Good evening Today Margaret Liubavicius, Ian Cannel and I birded the Toronto Islands and though we did not have a fallout we certainly benefited by the increase in numbers and species. It was a beautiful day to be out with a light northerly wind to start and overnight and it promised to be a birdy day. Following are some of the 82 species we found along with some of the numbers. Horned Grebe, Hooded Merganser, Solitary Sandpiper, 3 Black-billed Cuckoos, Belted Kingfishers, 9 Flycatcher species including 5 Olive-sided Flycatchers, 5 E. Wood Pewees, 29 Least Flycatchers, 8 E. Phoebes, 14 Great-crested Flycatchers and 20 E. Kingbirds, 21 warbling Vireos, 12 Red-eyed Vireos, Hermit Thrush, 20 Gray catbirds, Carolina Wren, 8 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, 50+ Cedar Waxwings, 22 Warbler species including Tennessee, Chestnut-sided, 63 Magnolia, Cape May, 32 Yellow-rumped, Blackburnian, Pine, Blackpoll, 11 Northern Waterthrush, 1 adult female Connecticut, 2 Mourning, 7 Wilson's, and 10 Canada Warblers, 1 early White-throated Sparrow, 41 Baltimore Orioles. A good day with even better ones to come in the next 2 weeks. Directions:- TORONTO ISLANDS (Wards Island to Hanlans Point - without side trips is 5 km) --- We did 9.4 kms on The Islands today, about average if not birding behind the airport on Hanlans Point. To get to the Toronto Islands from Queen and Yonge Streets on the TTC. If your on the subway southbound stay on it and get off at Union Station, walk south about 1 km to the ferry docks at the foot of Bay Street at Queens Quay and you are there. If in an auto on the Gardener Expressway or on Lakeshore Blvd, then exit at Bay Street and drive south to Queens Quay, there are lots of parking lots nearby (fee). There is a fee for using the island ferries ($6.00 adult / $3.50 for seniors & students) and to find out the sailing times you can phone (416) 392-8193. There are washrooms on the islands as well as the city side at the ferry docks and you can pick up a schedule at the docks or check on line. The 1st boat to Wards Island (my preferred starting point) is 6:35 am and the 2nd is 7:00 am Monday to Friday. The 1st is at 6:35 am and the 2nd boat is at 7:15 am on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays. The 1st boat to Hanlans Point is 8:00 am and the 2nd boat is at 8:30 am Monday to Friday. The 1st is at 8:15 am and the 2nd boat is at 9:15 am on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays. If arriving in early am you must obtain your ticket from a machine just inside the gate so be sure to have $1.00 and $2.00 and/or 25 cent coins before you arrive at the docks as there is no place to get change and the machine does not make change. (There is a change machine there if you want to chance it). There are coffee shops across from the ferry docks in the building on the northwest corner and they are open early. food and beverages on The Islands when open are very expensive i.e. soft drink $3.00 plus. For a detailed ferry schedule check the following web site. For a detailed ferry schedule check the following web site. http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/springschedule.htm Norm Murr Richmond Hill, ON --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Eliminate annoying spam! My mailbox is protected by iHateSpam, the #1-rated spam buster." http://www.ihatespam.net