Good afternoon folks. Alfred Adamo and I spent a few hours on Hanlans Point this morning and we saw few nice birds as you will see below.
I held off posting until after checking and rechecking field guides, etc and talking to Alfred. We found what we are (quit sure) were 2 juvenile Chestnut-collared Longspurs walking through the grasses along the dunes behind the western side of the airfield fence on Hanlans Point. We observed these 2 birds for about 10 minutes as close as 10 feet away. Front, side, back and any other view you can come up with. The birds kept walking and feeding (not hopping) as we followed them. It all boils down to the birds being 80% Chestnut-collared and 20% possible Smith's Longspur. In any case these were definitely Longspurs. Other birds seen were a 1st year bald Eagle heading west hurried along by a Sharp-shinned Hawk (picture that), an stellar view of an Orange-crowned Warbler, Winter and House Wrens, and a bunch of the usual species for a total of 49 species in that short area. One other surprise was just before we caught the ferry at Hanlans Alfred called out a large Woodpecker overhead with large white wing patches. The bird went behind some trees before we really got a good look at it then reversed and landed in a tall Cottonwood. Alfred was sure it was a Pileated Woodpecker (very rare on The Islands) but not wanting to rule out Ivory-billed Woodpecker :-)) We waited until the bird flew out of the tree and headed west. It was indeed a Pileated Woodpecker and not the Ivory :-(( :-)) but a darn good bird for The Islands non the less. First for both of us and for Margaret Liubavicius who had joined us on our walk to the ferry. A great end to a great week on The Islands. Directions:- TORONTO ISLANDS - WINTER SCHEDULE (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 9:00 am - Monday to Friday only. There are no boats to Centre Island in the Winter 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. For a detailed ferry schedule check the following web site. http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/springschedule.htm Norm Murr Richmond Hill, ON S'ils te mordent, mords les --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Eliminate annoying spam! My mailbox is protected by iHateSpam, the #1-rated spam buster." http://www.ihatespam.net
