A cold, wet start towards Toronto in rain that never showed up in my checked radar ( http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/radar/index_e.html?id=WKR for King City environs) albeit promised light showers were forecast with increasingly gusty winds. But the downpour stopped just as I arrived at Humber College to a quiet, very calm foggy morn with most of the Park to myself and the birds. Red necked Grebes still abound and searching the Bay "below" the College held a surprisingly beautiful male Harlequin Duck that popped out of the relatively mild surf (at that time) - north east end of the Bay as it abruptly rounds the point towards the very far east end of the Park and eventual Humber West. A quick view of a Canvassback amongst the Grebes did not linger long. Despite checking many scores of Red necked Grebes (rafts and dotted individuals) and quite numerous Horned or Slavonian Grebes (almost ALL in full breeding plumage now) - there were no slope headed Eared or Black-necked Grebes to be found, a tough ID in mottled April plumage reportedly, of which I only saw 2 mottled such this time - at the entrance to the Marina along with local Howard Shapiro. There we had Greeen winged Teal as well as a couple of female Hooded Mergansers amongst Scaup, Gadwall, RB Mergs etc and a lone Greater Yellowlegs that plainitively flew by calling, as if lost, into the Marina and then later back again. It was then that the calm rising fog in sunshine gave very sudden shift to gusty winds that augured a pressure change that will hopefully usher in some great northbound migrants. This in a 14C climb in 2 hours changed viewing conditions but the Nor'wester (wind) increased the chop markedly and instantly under the clearing skies - which brought the white winged scoters out on the wing. Fishermen will be joyed by the many 100s of Cormorants flying by on the way to work. A good, but not great, selection of water birds of interest to the Easter weekend photographers in fine plumages. A variety of sparrows sang in promise of increasingly nice weather - good birding - Robin Lawson, Newmarket Park is at foot of Kipling Ave. South of Lakeshore Blvd.
_______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
