A sunrise mission in Mississauga to find my first-ever Blue Jay Three new lifers A golden-hour walk through High Park with coworkers Jordan and Sammie
What began as a quick Axomo business trip to Toronto turned into an unexpectedly rewarding trio of birding stops — each one offering its own taste of late-autumn migration. After flying in, we made a nighttime detour to Niagara Falls , where the misty glow and swirling gulls set the tone for a trip built on unexpected moments. My unofficial goal from the start, though, was simple: finally see a Toronto Blue Jay in its hometown.
Saigon Park set the rhythm early with crisp air, open ponds, and a handful of lifers right out of the gate. High Park delivered the full urban-woodland experience — woodpeckers everywhere, a sentinel Red-tailed Hawk, and a White-breasted Nuthatch determined to steal the show.
But the real storyline followed me across all three locations: waiting, hoping, listening for that unmistakable jay call. When the quest finally came together at Cooksville Creek — first a cautious peek, then a bold announcement, then a peanut victory — the whole trip snapped into place.
Three new lifers, a chilly-but-perfect stretch of sunshine, and a Blue Jay finale I won’t forget.
My first morning in Mississauga started with a brisk walk from the hotel to Saigon Park just after sunrise. The cold air hit hard, but the sky was mostly clear and the ponds were alive with movement. I only had about an hour before meetings, so every minute counted.
The moment I stepped off the path, sparrows started working the brush: juncos, white-throated sparrows, and a particularly photogenic American Tree Sparrow — my first lifer of the trip. I spent longer than planned getting that perfect angle, but it was worth it.
A flock of buffleheads glowed in the morning light, and a passerby stopped to ask what the “little white duck” was. I told him “buffelhead,” and he smiled: “You learn something new every day.” That’s the kind of small moment birding gives you — even on borrowed time.
No Blue Jays yet… but the day was young.
After a full day of partner meetings, my coworkers Jordan and Sammie joined me for a golden-hour walk through Toronto’s iconic High Park. The air was cool, the light soft, and the entire park seemed to hum with late-fall activity.
I called down a curious chickadee for the group, but the real stars were two White-breasted Nuthatches creeping along a massive tree — my second lifer of the trip. A Downy, Hairy, and Northern Flicker rounded out the woodpecker trifecta, and Jordan spotted a beautifully perched Red-tailed Hawk overlooking the valley.
We made our way to the lakeshore as the sun dipped behind the skyline. Mergansers drifted across the water, squirrels stirred in every tree, and although the Blue Jay remained elusive, the walk felt like a perfect reset after a long workday.
This was the moment I had been waiting for — a narrow window before breakfast and our final partner visits. I headed into a tucked-away riparian corridor behind a business park, a strip of trees framing a still, muddy creek. Merlin picked up the species I had hoped for: Blue Jay .
First came the buildup — goldfinches and cardinals calling from opposite sides of the creek, giving me the “yellow and red” before the blue. Then, finally, a distant jay call. I followed it along the tree line, spotting flashes of blue across the water but never close enough for a clean shot.
Time was running out, but on my walk back toward the street, a Blue Jay landed on my side for just a moment — long enough to watch it crack open a seed and to grab a few imperfect photos. Not a portfolio shot, but a perfect lifer moment: my first true Toronto Blue Jay .
