Along this fence is where the Raptor Watch takes place.
Walter
August 12th - The Gardens
With light winds today and no birds flying, I thought this might be a good time to show off the gardens. Don, Richard, and the rest of the crew have done an amazing job. This is only a small sample of their work.
Along this fence is where the Raptor Watch takes place.
Walter
Along this fence is where the Raptor Watch takes place.
Walter
August 10th and 11th - Our First Birds
On Wednesday afternoon after the rain had stopped I thought I'd seen the first bird of the season, an Osprey. It turns out that Berle had seen the first bird a couple of days earlier, it too was an Osprey. That was terrific news!
On Thursday morning a rather ragged looking American Kestrel flew by over the park and then just after lunch the first of 3 gorgeous Broad-winged Hawks flew by slow and fairly low giving Peter and I excellent views. A local Turkey Vulture was also seen today.
To Date:
Osprey - 2
Broad-Winged Hawk - 3
American Kestrel - 1
Total - 6
Also seen on Thursday: 29 species of birds including a Belted Kingfisher which flew right over Peter and I at treetop level. 12 species of butterflies including a Pearl Crescent. Cabbage White butterflies continue to dominate the gardens. During mid-afternoon the sky was filthy with 100s of Dragonflies. This makes hawk watching extremely difficult. And...the insect of the day was a Walking Stick that Charlene, a park worker, was kind enough to show Carol, Pat, Nancy, and myself.
Walter
On Thursday morning a rather ragged looking American Kestrel flew by over the park and then just after lunch the first of 3 gorgeous Broad-winged Hawks flew by slow and fairly low giving Peter and I excellent views. A local Turkey Vulture was also seen today.
To Date:
Osprey - 2
Broad-Winged Hawk - 3
American Kestrel - 1
Total - 6
Also seen on Thursday: 29 species of birds including a Belted Kingfisher which flew right over Peter and I at treetop level. 12 species of butterflies including a Pearl Crescent. Cabbage White butterflies continue to dominate the gardens. During mid-afternoon the sky was filthy with 100s of Dragonflies. This makes hawk watching extremely difficult. And...the insect of the day was a Walking Stick that Charlene, a park worker, was kind enough to show Carol, Pat, Nancy, and myself.
Walter
Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch 2011
Hello and welcome to the 2011 edition of the Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch.
As many of you may know, our good friend BIGFRANK is busy pursuing other interests during this fall migration season and will try to join us a little later on in the Watch whenever possible. Frank, your passion and great friendship will sadly be missed by all and we look forward to seeing you back 'in the chair' again real soon...we wish you all the best!
With the guidance of Ann and Frank, I'll be doing the daily updates to the Blog (a new venture for me!) up until Frank's return. If you are new and don't know me, my name is Walter and I've been BIGFRANK's daily helper at the Raptor Watch for the last 3 years. He's taught me everything I know about hawks and hawk watching, so if I do anything wrong, blame him! - lol. I've committed myself, with the help of several others whenever they can, to doing the Watch on a daily basis and look forward to all your returning faces and also to welcoming lots of new watchers at the same time. It's always fun and exciting to share this great hobby with others. As many of you know, our Watch at Rosetta is not an 'official' Watch so just getting out and enjoying and sharing with others the migration of these spectacular birds is always our main goal. The number counting is almost secondary.
Some information about our Raptor Watch...
WHERE: Rosetta McClain Gardens, a small park situated on top of the Scarborough Bluffs overlooking Lake Ontario, is located in Toronto (Scarborough), Ontario, Canada at the intersection of Kingston Road and Glen Everest Road. It's one stop-light east of the main intersection of Kingston Road and Birchmount Road. The gardens are fully wheelchair accessible and have bathrooms and lots of benches. NOTE - the following ARE NOT ALLOWED in the Gardens: dogs, picnics, bicycle riding or ball playing.
WHEN: From August 15th - November 30th. Almost daily we will be present watching and counting migrating raptors. Peak migration is from mid-September to mid-October. Peak time of day is most often 10am-2pm. Optimal conditions for a large movement of birds are on days with moderate to heavy northwest winds and nice white puffy clouds, though anything can happen on any given day.
