Today Margaret Liubavicius and I birded the Leslie Street Spit (Tommy Thompson Park) and though it was a relatively quiet day out there we did find a few nice birds.
On Pipit Point Margaret spotted a Purple Sandpiper on the rocks and a Red-necked Grebe just off shore on the lake and as we turned to leave the point an adult Peregrine Falcon buzzed the area and 5 minutes later a juvenile Peregrine flew low over our heads. On the way to Pipit point along The Endikement we found a Rusty Blackbird, 2 American Coots and about 50 Snow Buntings. On Peninsula B we flushed (by accident) a Northern Goshawk that was sitting almost on the ground watching the many Sparrows in that area (at least 6 species). Heading back towards the city we stopped at Embayment D and besides the Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers and Hooded Merganser a young couple (non-birders) drew our attention to a close by Shorebird that turned out to be a quite late American Golden Plover. We then headed to our bus and again as we stood there (at Leslie St. & Commissioner St.) and just as the bus showed up I looked up and joked abut this being a good place for Eagles and I spotted a Golden Eagle flying west (at 1:47 pm). Directions:- LESLIE STREET SPIT (TOMMY THOMPSON PARK) IN TORONTO - Now on it’s Winter schedule for the gates and Van. To get to "The Spit" from Queen and Yonge Streets. Take the Queen Street Car #501 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 and take it to Leslie St. and Commissioner St. ( Saturday and Sunday as well as week days ). By automobile you can drive to Lakeshore Blvd and Leslie St. then south on Leslie St. 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. The van will not resume again until next Easter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:- The official hours for The Spit are 9 am to 4:30 pm ( weekends and holidays and after 5 pm Monday to Friday ) 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. This area is extensive, 5 km to the tip, but be prepared to walk more than that if you want to view most of the productive areas. The only facilities out there are 4 outdoor toilets along the main road. One at the parking lot, 1 at the next gate, one just past the Quonset hut at the Embayment D overlook and one on the west side of the Triangle Pond. The Spit is only open at the above times because they are still building it. At least that is what their story is. For those in need of a coffee fix there is a Tim Horton’s on the Northwest corner of Leslie St. and Lakeshore Blvd and a Burger King directly across Leslie St. From Tim’s. Norm Murr _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
