directions
THICKSON WOODS IN WHITBY
If driving
81 matches
Mail list logo
