David Hallett did Rattray Marsh yesterday afternoon and it was very luck-luster. This morning from 7:15 to 8:45 a.m. was a totally different story. Along Turtle Creek where it crosses Bexhill I found 3 Black-crowned Night-herons, 3 Purple Finches, two Red-bellied Woodpeckers and one Yellow-rumped Warbler. At Rattray Marsh, at the bottom of the hill off the parking area there were a total of 8 Yellow-rumps in three small groups with as many Golden- crowned Kinglets feeding at the tops of balsam poplars. In the flooded area just across the boardwalk near the pumping station I found a male Black-throated Green Warbler. On the marsh there was a Common Moorhen along the dense edge of cattails at the very northern-most end of the marsh ... it was weaving in and out of the cattails and often lost from view. Sparrow-wise a descent, but modest, showing: Song, Lincoln, Swamp, Fox and White-throated, all in small numbers. Single Caspian Terns were seen over the marsh and on the lake off Turtle Creek. Off-shore, small numbers of Common Loons, Red-necked Grebes and Horned Grebes.
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. Glenleven Park is located on the west side of Bexhill about half way between Lakeshore and Nautalix ... down stream you can bird a large part of the floodplain from the road. 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 [email protected] 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
