Hello birders. Some more details here on the goldeneye sighting. This bird was reported two evenings ago on eBird. I arrived at about 4:30pm today to look for it. It is not worth arriving before 5:15pm though because some time after that the Goldeneye started streaming in from the north in flocks of 20-50+. Before this I only counted about 10 birds! The ice is open at what is called Washago Centennial Park. There is a small bridge underconstruction here. The birds are mostly in the 300 meters of open water to the south of the bridge. It's possible the birds are spending their day along the river somewhere to the north of Centennial Park, though they seem to be flying in from quite a ways. Another place open to waterfowl in the area is the north end of Lake Simcoe around Orillia, or so I've been told, though I have not been able to check on that yet. The Barrow's is an adult male and does NOT look like it could be a hybrid (which is seen almost annually on the lower Great Lakes now). The gentleman to first report it was David Goodyear and his report looked solid so I followed it up since I was in Orillia. You can see my eBird checklist here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S17204188 Another bird of note was a Red-necked Grebe! Directions: From Hwy. 11 north of Orillia, take the exit onto #169 that brings you into the village of Washago. Take your first right onto Quetton St., crossing the railroad and then park before the bridge. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