WHAT IS SEEN: On any given day, any or all of 15 species of birds of prey can be seen migrating along the shores of Lake Ontario. Some birds, if we're lucky, will land briefly in the trees in the Gardens, some will circle briefly above us, while most others will just fly past us as they continue their long journey southward. In past years, between 4000 and 6500 raptors have been seen, with our best day last year being 946 total raptors.
So if you have time and are able to get out and join us at the RMG Raptor Watch, you may see any of the following 15 species of raptors (birds of prey): Turkey Vultures, Osprey, Bald Eagles, Northern Harriers, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Cooper's Hawks, Northern Goshawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Golden Eagles, American Kestrels, Merlins, and Peregrine Falcons.
If you have them, bring any of the following items with you: a pair of binoculars, a scope, a camera, a birding book, a snack to eat, and a small folding chair if you like.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Walter
As many of you may know, our good friend BIGFRANK is busy pursuing other interests during this fall migration season and will try to join us a little later on in the Watch whenever possible. Frank, your passion and great friendship will sadly be missed by all and we look forward to seeing you back 'in the chair' again real soon...we wish you all the best!
With the guidance of Ann and Frank, I'll be doing the daily updates to the Blog (a new venture for me!) up until Frank's return. If you are new and don't know me, my name is Walter and I've been BIGFRANK's daily helper at the Raptor Watch for the last 3 years. He's taught me everything I know about hawks and hawk watching, so if I do anything wrong, blame him! - lol. I've committed myself, with the help of several others whenever they can, to doing the Watch on a daily basis and look forward to all your returning faces and also to welcoming lots of new watchers at the same time. It's always fun and exciting to share this great hobby with others. As many of you know, our Watch at Rosetta is not an 'official' Watch so just getting out and enjoying and sharing with others the migration of these spectacular birds is always our main goal. The number counting is almost secondary.
Some information about our Raptor Watch...
WHERE: Rosetta McClain Gardens, a small park situated on top of the Scarborough Bluffs overlooking Lake Ontario, is located in Toronto (Scarborough), Ontario, Canada at the intersection of Kingston Road and Glen Everest Road. It's one stop-light east of the main intersection of Kingston Road and Birchmount Road. The gardens are fully wheelchair accessible and have bathrooms and lots of benches. NOTE - the following ARE NOT ALLOWED in the Gardens: dogs, picnics, bicycle riding or ball playing.
WHEN: From August 15th - November 30th. Almost daily we will be present watching and counting migrating raptors. Peak migration is from mid-September to mid-October. Peak time of day is most often 10am-2pm. Optimal conditions for a large movement of birds are on days with moderate to heavy northwest winds and nice white puffy clouds, though anything can happen on any given day.
WHAT IS SEEN: On any given day, any or all of 15 species of birds of prey can be seen migrating along the shores of Lake Ontario. Some birds, if we're lucky, will land briefly in the trees in the Gardens, some will circle briefly above us, while most others will just fly past us as they continue their long journey southward. In past years, between 4000 and 6500 raptors have been seen, with our best day last year being 946 total raptors.
So if you have time and are able to get out and join us at the RMG Raptor Watch, you may see any of the following 15 species of raptors (birds of prey): Turkey Vultures, Osprey, Bald Eagles, Northern Harriers, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Cooper's Hawks, Northern Goshawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Golden Eagles, American Kestrels, Merlins, and Peregrine Falcons.
If you have them, bring any of the following items with you: a pair of binoculars, a scope, a camera, a birding book, a snack to eat, and a small folding chair if you like.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Walter
Sportsmans Show Success and A Great Surprise
Nova Ready for Take Off 
BIGFRANK-Nova,Ann with Alexandra The Great...Horned Owl
BIGFRANK-Nova,Ann with Alexandra The Great...Horned Owl 
Ann and Alexandra
Bruce and Kyla the American Kestrel
BIGFRANK and Kyla
BIGFRANK and Oscar the Peregrine Falcon
Murray and Kyla(she is popular)
March 16th-20th,myself,Bruce and Ann were going to help out at The Toronto Sportsmans Show at the Canadian Peregrine Foundations live birds of prey booth. Bruce and I are oldtimers,while Ann is on her 3rd year I think it was. The wonderful surprise was that CPF had a few volunteers back out at the last minute,so I was asked to get a few of my birding friends to help us out. A few folks I had met on Murray's birding tours joined us and so did Murray and his wife Deb. I loved Murray's comment to me when he agreed to come help. "First I did cartwheel then I called to say YES!"They were both thrilled to hold Kyla the Kestrel and Oscar and Nova the Peregrine Falcons. The show went great as we saw thousands of folks and passed on the good word about endangered species,conservation and birds in general.
