On Saturday evening 30 April at 8:50 and again at 9:06 p.m., Eleanor Beagan and I heard a Yellow Rail at the Sedge Wren Marsh on Wylie Road. It was ticking about 20 metres west of the bridge. The next 3-4 weeks are the best time to listen for Yellow Rails as they migrate mainly to the coastal marshes of James Bay.
Least Bittern: one male seen and heard in the cattail marsh on the south side of Canal Lake. See yesterday's photos via my signature link. Loggerhead Shrike: a pair west of Bluebird box 10 on Wylie Road. Some Other Birds: Upland Sandpiper, Wilson's Snipe perched on posts and doing aerial displays, Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern Towhee, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Bluebird, American Bittern, Sora and Virginia Rail heard at Sedge Wren Marsh, one Marsh Wren (not Sedge Wren) at the Sedge Wren Marsh. Sedge Wrens should return soon. Directions: See Ron Pittaway's Carden Alvar Birding Guide on OFO website. http://www.ofo.ca/reportsandarticles/cardenalvar.php Good birding, Jean Iron Toronto ON http://www.jeaniron.ca/2011/cardenalvar.htm _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
