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Citizens Concerned About the Future of the Etobicoke Waterfront

Updated: March 26, 2024

June 2019 Bird Walk

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Hugh Currie lead our June 22 walk at Colonel Samuel Smith Park. It was a beautiful sunny day, which is great for a walk, but not always good for finding birds. As is typical for June, we saw mainly birds that are breeding in or near the park. It’s a time to observe a wide range of bird behaviours. Some birds are loudly defending their territories, some try to remain invisible to protect their eggs or vulnerable chicks, while others are out prominently feeding their rapidly growing young ones.

One thing different about the bird behaviour this year is that because of the high water, there are many Red-necked Grebes using natural nest sites instead of nesting rafts. They are able to build nests in submerged shrubs that would normally be high and dry. Hopefully most will be able to hatch their eggs before the water level drops and makes the nests inaccessible. Like loons, the grebes are virtually incapable of walking on land.

We stayed out o the lake-fill area of the park and managed to find 34 species of birds, despite missing some common ones. Here’s the full list:

Warbling Vireo
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
American Goldfinch
Song Sparrow
Orchard Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Yellow Warbler
Northern Cardinal
House Sparrow

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
Red-necked Grebe
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Tern
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird

This was our last walk until September. The next one will be back at Colonel Samuel Smith Park on September 7th. A big thank you to our sponsor, Birds & Beans Coffee for another successful season!

Here are a few photos from the walk:

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