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Citizens Concerned About the Future of the Etobicoke Waterfront

Updated: March 16, 2022

December 2014 Bird Walk
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Watching-from-the-bridge

Our December 13th walk was lead by David Pryor, at Humber Bay East. It was the first time David has lead one of our walks and it was a good one! We saw an amazing (for December) 35 species plus one hybrid. We normally expect waterfowl to be the main attraction of the winter walks, but we saw an unexpected number of passerines (perching birds). The fresh snow may have helped concentrate the birds around the available food sources. The (twin) stars of the walk were two Orange-crowned Warblers. They are uncommon in Toronto at any time of year, but finding them in December is truly remarkable. Here’s the full list of species:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
Mallard
A. Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid)
Northern Shoveler
Redhead
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe

Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Downy Woodpecker
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch

The numbers of waterfowl were a bit lower than we often see at this time of year, but many of the ones we saw were close enough to shore for good viewing (but not necessarily good photographs). The biggest factor affecting the comfort of the participants at these walks is usually the wind. Fortunately it was light, creating good viewing conditions and virtually no wind chill. Still, after more than two hours out in the cold, many people were ready to warm up at Birds & Beans.

Stormwater-Ponds
N-Shovellers
Orange-crowned Warbler
Orange-crowned-Warbler2
Ruddy-Duck-Profile
Horned-Grebe