Join The Canadian Peregrine Foundation Feathered Educators at The Toronto Sportsmans Show
Hi gang,please come join the CPF feathered educators and volunteers at The Toronto Sportsmans Show March 16-20th at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. See our educational birds of prey up close and personal.
Kyla The American Kestrel
Alexandra The Great Horned Owl
Oscar The Peregrine Falcon
And all the rest March 16th-20th. For admission prices,directions and more information about the Toronto Sportsmans Show see here:http://www.torontosportshow.ca/visitors/ We hope to see you there. Regular Rosetta McClain Raptor Watchers Ann,Bruce and BIGFRANK will be there! (dont let that discourage you from coming! ;-) )
Owling At Amherst Island with Authentic Canadian Tours
On Saturday Jan 29th,a few of the Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch gang,went on the maiden tour of Authentic Canadian Tours,run by our buddy Murray. We were joined for our Owling Experience by Murray and his wife Deb,who hosted myself,Walter,Lee,Brad and Pam,plus several of Murrays family and a few friends. We got underway by just after 7am and made a stop to pick up a few folks in Durham area. Onward to Amherst! Along the way we saw a few roadside Redtailed Hawks,at least one Common Raven and Walter and Lee spotted a Pileated Woodpecker. We also saw a Coyote in a field,from the bus. The sun rose as we drove,revealing a beautiful day.
On arrival at the ferry dock,the bay was covered by ice,except where the ferry had broken through. Walter and I spotted it way out,and could hear it breaking the ice as it went.
Amherst Island Ferry
We boarded the ferry,and got underway. The sound of crushing ice was loud. We searched the ice and sky as we crossed,when we spotted a lump on the ice. With binoculars I recognized it as a Coyote. I snapped a few quick photos as below. They are my first of a Coyote so I was quite pleased. Im not sure what it was thinking..."hmmm this spot in the middle of a frozen lake looks like a good spot to rest?"
We did our best to see all we could. We spotted a few Rough-legged Hawks,winter visitors from the high north and Arctic. We saw a few dark-morph Roughies. In the distance 2 Bald Eagles being harrassed by 2 Common Ravens was a good sighting. We stopped for a visit to a sheep farm that sold woolen goods,before heading onward to search for a Northern Hawk Owl. As per several posts on Ont Birds,the Hawk Owl was found easily at the address #3600,in short order. It was off the road a fair distance but binocular views and better yet Brad's scoped views provided everyone with a decent look at what for some was a Life Bird.
On arrival at the ferry dock,the bay was covered by ice,except where the ferry had broken through. Walter and I spotted it way out,and could hear it breaking the ice as it went.
Amherst Island Ferry
We boarded the ferry,and got underway. The sound of crushing ice was loud. We searched the ice and sky as we crossed,when we spotted a lump on the ice. With binoculars I recognized it as a Coyote. I snapped a few quick photos as below. They are my first of a Coyote so I was quite pleased. Im not sure what it was thinking..."hmmm this spot in the middle of a frozen lake looks like a good spot to rest?"
We did our best to see all we could. We spotted a few Rough-legged Hawks,winter visitors from the high north and Arctic. We saw a few dark-morph Roughies. In the distance 2 Bald Eagles being harrassed by 2 Common Ravens was a good sighting. We stopped for a visit to a sheep farm that sold woolen goods,before heading onward to search for a Northern Hawk Owl. As per several posts on Ont Birds,the Hawk Owl was found easily at the address #3600,in short order. It was off the road a fair distance but binocular views and better yet Brad's scoped views provided everyone with a decent look at what for some was a Life Bird.
