Birding/ Bird watching in Canada

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ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

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E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.

Birding in Canada - Day 9

Check out from Radisson Hotel & Suites Falls view leaving Niagara Falls driving to Best Western Plus Travel Hotel Toronto Airport.

Stop to look for birds on the way.

    - eBird hotspot: Beamer
    - eBird hotspot: Hamilton--King's Forest
    - eBird hotspot: Hamilton--Royal Botanical Gardens (Princess Point)
    - eBird hotspot: Hamilton--Royal Botanical Gardens (Arboretum)
    - eBird hotspot: Bronte Creek Provincial Park

As we have had rain since I came to Niagara Falls, I went to look for birds at Niagara Falls

Saturday 29 ^th of April 2023 and I leave my room at 8 thirty. Gloom and grey for long as I can see, but it is not raining so I drive to Niagara Falls Botanical Garden. I have to start by looking for a place to buy gasoline as the tank is getting empty.

I drive through the tourist area as I remember having seen a gas stop here yesterday when I was looking for a barber shop.

Down town Niagara

I find a gas stop and I fill up some gasoline in the car before taking off towards the Botanical Garden a little bit north of Niagara on the Niagara River Parkway.

I park the car and I enter the garden. No entrance fee, but I paid 10 dollars for 2 hours of parking. I started by turning right to walk along the loop that I had seen on the map at the entrance. I pass a small pond and I keep right and I meet a lady and she is out exercising / bird watching and we walked together for a bit.

Entrance to the Botanical Garden

Passing the pond

The Botanical Garden don't have much excitements on offer

Listen to the Chipping Sparrow

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder and High Pass Filter applied with Audacity

One bird singing in a tree just above me and we can hear a second bird a little bit further away

I get my recording and I continue on the trail and there is a lot of noise in the park from tractor lawn mowers and chain saws so it was not very nice to walk around. I had paid the parking for 2 hours but I left after one hour.

I had been lucky with the rain, but not so lucky with the bird pictures.

eBird Report

Niagara--Butterfly Conservancy and Botanical Gardens, Niagara, Ontario, CA
May 4, 2023 09:49 - 10:53
Protocol: Traveling
1.8 kilometer(s)
5 species

Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 1
American Robin 5
Chipping Sparrow 5   Singing
Red-winged Blackbird 2   Heard only, 1 female seen

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S136033474

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track at Niagara--Botanical Garden

I continue north of the Niagara Falls Parkway and I park at the Floral Clock to get out on the Sir Adam Beck No. 1 Generating Station to have a look at the view, and maybe I will see a couple of birds at the same time.

There was a couple of birds in the trees while walking to the dam. I looked down at the river and there were of course many gulls flying around. Double-crested Cormorant are swimming around looking for fish. But as I am high above the river the birds are too far away for any good pictures. But it was an interesting view.

Ring-billed Gull

Double-crested Cormorant

Sir Adam Beck No. 1 Generating Station

View from the Sir Adam Beck No. 1 Generating Station

View from the Sir Adam Beck No. 1 Generating Station

View from the Sir Adam Beck No. 1 Generating Station

View from the Sir Adam Beck No. 1 Generating Station

eBird Report

Sir Adam Beck No. 1 Generating Station, Niagara Falls Parkway, Niagara, Ontario, CA
May 4, 2023 11:03 - 11:19
Protocol: Traveling
0.26 kilometer(s)
5 species

Canada Goose 2
Ring-billed Gull X   Impossible to count
Double-crested Cormorant 10
American Robin 2
House Finch 1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S136036932

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track at Sir Adam Beck No. 1 Generating Station, Niagara Falls Parkway

I leave the power plant and I decide to drive back to Toronto and to check-in to Best Western Plus Travel Hotel Toronto Airport. I check eBird and I decide to make one stop on the way to Toronto. There is one eBird hotspot: St. Catharines Marina

I drive north on the high way and I turn off after 10 km or so and I drive towards the first hotspot: Port Weller Lighthouse but the roads are blocked. Seems like the area belongs to the Canadian Coastguard so no access.

