Ron Fleming and I sought the bounty of last night's north winds on the Eastern Lakeshore today and enjoyed over 60 species. Thickson Woods had a very nice mixed flock feeding along the Lakeshore, including 13 species of warbler, the best of which was a first Fall Prairie Warbler. Other species seen at Thickson included Scarlet Tanager, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Great Horned Owl, Coopers Hawk, Great Crested Flycatcher and Olive-sided Flycatcher. A couple of Solitary Sandpipers were at the creek. On the way to Cranberry Marsh, we stopped at Sobey's Pond and saw several Baird's Sandpipers. At Cranberry, we stopped at the south platform in time to see the Peregine already reported by Doug Lockrey then walked to the beach where we had another nice warbler flock of 11 species.
To reach Thickson's Woods exit from the 401 to Thickson Road South in Whitby. The Woods are at the foot of Thickson Road, on the East side. 'Sobey's Pond' is a flooded area south of the Sobey's warehouse in Whitby. Exit the 401 at Brock Street and go south to Victoria Street and turn right. Then, turn right at the second set of lights onto Gordon, then turn left at the first road (Nordeagle). The Sobey's warehouse will now be on your right side and the fields on your left. (Note that there are now several more flooded areas a little further over to the west side of this block). To reach Cranberry Marsh, continue West on Victoria and turn south on Halls Road, just past Lynde Shores. Ian Cannell Concord, Ontario.
