It’s hard to admit I was delivering a Christmas present on January 15, well after even Orthodox Christmas, but I guiltily confess I was. Afterwards, I ventured to visit Humber Bay East Park in Toronto to see what wonderful waterfowl I could encounter.
Male Bufflehead
There is a very long, fairly stable, “floating” pathway at the park the cuts down the middle of an inlet used for mooring boats in the summer. Many ducks explore the inlet either hunting for fish, invertebrates and zebra mussels, or hoping for handouts from the many passersby. The steady stream of people seems to make some of the ducks less wary of gawkers pointing oversized lenses at them.
Bufflehead Bob Up
Female Bufflehead, or at least the Male Thought So
While I waited or slowly walked along this slightly bouncy path, I was fortunate to get close looks at several pairs of Bufflehead. I used an old diving duck trick: once they are underwater, I would move a few metres closer and stop waiting for them to pop up again. Of course sometimes I walked the wrong direction but that’s part of the game!
Dive, Captain, Dive! (Note the splayed tail feathers.)
The Glamourous View
A Female Mallard
Several Swans a Swimming
When I first arrived, a single Mute Swan was enjoying some corn being flung to the Mallards at the far end of the dock. When I was leaving, a pair of swans sailed in to the inlet: they were Trumpeter Swans, a species re-introduced into Ontario. One bird had the huge yellow wing tags that make them so easy to identify. The other either had folded its tags discretely away or was not yet tagged.
The Mute Swan
A Trumpeter Swan
There is a survey this year, 2020, of Trumpeter Swans which is collecting reports of birds seen on February 1, 2020. I’m sure someone will report these Toronto over-wintering Trumpeters. There may be some wintering in areas with fewer bird watchers who love reporting their sightings. If there is one or a pair near you, please consider adding it to the count! There is a link to the survey information called http://bit.ly/ONSwan_Survey
or you can read the appeal that was sent out on the OntBirds list at https://www.mail-archive.com/birdalert@ontbirds.ca/msg46141.html
Not Just on the Dock for Ducks
Distant Dozing Ruddy Ducks
After I finished walking the floating pathway, I decided to walk into the park itself. In part, I was hoping to get a closer look at a group of 4 Ruddy Ducks sleeping in the waterway between the peninsula and the mainland.
One of the House Sparrows
As I puttered along, I stopped to look at a huge flock of happy House Sparrows feeding on scattered seeds. At least 4 Northern Cardinals were also loading up.
A Supportive Non-Mocking-Bird
A bit further along the head land, I saw a robin-sized bird perched near the top of a small sapling. I took some photos immediately in case it left but it calmly (and silently) stayed while I walked past and took photos from the other direction. I don’t usually get such pleasant co-operation! As I’d hoped, it was a Northern Mockingbird. I left it still perched but when I looked back a few minutes later it had dropped from view. Hopefully it had found some of the various berries and frozen fruit on the shrubs to eat.
Finally a Gadwall That Stays Still
Someone was walking dogs on the path ahead of me, and pairs of Mallards kept flying up the interior canal past me. That’s why I noticed a dithering Gadwall in the shallow stream. It didn’t really want to fly but it didn’t want me to move too closely either. I took a few minutes to try to get a clear photo of it through the dense stems of dried goldenrod, teasel and Queen Anne’s Lace.
For some reason even at parks like Lasalle Marina where the Mallards are as tame as pets, Gadwall seem to be wary waterfowl. I usually only get photos of them looking back over their shoulders at me as they swim briskly away. At Colonel Sam Smith they will even plunge out into the surf on the Lake rather than let me walk too nearby. The only place I’ve ever been within a few metres of a Gadwall was at this same park, Humber Bay East, a few years ago.
No Ruddies But a Lot of Redheads
These are not all Redheads
By the time I was on shore about where I had seen the Ruddy Ducks roosting on the water they had moved elsewhere. A large flock of Redheads, though, had moved into the area. They were too far out for good photos but I enjoyed watching them diving and squabbling.
This one on the left is the American Wigeon
There were also flashes of very white feathered heads amongst them. I took a closer look and confirmed there were several American Wigeon. They have a sort-of white skunk stripe up from the bill to the back of their heads.
This Hooded Merganser was Way Way Back
Another white blob along the shore caught my eye and I took the best photos I could. It wasn’t till I was at home that I could confirm it was a male Hooded Merganser resting on the shore.
A Common Goldeneye complete with yellow eye
Near the tip of the peninsula, I saw my only Red-breasted Mergansers, a few more Common Goldeneye, and an amiably bickering group of Long-tailed Ducks.
It was getting cold and was very muddy so I reluctantly gave up and walked back to my car. Christmas in January was over and it was time to go home.
Flipping through my photos on my computer at home, though, brings back a flood of happy memories. I hope to get out to another park before the Lake freezes to enjoy the winter waterfowl.
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Join In
Do you find Gadwall prefer to leave you behind the wall while they gad about the water? Or are your locals pretty tolerant of people? Please share your experience with a comment.