At about 9:30 this morning I observed and photographed a european goldfinch at Humber Bay Park East in Toronto. It was associating with a flock of American goldfinches and feeding actively. At that time the flock was on the main trail between the first lagoon and the easternmost developed pond. It's presumably an escapee but appeared to be getting along quite well with its relatives. I'm not going to try to ID it to the subspecies level but it was not caniceps-type. The facial colour was a bit odd compared to the ones I've seen in Europe -- the mask was yellow-orange with red fringes.
Also present were the usual seasonal birds, including some nice waterfowl, especially in the new shallow wetland near the mouth of Mimico Creek -- one northern pintail, one ruddy duck, a few green-winged teal and northern shovellers. Humber Bay Park East is located at the foot of Parklawn in western Toronto, south of Lakeshore Drive. Its entrance is the first right turn south of Lakeshore. _______________________________________________ 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/
