The number of Greater Snow Geese east of Casselman (30 minutes east of Ottawa) has grown to about 13,000, about 1/7 of what may be there later this month. There were no other obvious species present but only birds that were within a reasonable scope distance could be carefully checked.
There are also several thousand gulls in the area, mainly Herring. A number of adult Lesser Black-backs are easy to pick out on the field with a scope and there are a few Great Black-backs. A careful search of the gulls could reveal a few dozen Lessers of various ages. This is one of the best locations in Ontario to see a large number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls at one time. A couple of years ago I had nearly 100 adults and numerous individuals of other ages. Brian Morin Directions: from Ottawa take Hwy 417. Exit east of Casselman at Hwy 138 and head south a short distance to Lafleche Rd. During the week there is regular traffic on Lafleche Rd. with heavy trucks heading to the dump. There is no traffic on Sunday. _______________________________________________ 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
