Canada Day 1

Centennial Park - Toronto

Our flight in from Manchester arrived in Toronto mid-afternoon on the 26^th, so we decided to spend the night in Toronto rather than rush our flight transfer into Vancouver. As a result we were able to spend a very enjoyable afternoon birding in urban Toronto. Our hotel was in the neighbouring town of Mississauga, and nearby there was Centennial Park, a large green area with a small lake that looked promising for birding.

We walked through the suburbs to the park birding along the way. We were able to pick up a number of good species along the way. When we actually arrived at the park it was already quite late, as we had been distracted throughout our journey by so many new species. The park lake was brilliant, with Great Northern Diver and Bufflehead both common and a number of passerines in the bushes around. We continued birding here until dark, before heading back and getting an early night for our flight in the morning.

Highlights

White-breasted Nuthatch - For a casual afternoon birding in the middle of the city, we would not expect to see anything that wouldn’t encounter again. However, as it happened this was the only time that we encountered White-breasted Nuthatch, a really smart bird.

Myrtle Warbler - Very predictable as our first American wood warbler but still a stunning bird! Having never seen any American Passerine before I was suitably impressed with these little beauties!

Centennial Park Lake - The park lake was absolutely brilliant, instead of Mallards and Swans there were Great Northern Divers (Common Loons) and Buffleheads, as well as the more expected Canada Geese. There were also large numbers of Tree and Rough Winged Swallow roosting in the trees directly adjacent to the lake.

-Mourning Dove

-White-breasted Nuthatch

-American Robin

-Brown-headed Cowbird

-Black Squirrel

Species List:

Centennial Park - Toronto: Red-winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow, Canada Goose, Starling, House Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, Mallard, Turkey Vulture, American Goldfinch, Mourning Dove, Red-tailed Hawk, House Finch, Downy Woodpecker, Brown-headed Cowbird, Ring-billed Gull, American Crow, White-throated Sparrow, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, Hermit Thrush, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Flicker, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Bufflehead, Great Northern Diver, Merlin, Black-crowned Night Heron, Double-crested Cormorant, Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Rough-winged Swallow, Common Grackle, American Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Eastern Phoebe, American Robin, American Red Squirrel, Eastern Chipmunk, Eastern Cottontail, Eastern Gray Squirrel