Thickson's Woods

After work the other day, a colleague and I stopped by Thickson's Woods in Whitby to check out the local avifauna.  This site is a small remnant patch of old growth forest, one of the only of its kind adjacent to the Lake Ontario shoreline.  It has many very large white pines and various deciduous trees.  The site certainly stands out in stark contrast to the surrounding lands of Whitby!

Although we didn't see anything rare on our outing, we did see a good assemblage of songbirds including hermit thrush, pine warbler, yellow-rumped warbler and the first brown thrasher that I have seen this season.

We also saw tons of red-necked grebes in breeding plumage, carrying out courtship displays with one another and being quite vocal.  

Nearby we also found American woodcock and Virginia rail.

Winter Wren

Red-necked Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Here is a short clip of the Virginia rail.  They are really skittish!  They are also very skinny, hence the saying "thin as a rail".