Fall Migration Part Three: Post Surgery, the Birding is Easy and the Rarities are Plentiful

I was barely out of the hospital 24 hours when a huge Ontario Bird Alert went out that a Black-throated Gray Warbler was being seen in LaSalle Marina in Burlington, an hour down the road from Toronto.  Not a Lifer, as I had seen them in Arizona in the past, but this would be an Ontario Lifer and would be a Lifer for most local birders, for sure. This was definitely a stakeout as it took nearly 90 minutes before it turned up, and considering I had surgery only days before, I was fading fast when it finally appeared.  I'm sure it was very tired from its flight across North America from, perhaps, British Columbia to Burlington, likely lost on his way to Mexico for the winter.

#320 for Ontario, Black-throated Gray Warbler:

   

Keeping with the continuing fall theme of rarities, yet another rare bird showed up in Toronto,(but again, not CSSP-rats!), a female Common Eider.  She was not quite so lost as these birds can pass over Lake Ontario on their way to wintering along the east coast of North America.

#321 For Ontario, Common Eider:

                            

Finally, a rare bird showed up in Colonel Sam again.  This time, of all things, a Boreal Chickadee.  For the past seven years, I have closely examined chickadees in the park hoping to one day see one south of Algonquin Park.  Well, that day finally arrived.  After a few of us heard that another birder had thought she heard one, but did not see it, a few of us looked the next day and it was found by David, one of my Col. Sam birding buddies.  We chased it around the park and eventually caught up with it in several locations and I was lucky enough to get photos.  And if that wasn't enough, as we were watching the chickadee, a juvenile Northern Goshawk flew over and I even got photos of that bird.  Both were new additions to my Col. Sam Life List.

#220: Boreal Chickadee:

# 211: Northern Goshawk:

And just when I thought there could be no more rare birds around, I heard of a female Hooded Warbler out in Oakville at Sedgewick Park, where it always seems to be good for fall warblers.  I had only heard one this year in Backus Woods, so decided to take the drive out for one more late warbler.

                          

I have hopes of adding one or two more warbler species in 2018 when I venture south to Nevada and Utah in December.