How exciting to find that the pair of Trumpeter Swans at our local park in north Scarborough now have two recently-hatched offspring to care for. As Bob and I looked on, the cygnets kept very close to “mom” on the shore of the pond… Read more
Tag: Ontario
Ontario is one of the ten provinces of Canada, located in east-central Canada.
Hermit Thrush On The Hunt At Rosetta McClain Gardens
Bob and I are never disappointed when we visit Rosetta McClain Gardens in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Serving as an enticing spot for migrating birds to pause and rest after crossing Lake Ontario, the Gardens usually are home to a variety of warblers and other songbirds, if for only brief periods of time. On one of our trips to the Gardens one spring, we were lucky enough to catch up with a couple of Hermit Thrushes. Read more
Bank Swallows Building Nests In The Scarborough Bluffs
Bob and I were pleasantly surprised to find a colony of bank swallows that inhabit a section of the Scarborough Bluffs, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. These bank swallows nest just below the rim of the high, steep banks of the escarpment that stretches along Lake Ontario’s shoreline in the vicinity of Rosetta McClain Gardens. Read more
Baltimore Orioles At Rosetta McClain Gardens
The same day that Bob and I drove downtown in Toronto to watch the Cliff Swallows building their nests, we dropped in at Rosetta McClain Gardens to see what migrating birds were on site. Over 52 species had been observed there on one occasion recently, and with our cooler spring, we thought many might still be hanging around. In fact, we only caught up with a pair of Baltimore Orioles (Icterus galbula) and numerous Bank Swallows. Read more
Tennessee Warbler In My Toronto Backyard
Earlier one spring, Bob and I found ourselves unable to keep up with the bird sightings even in our own backyard. Such was the case the day I spotted this Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina). I had been kept busy at the kitchen window that morning, taking photographs of a House Wren and Magnolia Warbler, when another flash of yellow drew my attention to the crabapple tree beside our deck. Read more
A House Wren Builds A Nest In My Toronto Backyard
To our knowledge, Bob and I have never had a House Wren visit our Toronto backyard in Ontario, Canada, before, but one spring, many new species stopped in at our small suburban property for a rest en route to their breeding grounds. Among them was this House Wren. We were delighted that it decided to stay put and build a nest in one of our birdhouses. Read more
Grey Catbird At Ashbridge’s Bay Park In Toronto
At the peak of bird migration one spring, Bob and I headed to Ashbridge’s Bay on the Lake Ontario waterfront in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Among the several bird species that we sighted was this Grey Catbird. Read more
Cliff Swallows At Harris Water Treatment Plant in Toronto
But for a fellow birdwatcher posting a photo to Facebook of the Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) nesting at the Harris Water Treatment Plant in Toronto, neither Bob nor I would ever have known such a colony existed. It was the structural intricacy of their nests that had us making a beeline to treatment plant for a look. Read more
Rose-breasted Female Grosbeak In Our Backyard
In years past, on a couple of rare occasions, we have had a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak drop by our backyard during spring migration. This past spring, a pair of males spent several days around our property enjoying the bird food and water fountain before moving on. Bob and I were pleasantly surprised late one afternoon to see that a female Rose- breasted Grosbeak had come to join in the free-for-all. Read more
A Pine Warbler in my Toronto backyard
One of the first migrating warblers to drop by our backyard one spring was a Pine Warbler. It hung about our property for a good week and a half. Pine Warblers are one of the earliest spring migrants having departed their wintering grounds in late February. It was such a pleasure to see its little burst of colour amid all the bare branches of our trees and shrubs. Read more