Whimbrel lakewatch along beach from Oshawa Second Marsh into Darlington Provincial Park 5:40- 7:50am. Visibility only about 1km offshore due to fog bank.
6 Flocks totally 282 birds. The first flock flew inland in a NW direction over the Mclaughlin Bay barrier beach(6:07am). The next five flocks flew west along the lakeshore (6:15-7:14am). Flock sizes ranged between 3 and 86 birds. The flock of 3 briefly landed on the beach only 150 feet from my seat. Shorebirds (9 species 80+ birds) feeding on the beach included Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, and Dunlin. Parasitic Jaeger Between 6:02am and 6:20am I had a light phase jaeger checking out the 100s of Ring-billed gulls streaming west from the large St mary's cement colony. Arctic Tern 1 bird foraging off the barrier beach from 7:35am and still present when I left. It sometimes would perch on a red marker buoy offshore. Other birds include: Red-throated Loon, 10 Common Loons, white-winged Scoters, Red-breasted Mergansers, Long-tailed Ducks and Common Goldeneye. On the way back to the GM parking lot I checked out Cool Hollow and the Oshawa Second Marsh area. In the marsh itself 2 Least Bitterns, 1 Short-billed Dowitcher, Tundra Swan, 12 Wood Ducks, 1 Ruddy Duck, 15 Black-crowned Night Herons and at least 2 Common Tern nests. Cool Hollow area had 2 Clay-coloured Sparrows, 5 species of warblers including Golden-winged and Blackpoll, and 3 Orchard Orioles Direction: The McLaughlin Bay Barrier beach can be accessed from either Oshawa Second marsh (west access point) or Darlington provincial park (east access point) Oshawa Second Marsh Exit from the 401 at the Harmony Rd. Exit(419) in Oshawa. Go south on Farewell St. Colonel Sam Drive. Turn East onto Colonel Sam Drive and follow to the parking lot at the GM Headquarters. Park in the west parking lot close to the marsh. The east (GM) platform is visible from the NW corner of the lot. To the Barrier Beach head south to the lake and then east along the shoreline For a trail map of the Oshawa Second Marsh area visit www.secondmarsh.com and check the link for a trail map of the area Darlington Provincial Park borders the east side Oshawa Second Marsh/McLaughlin Bay Nature Reserve. To access the campground and park store area from the east.Take the Courtice road exit from the 401 and follow the park signs. There is a small parking lot at the gatehouse. Park here and walk the trail to the south. This will take you into the campground area. The park store is just south of the main office past the main gate. For the Barrier Beach park at the beach parking lot (picnic area 2) and head west along the maintained beach. Tyler Hoar Oshawa _______________________________________________ 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/
