The 84th consecutive Fall Field Day was held under sunny skies and very mild temperatures. We found a very good total of 156 species, seven of which were at all time record highs. Highest team total was 124 followed by 2 others over 100.
A Le Conte's Sparrow at West Side marsh was the first ever since former organizer TOC moved the venue to Durham region in 1944. Also very unusual was the report of 30 Virginia and 17 Sora Rails calling at Reach marsh in the miidle of the night. We had 2 early Long-billed Dowitchers one of which was on the east side of Cranberry marsh.. The 2 Least Bitterns at Second Marsh were the first for the count in 20 years, There were only 2 small kettles of Broad-wings up at Durham Forest and raptor counts were generally low in the light SW winds. An interesting sighting was of a male Eurasian/American Wigeon hybrid at the causeway near Port Perry. Both Milbert's and Compton Tortoiseshell butterflies were the best reports among other critters. Many thanks to Brian Henshaw plus Kim and Simon for hosting a fun roundup. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - 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 Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
