On a winter’s day, a Pileated Woodpecker chops away at a fallen log. Its viewers consists of a Furry Woodpecker and a Downy Woodpecker. As soon as it leaves, the Furry strikes to the damaged log and chops some extra. After it leaves, the Downy has its probability to search out one thing edible within the leavings. My husband commented that we’d simply watched small, medium, and huge. Observations like which might be what I encounter in my long-time native patch.
I’ve birded in Earl Bales Park in Toronto for 50 years and counting. As you benefit from the quiet fantastic thing about the park, it’s laborious to consider that you’re within the midst of a metropolis with a inhabitants of three million individuals. As a teen, I had a buddy who lived close by, and we might go to it recurrently. It grew to become my native patch after we moved into the realm. I recurrently birded there for 33 years, earlier than we moved to our condominium in 2017. I nonetheless make time to go to it recurrently as it’s only two miles from the place we now reside. Whenever you fowl someplace that lengthy, you might have many reminiscences to look again upon.
Ring-necked Pheasant
Within the Seventies, I keep in mind when there have been Ring-necked Pheasants within the fields. My buddy, who I nonetheless fowl with, cherished that I’d flush them, and they might burst from the grass in entrance of us. When town constructed storm-water ponds there, they cleared a area that was filled with Honeysuckle bushes. That area hosted many Ruby-throated Hummingbirds within the earlier summers. I nonetheless see these hummers within the park, however not in such numbers.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
After all, a neighborhood patch affords lifers and distinctive sightings. I noticed my first Olive-sided Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting (pictured at prime of article), and Yellow-billed Cuckoo there. I’ve watched a migrating Caspian Tern hunt the storm-water ponds. Chimney Swifts, Barn Swallows, and Tree Swallows fly over the ponds looking mosquitos. Throughout migration, Pied-billed Grebe, Hooded Merganser, and teals present up on the pond.
As soon as, I watched a male Crimson-tailed Hawk escort a sub-adult Bald Eagle out of the park and its territory. I adopted them because the hawk saved buzzing the eagle, shifting it alongside. Lastly, the eagle had had it. It lifted its talons and grabbed for the hawk, which then veered off and flew again into the park.
Scarlet Tanager
Whenever you love someplace that a lot, you wish to share it. For the previous couple of years, I’ve co-led birdwatching walks there for our native fowl membership. We search for spring migrants and resident birds. I get lots of rookies and they’re thrilled to see life birds. A well-liked fowl is the Indigo Bunting, which all the time places on a present, providing beauty and its candy tune. This previous spring, my co-guide and I had been in a position to present them 43 species, together with a male Scarlet Tanager and a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, which received numerous oohs and aahs, as did a feminine Mallard together with her flotilla of tiny ducklings. A Cooper’s Hawk flew right into a tree and scattered a flock of Cedar Waxwings. I all the time prefer it when birds make the morning extra dramatic.
Feminine Mallard with ducklings
My love affair with Earl Bales Park doesn’t appear to be it’s going to finish anytime quickly. There may be the remainder of the 12 months to take pleasure in, with the Christmas Fowl Depend coming in December.
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