Northern Hawk Owl
We then proceeded to Owl Woods. We had spoken to a few people in our travels that has said only a Northern Saw-whet Owl had been spotted Saturday. ONLY! The road into the woods was impassable,so we walked in the 1.5km to the Owl Woods.
For me the walk was a personal victory,so although I lagged,and spent only a short time with the Saw-whet,in the interest of leaving directly to walk back to the bus so as not to hold up everyone,it was a great sighting. The little beauty sat in clear view,snoozing comfortably,paying us no mind at all. A short video clip can be seen here of the little Saw-whet.
Northern Saw-whet Owl(8inches tip to tail)
We made one more pass to see if the Hawk Owl was in a better position to be viewed,but no luck,so we drove along near the Kingston Field Naturalists property and spotted a Snowy Owl on a fence post. It was distant,but again Brad's trusty scope gave each person a good view.
Needless to say we had a great time. Heading for home we saw a couple more Coyote along the highway. We stopped off at Colborne at The Big Apple and I successfully resisted something called a Carmel-Apple Pie...that was tough! By about 730pm we arrived back in Toronto,all very satisfied,having enjoyed some great Owls,met some new friends and enjoyed Authentic Canadian Tours inaugural tour. Im sure we will all get out again with Murray sometime in the very near future. Its a great chance to go abit further afield and leave the driving to someone else and especially great for those of us non-drivers to get the chance to go to someplace new,with such great creatures to enjoy! Thanks to Murray and Deb for a great day. I wish all the best to you both and Authentic Canadian Tours. Moose at Algonquin...Carden Alvar...I can hardly wait to see what else U come up with.
A very good friend of the Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch, Murray Shields, has created a company called Authentic Canadian Tours. The first trip will take place on January 29th to Amherst Island. A number of people from the Raptor Watch will be on the bus for this tour and we expect to see owls, hawks, eagles, deer and who knows what else! Murray and a couple of friends went to Amherst Island a few days ago and saw a number of birds of prey as well as other types of wildlife, so the upcoming trip should be a good one. To learn more about Murray’s company and to book a seat on the bus, check out his website at Authentic Canadian Tours. You can also follow him on Facebook by clicking here and to follow him on Twitter, click here.
Charts
Thanks to Walter who figured out how to get these charts into a usable form. You can enlarge the charts with the symbols above it.
High Bird Counts
Year By Year Counts
High Bird Counts
Year By Year Counts
A Few Shots From Ann Dec 6th
Ann was down to the park briefly on Monday. Wow did she get a few beautiful shots(would we expect less). She got a few shots of an elusive Gray Ghost....male Northern Harrier. His gray/blue back and wingtips "dipped in ink" from underneath view are the field marks that make him unique. 
The local Redtail looks great with the snow in the photo. Thanks Ann.
The last week,Ive seen some Peregrine Falcon photos posted to a local birding board. Through my volunteer work with the Canadian Peregrine Foundation,we have been able to identify them both. One was seen out at Frechman's Bay,a male hatched at King St in 2009 named Kendal. Kendal is very likely the male Peregrine being seen around the powerplant in Pickering,in the company of Quest from Rochester,who is being satellite tracked. Just after I made that ID,someone else sent me photos taken a few weeks back at The Spit(Tommy Thompson Park). It was a juvenile male Peregrine with a clear band number showing which Marion Nash of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation was able to ID for me,named Peter,from Hamilton's Sheraton Hotel this past season. We volunteers are always thrilled to know a Peregrine we watched as chicks,is alive and well. If you get any photos or band numbers,or hear of a friend who has,please report them to me at the raptor watch email address or The Canadian Peregrine Foundation at postmaster@peregrine-foundation.ca . Continued monitoring of our Canadian Peregrines is a very important part of their ongoing recovery. Everyone can contribute.
Frank And Walter's Thanks For A Great 2010
With another raptor watching season in the books,both Walter and I wanted to thank everyone for an amazing seaon. While it sort of fizzled out at the end,we sure had alot of highs this fall! High day,month and season counts and many fantastic views of all 15 species. We welcomed more visitors then ever. We welcomed more photographers who contributed more photos then ever. Thanks to all of you! Ann Brokelman continued to offer her pictures for use on the blog,which deserve more superlatives then I can include. Thanks Ann!! Your contributions have been enjoyed by many folks all over the world that follow the blog. So many people have commented on how interesting the photos make the blog. We added some great folks to the Rosetta Regular Irregulars.
