May 16 2018 Ward’s Island, Toronto ON. I’m occasionally asked to name my favourite bird; I can’t but I bluster around the question and come up with vague answers. But last year it came to me that while I don’t have an absolute favourite bird species, I think I might have a favourite family of birds, the vireos. Apparently a good answer for what’s just small talk anyway.
Today was a vireo day for me, we saw several Warbling Vireos, heard and perhaps saw one Red-eyed Vireo and spent several minutes at close quarters with a Philadelphia Vireo. Sorting one vireo species from another can be tricky and maybe that’s what endears them to me. I suspect though that Bob, a visiting British birder, found them to be dull fare compared to the many dazzling warblers we showed him. I’m sure for him our May warblers were a perplexing group: mostly small, often yellow with-something-else, and never staying still long enough.We assured him that the glorious male Black-throated Blue Warbler was a very good find but was not to be confused with an equally glorious male Black-throated Green Warbler which was sharing a tree with Yellow-rumped Warblers not far from a briefly seen Canada Warbler.Thank goodness though for Yellow Warblers who are exactly as named, bright yellow.
Eastern Kingbirds and Great Crested Flycatchers seemed to make a good impression on Bob, probably because the flycatchers of Europe are mostly small and inclined to the drab. Then just to confuse the issue we showed him one of our own drab ones – a Least Flycatcher (which at first blush you might confuse with vireos – another problem).
And so it went on: perhaps thirty entirely new birds, some as noted above but also Grey Catbirds, Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, a House Wren and Northern Cardinals. And there were a few which, like Tree Swallow, Cedar Waxwing and Double-crested Cormorants, were easily recognized for being closely related to similar European species, and a small group of familiar faces common to both continents: Barn Swallow, European House Sparrow and Herring Gull.
But while Bob’s head may have been spinning (I’d told him months ago that May 16th would be peak migration and to expect the best), I was especially enjoying those vireos. And this one, our close up Philadelphia Vireo was My Bird of the Day.
A little late in replying but many thank for the morning’s birding with yourself and Barry. Your comments just about sum up my amazement at all these LBJs; all either yellow or seemingly nondescript! No doubt, I would have been completely lost without your support and identification. Now I have to get on with the photo downloads and editing, etc. A great day and I continue to enjoy your wonderful reports with just the right and approprioate background comment. Keep it up Peter; I’m sure that your efforts are much appreciated by all who read your birding contribution.