COMMON GRACKLE, LAMBTON WOODS PARK, TORONTO, ON

 

JUVENILE RED-TAILED HAWK IN FLIGHT, LAMBTON WOODS PARK, TORONTO, ON

   This hawk was identified as a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk as follows:

• The juvenile does not have a red tail, while the adult does.
• The dark bar on the leading edge of the underwing and the pale breast contrasting with the streaked belly-band identify this as a Red-tailed Hawk.

NORTHERN FLICKER, LAMBTON WOODS PARK, ON

   This bird can be identified as a Northern Flicker by the spotted belly and the red on its nape.

SONG SPARROW ON GOLDENROD, LAMBTON WOODS PARK, TORONTO, ON

RED-TAILED HAWK, LAMBTON WOODS PARK, TORONTO, ON

NONBREEDING SPOTTED SANDPIPER, HUMBER RIVER, LAMBTON WOODS PARK, TORONTO, ON

   We identified this sandpiper as a Spotted Sandpiper in nonbreeding (winter) plumage as follows:

• Relatively dark and unpatterned above and white below (in breeding plumage there are spots below).
• White wedge near shoulder, between dark above and dusky smudge.
• White line over eye.
• Orange-yellow legs and bill.

LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, HUMBER RIVER, LAMBTON PARK, TORONTO, ON

   This morning Sharon and I went on a Toronto Ornithological Club field trip to James Gardens/Lambton Woods in Toronto.  Nineteen birders attended and we saw or heard the call of 44 species of birds.  This is a great hotspot for migrating birds.

   We sighted a couple of Dowitchers on a sand bar in the Humber River.  It is very difficult to differentiate between a Long-billed Dowitcher and a Short-billed Dowitcher.  The consensus of the experts and long-term birders was that these birds were Long-billed Dowitchers.  In doing research on the differences between the Dowitchers one field mark which seems to confirm this is the "humpback" appearance of the probing Dowitcher in the third photo.  Long-billed Dowitchers have this appearance when probing for food, while Short-billed Dowitchers have a flatter appearance.

   The Longbilled Dowitcher is a new species to our Life List, which now stands at 155.