Hugh Currie led our October 17th bird walk at Sam Smith Park. Like last month, high barometric pressure brought beautiful weather but few migrants. A few of the winter waterfowl were seen along with some departing migrants such as Common Loons. Red-necked Grebes were already in their drab winter plumage. There were a few passerines hiding in bushes along the waterfront: a late Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song Sparrows, and a small flock of White-crowned sparrows.
An immature White-crowned sparrow gave us excellent views of his somewhat confusing plumage. He looked far more like a Field Sparrow or a Tree Sparrow than the plumage we see in the spring.
This was our last walk at Sam Smith Park for this year. The walks move to Humber Bay for November through March.
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