Two years later...
COVID travel restrictions were finally, mostly, over and so for the first time in years we'd be having an overseas family holiday. There were as ever options, but the decision was more or less made for us with ageing relatives needing to be visited in Calgary.
Day 1:
The trip began on the 2nd August, where we arrived in Toronto as part of a few days stay, to visit and stay with a set of cousins who I'd not met before. It was late afternoon by the time we reached the city, and so was dark by the time we'd reached Toronto's suburbs. On the way, as the sun was setting, I got my first taste of birding West of the Atlantic - Red-tailed Hawks, House Finches, Mourning Doves, American Goldfinches and Crows, and Chimney Swifts to name a few. We were unsurprisingly shattered and jetlagged, so crashed once a banquet dinner had settled.
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| Red-winged Blackbird |
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| Monarch |
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| House Finch |
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| Red Squirrel |
Day 2:
Seeing we'd slept at the equivalent of 4am UK time, we needed a mammoth sleep, not getting up until a fairly late 10am local time. Whilst waiting for the rest of the family to wake up, I waited in one of the greenest gardens I've ever seen - not surprisingly as my mum's side of the family are big on gardening and growing fruit/veg. 20 species were seen just from the garden, only 4 of which I'd seen before, still including Osprey - highlights were otherwise Downy Woodpecker, House Wren, Black-capped Chickadee, Song Sparrow, Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Blue Jay and Northern Cardinals. Last but not least, I saw my first and only hummingbird (ever and of the trip) in a female Ruby-throated. The rest of the family obviously got the best views whilst I was in the loo, but even so, I was buzzing for the few seconds I did get. We had a lazy few hours in the sunshine chatting to the new cousins and relatives, both of whom I've since stayed in contact with. I don't have many older cousins, so this was comfortably one of the best points of the holiday altogether.
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| Breakfast |
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| Niagara |
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| Garden |
At a little before 12, my uncle decided that he'd had enough of being sat at home and he'd be driving us the couple of hours to Niagara Falls. The drive there saw me the only one of my family awake, enthusiastically staring out the window. Attempts were made to get my eye in on raptors, which asides from Red-tailed Hawk and Turkey Vulture proved to be difficult. Caspian Tern and Double-crested Cormorant were a little easier, as were the most common species of gulls. We reached the Falls at approximately 2pm, spending 3 hours having lunch and ice cream, coffee, a wander around and along the falls and finally, a boat trip my uncle forced his way into arranging for us. Admittedly it was worth it, a truly magical place to visit. With birdlife so good there, I was in a happy place, even after getting ticked off for spending too much time stopping. An extremely fair ticking off too.
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| Northern Rough-winged Swallow |
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| Chimney Swift |
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| Great Egret |
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| Chipping Sparrow |
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| Common Tern |
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| Tree Swallows |
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| Double-crested Cormorant |
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| Ring-billed Gull |
I was even quite happy seeing Canadian Canada Geese and American Robins. Hirundines were numerous not just in abundance but diversity - these included Sand Martin, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallows [40 odd at least], Barn Swallow and Cliff Swallow, together forming a swirling mass of birds overhead. Song and Chipping Sparrows were nice to see, an unidentified sparrow species also escaped the notebook. Cedar Waxwing confused me, seemingly being one of the most common species, bizarre to me given what Waxwings are like in the UK.
Given the geography, watching and photographing birds flying in front of the falls felt special. Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Cliff Swallows, Common Terns and the like all spent time darting in and through, making for shots the photographer in me had only dreamt of. It was difficult to get settings right but I nailed - for me - a couple as above.
Before heading back (I fell asleep) to get back for dinner and attempt to avoid tornado warnings, we drove further along the river to a quiet spot overlooking the river, opposite the US. I remember this hour fondly too for the serenity, switching off properly with a beer and snack.
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| Song Sparrow |
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| Great Blue Heron |
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| Ring-billed Gull |
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| Double-crested Cormorant |
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| Red-winged Blackbird |
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| Turkey Vulture |
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| Red-tailed Hawk |
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| Cedar Waxwing |
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| Ring-billed Gull |
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| Common Tern |
Day 3:
Squeezed in a bit of birding late morning. Breakfast was massive enough for us all to want to burn it off pretty much immediately. Closest to where we were staying was a set of two parks, reaching Lake Ontario at its southernmost point. Starting at Colonel Danforth Park, we worked our way through to Lower Highland Creek park and then a path by the lake, before walking back.
The pick of the bunch were the first new world warblers I'd seen, these being American Redstart and Yellow Warbler. House and Carolina Wren added to the soundscape, alongside Downy Woodpeckers, Cedar Waxwings and other more common species. More species were seen and heard at LHCP, including some I didn't manage to identify. The best included Eastern Kingbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jays, Great Crested Flycatcher, Brown Thrasher and more warblers. Overlooking the lake, there were 7 Caspian Tern and an estimated 1000 Double-crested Cormorant. Time at the parks felt short, but was a walk I enjoyed.
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| hirundines |
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| Downy Woodpecker |
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| dragonfly sp |
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| f American Redstart |
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| m American Redstart |
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| Downy Woodpecker |
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| Mourning Dove |
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| American Robin |
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| DCCs |
 | Great Blue Heron
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| Gray Catbird - popped up out of nowhere, a few metres away, in response to 'pishing' |
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| Eastern Kingbird |
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| Blue Jay |
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| Great Crested Flycatcher - photos were not good |
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| m American Redstart |
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| Eastern Comma |
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| Black Duck |
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| My uncle + DCCs |
The evening was spent in Toronto with the wider family, having dinner and walking around downtown. I saw a Coyote on the way in, and there were Chimney Swifts buzzing around overhead throughout. A very enjoyable third and final full day in Ontario.
Day 4:
A relatively uneventful day. Before a stressful and nearly disastrous rush to the airport due to traffic, my sister and I wandered around the local neighbourhood for an hour. Chipping Sparrows and Northern Cardinals were the main species we watched.
Even if not wildlife, the flight to Calgary from Toronto was a good one. We got a taste for how geographically diverse the frankly enormous, and empty, the country of Canada really is.
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| House Finch |
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| Chipping Sparrow |
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| Northern Cardinal - beaut |
