Hi Ontbirders, With the week of cold about to end I thought I would pass on some more woodcock info from Presqu'ile. Since my 5 April posting (7 live, 1 dead) I have made a few trips to the same sites to see how the woodcocks faired in this prolonged cold snap, and I get the feeling they didn't do well. On 6 April I saw nine live birds in 1.5 hours, plus one dead. None looked perky and the two that flushed didn't seem to go up with the usual vigor. The dead bird was on lying on its side at the edge of a ditch and was totally starved - the keel of the sternum projects like a knife blade - but otherwise appeared unharmed. Today (8 Apr) I went around checking many of the same sites and saw only three birds - two of which had drooping wings and didn't look good, although I realize health can be difficult to assess from observation only. I have to wonder if the "missing" woodcocks are now dead. I guess the genes to get north first took a substantial hit this year. If it warms up tomorrow as promised, there will be no more concentrating influences and the surviving birds will disperse.
On a brighter note, I saw a beautiful, crisp looking adult Northern Shrike at the Beach 2 road today (8 Apr.) as well - likely one of the last of this winter. Finally, thanks to the several people who alerted me that my computer date was wrong - I now have a new battery and am back in the present day! Cheers, Doug McRae Doug McRae <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
