Good evening Today I joined Ian Cannell, Margaret Liubavicius and Ed O'Conner for another nice day of birding on The Islands and this time we had a total number of Waxwings of 1 Cedar Waxwing. The company was great and the birds were pretty good and following are some of the ones we found.
Black-crowned night-Herons, Wood Ducks, Redhead, Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, White-winged Scoters including an interesting first Spring female, Hooded and Common Mergansers, Cooper's Hawks, Caspian Tern, Belted Kingfishers, 22 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, 12 Downy Woodpeckers, 56 Northern Flickers, Eastern Phoebes, Tree Swallows, Winter Wrens, 39 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 6 Hermit Thrushes, Brown Thrasher, 1 Shrike Sp., 8 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 11 Fox Sparrows, 59 Song Sparrows, and White-throated Sparrows. Some of the above birds are a sample of good things ahead for the next month and a half. 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 riday. 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 Note:- If you start at Wards Island then be aware that the only ferries from Hanlans Point are at 9:15 am, 11:15 am, 1:15 pm and the last one at 3:45 pm. If you miss this one you will have to walk all the way back to the Wards Island ferry dock. 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 are not available during the winter and the water fountains are turned off until at least April. 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" _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
