Good evening . Today Margaret Liubavicius and I spent the day birding The Spit and we did find some decent birds besides the usual suspects.
Best birds of the day ( for us ) were 4 A. Woodcock and 1 Lesser Yellowlegs. Other goodies were:- Red-necked Grebes, 35+ Double-crested Cormorants, Trumpeter Swan, 30+ green-winged teal, N. Pintail, all 3 Mergansers, both Scaup, 2 N. Harriers, 20+ Killdeer, an adult Glaucous Gull, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, N. Shrike, Horned Larks, 15+ Song Sparrows, and 14 Common Redpolls. Other birds reported to us by Dan Derbyshire and Ed O'Conner were:- Horned Grebes, A. Wigeons, Ruddy Duck, More A. Woodcock, Common Snipe. Belted Kingfishers, and E. meadowlark. We also saw 13 Cottontails and a great view of a Coyote crossing the ice. Though the bays are still mostly frozen over the next few days promise a quick melt like is happening now with the snow down there and by next weekend the birding there should have picked up significantly. Also be aware that the birding on Peninsula D will be some what restricted as the banding station opens on Tuesday ( April 1st ). If you do bird this peninsula please try not to interfere with the banders and also do not approach the nets as any birds already in the nets are under enough stress without worrying about the big predator approaching. Directions:- LESLIE STREET SPIT (TOMMY THOMPSON PARK) IN TORONTO To get to "The Spit" from Queen and Yonge Streets. Take the Queen Street Car #501 east to Leslie St. and walk south (about 2 km) or as far as you can go on Leslie St. at Unwin Ave. and you will see the gate and signage. You may also catch the Jones Bus #83 at the Donlands Subway Station or transfer to it at Queen St. and Jones Ave. and take it to Leslie St. And Commissioner St. (on Saturday only). By automobile you may drive to Lakeshore Blvd and Leslie St. then south to The Spit. You can park either on Leslie St. or Unwin Ave. You may also park in the parking lot inside the main gate after 9 am. Be sure to observe the parking lot closing time as if you are not out by then your auto will be locked in until the following day. — THE PARKING LOT AND ALL GATES WILL BE LOCKED AT 4:30 pm and there is no Van in the winter. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:- When we left The Spit at 5 pm there were 5 vehicles locked in the parking lot whose drivers apparently did not read the large warning sign, -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:- The official hours for The Spit are 9 am to 4:30 pm (weekends and holidays only of course) but the unofficial hours are sunup to sundown. To date no one has questioned any birder, jogger, cyclist, etc. about the use of The Spit from sunup to sundown. The spit is only open on the weekends and on holidays, at other times you will not be able to access the area. This area is extensive, 7 km to the tip, but be prepared to walk more than that. The Spit is only open on the weekends and holidays because they are still building it. Norm Murr Richmond Hill, ON "Sils mordent, mords les" _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
