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MANNY RODRIGUES
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Pigeons should take cover. A large Arctic falcon
has been spotted soaring over a Scarborough parking lot snacking on smaller
birds.
A member of the Ontario Field Ornithologists has
confirmed that a white gyrfalcon has been circling the Golden Mile Shopping
Centre, near Eglinton Ave. E. and Pharmacy Ave.
Some people reported first seeing the bird a
month ago. Mark De Abreu, who works in the Golden Mile area, has been a birder
for the past 40 years. He spotted the falcon in the mall’s parking lot. “To see
a white one is like winning the lottery,” De Abreu said.
White gyrfalcons are commonly found in
Greenland, and sightings south of James Bay are rare. De Abreu wanted another
glimpse of the gyrfalcon, so he spent four lunch breaks in a row parked in the
lot, binoculars in hand.
On his fourth stakeout, he got lucky. The
gyrfalcon swooped over the strip-mall and decided to join him for lunch; it had
pigeon.
“Pigeons are pretty much cake” to a falcon, De
Abreu said.
