Western Grebe of the East

It's always fun to have a bird that is common in one place, but rare in Toronto, show up nearly on one's doorstep.  In this case, a Western Grebe, that had been seen about a week ago in Colonel Sam Smith Park had made its way down to the Toronto Waterfront.  Sue and I went looking for it two weekends ago without any luck, but a few birders found it again at Sunnyside Beach down at the west end of Toronto's waterfront on Sunday and David Creelman, who lives in the area, found it again yesterday and provided good directions to where he saw it, allowing me to find it yesterday afternoon.

It was actually quite close at one point, but kept diving, much like the Tufted Duck in Maryland, and then drifted way off into the distance before we were able to find it again.  I snapped a few shots of the lake and after some cropping in iPhoto, was able to find it.  Again, it never sat still enough for a digiscope shot, so the photos below were the best I could get.  The Western Grebe is an unexpected addition to my Ontario Life List.

I went back this morning and searched along with Geoff Carpenter, a frequent reporter on OntBirds, who always has something good coming to his feeders, but we were unable to relocate it today.  I was hoping for a better photo.  Perhaps it has moved back to Colonel Sam.  Might check there tomorrow.