It was a pleasant morning at Rattray ... no wind ... the gravel bar is holding up nicely and the water levels in marsh are quite high and now is virtually ice-free. Highlights were one Red-throated Loon flying ene along the lake at 6:45 am, two Common Loons and at least five Red-necked Grebes offshore. A flock of 30 Tree Swallow also flying over the marsh heading nne at dawn. One Ruby-crowned Kinglet among least 30+ Golden-crowned Kinglets. At least 8 Carolina Wrens but only one Winter Wren. On the marsh among several dozen Mallards and few Amercan Black Ducks, there were two pairs of Wood Ducks, a pair of Hooded Mergansers, a pair of Buffleheads, three male Green-winged Teal and a Belted Kingfisher was fishing near the marsh outlet. The male Pileated Woodpecker was seen near the upper bridge of Sheridan Creek. Lots of Hairy and Downy and one each of Northern Flicker and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
Directions: Go south down to the end Bexhill which runs south of Lakeshore about 5 long blocks east Erin Mills Parkway; park at the metal gate The marsh and knoll trail start at the bottom of hill from the parking area. This gets you into, more or less, the middle of main area of the marsh. Find a street map to orient yourself and/or follow the the trail map inside the park. For those who want to visit the site for the first time or simply want to know where all the trails area, Mississauga has a map of the marsh and surrounding trails on their web site: 'http://www.creditvalleycons.com/recandleisure/maps/rattray.pdf'. Wayne Renaud _______________________________________________ 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