Before I go further,thanks to Walter most of all for his help running the watch. There is no way I could have done it without you! Walter's constant commraderie,good humor and enthusiasm,kept me up,excited and helped me hang in on slow days. His help passing on information and teaching others is invaluable.
To all the Rosetta McClain Gardens Regular Irregulars,thanks for your friendships,interest and coming out to share the fall with us.You all made things much more fun,rewarding and successful.It's great to see peoples interest and abilities to spot and identify raptors grow.Tim Horton's runs are something unique to us at Rosetta. Thanks to everyone who sustained us with coffee,hot chocolate,Timbits,donuts and even chilli now and then! Welcome Cori,Mike 2,and Hugh,to our band of irregulars. Walter and I cant thank you enough for your contributions. I will be in touch with as many of you as possible when we plan over winter birding and non-birding outtings.
To the staff and management of Rosetta McClain Gardens...thanks to all of you,for your contiuned friendships and the immense amount of assistance which you gave. Our visitors loved the gardens and clean facilities. You are to be commended,as,as you well know,the impact of your work represents not just yourselves,but our community and city. Thanks for your many kindnesses to Walter,myself and others. Hot coffee(caffine fixes) got us going many mornings! Without your help and co-operation,we couldnt do what we do.
People call this BIGFRANK's watch...NO WAY!!,it would never be the success that it is,without everyone playing their part. People not only around Toronto,but southern Ontario,now recognize Rosetta McClain Gardens as a great place to view birds of prey during migration.
Before I go further,thanks to Walter most of all for his help running the watch. There is no way I could have done it without you! Walter's constant commraderie,good humor and enthusiasm,kept me up,excited and helped me hang in on slow days. His help passing on information and teaching others is invaluable.
To all the Rosetta McClain Gardens Regular Irregulars,thanks for your friendships,interest and coming out to share the fall with us.You all made things much more fun,rewarding and successful.It's great to see peoples interest and abilities to spot and identify raptors grow.Tim Horton's runs are something unique to us at Rosetta. Thanks to everyone who sustained us with coffee,hot chocolate,Timbits,donuts and even chilli now and then! Welcome Cori,Mike 2,and Hugh,to our band of irregulars. Walter and I cant thank you enough for your contributions. I will be in touch with as many of you as possible when we plan over winter birding and non-birding outtings.
To the staff and management of Rosetta McClain Gardens...thanks to all of you,for your contiuned friendships and the immense amount of assistance which you gave. Our visitors loved the gardens and clean facilities. You are to be commended,as,as you well know,the impact of your work represents not just yourselves,but our community and city. Thanks for your many kindnesses to Walter,myself and others. Hot coffee(caffine fixes) got us going many mornings! Without your help and co-operation,we couldnt do what we do.
People call this BIGFRANK's watch...NO WAY!!,it would never be the success that it is,without everyone playing their part. People not only around Toronto,but southern Ontario,now recognize Rosetta McClain Gardens as a great place to view birds of prey during migration.
Record Year!!! Wrap(tor)-Up Summary 2010
Another season of raptor watching has come to an end.It was a record setting fall,with a final total of 6545 raptors observed. This smashed our previous record of 5844. It seemed daily at peak migration time,that record after record fell,one day,one month and species final totals. Walter and I have been asked to submit a Toronto Records Committee report for our September 9th record Osprey count of 53 in one day. This is a GTA record! Thanks to Walter for this impressive list of records set this season at Rosetta. We set 21 and tied one other record this year.
