This morning and early afternoon we counted 342 Whimbrels at Colonel Sam Smith Park, Toronto. The first flock of 90 flew by at 7:06 a.m. At about 1:00 p.m. a flock of 66 settled on the rocks (see Rod Murray's Ontbirds post) by providing excellent views and an opportunity to study them at a safe distance. Possibly a separate flock of 9 also settled on the rocks to rest. A Peregrine Falcon flushed them all around 2:50 p.m.
Other Shorebirds: 149 Dunlin, 120 Black-bellied Plovers, 6 Semipalmated Plovers, 30 unidentified shorebirds, 1 Ruddy Turnstone, 1 Killdeer, 2 Spotted Sandpipers. Other Birds: 21 Common Loons, 154 White-winged Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, 2 Common Goldeneyes, 6 Red-breasted Mergansers, 3 Caspian Terns, many Common Terns, 1 Peregrine Falcon, many Double-crested Cormorants, Savannah Sparrow The team: Tim McCarthy, Don Barnett, Wayne Renaud, Lynn Pady, Andrew Keaveney, David Creelman, MC Coburn, Walter Fisher, Betty McCulloch, Terry Whittam, Susann Linn, Bruce Wilkinson, Andy Tanas, Monique Fischer, Joe Ventura, Cal Tanti, Luke Fazio, Elizabeth, Peter and Myles McKenna visiting from Ireland, and many others helped spot the birds. Directions: Take Kipling Avenue south of Lake Shore Blvd West to where Kipling ends at a parking lot. Walk south to Lake Ontario where a short peninsula juts out into the lake. The Whimbrel Watch is a project of the Toronto Ornithological Club. Jean Iron Toronto, Ontario 25 May 2015 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