I drive across the canal to the other side of Port Weller and I have to wait as the bridge is open for a boat going in to the lock.

Bridge is open

Tug boat enter the lock

Tug boat enter the lock

The close the bridge when the tug boat is in the lock and I can cross the river, I reach the St. Catharines Marina and there is nothing much to see. And I leave the marina and there is a Belted Kingfisher just before I reach the gate. I try to get pictures and the bird take off.

I make a U-turn and now I discovered a second Belted Kingfisher and they seem to be fighting. I make a couple of U-turns but the bird take off every time I am trying to get in position for pictures. So, I give up and I leave for the hotel in Toronto.

Barn Swallow

Belted Kingfisher

eBird Report

St. Catharines Marina, Niagara, Ontario, CA
May 4, 2023 12:19 - 12:40
Protocol: Traveling
2.04 kilometer(s)
6 species

Canada Goose 1
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Belted Kingfisher 2   Looks to be fighting
Barn Swallow 8
American Robin 2
Common Grackle 4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S136046771

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

I return my car to AVIS

I check in at 2 o'clock and I am soon off to return my car to the AVIS at the airport. Same as in USA, good signing from the highway and it is no problem to find the “RENTED CAR RETURN” and I drop the car. Very convenient and I just crossed the street to get a taxi.

I used the Lyft app to book a car and after that two cars did not manage to find the pick-up I gave up and I went up to look for a real taxi.

I booked the car and it said: Go to ground floor exit Q1 and ZONE 2 but both cars came to the level above. I went to take a taxi and it was a wee bit more expensive, but I could get back to Best Western Plus Travel Hotel Toronto Airport.

If you come to USA or Canada, use UBER, a wee bit more expensive. But Lyft have proven to be pretty useless and I have also lost money when they have brought me to the wrong address.

Waiting for my car

Back at the hotel and I had a shower and I went to the reception at 5 to meet my friends that I met on my tour on Iceland back in 2015. We were going to meet at the hotel restaurant and suddenly it was 8 thirty so 3 and a half hours passed very quickly.

I am booked for the airport shuttle at 8 o'clock and my flight leave at 10 thirty. I will arrive to New York at 12:20 and I willhopefully have time for some afternoon birding.

Click HERE to see if I find the time for some birding in New York tomorrow.

eBird Trip Report

Since April 2023 eBird offer a new feature, to create Trip Reports. At least this is when I first heard of this feature and I have decided to make the eBird Trip Reports instead of my list of OBSERVED birds.

And of course, this also means that I will HAVE TO go back and do the same for my old birding adventures, WHEN I HAVE THE TIME!

Today's Trip Report: Bird watching in Canada - Day 9 | Click HERE

Download | PDF

Lifers
Icons for lifers used in the eBird trip reports

Species lifer:First time that someone observes a species in their life

Photo lifer:First time that someone photographs a species in their life

Audio lifer:First time that someone audio records a species in their life

Exotic species
Exotic species flags differentiate locally introduced species from native species.

Naturalized:Exotic population is self-sustaining, breeding in the wild, persisting for many years, and not maintained through ongoing releases (including vagrants from Naturalized populations). These count in official eBird totals and, where applicable, have been accepted by regional bird records committee(s).

Provisional:Either: 1)member of exotic population that is breeding in the wild, self-propagating, and has persisted for multiple years, but not yet Naturalized; 2)rarity of uncertain provenance, with natural vagrancy or captive provenance both considered plausible.

When applicable, eBird generally defers to bird records committees for records formally considered to be of "uncertain provenance". Provisional species count in official eBird totals.

Escapee:Exotic species known or suspected to be escaped or released, including those that have
bred but don't yet fulfill the criteria for Provisional. Escapee exotics do not count in official eBird totals.

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