53 Opsrey were seen Sept 9th,176 were seen in the month of September,which led to our season best 211. All new records! Bald Eagles were a similar story,18 were observed on Sept 10th a new site record. September saw a new monthly record of 43 Bald Eagles and a record final tally of 73 Bald Eagles were spotted. We saw a record number of Sharpshinned Hawks in September,finishing with 2067 and a new season high of 2797. 15 Northern Goshawks in the month of October was a new record. November 1st we had a record number of Redtailed Hawks fly by with 251. Roughlegged Hawks have moved in larger numbers then normal in southern Ontario and the sightings at Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch reflect this as well. We recorded a one day record of 9 on October 31st,a high of 18 in the month of November and a season best total of 28. We set records for all 3 falcon species. On Sept 9th we saw a day record of 203,a new month record of 581 in September were counted and the final total of 719 was also a record. We tied our best one day Merlin total of 10,on Sept 8th,had a record 52 sightings in September and observed 87 in total for another record. We saw the highest number of Peregrine Falcons for any southern Ontario count site,with a new site record of 85. On October 1st we tallied our best one day total of all raptors ever with 946! September saw our highest monthly count ever too,with 3385 total birds of prey counted. Lastly we had our most ever days with over 100 raptors observed,with 20. WHAT A SEASON WOW!!!!
Final Totals
211-Osprey
1195-Turkey Vulture
73-Bald Eagle
322-Northern Harrier
2797-Sharpshinned Hawk
82-Coopers Hawk
17-Northern Goshawk
21-Redshouldered Hawk
190-Broadwinged Hawk
707-Redtailed Hawk
28-Roughlegged Hawk
11-Golden Eagle
719-American Kestrel
87-Merlin
85-Peregrine Falcon
6545-Final Total
Thanks to everyone for an amazing season.
We also counted:
44-Great Blue Heron
20-Common Nighthawk
410-Common Loons
Oddities Seen This Season:
Cave Swallows
Sandhill Cranes
Snow Geese
American White Pelican
White-winged Crossbills
Short-eared Owl
Rusty Blackbirds
53 Opsrey were seen Sept 9th,176 were seen in the month of September,which led to our season best 211. All new records! Bald Eagles were a similar story,18 were observed on Sept 10th a new site record. September saw a new monthly record of 43 Bald Eagles and a record final tally of 73 Bald Eagles were spotted. We saw a record number of Sharpshinned Hawks in September,finishing with 2067 and a new season high of 2797. 15 Northern Goshawks in the month of October was a new record. November 1st we had a record number of Redtailed Hawks fly by with 251. Roughlegged Hawks have moved in larger numbers then normal in southern Ontario and the sightings at Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch reflect this as well. We recorded a one day record of 9 on October 31st,a high of 18 in the month of November and a season best total of 28. We set records for all 3 falcon species. On Sept 9th we saw a day record of 203,a new month record of 581 in September were counted and the final total of 719 was also a record. We tied our best one day Merlin total of 10,on Sept 8th,had a record 52 sightings in September and observed 87 in total for another record. We saw the highest number of Peregrine Falcons for any southern Ontario count site,with a new site record of 85. On October 1st we tallied our best one day total of all raptors ever with 946! September saw our highest monthly count ever too,with 3385 total birds of prey counted. Lastly we had our most ever days with over 100 raptors observed,with 20. WHAT A SEASON WOW!!!!
Final Totals
211-Osprey
1195-Turkey Vulture
73-Bald Eagle
322-Northern Harrier
2797-Sharpshinned Hawk
82-Coopers Hawk
17-Northern Goshawk
21-Redshouldered Hawk
190-Broadwinged Hawk
707-Redtailed Hawk
28-Roughlegged Hawk
11-Golden Eagle
719-American Kestrel
87-Merlin
85-Peregrine Falcon
6545-Final Total
Thanks to everyone for an amazing season.
We also counted:
44-Great Blue Heron
20-Common Nighthawk
410-Common Loons
Oddities Seen This Season:
Cave Swallows
Sandhill Cranes
Snow Geese
American White Pelican
White-winged Crossbills
Short-eared Owl
Rusty Blackbirds
Nov 29 The Finale 4 Raptors
On Monday,Carol,Pat,Nancy and Peter,dropped by the park. In addition to our local Redtailed Hawk being harrassed by American Crows and a co-operative Coopers Hawk,they observed a final 3 Redtailed Hawks and one migrating Coopers Hawk. Pat sent along these shots of a Redtail chased by a Crow.
Our Co-operative Coopers,fence sitting.
End of season summaries soon to come.
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