July 11 2026 (Saturday) Durham lakefront
Leader: Dave Milsom, Cathy Douglas, Brian Wales.
A dedicated OFO group enjoyed a beautiful day's birding along the Whitby lakefront on July 11. Best sightings were 7 Green Herons at Thickson's Point, including two fledged juveniles in a Pine tree, a singing male Orchard Oriole, at least 2 Willow flycatchers, a sub-adult Lesser Black-backed Gull in Whitby harbour, plus 10 Bonaparte's gulls, Common and Caspian terns, and 3 Gadwall. Cranberry disappointed but we still found an adult Bald Eagle, Merlin, Osprey, Marsh wrens, Spotted Sandpiper, and a close-by Virginia Rail. Once again,many thanks to a great group of participants, and co-leaders Cathy Douglas and Brian Wales.
Species Observed : 53 4 Checklists 4 Species with Photos Species Observed Show all details Native or Naturalized 196 Canada Goose Checklists 3 26 Mute Swan Checklists 2 3 Gadwall Media 2Checklists 2 14 Mallard Checklists 3 6 Mourning Dove Checklists1 1 Virginia Rail Checklists1 1 Spotted Sandpiper Checklists1 10 Bonaparte's Gull Checklists1 46 Ring-billed Gull Checklists2 3 American Herring Gull Checklists1 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull Checklists1 13 Caspian Tern Checklists3 5 Common Tern Checklists1 89 Double-crested Cormorant Checklists3 7 Green Heron Media1Checklists2 5 Turkey Vulture Checklists3 1 Osprey Checklists1 1 Bald Eagle Checklists1 2 Belted Kingfisher Checklists2 2 Downy Woodpecker Checklists2 1 Merlin Checklists1 2 Willow Flycatcher Checklists1 1 Eastern Phoebe Checklists1 3 Eastern Kingbird Checklists1 4 Eastern Warbling Vireo Checklists1 1 Red-eyed Vireo Checklists1 1 Blue Jay Checklists1 1 Common Raven Checklists1 3 Black-capped Chickadee Checklists1 80 Bank Swallow Checklists1 5 Tree Swallow Checklists2 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow Checklists1 2 Barn Swallow Checklists1 1 Northern House Wren Checklists1 2 Marsh Wren Checklists1 28 European Starling Checklists1 2 Gray Catbird Checklists1 5 American Robin Checklists3 4 Cedar Waxwing Checklists2 2 House Sparrow Checklists1 10 American Goldfinch Checklists3 12 Song Sparrow Checklists4 5 Swamp Sparrow Checklists2 4 Orchard Oriole Media1Checklists1 1 Baltimore Oriole Checklists1 27 Red-winged Blackbird Checklists3 8 Brown-headed Cowbird Media1Checklists1 7 Common Grackle Checklists1 1 Common Yellowthroat Checklists1 2 American Redstart Checklists1 12 Northern Yellow Warbler Checklists2 5 Northern Cardinal
July 4 2026 (Saturday) Rosetta McClain Gardens
Leader: John Nishikawa, Rose Petrich, Jack Alvo.
TRIP REPORT
Rosetta McClain Gardens
Disability Pride Month
July 4, 2026
Co-leaders: Rose Petrich, John Nishikawa and Jack Alvo
Trip report by Jack Alvo
After a week of stifling temperatures, we all woke up on Saturday morning to pouring rain. Would the outing happen? But the rain subsided and nine participants met up with the three co-leaders. Two participants had visible mobility challenges, so we went at our usual slow pace for this outing. And with most participants being new birders, we focused on some of the common bird songs and visual I.D. markings.
A male Cardinal sang from an open perch for a couple of minutes providing good views while in the background, we heard Robins, Song Sparrows and Downy Woodpecker. Then, an Orchard Oriole sang once, an unexpected but welcome surprise.
From the Southwest corner of the park, we viewed a large dead tree. It was visited on and off by two Northern Flickers, a Downy woodpecker, a Blue Jay and a young Merlin.
Then we turned the corner and one participant found the Orchard Oriole high in a tree. With patience and good directions, eventually everyone had a good look at this beautiful male.
Overhead and also while looking over the bluff, we saw a number of Bank Swallows. However, visibility over the lake was very poor.
We took a time out when the rain started up again. After it let up and just before saying our goodbyes, Rose pointed out the nest hole where Northern Flickers were nesting, high up on the trunk. The almost full-size chick poked its head out as you can see from the attached photo. That was a great way to end our outing!
In total, the group found 24 species. Click here to see the ebird list, which includes some additional photos: https://ebird.org/checklist/S367626185
As usual, this was a joint outing by OFO and TOC in our continuing effort to make birding accessible to all.
June 14 2026 (Sunday) Limestone Islands
Leader: Mark Calhoun, Colleen Reilly.
Limestone Islands Provincial Park
Leaders: Mark Calhoun and Colleen Reilly
The two Limestone Islands trips in mid June joined together members from OFO, the Pipits, and Into the Wild for a day on beautiful Georgian Bay. The trip provided respectful viewing opportunities for nesting colonies of American Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Common Tern, and Caspian Tern. Highlights included a huge Bald Eagle nest, as well as twelve Black-crowned night herons with two chicks, a species that is difficult to find in the Parry Sound area.
