They are late but a large flock has finally arrived. At noon today and for 90 minutes afterwards flocks of Snow Geese, mostly Greater Snows but with some Lessers settled in to the sod farm east of Casselman. By the time I left there were about 35,000 present with another 5000 northeast of St. Rose in a harvested cornfield. I did not notice any other species mixed in with the main flock but with that number there could be a Ross's. I did have a Ross's with the other flock.
There are quite a few young birds this fall, mostly white morphs but you'll see blue morph young as well. These birds are dark gray overall and can be confusing for new birders. There were not many blue morph adults in the flock. There may be an additional flight in the days ahead with possibly another 25-40,000 but numbers vary year to year. If this is the total for this fall it's still impressive. Birds may remain on the sod for the day or head to corn fields for a while and return. Late in the day they leave for area ponds and return in the morning at some point. There were no gulls on the sod today – all were at the dump. When they are on the field check for Lesser Black-backed Gulls (there are many). There are far fewer Great Black-backs. Soon you'll be checking for Glaucous and Iceland as well. Brian Morin Directions: From Ottawa head east on Hwy 417, 8 km past Casselman, to Hwy 138. The sod farm is accessible from Lafleche Rd, 1 1/2 km south. This leads to the landfill. Heavy trucks are constant on this road so use pulloffs for viewing. There is no hunting on these grounds but there is hunting in area fields so geese may be put up in the cornfields from time to time. From Hwy 401, exit at Brookdale Ave. in Cornwall and go left to the end of the street. Turn right to the light and left onto Hwy 138. The area is 30 minutes north. _______________________________________________ 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
