Thickson's Woods and Lake Ontario

I've finally had the chance to do some afterwork birding this week. Yesterday, it was Cranberry Marsh. Today, Thickson's Woods.


@ Cranberry Marsh yesterday. The marsh was very quiet. A short walk to the shore of Lake Ontario revealed a lot of activity despite choppy waters. RED-NECKED and HORNED GREBES, COMMON and RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, BUFFLEHEADS and a pair of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS were the main waterfowl but once again the highlight was a swarm of swallows way offshore. Midges have been hatching and the swarms are quite large now, perfectly co-ordinated with the influx of swallows and ( hopefully ) the other migrants that will be arriving soon.
Just like last time, I was also able to observe a behaviour I've never seen before; the swallows were picking midges off the water surface. In some cases, the swallows seemed to land on the crest of a wave, pick off an insect and take off again. Very cool to see. The swallow swarm seemed to be mostly TREE SWALLOWS and BARN SWALLOWS.

@ Thickson's Woods today. Thickson's Woods is arguably the best site for migrating songbirds on the north shore of Lake Ontario ( up there with Tommy Thompson Park aka the Leslie Street Spit ). Most of the songbirds have not arrived yet. Only some early migrants were present, primarily HERMIT THRUSH and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. I only had time for brief walk but it was worth it. Can't wait for the next few weeks !!!