Toronto in April, Advice Please (1 Viewer)

joannec · Mar 21, 2013

I'm going to be in Toronto mid-late April. I've never been before so please could people recommend good birding sites in and around Toronto, how to access them and what am I likely to see. I'd like at least one trip (maybe lasting a couple of days) outside of Toronto, where is best? A canoe trip could be possible if it's not too cold. Target species includes Snowy Owl, is that possible? Are there any good migration watchpoints?

robinm · Mar 21, 2013

Hi Joanne,

My sister-in-law lives on Lake Erie (Long Point) and we have visited a couple of times.

A few initial thoughts.

Take the boat out to the Toronto Islands. Usually a few good things to see.

Long Point is worth a visit (juts over 2 hours drive). April is quite early for migrants but should see plenty of water fowl, possible Northern Harrier.

We went to Algonquin in mid May which was very good - lots of warblers, Common Loons and great scenery.

I am sure the locals will have plenty more to add.

You'll have a great time.

Brucew · Mar 21, 2013

joannec said:
I'm going to be in Toronto mid-late April. I've never been before so please could people recommend good birding sites in and around Toronto, how to access them and what am I likely to see. I'd like at least one trip (maybe lasting a couple of days) outside of Toronto, where is best? A canoe trip could be possible if it's not too cold. Target species includes Snowy Owl, is that possible? Are there any good migration watchpoints?

Too late for snowy owls but late April is good for any sites along Lake Erie or Presq'ile on Lake Ontario. Lake Erie sites include Long Pt, Rondeau and Pelee. Eaerly warblers and shore birds will be passing through. Tornto Islands and Leslie Stree spit are must do's. Subscribe to ont birds for more info or msm me.

robinm · Mar 22, 2013

Presq'ile is excellent. We spent a couple of days there. I can even recommend a good B&B if you want to stay nearby.

joannec · Mar 22, 2013

Thanks Robin and Bruce. Will look up the places you mention. I think we will have a car for part of the 10 days that we will be there to go some of these places or should we be thinking of having a car for the whole time? The primary purpose of the trip is to visit our son who has been living in Toronto for the past nine months so we will actually be in Toronto for some of the stay. Can anyone say how accessible by public transport good places in Toronto are, like Toronto Islands.

Robin: yes, please recommend places to stay.

robinm · Mar 22, 2013

The ferries to the Islands are easy to get to - http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/ferry-schedule.htm.

I'll dig out the address of the B&B in Presq'ile and drop you a PM.

Brucew · Mar 22, 2013

joannec said:
Thanks Robin and Bruce. Will look up the places you mention. I think we will have a car for part of the 10 days that we will be there to go some of these places or should we be thinking of having a car for the whole time? The primary purpose of the trip is to visit our son who has been living in Toronto for the past nine months so we will actually be in Toronto for some of the stay. Can anyone say how accessible by public transport good places in Toronto are, like Toronto Islands.

Robin: yes, please recommend places to stay.

Good public transit in Toronto. subway and streetcar to the Islands and the spit. Just use a car for out of town.
Here is a good birding site for southern Ont , based around Toronto
http://outdoorontario.net/birds/phpBB/index.php

Peter C. · Mar 22, 2013

Hi Joanne,
You'll be coming at a very good time! By late April, lots of migrants will showing up (subject to local weather), with new species appearing on a daily basis - lots of sparrows ("buntings") and icterids, and just the "leading edge" of the wood-warblers.

Agree with the BruceW. about the Outdoor Ontario site, that's a good resource. Within T.O. itself, the Islands are a very good "migrant trap" in both spring and fall; I actually prefer Tommy Thomson Park (a.k.a. the Leslie St. Spit), but it has the considerable drawback of only being open on weekends.

A couple of places that are very good for bird, and just a bit out of town (i.e. you could make any easy day trip of it) are Thickson's Woods in Whitby and Oshawa's Second Marsh (both just east of the "Big Smoke").

