Good company and some good birds helped to counterbalance this morning's oppressive heat as Bruce Brydon and I did some local birding around Newmarket before 9:30 a.m. At the first of our two stops the only bird of note was a male Eastern Bluebird on a trail that runs east from 2nd Concession just south of Queensville Sdrd. on the eastern edge of Holland Landing. Our second stop, in NW Newmarket, was more productive. In the fields north of Miller Sdrd., between Bathurst and Dufferin Streets, we had at least two Grasshopper Sparrows (they are ventriloqual, to be sure), two Clay-coloured Sparrows, two Brown Thrashers, a Black-billed Cuckoo, numerous Bobolinks, and a few Eastern Meadowlarks. In the wooded area nearby we had also had two Mourning Warblers, an Eastern Towhee, and lots of mosquitos. There are Alder Flycatchers in the open areas here too, but we did not find them today (partly due to the fact that excessive stops usually translated into excessive bites). This area is reached by taking a long walk into the fields east of Dufferin Street. A few kms north of Hwy. 9, Dufferin passes Miller Sdrd. and goes down a small hill. At the base of the hill there is a little gate on the east side of the road that prohibits motorized vehicle entry (look for the sign). Hiking, however, is permitted. By parking here and walking east along the path, you will quickly come to the northern boundary of a small landfill site (it will be on your right, appearing as a garbage-topped mound). Go left at the dirt circle there (carved into the ground by the aforementioned "prohibited motorized vehicles") and go up a small hill. By walking steadily northeast along the perimeter of the wooded area there, you will easily see the grassy fields from the hilltop. You have to go down a big hill, then through some old farm gates (lying dilapidated and open) to get there, so keep walking along the edge of the woods, listening for birds. There are usually some warblers (Yellow, Yellow-throated, Nashville, and Chestnut-sided being most likely) in the woods here, as well as a few other passerines. On your left a hydro line runs diagonally to the northeast on the other side of an old fenceline. Eventually you will come to where that old fenceline opens and a path clearly runs northward. This path descends into a scrubby bottomland area that is best for the Clay-coloured Sparrows and Alder Flycatchers. Back at the "main" eastern path-line just past this point, you will see the remains of a square silo with a tree growing out of it. This is the general area where we had the cuckoo, thrashers, bobolinks and grasshopper sparrows. These birds should be singing in the early morning hours but there are no guarantees. Last weekend in the very same area I heard no meadowlarks and no cuckoo at all. At this time of the year, birding-by-ear skills are extremely helpful because of the steadily thickening foliage and the much more secretive behaviour of birds when they are on territory. If you are the type who is not content with "just hearing" the birds, you may find such a walk frustrating because you will hear them far more often than you will see them. Also, too much chasing after them can be stressful for you and for them. Zen and de-caf may help. Ron Fleming, Newmarket From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Jun 11 11:28:54 2005 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from web88009.mail.re2.yahoo.com (web88009.mail.re2.yahoo.com [206.190.37.196]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 4E96E64D86 for <[email protected]>; Sat, 11 Jun 2005 11:28:54 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 91135 invoked by uid 60001); 11 Jun 2005 15:48:43 -0000 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Received: from [70.28.198.110] by web88009.mail.re2.yahoo.com via HTTP; Sat, 11 Jun 2005 11:48:43 EDT Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2005 11:48:43 -0400 (EDT) From: RON FLEMING <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: OFO Bird Sightings <[email protected]> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1 Subject: [Ontbirds]One clarification re: Newmarket post X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2005 15:28:54 -0000
