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We had great weather and a tremendous turnout for our March 2008 bird walk at Humber Bay Park. It can be a difficult time of year with mud, ice, bitter winds, and rain all strong possibilities. This March 29th however was calm, sunny, and just below freezing (cold enough to keep the mud frozen for most of the morning).
With roughly 40 people, we had one of our largest turnouts ever. Unfortunately, our flock of birders was larger than any flock of birds we could find. The large rafts of waterfowl often present at this time of year were mysteriously absent, but we still managed to find a good variety of spring migrants. Newly arrived migrants included Double-crested Cormorants, and Song Sparrows along with the Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Grackles that started arriving a couple of weeks ago. Migrant Dabbling ducks were virtually absent, but we were treated to 9 Ruddy Ducks, some starting to get their bright breeding plumage. Diving ducks were more plentiful, but certainly not in the large rafts we were hoping for.
The star of the show was a male Harlequin Duck in breeding plumage. We found him on the south shore, where he has been fairly reliable for the past few weeks. He was actively feeding, spending as much time below the water as above it. There was a female as well, but she spent the whole time sleeping with her head tucked under her wing.
By the end of the walk, we had tallied 32 species, with numerous “easy” birds still missing from the list. Here's our list:
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