August 19th - Dog Days!

Well, the last couple of days have been amazingly quiet in the park. There have been no raptors moving and in the early morning there have been very few songbirds flying. The high heat, high humidity, and low to no winds have really put the kibosh on things lately. If the weather forecast stays the same, Sunday might bring us our first decent day. Let's keep our finger's crossed!

Speaking of quiet, our 2 minutes of exposure on TV has produced no new hawk watchers. Maybe over the weekend someone might stop by, time will tell. This is probably a good thing as, as many of you will agree, our little piece of land that they've so kindly allowed us to use at the park really can't hold more than the 20 or so regulars that we have now anyway. It was very nice of CTV News to do a story on us all the same.

Here's a few photos from Pat's camera for your viewing enjoyment.

Sadly, Carol in all her beauty was a day late for CTV News.


Our local Cooper's Hawk on the hunt for a meal.


Walter

August 17th - Our Raptor Watch Made The 6 O'Clock News!

No bird movement to report today but we did however make the news. I was interviewed by Andrew Lawson of CTV News for a story about the Watch that was aired on the 6:00 and 11:30 news. They did an excellent job of piecing everything together and thankfully our local Red-tailed Hawk put on a show for Andrew to film. Betty made a cameo appearance. Hope you all saw it. Due to the heat and humidity today, I was snoozing late the afternoon and almost missed the clip. I guess all we can do now is sit back and wait for the crowds to show up!

Today only 23 species of birds were observed and 6 species of butterflies. Of note, the Monarchs appear to be slowly building up in numbers along the bluffs and getting ready to make the big trip south to Mexico.

I would like to thank Andrew for coming down today and doing the story on our Raptor Watch, Betty for hanging around and helping me out while I was being interviewed, and Berle for the nice long chat we had while nothing was happening.

The weather forecast for the next couple of days does not look too promising for raptor movement, if the forecast holds, next Tuesday might be a good day. I'll be at the park again early tomorrow and over the next few days just in case the birds try to prove me wrong.

Walter

August 16th - Only 2 Migrants Today

Unfortunately I had to cut today's Watch at the park off early due to prior commitments. So if anyone was there and saw any raptor movement, please let me know, thanks.

The only birds seen today at the park were the local Cooper's Hawk, Turkey Vultures, and a Northern Harrier that flew from the west.

I did however manage to see 2 birds this afternoon flying overhead from the backyard and heading straight towards Rosetta - In the past on the few occassions that I've had to do it, Frank and I had proven that the birds I saw from the yard pass by Rosetta's north end over Kingston Road within 1 to 2 minutes. I live just east of the park along Kingston Road. The highlight was an adult Bald Eagle which flew over quite high up but naked eye I could easily tell what it was, in the binoculars it really looked good! It was a new 'yard' bird for me as well.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Bald Eagle - 1 (adult, 2:51 PM)
Total: 2

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Osprey - 2
Bald Eagle - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 3
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 2
Total - 16

31 species of birds were counted early morning at Rosetta today including an American Pipit, a 'lifer' for me. It popped up in a shrub close to the top of the bluffs right in front of me about 15 feet away. It sat for minute pumping it's tail up and down before moving on. Only 4 species of common butterflies were noted.

I thank Terry Whittam for keeping an eye on the sky during his visit to the park today.

Tomorrow's predicted southwest winds are not conducive to good bird movement, especially this early in the migration. I'll be at the park early again tomorrow. See you then!

Walter

August 15th - Finally, A Few More Birds!

As expected, the morning started off slow today but picked up after the first bird, an American Kestrel, was spotted at around 10:14 AM. That was quickly followed by a pair of streaming Turkey Vultures that were way up high. A little while later a juvenile Northern Harrier flew through over the centre of the park. Also, a few Sharpies (Sharp-shinned Hawks) circled their way along giving great views. As the heat of the day was starting to peak, the thunder clouds rolled in and brought an end to the Watch. Also observed today were the local Cooper's Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 1
Total - 8

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Osprey - 2
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 3
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 2
Total - 14

Overall bird species counted today was 35 including a beautiful Canada Warbler and a Greater Yellowlegs that flew in from the north. Thankfully it did a flight call and I was able to ID it, otherwise it would've been just another unidentified shorebird.

On hand today were Daniel, Berle, Terry 2, and Ann.

Tomorrow (Tuesday's) weather forecast is looking similar to today's so I'll be at the park early again. Hope to see at the Watch.

Walter

August 14th - A Few More Photos

Things have been quiet bird-wise the last 2 days with light to no winds so here are a few photos that Ann and I have taken at the Gardens.

2 pretty purple flowers




Monarch


Cabbage White


Walking Stick


Giant Swallowtail


Tomorrow's (Monday) weather with moderate winds from the north might bring a few birds through. I'll be at the park from about 7:00 AM onward. Hope to see you there.

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

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

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

Sportsmans Show Success and A Great Surprise

Nova Ready for Take Off 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.

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.

http://tinypic.com/r/90t36p/7

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.