Good Evening I just got back from visiting the Carden Alvar at Kirkfield thanks to Carol and Ian Cannell and besides the usual good company we did come up with a few nice post breeding birds.
We took note that the Bobolinks and Chestnut-sided Warblers are already in winter plummage and also the almost total lack of a "dawn chorus" though the Sedge Wrens, Towhees, Swamp Sparrows and some Grasshopper Sparrows were singing at dawn. Following are some of the highlights and some totals for the day after birding only a few of the roads up there. We spent pretty well the whole morning along Wylie Road on this outing but did bir Shrike Road, Prospect Road, Alver Road East and Rockview Road. Great Blue Herons, Turkey Vultures, Broad-winged Hawk, A. Kestrels, Merlin, a Wild Turkey flushed by a yearling Black Bear, Virginia Rails, Sora Rail, a mixed family group of 7 C. Moorhens including 2 adults, 4 grown young and a very small chick, Sandhill Crane, A. Woodcock feeding on the road in broad daylight, Forster's Tern, Common Loon, 7 Common Nighthawks, 11 R-T Hummingbirds, a family of 4 Hairy Woodpeckers, a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers, Olive-sided Flycatcher, E. Wood-Pewee, Alder, Willow and Great-crested Flycatchers, E. Phoebes, 74 E. Kingbirds, Common Raven, 150+ A. Crows, Warbling Vireo, 3 Loggerhead Shrikes, Eastern Bluebirds, Gray Catbirds, 16 Brown Thrashers including family groups, White-breasted Nuthatch, Sedge and House Wrens, Purple Finches, Golden-winged, Nashville, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated green and Black-and-white Warblers ( this was a mixed flock of Warblers ) soon to move south ?, 28 Grasshopper ( undercounted ), Henslow's, Field, and 8 Vesper Sparrows, 20 E. Towhees, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Baltimore Orioles, 38 E. Meadowlarks and 25+ Bobolinks. A beautiful day to be out and besides the birds and animals we also took note of the large variety of Butterflies along Wylie Road and the many late summer flowers in bloom. Lots of Sweet Clover and Queen Annes Lace alongside th roads and the rushes in the marshes are head high. Directions:- CARDEN ALVAR INCLUDING WYLIE ROAD / THE SEDGE WREN MARSH / PROSPECT ROAD ALONG WITH A FEW AREAS SOUTHWEST OF KIRKFIELD Wylie Road is north of Kirkfield in Victoria County and Kirkfield itself is on County Road 48 east of Highway 12 and well north of Whitby and about 130 km from Toronto if you follow the roads and not a Crow. >From the centre of Kirkfield go north on County Road 6 passing under the Lift >Lock on the Trent Canal and drive about 2 ½ km further north to where the road >curves left or west. On this curve and on your right is McNamee Road, turn >right here onto McNamee and drive east for about 300 yards and you will be at >Wylie Road. This road is about 9 ½ km long ending at Alvar Road (a T >intersection). Birding can be good on Alvar Road as well, either way. The Sedge Wren Marsh is about 5 ½ km up Wylie Road, you can’t miss it as it has the only bridge along the road. Park just to the south of and overlooking the bridge and walk the road. Birding is good all along the road and I find that the best birding happens when you park and walk both ways a km or two from your auto. This is a narrow road with little traffic but be sure to park in such a way as to not block the road or at the gravelled parking areas that you will find at several places along the road as you don’t want to rile up the locals. This is all private property but there really is no need to leave the road, nor should you. Please respect the property rights of the land owners. Other roads to check in the area are Shrike, Curl’s, Dalrymple, Eldon Station, Rockview, Doyle, Palestine, Creek View, and McNamee Road, etc. PS Down Rockview Road just west of Kirkfield on your right along County Road 48. Past the dump road (on your right) you will come to a wet wood lot that straddles the road. This is a great place for N. Waterthrush. We heard and saw 7 there on May 5/01 and May 4/02. We continue to find the N. Waterthrushes here. Also along here you should find Upland Sandpiper and Grasshopper Sparrow. Prospect Road Marsh Continue south on Rockview Road to Eldon Station Road (the next road) turn right (west) and drive to Prospect Rd. Turn right (north) and drive up to a large marsh. Here you could find many Marsh Wrens along with Sora, Virginia Rail, Common Moorhen, American Bittern, Least Bittern and Green Heron and watch for Osprey, Northern Harrier and Turkey Vulture. If you continue north on this road you will come upon another small marsh and pond just short of County Road 48. Of coarse most of the roads in this and the Wylie Road area can be very productive and it is not a stretch saying you could spend a whole day in the area, I have and do. PPS Wylie Rd south of the Sedge Wren Marsh is good for Upland Sandpiper, Vesper and Grasshopper Sparrows and lots of Eastern. Bluebirds. North of the marsh are the same birds and near the north end of the road watch and listen for Purple Finch, Golden-winged Warbler and Clay-colored Sparrow. Norm Murr Richmond Hill, ON "Sils mordent, mords les" _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
