Hello fellow birders, I have been checking the sod farms & fields between Alliston & Beeton 3 - 4 times a week in the last few weeks. There were a few black bellied plovers on the 11th line, on the south side just east of the Tottenham Rd a week ago. The field they were in dried out rather quickly & I have seen nothing noteworthy since then & not reportable. On the North side of the 11th line, almost the entire length, the fields have been harvested & flattened creating huge mud flats. A smaller field on the south side by the Tottenham Rd has been left in the same condition. This field is where half a dozen black bellied plovers & pectoral sandpipers were located last week. Yesterday all of these fields were wet but not saturated & without birds. Today I went back at 4PM after much rain overnight & today & the entire stretch between the Tottenham Rd & Sideroad 10 is now ideal habitat for shorbirds. There were hundreds of Peeps, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Black Bellied Plovers, Pectoral Sandpipers, Killdeer, Gulls, Ducks & many more I couldn't identify as a downpour hit with a vengance. Just before it hit I was almost certain I had a Whimbrel. I did not have my scope out, I was still in my car in an Oh Wow mode so am unable to confirm the Whimbrel. It had the right Jizz, size, shape & that long downturned bill, Whimbrel was my first thought but without the scope I will not confirm it. It was in the field immediately east of firelane 6300 about half way back. This habitat is large & will probably remain great for Shorebirds until the fields start to dry up. There were flocks arriving as I was there, a wonderful sight. Directions: The 11th Line of New Tecumseth runs East & West North of Beeton. From HWY 400 exit at HWY 88 north of the Holland Marsh & travel east to the 10th Sideroad (the Beeton Rd). Turn North or right & go through the town of Beeton to the 11th Line. Turn West or Left & the fields start immediately on your right or the North Side. From HWY 9 go East from Orangeville to the Tottenham Rd (East of HWY 50). Turn North or Left & go through the town of Tottenham until you reach the 11th Line. Turn Right or East & the fields on the left are good, the first field on the Right or South side is the only good field on the South side. _______________________________________________ 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/