If you're going to make an overnight visit somewhere, all the parks mentioned above, along the shores of Lakes Eire and Ontario, can be excellent, but my personal recommendation would be Long Point; it's easy to reach from Toronto, well-birded (thanks to the LPBO), but not crowded. The Carden Plain, up near Lake Simcoe, is an excellent place for "field" birds, but I don't know how many of these will back when you're here, as it looks like it's going to be a very late spring!

PM me if you want any specifics about where to find these places.

joannec said:
A canoe trip could be possible if it's not too cold. Target species includes Snowy Owl, is that possible? Are there any good migration watchpoints?

I suspect it will still be too cold for going canoeing, when you arrive; about Snowy Owls, I would imagine that they'll be gone by then.

Peter C.

joannec · Mar 24, 2013

Thank you for the recommendations Peter. My son has mentioned going to Killarney Park for a few days. Is this good for birds and if so which parts?

I've been doing a lot of research on line and it seems Toronto is in the path of two flyways! I'm really looking forward to the trip. I've never birded in Eastern North America so hoping for a lot of lifers.

Another thing, is Gyrfalcon a possibility?

Brucew · Mar 24, 2013

joannec said:
Thank you for the recommendations Peter. My son has mentioned going to Killarney Park for a few days. Is this good for birds and if so which parts?

I've been doing a lot of research on line and it seems Toronto is in the path of two flyways! I'm really looking forward to the trip. I've never birded in Eastern North America so hoping for a lot of lifers.

Another thing, is Gyrfalcon a possibility?

GYrfalcon is most unlikely. A winter bird in southern Ont. Killarney is wonderful canoeing country. Shield country which might give you spruce grouse, Gray jay, a bit early for warblers. Enjoy!

Jim M. · Mar 24, 2013

Joanne,

Here's a link to an eBird barchart for April for York County, where Toronto is located. It should give a good idea of what to expect. If you want to see the location of individual sightings, click on the "map" button next to the species name, then click on the individual balloons for more info. If you want to broaden the scope fo the chart to all of Ontario you can do that also.

http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?src=...r=1900&eYear=2013&continue.x=26&continue.y=13

Good luck!
Jim

joannec · Mar 24, 2013

Thanks Jim. That really gives a good idea of the relative abundance of species at a given time.

Peter C. · Mar 25, 2013

joannec said:
Thank you for the recommendations Peter. My son has mentioned going to Killarney Park for a few days. Is this good for birds and if so which parts?

Another thing, is Gyrfalcon a possibility?

You're most welcome.

I have only been to Killarney once, and that was in summer. I don't remember seeing any birds there at all, but I'm sure it gets the usual mix of boreal species. But that would be in season; April is well before the breeding season up there, I think a lot of birds won't be back yet (although I wouldn't be at all surprised to find the blackflies going already...). It's a very scenic park, but not particularly interesting for birds (as compared to Algonquin, say).

I've seen one Gyrfalcon in over 20 years of birding in Ontario; so no, I wouldn't say the chances are good... |;|

Peter C.

Reuven_M · Mar 30, 2013

J. Moore said:
Joanne,

Here's a link to an eBird barchart for April for York County, where Toronto is located. It should give a good idea of what to expect. If you want to see the location of individual sightings, click on the "map" button next to the species name, then click on the individual balloons for more info. If you want to broaden the scope fo the chart to all of Ontario you can do that also.

http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?src=...r=1900&eYear=2013&continue.x=26&continue.y=13

Good luck!
Jim

Toronto is actually in its own county, and the bar chart for York is missing a lot of species common along Lake Ontario. This bar chart is probably more useful:
http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?step...continue.x=62&continue.y=16&continue=Continue

Jim M. · Mar 30, 2013

Reuven_M said:
Toronto is actually in its own county

Ok thanks for clarifying. Got conflicting info on the internet. Some web pages clearly state (apparently in error) that it's in York County:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_county_is_Toronto_Ontario_in

Toronto in April, Advice Please (1 Viewer)

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