Today we birded in several different locations. We travelled down to see the Eurasian Collared Dove and were in luck indeed. There is an 80km/hour sign directly in front of you as you cross Ridge Road on Fifty Road, which then changes to 11th Road East. The bird was perched on that sign! All we had to do was raise our binoculars! The highlight of our day was La Salle Park Marina in Burlington, where we did not see anything special, but had a pleasant and interesting hour or so of birding nonetheless. It was interesting and enjoyable due to some of the groupings of birds and the opportunity to contrast similar species at close range. Here is what we saw: A ubiquity of Ring-billed Gulls. A plethora of Double-crested Cormorants A surfeit of Mallards An abundance of Canada Geese An excess of Barn Swallows In addition: 47 Mute Swans 8 Trumpeter Swans all with yellow tags 22 (at least) Common Terns 1 Caspian Tern 2 Herring Gulls 3 Bonaparte's Gulls still in alternate plumage 3 Spotted Sandpipers 1 American Crow 2 Northern Cardinals 1 Grey Catbird 1 Song Sparrow I Black-capped Chickadee 1 Eastern Towhee
Many families were out enjoying fine summer weather and introducing their children at one level or another to the delights of nature to be found along the lakeshore path. La Salle Park Marina may be accessed by travelling along North Shore Boulevard until you reach the signs which direct you down to the Marina. David Gascoigne and Miriam Bauman
