The Black-Throated Grey Warbler (Setophaga nigrescens) is a small warbler species typically fond along the westernmost slopes of the Rocky Mountains, in areas as far north as British Columbia, south into California and as east as Colorado. Like most other warbler species, the Black-Throated Grey Warbler migrates south to avoid the cold winters, surviving in the warm climate of northern Mexico. This individual however got a wee bit lost and instead ended up in Woodbine Beach Park in Toronto, Ontario. Because these warblers lack the insulating feathers of many northern birds, this individual likely did not survive the harsh northern winters as he was last observed on November 27th, 2020.
As I got to the park there was a sudden lack of wildlife, mainly a few Feral Pigeons and some gull sp. Walking down the trail, I began checking the nearby conifers to see if the Black-Throated Grey Warbler would be hiding. Instead, I soon encountered a parade of photographers, clearly I was in the right place. Instances such as this take much of the fun out of birding and area really more about trying to get that "perfect shot' than it is about being there enjoying, and really experiencing a rare and beautiful animal. The warbler was amongst a banditry of Black-Capped Chickadees which made identification difficult as both species look rather similar from a distance. The warbler would dance amongst the trees moving out of view every so often, triggering a group of photographers to get up and move in order to get their photographs. The Black-Throated Grey Warbler disappeared completely every so often causing many photographers to disperse up to try and track it down. As this was occurring I took the time to photograph some chickadees until I heard an unusual call above me. I turned to see, a mere metre above me, the warbler, he was curiously looking at me as I was it, enjoying our little interaction. I replied to his calls with a casual "Oh that's where you got to" which caught the attention of everyone else around who began to congregate.
The warbler did not seem overly worried about the photographers and likely more focused on trying to find his favorite food of insects, a rarity in winter. He soon flew close to the water, resting momentarily on a chain-link fence before dancing around the adjacent vegetation. During this, one rather vocal photographer made his disappointment clear that the bird was on a fence, himself wanting a more "natural" photograph. To me, aiming specifically for a natural-looking image was a bit of a farce, a bird in an artificially created green space well outside its natural range in the middle of the Canada's largest city. While the photos I took of the Black-Throated Grey Warbler on the fence did not turn out due to his fast erratic movements, I feel if they did I would proudly display them as much as I would if they were in a natural-looking setting. The fence helps tell a story of the bird in an area far from home, taking that away only shortens the story the image tells, removing context.
After the Black-Throated Grey Warbler disappeared again, I decided to check out Ashburnham Park across the street in the hopes of finding one of the local White-Winged Crossbills. Having no success, I met up with my good friend Eric who was admiring the Black-Throated Grey Warbler at the time, and we headed to another location. At the secondary location we soon encountered my lifer; Barred Owl. We were walking down a side trail and soon found ourselves face to face with the owl. Not wanting to spook him as much as we had inadvertently done so, I froze thinking my movements may further stress him out further. When this did not work, him still staring at us, I backed away slowly. He was a difficult bird to avoid as he camouflaged so well amongst the trees and before we knew it, we were right next to him. Luckily we did not flush the Barred Owl and got back to the main trail. Later on, we randomly bumped into the president of Birds Canada and he joined us in finding two Northern Saw-Whet Owls. A rather productive day to say the least.