Good Day Eh ! Another beautiful day to be out birding for we birders of leisure and another day of changes and surprises and I was again privileged to bird with Margaret Liubavicius and Ian Cannell and again we had The Islands to ourselves as far as birders go.
Following are some of the 79 species we found. Pied-billed Grebe, Long-tailed Duck, Great Egret, 7 raptor species including Osprey, Sharp-shined and Cooper's Hawks, Merlin and Peregrine Falcons, 25+ Common Terns, Black-billed Cuckoo, 7 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfishers, 8 Flycatcher species including 10 Eastern Wood Pewees, 16 Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, 21 Least flycatchers, Eastern Phoebes, and 7 Great-crested Flycatchers, 3 Philadelphia, 9 Warbling and 31 red-eyed Vireos, Veerys, Swainson's Thrushes, 12 Gray Catbirds, 11 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, 22 warbler species including Golden-winged, Tennessee (2 Orange-crowned Tennessees Ron), 59 Magnolia, 11 Black-throated blue, 74 Yellow-rumped, 12 Black-throated green, 2 early Palm, 9 Blackpoll, 11 Black-and-white, 53 American Redstarts, only 9 Northern Waterthrushes, 2 Connecticut, 1 Mourning, 14 Wilson's and 5 Canada Warblers, and 20 Baltimore Orioles. We know that we probably undercounted a lot of the Flycatchers, Vireos, and Warblers but with the heavy leaf cover it sometimes is hard to see some birds and they are constantly on the move. There are still more bird filled days to come and soon the Thrushes, Tanagers, Kinglets, and later migrating Warblers will be on the move and of course Raptors will soon be moving through also in numbers, especially Sharp-shined Hawks and American Kestrels. Directions TORONTO ISLANDS (Wards Island to Hanlans Point - without side trips is 5 km) 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 at 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 & students) and to find out the sailing times you can phone (416) 392-8193. There are washrooms on the islands as well as the city side at the ferry docks and you can pick up a schedule at the docks or check on line. The 1st boat to Wards Island (my preferred starting point) is 6:35 am and the 2nd is 7:00 am Monday to Friday. The 1st is at 6:35 am and the 2nd boat is at 7:15 am on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays. The 1st boat to Hanlans Point is 8:00 am and the 2nd boat is at 8:30 am Monday to Friday. The 1st is at 8:15 am and the 2nd boat is at 9:15 am on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays. 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. (There is a change machine there if you want to chance it). There are coffee shops across from the ferry docks in the building on the northwest corner and they are open early. food and beverages on The Islands when open are very expensive i.e. soft drink $3.00 plus. For a detailed ferry schedule check the following web site. http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/springschedule.htm Norm Murr Richmond Hill, ON Sils mordent, mords les --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Eliminate annoying spam! My mailbox is protected by iHateSpam, the #1-rated spam buster." http://www.ihatespam.net
