Hello Ontbirders, This was an inaugural outing for an OFO trip to Colonel Samuel Smith Park and points west of Toronto in September. I was joined by an enthusiastic group of 20 birders and fortunately the cold front which moved in a day earlier made a relatively successful day with a total of 64 species. We had a fairly good warbler total of 12 species, several Cape May, 1 Wilson's and a Northern Parula being the highlights. North winds were helpful with a significant raptor count including as many as 3 Merlin, 1 Bald Eagle, 1 Osprey, 2 Coopers Hawks, a distant Turkey Vulture and several Sharp-shinned Hawks.
At Colonel Sam's there were many Red-necked Grebes including three recently hatched birds. We spent about 4 hours at Colonel Samuel Smith Park and moved on to Rattray Marsh in Mississauga to see what the different habitat could contribute to our total. We weren't disappointed as the mudflats and marsh added 9 species including Semipalmated Plover, Pectoral Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, American Pipit, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Black-backed Gull, and Red-winged Blackbird. A distant swallow wouldn't cooperate for identification and continued to move away from from the marsh towards the north west. Large numbers of Red-necked Grebes 40+ were massing off of the marsh which is typical at this time of year. A very enjoyable fall day to be birding with a great bunch of people. Garth Riley Etobicoke, Ontario [email protected] _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
