Parkway Trail & Lakefield lagoons buzzing with bird activity

Red-tailed Hawk and Common Raven soaring together (Luke Berg – Oct. 20, 2013)

juvenile Bald Eagle (by Luke Berg, Oct. 20, 2013)

On Sunday, October 20th, I led a group of 10 birders on a short outing to see what species we could find along the Parkway Corridor, the Otonabee River and at the Lakefield Sewage Lagoons. The bird activity at the Cumberland Drive end of the Parkway was quite impressive with dozens of robins, Cedar Waxwings and both Hermit and Gray-cheeked thrushes feeding on the Wild Grape. The Cumberland-Hilliard section of the Parkway is always a hive of bird activity, especially during fall migration when the abundant grape crop helps fuel the migrants’ flight southward. What a tragedy that it will probably be sacrificed to road development. Later, along the Otonabee, we picked up Common Merganser and Double-crested Cormorant. The sewage lagoons at Lakefield were full of ducks, including a dozen Bufflehead, a half-dozen Common Goldeneye, at least 100 Lesser Scaup, three Redheads, three Gadwall, three Greater Scaup, a dozen Mallards and a Hooded Merganser. A Pied-billed Grebe was also present. Our most exciting observations, however, were two Bald Eagles (an adult and a juvenile) soaring overhead, a Peregrine Falcon that flew past at close proximity and a Red-tailed Hawk soaring side-by-side with a curious Common Raven. All of these latter species were seen quite well. The bright sun and still-impressive leaf colour added to our enjoyment of the morning.