Toronto The Cold

After the warmth and comfort of south Florida, it was a bit of a shock to the system to come home to Toronto in late April and find the morning temperatures hovering around the freezing mark.  On Saturday morning I had a few hours before heading off to work to go on the CCFEW birding trip, led by Bob Yurich, to Colonel Sam Smith Park on Lakeshore Road in Toronto.  The group works hard to keep the Etobicoke waterfront natural, and reduce the density of condos and motels in the area.

Sue and I went to this one, rather than Leslie Street Spit, as I would be able to spend more time, it was on the way to work and there is another bird walk to the Spit in May.  So, with the temperature at a chilly 2C on a sunny morning, we put on our "winter" birding gear and headed out to the park.

I was hoping for a good bird or two, including the Winter Wren I have been searching for in Col. Sam for the last few days.  What I got was a couple of fly-overs by a Common Tern and struck out, once again on the Wren.  There were lots of good birds, including Spotted Sandpiper, Red-necked Grebes, Barn, Northern Rough-wing and Tree Swallows, Brown Creeper,(which I once again failed to photograph), Hermit Thrush, all of which Sue could count, but I had already seen this year.

I did get to meet and talk to Andrew Keaveney, who's precise OntBirds reports kept me running all winter, including the recent Winter Wren sighting, so that was fun.  I like his reports because they are short, informative and stick to the point.

Later in the day, thanks once again to Andrew Keaveney, I saw a report of a Cerulean Warbler, in Mount Pleasant Cemetery and knew I had to go check it out.  So, this morning, once again dressed for the cold while on my way to work, I stopped in Mount Pleasant Cemetery - I had always wanted to take a walk there - and sought out the Cerulean Warbler.  I had to look up the word cerulean, and it turns out it means a sky blue tint.

When I arrived at the cemetery I found a few birders had already arrived, including the same gentleman with whom I had searched the side streets of Cobourg for a Townsend's Solitaire, back in February.  I forgot to ask him if his name was Craig or Greg.  Perhaps I was not meant to know.

As I approached the group I was able to hear the call, as I had studied it on the way there, along with it's pictures.  Greg or Craig was helpful at pointing the bird out in the tree and, once found, it did live up to its cerulean tint.  Sky blue wings with a white belly.  It was a very nice bird and when it dropped down a bit I was able to get a few nice photos.