Saturday, July 6, six participants gathered on a sunny and comfortable morning at Rosetta McClain Gardens in Scarborough. In a deliberately slow-paced outing, the group found 21 species, a typical number for this location in mid-summer. Songbirds included Northern Flicker, Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays and White-breasted Nuthatches, all of which were vocalizing. A few group members had a brief look at a bright male Baltimore Oriole. Looking out over the lake, we saw Bank Swallows, a Caspian Tern and 33 Double-breasted Cormorants. Some of the birds seen were lifers for some people.
As always, the gardens at Rosetta McClain were stunningly beautiful with flowers in full bloom. Butterflies seen were Monarch, Red Admiral and Cabbage White. This was one of two outings this month designed to be inclusive and accessible, particularly for people who have a mobility-related disability. Unfortunately, some registrants were unable to come. These outings are being put on jointly by Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO), Toronto Ornithological Club (TOC), and Accessibirdies. Co-leaders were Rose Petrich, John Nishikawa, and Jack Alvo. Also present were another two members of the planning group: Monika Croydon and Accessibility Leader Holly Barkley, who is also the founder of Accessibirdies. On July 13, there will be a similar outing at Colonel Sam Smith Park in the west end of Toronto, from 9:30-11:30. For more information and to register, please visit <http://www.ofo.ca/site/Tripsupcoming> http://www.ofo.ca/site/Tripsupcoming. Jack Alvo (he/him) <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: [email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email at [email protected]. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
