Returning home from a week away I read Don Weins' report about a Marbled Godwit
at the HL lagoons and made a beeline for that location yesterday afternoon.
Alas, I could not find that bird and assume it was only observed on Thursday.
I returned this morning and found little change: the shorebird habitat
continues to be excellent but the only notable birds were the two Stilt
Sandpipers and five Short-billed Dowitchers mentioned in Don's report on
Thursday.
I also checked the Schomberg lagoons and, although the first two lagoons have
very high water levels, the third one is almost devoid of water and, at least
this morning, held a decent variety of shorebirds including seven Semipalmated
Plovers, a dozen Pectoral Sandpipers, five SB Dowitchers, and two Stilt
Sandpipers. There were numerous peeps, Spotted Sandpipers, Killdeer, and
Lesser Yellowlegs at both lagoons. HL had one juvenile Greater yellowlegs.
For the record, I made two visits to the Carden Plain while visiting the
Fenelon Falls/Lindsay area last week. Most notable was a group of 4 Loggerhead
Shrikes (a family group, I am assuming - one bird was clearly a juvenile).
They were actively hassling a crow on Monday in a widely branching and mainly
dead tree that I think is an American elm WNW of the Art's Ranch sign and
bluebird box 10. Their focus on this intruder allowed me 15 solid minutes of
good views through my scope. They were in the same general vicinity Friday but
harder to find and not as "concentrated" in one place.
Ron Fleming, Newmarket
To get to the Schomberg lagoons, travel west from Hwy. 400 along Hwy. 9,
which is Davis Drive out of Newmarket. Drive to the lights at Hwy. 27. There
is a Country Style Donuts coffee shop on the NE corner of the intersection if
you need caffeine or a bathroom. Turn left (south), then take the first left
turn you come to (there is Harvest House furniture store at the corner). This
short lane is called Proctor Rd. Drive almost to the end but turn right just
before the Fire Hall and take the short gravel road. Drive to the gate, pull
over so you don't block vehicle access, then walk along the south border of the
fence line until you get to within a few metres of the corner.
You can easily walk over the fence at the bent post or continue a few metres
to the corner and go under the raised fence. Take note that the little path
through the weeds is raised; it would not take much to give your ankle a nasty
turn in the grass-hidden holes on the south side of it.
For those who want to try both lagoons, please check posts about the HL
lagoons from earlier this week for directions to get to that one. To connect
between the two locations, you would leave the HL lagoons and go left (south)
on Old Yonge St. in Holland Landing. At the stoplights beside the Cango gas
station, turn right on Bradford St. Drive to the T-intersection and turn right
onto Holland Landing Rd. Follow this to Bathurst St. and do a quick left, then
a quick right onto the "real" Yonge Street, which runs west into Bradford. You
will soon pass a Beaver gas station on the left (south).
When you see the Riverview Restaurant on that same side of the road (opposite
the blue Bradford sign), signal a left turn. As soon as you cross the short
bridge, take a left onto Canal Road. It sweeps left, then right past a wide
spot in the river where many people fish, then left onto a smaller bridge. At
the bridge you will come to a stop sign where Canal Rd. meets Pumphouse Rd.
Turn right and follow Canal Rd. all the way over to Hwy. 400 (about a 10-minute
drive). You can keep your eyes peeled for Wood Ducks and herons in the canal,
but bear in mind that you really need to drive carefully on this road since it
is very narrow and has no barriers between you and the water. This is not a
neurotic word of caution: Last winter a young mother and her child slid on some
ice and went into the canal; they did not survive.
If you want to, you can follow the whole arc of Canal Rd. until it meets Hwy.
9 or you can turn left at River Rd. (just west of where you go under the 400)
and get to 9 more quickly. Either way, turn right (west) onto Hwy. 9 then
follow my directions for Schomberg above.
From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Aug 27 16:33:18 2006
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From: "Gavin Edmondstone" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 16:35:14 -0400
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Subject: [Ontbirds]Gull 53 and Red-necked Grebes at Bronte Harbour
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This afternoon at Bronte Harbour we spotted a dead juvenile Ring-billed Gull
with a yellow-orange plastic leg band on the left leg. The band has the
number 53 in black. There were no other bands present. Does anyone here know
where this bird originated and who did the banding so that this recovery can
be reported?
The Red-necked Grebes at Bronte Harbour now have no eggs. There are two
chicks about a week apart in age. One week make a big difference in size.
There was no sign of food competition between the two.
Directions: Exit the QEW at Bronte Road (Oakville) and go to the lake. The
grebes are at the east end of the Outer Harbour.
Gavin Edmondstone
Oakville, Ontario
