At the top end of Bathurst Street on Monday, Keith Dunn had nine LESSER YELLOWLEGS and 25 CASPIAN TERNS. Hochreiter Road was very driveable by mid-week but, ironically, the many migrating waterfowl that would draw a birder down that muddy lane are already moving out. On Thursday there were still several ducks in the flooded field on the south side of the road, but not nearly as many as last weekend. Species included N. SHOVELER, BW TEAL, GW TEAL, AM. WIDGEON, BLACK DUCK, and N. PINTAIL. SAVANNAH SPARROWS have suddenly shown up all along Hochreiter Road and Ravenshoe Road in south Keswick, singing "So-so-so, Seeeee Saaaay" from several locations. A BELTED KINGFISHER was heard rattling down the middle of the West Holland River on Thursday. Across the WH River and just north of Bradford there was a similar selection of ducks in the flooded fields south of Line 10 east of Yonge Thursday afternoon. There was also one GREATER YELLOWLEGS present. In that same area, a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER was calling from the woods on the south side of Line 11 Thursday afternoon about a km east of Yonge. Much farther west on Line 11 (just northeast of Beeton) I observed my first VESPER'S SPARROW of the season. The Holland Marsh Wildlife Area was fairly quiet Thursday afternoon but I was escorted to the boardwalk by several Mourning Cloak butterflies and a host of singing SWAMP SPARROWS. On the marsh lookout tower I had excellent views of at least 8 NORTHERN HARRIERS. Two males were demonstrating their spectacular mating displays, doing precipitous roller-coaster patterns in the sky over the expansive marshland. Walking back to my van, I was led off trail by a cacophony of crows that led me to a GREAT HORNED OWL that did not look too happy to be at the epicentre of their raucous din. Kevin Shackleton and I had at least three AMERICAN WOOCOCK doing their aerial displays at sunset Thursday evening near the entrance to Silver Lakes Golf Course in Holland Landing. After my dog and I went back home to watch hockey, Kevin checked the north end of 2nd Concession and had a winnowing WILSON'S SNIPE, first of the year that I know of. This morning, Allan Roitner and I did a walk through the west side of the Seneca College property in King City and had a pair of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS battling for possession of a nesting box with three Tree Swallows (which have already commandeered all of the other boxes). We also observed two WOOD DUCKS perched in a tree, an OSPREY sitting on a nest, and heard a WINTER WREN singing its beautiful song just east of Keele Street. A PINE WARBLER was singing from a tall stand of conifers on the west side of Keele. There was also a big influx of Chipping Sparrows and Song Sparrows in the area to add to the growing symphony of "springed" instruments. The Cawthra Mulock reserve in northwest Newmarket has a pair of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS setting up shop at a bluebird box today along the old fenceline east of the square silo. Along the same row Allan and I heard our first BROWN THRASHER of the season singing his distinctive couplets amid the overnight arrival of a FIELD SPARROW choir. Eastern Meadowlarks were heard singing in several locations. There was also a PINE WARBLER singing from the conifers on the west side of Bathurst just north of the entrance to the reserve. A single WILD TURKEY flew across Bathurst while I was there, looking as if he'd been thrown out of the woods on the west side. Not a graceful flier, the turkey. Tree Swallows, Eastern Phoebe, Song Sparrow, GB Heron, and Killdeer are back in countless locations. Lots of stuff still to come, however... How about that first Yellow-rump, for example? Ron Fleming, Newmarket DIRECTIONS: York Region is just north of Toronto and south of Lake Simcoe. The north end of Bathurst Street is accessed by taking Yonge St. north from Newmarket. About halfway between Newmarket and Bradford there is a stoplight indicating Bathurst St. North. Turn right, then a quick left. Bathurst crosses the RR tracks then runs straight north. Take it to all the way up to the fields north of Queensville Sdrd. and Albert's marina. Hochreiter Rd. is directly west of the road into Albert's Marina and is now driveable. The Cawthra Mulock reserve is about 1 km north of Green Lane on the west side of Bathurst St. Look for the mailbox marked FALCONFIELD and take that laneway westward to its end. The Seneca College campus sits on the north side of 15th Sdrd. in King City. You can park along Keele Street about 1.5 kms north of 15th and walk the Oak Ridges trail eastward. _______________________________________________ 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
