It started with an email regarding another birder’s blog. Then, the blogger in Panama mentioned that he was going to be in Toronto in early October. The blogger in Toronto asked if he would like to spend a day birding together. That is how Fitzroy and Leslie became possibly the first writers in recent times from 10000 Birds to meet up.
White-crowned Sparrow
My husband and I collected Fitzroy and his wife, Sue, at their hotel on October 1. We were in the west part of Toronto, so I decided to take them to Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Toronto’s west end. Like so many parks in the city, this one is located along the Lake Ontario shoreline. The park has wooded areas, marshy areas with ponds, and the waterfront. In the spring, the wooded areas have flycatchers and songbirds, which include warblers and sparrows. In the ponds and marshy areas are waders, such as Black-crowned Night-Heron. Along the waterfront, there is a tip of land called Whimbrel Point. It is a great place to see migrating shore birds, especially Whimbrels, which come through in mid-May. There are always interesting sightings during the Whimbrel watch. This past May, an Arctic Tern showed up, among the Common Terns. In the winter, birders come to the park for ducks, loons, grebes, and owls.
Injured Dunlin
Our first stop was Whimbrel Point. A Lapland Longspur had been reported there for a couple of days and it had been seen that morning. Unfortunately, the bird disappeared during our time there. However, I was able to show Fitzroy American Black Duck and Gadwall, plus Canada Geese and Mallards. Sadly, we found an injured Dunlin on the pathway. It kept trying to fly and eventually took off. But, we could see the blood on its body and a leg dangling down. Migration is so hard for birds. We figured it was attacked by a predator, which we confirmed when we found a Merlin nearby.
Merlin
Next, we headed over to the marina area. In the bushes and trees along the way, we found Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets (shown at top of blog). There were White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows. Also, we had Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers. They enjoyed seeing and getting photos of two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. Outside of the marina, in the lake, we had Red-Necked Grebes and there were Common Mergansers, resting on some logs.
Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
From there, I decided to take them to High Park. It is a much larger park than Sam Smith, with many different habitats, which makes it another great birding spot. If the winds had been from the north, I would have taken them to Hawk Hill, within the park, for raptor watching. Instead, I took them to the duck ponds, near the children’s zoo. Our target bird was the Wood Duck. While my husband and I had a picnic lunch, they wandered in the area. They found the Wood Ducks, under a bridge. They were thrilled to see the ducks and to get such wonderful photographs of that handsome bird.
Female and Male Wood Ducks
The day went too quickly, and it was time to get them back to their hotel. It was wonderful to play host to guest birders and to show off a couple of the great places to bird in Toronto. In return, we enjoyed hearing about their birding adventures and to learn something about the birds of Panama. I hope we have inspired some of our fellow bloggers to meet up for some friendship and birding.
Note: All photos are courtesy of Fitzroy Rampersad.
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