What a Day!

May arrives and it is so hard to decide where to go birding. There are so many great spots in Toronto. No matter where you end up going, often somewhere else seemed to have been the better choice. My birding buddy Theresa and I had this dilemma on May 6. We discussed our plans the night before, like generals planning a military campaign. A Cerulean Warbler (male, pictured above) was seen in a midtown neighbourhood. We decided that would be our target bird for May 6.

I arrived at her house. She told me to check out her backyard and feeders. There was lots of activity, which meant that there had been an influx of birds overnight. The day was looking more promising than we had expected. Also, she told me that a Prairie Warbler had shown up that morning, in a park located along the lake shore. Decisions, decisions! Which rare bird do we chase first?

Male Prairie Warbler

I pushed for the Cerulean, because we don’t get that bird appearing often in Toronto, plus I had seen a Prairie Warbler during our recent Florida stay. We drove to the general location where the Cerulean had been reported. We saw a birder, standing in the street, looking up. We asked if the bird had moved and was there now. Quickly, we realized she was in the wrong spot and told her to follow us. Heading down the next street, we saw a friend. He pointed up into a tree and there was our target. The Cerulean Warbler sang and gave us great views. There were other warblers in the trees, including Black-and-White, Northern Parula, and Cape May. We couldn’t stay long, as we needed to head off for our next target, before it disappeared.

Male Black-and-White Warbler

We drove to Ashbirdge’s Bay Park. This park is on the lake. There is a marina, where you can look for Purple Martin, which perch on the masts. When the beach area is not crowded, you can look for Horned Lark, gulls, and shore birds. Walk past the volleyball courts to reach the dunes area, where Killdeer nest and interesting sparrows can be found. Then, there are the wooded areas, which was where we were headed.

Horned Lark

We saw birders looking at birds or taking pictures. Theresa says I am easily distracted by “shiny objects”. She is always telling me to focus on our target bird. I was following behind her and saying that someone had just seen a Vesper Sparrow, which is a good bird to find. But, she told me to come along and we’d look for it later. We found a group admiring the Prairie Warbler. It was another obliging bird, giving us great looks and singing. Finally, my buddy was satisfied with her photos, video, and sound recordings. Now, we could chase the other goodies.

Someone spotted a Grasshopper Sparrow. That would be a Toronto lifer for me, so we headed to the reported spot. We found it and enjoyed quality looks again. Next, we heard there was a male Bobolink around. We found him, feeding quietly on a lawn. Then, Theresa said we could look for the Vesper Sparrow in the dunes. It popped out of a bush for us. During our walks from place to place, we noted Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Eastern Kingbird, Warbling Vireo, Least Flycatcher, and more warblers: Yellow, Black-throated Blue, Chestnut-sided, and Yellow-rumped.

Grasshopper Sparrow

We were getting ready to leave the park when somebody reported a Sora at Woodbine Park, which is located just across from Ashbridge’s. Over we went to the marsh area of the more traditional park. As soon as we arrived, we could hear the Sora making its ticking sound. We never saw it, because rails are difficult that way. Before we left there, we added a Common Yellowthroat to our day’s tally of 63 species. When we finally made our way back to the car, we smiled at each other and we agreed on what a great day we had just experienced. We had picked the best spots, after all.

Sora

Note: All photos are from Wikipedia Commons, an online source of copyright-free photos: 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