January 30th, 2025

By: David King

A fascinating eBird report caught my eye at the beginning of the week; a Greater White-fronted goose had been seen and photographed at Rouge Beach Park on the border of Toronto and Durham region. Not only that, but a Cackling Goose AND a Tundra Swan were also reported at the same location, with pictures. This triple rarity treat was too tantalizing to ignore, and Monday morning I was off and running to track them down. Heartbreakingly, I missed out on all three by mere minutes. However, keep reading to learn more about where to look for these birds at this location, and tips on how to identify them, as both the Cackling Goose and Tundra Swan can be tricky to identify with certainty for reasons I’ll explain below.

Getting to Rouge Beach Park

Rouge Beach Park is a location I’ve birded several times in the past, but never before in the Winter. It is conveniently located on the Lakeshore East GO Train line, which is my preferred way to get there from where I live.

The actual area of the park that you’ll be searching in is at the mouth of the river, right before the path turns under the train bridge, leading to the marsh. See map and numbers below for additional information:

1. Main search area. Some open water in the river and some ice sheet where majority of sightings occur.
2. Canada Goose raft off the beach. I spoke with another birder who said that the Greater White-fronted Goose was spotted in this flock.
3. Marsh area. This is all frozen over at the moment so don’t worrry about looking North of the train bridge.

Now lets talk about the species that we’re looking for…

Greater White-fronted Goose

For most, this will be the most exciting individual to see at this location. This goose typically breeds in the far northern stretches of Canada, Siberia, and Greenland, with scattered populations Wintering in some Southern US States, Mexico, various parts of the UK / mainland Europe, as well as South Korea and Japan. In North America, they favour a migration route that takes them through the center of the continent, which means most do not travel through Ontario. Still, consistent reports crop up every year in the Winter, with the Rouge Valley seemingly being a hotspot for this rare and localized migrant. Identification is usually straightforward, as the white band around the orange beak and the overall gray plumage sets it apart from typical goose species in Ontario. Look for this in the river mouth or the raft of Canada Goose close to the beach. I didn’t have luck seeing this on my outing, but it was seen before I arrived on the 26th, and also on the 27th and 28th.

Cackling Goose

This is another goose that breeds in the far North of Canada and Alaska, and typically occurs in the central or West coast regions of North America. However, sightings are uncommon but reliable on the East coast and around the Great Lakes as well. These can be very difficult to separate from Canada Geese in the field, particularly in Ontario where we can expect the Richardson’s subspecies, which (in my opinion) is most similar to the Canada Goose plumage wise. Size is very important to consider; Cackling Geese are smaller with more diminutive features such as a stubby neck and bill. There is some overlap between the largest Cackling Goose and the smallest Canada Goose size-wise, and size can be difficult to judge at a distance, so be careful and consider the proportions of candidate birds closely. Frustratingly, I may very well have spotted this individual in the large Canada Goose raft just off the beach through my binoculars, but when I tried to get my camera on it for a picture, I failed to relocate it. Some other birders have seemed to have luck spotting it in the mouth of the river, where the water is calmer, and hundreds of geese aren’t constantly rolling in the waves.

Tundra Swan

Also known as a Bewick’s Swan if you’re European. This is an uncommon but reliably spotted Swan in Ontario, most likely to be confused with Trumpeter Swans. They are quite similar in build and plumage, but Tundra Swans have yellow lores (the small patch between the bill and the eyes) which sets them apart from Trumpeters, which have a completely black bill. In cases where this is not visible, such as when the swan is sleeping, you can use size to judge; Tundra Swans are smaller. This works best if other Trumpeter Swans are sleeping close by, be cautious in other scenarios. Again, the river mouth will be your best bet of seeing this beautiful species.

Other Suggestions

A final few words of advice, be prepared to pick through lots of Canada geese if you can’t locate these targets quickly in the river. There are probably thousands of them in large rafts along the lakeshore, and despite my best efforts I didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary in these flocks. It also seems that most sightings are early in the morning, before 8:30-9:00. Arrive as early as you can; as I alluded to earlier all three of these birds were seen before 9:00 on the 27th when I visited, but I missed them arriving at 10ish. Sightings have been consistent all week, so if you haven’t yet visited it may be worth the trip down to Rouge Beach. If nothing else, I had a great day out in some fair and sunny weather, and I got to enjoy the beautiful Northern shore of Lake Ontario.

Good luck to those who decide to go searching!

Until next time,

-David