Could arrives and it’s so laborious to determine the place to go birding. There are such a lot of nice spots in Toronto. Regardless of the place you find yourself going, typically some place else appeared to have been the higher alternative. My birding buddy Theresa and I had this dilemma on Could 6. We mentioned our plans the night time earlier than, like generals planning a navy marketing campaign. A Cerulean Warbler (male, pictured above) was seen in a midtown neighbourhood. We determined that will be our goal chicken for Could 6.
I arrived at her home. She instructed me to take a look at her yard and feeders. There was a number of exercise, which meant that there had been an inflow of birds in a single day. The day was trying extra promising than we had anticipated. Additionally, she instructed me {that a} Prairie Warbler had proven up that morning, in a park situated alongside the lake shore. Choices, choices! Which uncommon chicken will we chase first?
Male Prairie Warbler
I pushed for the Cerulean, as a result of we don’t get that chicken showing typically in Toronto, plus I had seen a Prairie Warbler throughout our current Florida keep. We drove to the final location the place the Cerulean had been reported. We noticed a birder, standing on the street, trying up. We requested if the chicken had moved and was there now. Shortly, we realized she was within the flawed spot and instructed her to comply with us. Heading down the subsequent road, we noticed a pal. He pointed up right into a tree and there was our goal. The Cerulean Warbler sang and gave us nice views. There have been different warblers within the bushes, together with Black-and-White, Northern Parula, and Cape Could. We couldn’t keep lengthy, as we would have liked to go off for our subsequent goal, earlier than it disappeared.
Male Black-and-White Warbler
We drove to Ashbirdge’s Bay Park. This park is on the lake. There’s a marina, the place you possibly can search for Purple Martin, which perch on the masts. When the seashore space will not be crowded, you possibly can search for Horned Lark, gulls, and shore birds. Stroll previous the volleyball courts to succeed in the dunes space, the place Killdeer nest and attention-grabbing sparrows will be discovered. Then, there are the wooded areas, which was the place we had been headed.
Horned Lark
We noticed birders birds or taking footage. Theresa says I’m simply distracted by “shiny objects”. She is at all times telling me to concentrate on our goal chicken. I used to be following behind her and saying that somebody had simply seen a Vesper Sparrow, which is an effective chicken to seek out. However, she instructed me to return alongside and we’d search for it later. We discovered a bunch admiring the Prairie Warbler. It was one other obliging chicken, giving us nice appears to be like and singing. Lastly, my buddy was glad together with her images, video, and sound recordings. Now, we might chase the opposite goodies.
Somebody noticed a Grasshopper Sparrow. That may be a Toronto lifer for me, so we headed to the reported spot. We discovered it and loved high quality appears to be like once more. Subsequent, we heard there was a male Bobolink round. We discovered him, feeding quietly on a garden. Then, Theresa mentioned we might search for the Vesper Sparrow within the dunes. It popped out of a bush for us. Throughout our walks from place to put, we famous Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Japanese Kingbird, Warbling Vireo, Least Flycatcher, and extra warblers: Yellow, Black-throated Blue, Chestnut-sided, and Yellow-rumped.
Grasshopper Sparrow
We had been on the brink of go away the park when someone reported a Sora at Woodbine Park, which is situated simply throughout from Ashbridge’s. Over we went to the marsh space of the extra conventional park. As quickly as we arrived, we might hear the Sora making its ticking sound. We by no means noticed it, as a result of rails are troublesome that means. Earlier than we left there, we added a Frequent Yellowthroat to our day’s tally of 63 species. Once we lastly made our means again to the automobile, we smiled at one another and we agreed on what a terrific day we had simply skilled. We had picked the perfect spots, in spite of everything.
Sora
Word: All images are from Wikipedia Commons, a web-based supply of copyright-free images: Cerulean Warbler; Sora; Prairie Warbler by Jeffrey Gammon; Black-and-White Warbler by Peter Waycik; Horned Lark by Tom Koerner; Grasshopper Sparrow by Dominic Sherony
