I birded the park for a little over an hour this afternoon. The park
has been very much expanded, now over to the Suncor Energy property
offing a much more diverse habitat for passerines.
I found the three Dickcissels feeding with a small flock of
goldfinches along a weedy fence line that separates the park from the
Suncor Energy plant and grounds (within in 80 feet of the lake). I did
have a camera but they flew back behind the an embankment and
disappearsed before I could get it out of my backpack.
One was a male in full breeding plumage and the other two were females
because they had fine stripping on the breast. There is a good chance
they nested in the Suncor property which most undeveloped in the
section adjacent the fence where these birds were seen.
Field marks of all three at at 30' with 15x binoculars for 2-3
minutes: MALE showed the prominent black neck, yellow breast, white
throat, grey, yellow and white mask, heavy bill and reddish wing
coverts; sides of breast were a buffy with no markings. The FEMALES
had creamy-colored breasts, yellow throats, creamy-white cheeks, dark
crowns with a small amount of reddish on coverts. None were vocalizing.
Location:
The parking is located on Lakeshore Boulevard between Southdown Road/
Erin Mills Parkway and Winston Churchill. Is located south of
Lakeshore and is well marked signage and with two parking lots.
Wayne Renaud (289-828-0043)
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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/