At one point in my post I mentioned some warblers and included a reference to "Yellow-throated". This is NOT a reference to Yellow-throated Warbler; it should say Yellowthroat, as in Common Yellowthroat. Just wanted to clarify this before anyone got excited. Ron Fleming, Newmarket From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Jun 11 12:13:22 2005 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from smarthost1.sentex.ca (smarthost1.sentex.ca [64.7.153.18]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B2E4A641D6 for <[email protected]>; Sat, 11 Jun 2005 12:13:22 -0400 (EDT) Received: from granite.sentex.ca (granite-64.sentex.ca [64.7.153.1]) by smarthost1.sentex.ca (8.13.3/8.13.3) with ESMTP id j5BGWvci008637 for <[email protected]>; Sat, 11 Jun 2005 12:32:57 -0400 (EDT) (envelope-from [EMAIL PROTECTED]) Received: from terryosb (p40l1llp-d4-dynamic.xDSL-1mm.sentex.ca [67.43.136.41]) by granite.sentex.ca (8.12.10/8.12.10) with SMTP id j5BGX4i0049897 for <[email protected]>; Sat, 11 Jun 2005 12:33:06 -0400 (EDT) (envelope-from [EMAIL PROTECTED]) Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "Terry Osborne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Ontbirds" <[email protected]> Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2005 12:32:36 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2527 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2527 X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.51 on 64.7.153.18 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1 Subject: [Ontbirds]Dickcissel in Bronte X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2005 16:13:23 -0000 The Dickcissel and possibly the Dickcissels was still present at the = below listed directions as of 9:30 am today. It is believed that there = are at least 2 singing males at this location determined by the fact = that two separate groups of birders were simultaneously observing = closely two different birds 500 feet from one another. One at the hydro = pole with the double guy wires as described previously and a second = male some 500 feet or so north of that location near a dead elm tree at = the bend in the trail. Terry Osborne Directions: The hydro right-of-way extends directly south of Tremaine Road, which is west of Hwy 25 (Bronte Rd) on Dundas St., very close to the Burlington/Oakville boundary. The turn-off for parking, a road with a chain across it, is on the south side of Dundas EAST (not west, as in the original post) of Tremaine Rd. about 150m away. A large "local attractions" highway sign is right beside it on the south side of Dundas. Park and walk the road/tractor path south. It turns east, south, then east again to join up with the hydro right-of-way and the Bronte Park horse trail. Continue south to the hydro pole with two guy-wires; it is the 12th pole south of Dundas. The bushes and trees directly after and to the left of the trail at this point, where it makes a short detour to avoid a gully, was where the bird was singing. It preferred the bare branches on the south-east side of the trees. I saw no sign of a metal sign with a number 85 on it, but if you walk farther down the path, you come to a big Trans-Canada Pipeline on the left with a big #14. You may need to search this whole area. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Jun 11 12:26:20 2005 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from fep2.cogeco.net (smtp.cogeco.net [216.221.81.25]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 71B6763EA6 for <[email protected]>; Sat, 11 Jun 2005 12:26:20 -0400 (EDT) Received: from [24.141.166.69] (d141-166-69.home.cgocable.net [24.141.166.69]) by fep2.cogeco.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 960A72BC1 for <[email protected]>; Sat, 11 Jun 2005 12:46:09 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2005 12:46:09 -0400 From: Ken Newcombe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0.2 (Windows/20050317) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en To: OFO Bird Sightings <[email protected]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Subject: [Ontbirds]Bronte Dickcissel X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2005 16:26:20 -0000 I observed the bird in the same place as most of the previous sightings (near the hydro pole with the two guy wires about 9 poles from Dundas St.) from about 6:40-9:00AM this morning. However as I entered from Dundas Street at the wood lot with the chain across the entrance I heard a Dickcissel sing once but did not see it. When I arrived at the hydro pole the bird was present and singing. As birders arrived throughout the morning there were five separate reports of a Dickcissel singing at or near the woodlot at about the same time one was at the pole suggesting two birds are present. Also present were two Yellow Billed Cuckoos and a Willow Flycatcher. Directions as from Joyce LeChasseur Directions: Dundas street west of hwy 25, just east of Tremain road. You can park on the south side, there is a small pull off area with a chain across the drive. Walk the hedgerow path along the hydro corridor south until you reach a large open area where the hedgerow stops for a bit. This is the traditional spot where the Grasshopper Sparrows are. There is a pole on your right with the number 85 on a metal plate. The bird was singing from a tree about 20 feet up on the east side of the path and was very approachable. -- Ken Newcombe Dundas, Ontario, Canada -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.6.7 - Release Date: 6/10/2005
