Tweet, tweet: Bird festival in Tommy Thompson Park

Do we live in a great city, or what?

Last weekend, for those of who love to be connected to the natural world, there was the brilliant Paddle the Don. This weekend, a bird festival (billed as the “Original Tweeters” in what is turning out to be one of the best urban wildernesses in North America, Tommy Thompson Park. (Or, as most of us call it, the Spit.)

The festival at the Spit was advertised to begin at 7 a.m., today, running until noon. Unfortunately, I failed to get up with the birdies, but did make it before the sun was over the yard arm, as my mother would say.

I snapped a few quick pix of some birds of prey being exhibited — courtesy, I think, of the Toronto Region Conservation Authority. There were three on display: a great horned owl, (Bubo virginianus), a red-tailed hawk, (Buteo jamaicensis), and an American kestrel (Falco sparverious).

The folks demonstrating these magnificent creatures said that the birds are extremely used to people milling around them and photographing them at very close range. They’re experienced avian models, as it were, immune to the photographers and their bulky cameras as they patiently pose.

I didn’t spend as much time with the birds of prey as I would have liked to, because there was a bird walk just beginning that I wanted to catch. I managed to hustle down a path near the main road just as a small group was disappearing around a bend in the path through some underbrush.

Hustling to catch the group was a good call, as our guide, Mike, was extremely knowledgeable, and equally patient.

Mike was able to identify dozens of species by their call or song, long before they could be seen, and I was able to add a handful of new species to my life list, courtesy of Mike’s experience and expertise.

We saw many different warblers, including the following: black-throated blue; blackburnian; parulas; yellow-rumped or Myrtle; magnolia; black and white; nashville; and yellow. At least, these are the ones I remember.

Other species we encountered included lots or rose-breated grosbeaks; an oven-bird; brown-headed cowbird; house wren; many red-winged blackbirds; many barns’ worth of barn swallows; chimney swifts; warbling vireo; scarlet tanager; Baltimore oriole; golden-crowned kinglets; and a blue-grey gnatcatcher.

Two of these, the northern parula (Parula americana) and the blue-grey gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) I had never seen before, so they were doubling exciting for me.

I’m including a photo of one of the parulas we saw on the hike. It’s not particularly clear or close up, but it’s the best I could catch this time out.

Despite the inclement weather — which seemed to include what felt like flurries!?! to driving rain with high winds that drove many of our quarry species to ground (oh, and some patches of sunshine) — we had a terrific hike, thanks to our guide, Mike.

Many thanks to the conservation authority for putting this spring bird festival on. I’ll be sure to put this event on my calendar for next year.

© BCP 2010