Subsequent to spring, my different eagerly anticipated season is the autumn, highlighted by raptor migration. September 1 is when raptor lovers congregate round Toronto’s viewing hotspots. We verify the climate forecasts for north-element winds, which carry the birds all the way down to us from the boreal forests of Ontario and Quebec. Northwest winds are the very best, which is when most of us raptor lovers head out. We begin out the raptor-watching season in our shorts and T-shirts, sitting on garden chairs, ready for the present to start. By the top of November, the diehards are sporting every bit of heat clothes they personal, hoping to see the previous few good birds, earlier than the season ends.
Crimson-shouldered Hawk
As I discussed in a earlier column, Toronto, Canada, is on the north shore of Lake Ontario. The raptors comply with the shoreline west, earlier than heading south. There are lots of locations to view this migration. Some folks congregate alongside the Scarborough Bluffs. These are geological formations, lower out of the excessive components of the shoreline. Being so excessive up, viewers have eye-level views of Osprey, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk (pictured at begin of article) and Peregrine Falcon. Excessive Park incorporates an inland viewing spot referred to as “Hawk Hill”, the place my chicken membership holds the annual raptor watch. This location is a primary spot to look at migrating Broad-winged Hawks. They transfer by means of en masse over a couple of days within the early a part of September. It’s an exhilarating sight, watching kettles of raptors overhead. (My husband, a non-birder, feedback that we’re watching “pepper spots” within the sky.)
Turkey Vulture
There are park guests who cease by and ask what we’re seeing. They’re amazed to listen to that we now have 15 raptor species that migrate over Toronto. Along with the already talked about raptors, there are Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Bald Eagle, Merlin, American Kestrel, Crimson-shouldered Hawk, Crimson-tailed Hawk, Tough-legged Hawk, Turkey Vulture, and Golden Eagle. There are visitor star appearances equivalent to Swainson’s Hawk, Black Vulture, and (one time) there was an immature Gyrfalcon over the bluffs.
Raptors aren’t the one ones on the transfer. We see Snow Geese and Tundra Swans fly over. Smaller birds equivalent to Cedar Waxwings, Japanese Bluebird and American Pipit additionally transfer by means of. There could be Sandhill Cranes or a Brief-eared Owl. The bug brigade is represented by Monarch Butterflies and Inexperienced Darner and Black Saddle-bag dragonflies. Many the time, somebody sees a highflyer, however it’s only a butterfly.
Cedar Waxwing
Of all of the spots to look at raptors, my 18th-floor apartment is likely one of the finest. My nook unit affords views of the east and south. I’ve a chair, the fridge and a toilet close by. It’s heat and I don’t should drive wherever. With the appropriate winds, I’ve noticed Bald Eagle, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon and Broad-winged Hawk. One September day, I recorded 560 Blue Jays, noisy migrants that scream all the way in which. On an October day, 700 Turkey Vultures flew over and round our apartment. It was a powerful sight.
Blue Jay
Come the autumn, you’ll discover me out with my fellow raptor followers, staring on the pepper spots within the sky.
Word: All images from Pexels.com, a web-based supply of copyright-free images, apart from the duvet photograph (Steve Berardi, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, by way of Wikimedia Commons)