The frozen turkeys they give away at Honest Ed’s aren’t the only birds that brave a Toronto winter.

Though it’s -10C with the windchill, Emily Rondel cheerfully jaunts through Humber Bay Park, bundled in an army green parka with her Bausch + Lomb binoculars and her scope on a tripod – the essential tools when “birding.”

The urban projects biologist for Bird Studies Canada is truly in her element and becomes easily distracted. Just as she begins to reply to a question about a species of ducks, she pauses and asks: “Is that a red-breasted merganser?”

Rondel says it’s hard to stay focused when she spots flapping wings from the corner of her eye or hears the familiar high-pitch song from the beaks and immediately tries to visually capture them in her lens, making “psshing” calls to attract their attention.

When the geese fly south, Torontonians take their cue that winter is coming. But that doesn’t mean the birders stop. In fact, winter is a prime time for bird-spotting, especially because branches are free of leaves, making things easier to see.

“It’s therapy in nature,” Rondel insists. “If you want to see specialty birds, then come to Lake Ontario. Toronto has a lot to offer. We have over 300 species that visit Toronto over the year and our Christmas bird count was 85 species.”

Birding communities flew into the spotlight a few weeks ago after a photo of a majestic-looking snowy owl crossed its flight path with a Montreal traffic camera.

“They’ve always been a bird that captures people’s imaginations, partially because they are stunningly beautiful,” said Rondel, who is also a member of the Toronto Ornithological Club. “You can see one or two in Toronto during winter. Some winters, there are a lot of them and whenever people have the opportunity to see them, they freak out and understandably. When something bird-like happens on a traffic cam, more people who didn’t realize snowy owls can be seen on a highway get to see them.”

There’s been a boost in snowy owl sightings in Hogtown over the past few years because owls higher up in the (food chain) hierarchy have the territory in the north.

“So they have to come south to find food,” explains Katrina Maurer, High Park Nature Centre’s program coordinator. “That’s why owls in Montreal and Toronto have been seen. However, it’s a cyclical irruption, so we’re planning on seeing fewer of them. Last year, we saw evening grosbeaks, which were these brilliant yellow and black birds and the year before, we had redpolls down from the Arctic.”

A lot of Toronto’s winter feeder birds – chickadees, nuthatches, cardinals, blue jays, woodpeckers and robins – are called the “usual suspects” and can be seen all year. There are also birds that migrate south from the Arctic and stop in Toronto, such as the winter finches and juncos.

In fact, the High Park Zoo became an unofficial temporary home to a pair of bald eagles in Jan. 2014.

Some species are increasing in Toronto, according to Rondel. Peregrine falcons and redtailed hawks are on the rise, as well as ravens. Some at-risk species in Ontario, such as the red-headed woodpecker, have disappeared from the city in the last 15 years.

“It’s the mysteriousness and unexpectedness of (the) winter bird population,” she said. “People think all birds migrate south for the winter and that’s just not true.”

Jay Bond, a 58-year-old Website developer, became serious about birding five years ago, even committing to the hobby on Christmas Day, where he uploaded photos to his birding blog, Northern Shrike, of a great horned owl, European starling and a snowy owl.

While some birders can be competitive, he finds peace spending three-to-five hours each weekend at the Leslie St. Spit. Frigid temperatures often mean more privacy.

“We don’t tell anyone where we find (snowy owls) because there are photographers out there who disturb them, some throw mice at them to get them to fly,” he said. “I got into birding, hardcore, because of winter. It’s exciting to notice these little differences – getting to know their sounds and language that encompasses their behaviour and where you find them. It’s so complex. That’s what I kind of love about it.”

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Where can you go to see the birds in Toronto?

- Colonel Samuel Smith Park

- Humber Bay Park

- Leslie Street Spit/Tommy Thompson Park

- Humber Marshes

- High Park

- Toronto Islands

- Rouge Park

- Sunnybrook Park

- Mount Pleasant Cemetery

- Ashbridges Bay Park

- Claireville Conservation Area

- Lambton Woods/James Gardens/Lambton Park

- Downsview Park

Source: City of Toronto

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TORONTO’S BIRDS OF WINTER

According to the City of Toronto, 249 species can be found in the GTA between December and February.

Most winters, 115 to 120 species can be found within the city limits. Here are some of the winged beauties you can find if you look closely enough:

- Great horned owl

- Redhead

- Snowy owl

- Peregrine falcon

- Bald eagle

- Long-tailed duck

- European starling

- Red-tailed hawk

- Mute swan

- Bufflehead

- Common Goldeneye

- Red-breasted merganser

- Northern Shrike

- Evening Grosbeak

- Gadwall

- Greater scaup

- American robin

- Northern cardinal

- Common redpoll

Source: eBird.com