My final tally for the day was 26,000 over Cornwall. Another 6-7000 were reported earlier in the morning near Ingleside and because of the timing they weren't part of these flocks. The two-day total stands at well over 60,000 in the region and we almost certainly missed a few tens of thousands. None of these birds would be double-counted because all were migrating through and would not have retraced their flight. Checking in on the birds in New York State south of Lake Ontario this morning, there were only a few thousand left there so this was the bulk of the flight. Now it remains to be seen where the birds will spend their time in the weeks ahead.
I managed to find one massive grouping in fields east of Williamstown late this afternoon. If yesterday's birds located elsewhere, then these may well have been the bulk of today's flight. I didn't bother counting because it would have been doubling the numbers but there were likely 20,000 at least. After a few days of settling in, whatever birds remain in the region will begin to move around quite a bit so it will be a cat and mouse game to see where they set down on a daily or even hourly basis. For now, this particular location is quite appealing, having a large two-field spread with some wet areas and sections of corn stubble. Brian Morin Cornwall Directions: Take Hwy 401 east past Cornwall to the Summerstown Rd. exit (#804). Turn left over the 401 and head 5 km north to Cty Rd. 19 (there's a stop sign immediately after the bridge. Turn right on 19). Head east to Williamstown and in Williamstown turn right after the bridge (John Street). Continue a kilometre outside town and watch the fields on the curve in the road and around the bend. If this location doesn't work out, you could proceed to Cty Road 34 and head left (north) to see if any are south of Green Valley. There could be some along the river from Lancaster east to the Quebec border, checking south of Bainsville in particular (use the south service road here, not Hwy 401). Barring that, there are often flocks along autoroute 20 (continues from 401) in the first 10-15 km inside the Quebec border. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
