Happy New Year Ontbirders, Today at around 1 pm Dave Moore and I saw three Lapland Longspurs together. They were east of Casselman, on Ste-Rose Rd between Concession Rds 20 and 21. They were not with Snow Buntings. A fourth bird (actually the first one we saw) was nearby but not closely associating with the other three which stuck close together. While it had similar markings and call note, it seemed overall much paler than the other three. It soon took off to join a flock of Snow Buntings that passed by and we did not get a very good look at it. I can't say for sure that it was a Lapland Longspur as it was paler than any illustration I can find of them, but we saw insufficient field marks to say what else it might be. (The other three birds did not join the Snow Buntings.) Directions: Take Hwy 417 east from Ottawa to exit 58. Go north on County Rd. 8 and take the first right, Concession 20. Proceed to Ste-Rose Rd and turn right. A Snowy Owl was nearby, on Concession 20 just east of the intersection with county rd 8. It was perched atop a hydro pole on the north side of the road. (As an aside: it was interesting to note that, against the grey sky, this bird was completely invisible in my peripheral vision even though the pole was clearly visible and it was only 30 feet away.) In Ottawa: The Townsend's Solitaire was at 7 Millbrook Cres. at 10:30. It flew from the large, berry-laden juniper at the north of the house to the top of the linden or basswood tree in front of the house to the south. Millbrook is off Deer Park Rd which in turn is off Meadowlands (north side), just west of the Fisher intersection.In Embrun:The Tufted Titmouse was present at about 11:30 at Manitou Dr. Directions courtesy Chris Lewis: Take Hwy 417 east to exit #79, go south (right) on County Rd. #5 to the intersection of County Rd. #3 and Route 500 West (the sign indicates that Embrun is to the right). Go east (left) on Rte. 500 West, which is actually still County Rd. #3, and look for Manitou St. - the 4th street on your right. #103 Manitou is near the end of the street. Both sets of feeders are visible from the road between #103 and #107. All the best, Bev McBride Ottawa foxsparrow01 at hotmail dot com _________________________________________________________________ Read what Santa`s been up to! For all the latest, visit asksantaclaus.spaces.live.com! http://asksantaclaus.spaces.live.com/_______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
