Happy Thanksgiving. A funny thing happened on the way to the Leslie Street Spit, I ended up on the Islands instead (whimped out on the subway because of the forecast).
The abundant birds of Saturday have mostly gone now and in fact I was able to count Sparrows, Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers but I did notice that A. Crows are starting to move.. I found the Sharp-tailed Sparrow along the back (west side) of the airport fence along with 8 more Sparrow species, 2 E. Meadowlarks, 41 Palm Warblers (including 2 the Eastern species), as well as a hunting adult Merlin and a juvenile Peregrine Falcon. I only birded Hanlans and Gibralter Points and some the other birds among the 60 species were Veery, Swainson's Thrush, 74 Hermit Thrushes, a Long-tailed Duck on the lake and an adult Peregrine Falcon perched on the old lighthouse. 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 ($6.00 adult / $3.50 for seniors) 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. 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 and the 1st boat to Hanlans is at 8:00 am Monday to Friday and 8:15 am on weekends and holidays. You can pick up a schedule at the docks or check on line and a map of the Islands is at the entrance gate. If arriving in early 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] --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Eliminate annoying spam! My mailbox is protected by iHateSpam, the #1-rated spam buster." http://www.ihatespam.net
