This for the watchers looking for the fish crows.
Mary and I sat around the harbor hoping when George Naylor told us he had
just found it along the Lakeshore Rd just east of East St in Bronte.
I drove east along the Lakeshore and spotted a crow just east of the T.D.
centre.It moved when I left the car flying to the east.Drove to the next
street
turned left on Solingate then left on Salmon,there it was with a group of
grackles pestering it.It took 3-4 minutes then it called several times then
flew further westbut low down and was lost through the homes.It took 4 tries
another for Toronto and Hamilton listys.
Good luck
don perks
-----Original Message-----
From: George Naylor
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2012 11:28 AM
To: Ontbirds
Subject: [Ontbirds] Fish Crow in Bronte & A Behaviour Observation?
Hi All,
Finally saw the Fish Crow in Bronte on our 4th try. We were at Bronte
Harbour at about 5:15 PM, Sunday April 8, when a smallish, dainty crow
landed in the bare top of a tall pine tree on the north side of the road
that parallels the marina. It was silent, so a well-intentioned birder who
was there played a Fish Crow call, and the bird immediately flew away to the
north and landed in a deciduous tree about a block away. A group of birders
charged up the street after it. Rhondda and I took a bit longer to get
there, because she had her camera. We watched it for a few minutes, then it
flew away along the lakeshore to the east and disappeared around an
apartment building. The flight style looked different than an Am. Crow.
The wingbeats were shallower and more rapid, and it seemed to get bounced
around somewhat by the wind. The wings seemed more pointed and lacked the
blunt appearance of Am. Crow. The people who quickly got to this second
location heard the bird call, but I didn't hear anything while we were
watching it.
We went back to the marina parking lot and stayed 'til after 6:00 PM, but
the bird didn't re-appear. In summary, I was hoping to hear it vocalize,
but failing that, I was pretty confident that this was the Fish Crow. It
looked small and dainty, fairly long tailed, and short legged. The head was
smaller, and the the bill a bit finer than Am. Crow.
We decided to head home, but I had to make a pitstop at the Timmies on
Lakeshore, a few blocks east of Bronte Rd. I got out of the car and was
walking in, when a smallish crow flew low, right over my head, and looked
like it was landing behind the Shopper's next door. I went back to the car
and told Rhondda. She got out and went to look for it, while I went for my
bladder break. When I came out, she was taking pictures of the bird. It was
low in a tree, behind the east end of this strip mall. She said it called a
few times when it first landed, but again, I never heard it. After a few
minutes, it flew east along Lakeshore and landed in another tree about a
block away. There is a Canada Trust farther east on Lakeshore, and the crow
was in a tree on the east side, so we pulled around behind and got out, and
it quickly started vocalizing for a few minutes. Unmistakeable Fish Crow!
Rhondda took some more pictures, while I called Rob Waldhuber, because he'd
missed it by minutes the day before, and I didn't want him sitting in the
marina parking lot in frustration. Turned out he was at home, but while I
was talking to him, the bird flew to the north and disappeared. After I got
off the phone, Rhondda said she heard another Fish Crow some distance to the
north, behind a baseball field adjacent to the Canada Trust and the bird we
were watching flew toward this second bird. Hopefully we'll have some
decent pictures of this critter.
It's been a bit of a puzzle why the bird(s) haven't been located away from
Bronte Marina, so the only advice I can give those still looking, is to
check some of the commercial areas along Lakeshore to the east of Bronte Rd,
and the park east of the Canada Trust.
Lastly, a behaviour observation. While on a bike ride in Burlington on
Saturday, I watched three crows interacting, where the bike path crosses
Appleby, near Fairview. I stopped to watch, hoping that they were Fish
Crows. In fact, that was one of the purposes of this ride, and another one
on Sunday morning, which included Shell Park, the pipeline right-of-way, and
the trail thru Bronte Woods. There was an obvious pair, one of which was
carrying a stick, and an interloper. After circling and displaying over
Appleby for a bit, the interloper flew to the north, and the pair flew over
my head toward Fairview. I followed them, and they landed on the roof of an
apartment building. They were silent the entire time, but they would take
short flights to other parts of the roof, and immediately after landing, did
the wing flicking, head shrugging, that American Crows seem to consistently
do. They look like Rodney Dangerfield doing his suit doesn't fit - tie and
underwear are too tight - fidgit and shrug shtick. The interloper flew back
toward the two, and they started calling: obviously American Crows.
We watched the Fish Crow fly short distances in the same tree, and land
numerous times, and it never did any wing flicking. Is this a behavioural
difference in Fish Crows?
Lastly, Directions. (Hopefully I wasn't too windy)
From the QEW, south toward Lake Ontario, through the stoplight at Lakeshore
Rd, and follow the road as it curves to the left and parallels Bronte
Marina. There are public parking lots on the right, and the bare topped
pine on the left. If you wish to check out the areas east on Lakeshore Rd,
turn left at the Lakeshore stoplight. The Tim's is a couple of blocks down
on the left, and the Canada Trust and the ballfields a block or so further.
George Naylor & Rhondda James
_______________________________________________
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/
_______________________________________________
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/
