It’s the perfect winter to take up birding — here’s where to go in Ontario

Unlike warblers and sparrows, which routinely travel thousands of kilometres in their annual migrations, binocular-toting birders in Ontario have to stay close to home this winter. And though trips in search of bucket-list birds are on hold during the pandemic, there’s still plenty of feathered life to be found closer to home, if you know where to look.

According to Marcel Gahbauer, the executive director of the Migration Research Foundation in Ottawa, the best way to observe birds right now is, luckily, also the best way to kick aside any tedium you’ve been feeling while walking through your local trails again and again. Because even small green spaces serve as host to an ever-changing wealth of birds at this time of year. And, since the trees are bare, you’re well positioned to spot them all.

“The variety of species I’m seeing these days in my small neighbourhood forest is awfully similar to what I’d expect to find in a bigger natural area,” Gahbauer says. “Now and into early spring, the best places to see birds in Ontario are not specific locations, but rather types of habitat that almost anyone can access near home.”

So Gahbauer recommends familiarizing yourself with your closest patch of green space, from suburban ravines to lakeside trails to city parks. Treed areas may yield sightings of finches, grosbeaks — graphic yellow and black birds that are unusually plentiful this season — and woodpeckers. Meanwhile, the shoreline of Lake Ontario is a good place to see waterfowl like buffleheads and common goldeneyes, along with long-tailed ducks, redheads and majestic trumpeter swans. “And don’t overlook the gulls,” he adds. “Most people are familiar with the ring-billed gull, but the Iceland gull and glaucous gull are around in small numbers, too.”

Downtown dwellers should also keep an eye out for the dramatic swoops of peregrine falcons and red-tailed hawks, both of which increasingly overwinter in Canadian cities.

And though birds are usually at their most active early in the morning, you can still get out whenever in the day you’re able, says Gahbauer. Patience will lead to more rewards than rising early: the more time you spend, he says, the more you may be surprised by the amount of bird life you’ll find.

“On any given day the number of species you encounter may be modest, but most sites will yield a surprising variety over time,” says Gahbauer, who estimates that he’s spotted 90 species over the course of the year in his suburban Ottawa neighbourhood.

Of course, birdfeeders are a good place to spot blue jays and American goldfinches, but Gahbauer advises paying particular attention to fruit-bearing shrubs like crab apple and buckthorn, which can attract flocks of American robins and cedar waxwings. In addition to yielding more bird sightings, regular visits to your local patches of woodland can also allow you to better appreciate the subtle changes in trees, grasses and shrubs throughout the year, a connection that can be particularly meditative and gratifying in the dark, dreary days of late winter.

“There’s a lot to be gained from appreciating the diversity of our local surroundings,” says Gahbauer, “rather than all flocking to the same few popular destinations. Pardon the pun.”

The Star understands the restrictions on travel during the coronavirus pandemic. But like you, we dream of travelling again, and we’re publishing this story with future trips in mind.