I took my father-in-law on a tour of local birding hotspots, in the hopes of helping him find some species he had never seen before. At Strathcona Park, we located two of the male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE that have been regular fixtures there recently. We also managed to relocate the COMMON YELLOWTHROAT I first reported last weekend. We next headed to Baxter Conservation Area, finding twenty-three WILD TURKEYS in a field off of Prince of Wales Drive near Barnsdale Road. At Baxter, we relocated the BARRED OWL near the beginning of the Hare Trail, a freshly killed squirrel in its talons. At the Interpretive Centre were DARK-EYED JUNCOS and AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS at the feeders; a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH made a brief appearance. The only other thing of note on our trip was another flock of about thirty WILD TURKEYS off of Corkstown Road near March Road. Happy holidays to you all, and good birding in 2010! Pat DIRECTIONS: - Strathcona Park is located on Range Road, south of Laurier Avenue, across the river from the Rideau Tennis Courts. - Baxter Conservation Area is located off of the 416 at exit 42. Head east on Dilworth Road for 3km, then turn right onto Carter Road. The C.A. is well-signed. _________________________________________________________________ Eligible CDN College & University students can upgrade to Windows 7 before Jan 3 for only $39.99. Upgrade now! http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9691819_______________________________________________ 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/
