[Ontbirds]Great Egret Hamilton and Niagara Trip
I saw the previously reported Great Egret in the back of the wetland off Valley Inn Road at the beginning of the Hendrie Valley Trail. All three Scoters at Sayles Park, Stoney Creek (in subdivision on east side of Grays Road). Niagara River gull numbers are building. The viewing platform at Adam Beck provides lots of interesting birds, including the California regularly perched on the rocks at the north (downstream) side of the US power plant, Iceland, Glaucous, Lesser-blacked, Thayer's and an oversized Nelson's type (hybrid Herring and Glaucous). No Little Gulls seen anywhere. It was verbally reported that two were seen at the Whirlpool. I also heard rumours of Saturday sightings of the Black-legged Kittywake. Easily (bins - scope a lot easier) saw a Purple Sandpiper on a large solitary moss-covered rock 100 - 150 meters offshore 150 meters upstream from Barge. Reported female Harlequin and male European Common Teal (Green-winged Teal with horizontal white bar in folded wing) were not seen. Awesome Rough-legged Hawk and Northern Harrier activity on Airport Road in Vineland. The Rufous Hummingbird continues. I believe the hosts of the bird ask birders to wait until 9 am before visiting. Directions: Rufous Hummingbird Take the QEW to the Thorold Stone Road exit in Niagara Falls. Now turn left (east) to Dorchester Road, then right (south) one block to Pettit Avenue. Take a left here and continue for about 1/2 km to Sherwood Road (directly across from First Baptist Church on the right hand side). Turn left and proceed one block to Peach Avenue to 4579, the second or third house on your right. Great Egret - Valley Inn - from Plains Road and Highway 403 - west on Plains Road (maybe called York after Highway 6). Less than 1 click turn left off 'Plains' onto Valley Inn Road after crossing single-lane bridge turn left and cross second single-lane bridge. Park at closed gates to Rose Garden. Walk Hendrie Valley Trail 70 meters to lookout. Niagara River - including Adam Beck - QEW to Highway 405 (and Lewiston bridge to USA). Highway 405 EXIT at STANLEY St. Cross overpass and turn right and follow first east to river and a new round-about. Right to Adam Beck and Niagara Falls. Around and downhill to Queenston (sand docks off Dumfries Road) and Niagara-on-the-Lake (aka NOTL). The Barge is upstream from the Falls. Free (seems to change day-to-day) parking was at the Greenhouse across from the Barge and south of the $10 parking lots. Airport Road Vineland - (I need a map atlas) - from Hamilton heading to the River - exit first road past Welland Ship Canal and follow road to Niagara-on-the-Lake cross highway left at lights then right at next lights. Inspect weedy fields just below a secondary escarpment bench (bad geology talk) both sides of road. --- Mark Cranford ONTBIRDS Coordinator Mississauga, Ontario [EMAIL PROTECTED] 905 279 9576 From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Dec 5 11:32:52 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from tomts22-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts22.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.184]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 77DB148B29 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sun, 5 Dec 2004 11:32:52 -0500 (EST) Received: from brucedb4u2q8ov ([70.48.58.31]) by tomts22-srv.bellnexxia.net SMTP [EMAIL PROTECTED] for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sun, 5 Dec 2004 11:36:23 -0500 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Bruce Di Labio [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontario birds ontbirds@hwcn.org Date: Sun, 5 Dec 2004 11:36:20 -0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1 Subject: [Ontbirds]Amherst Island Birding X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 05 Dec 2004 16:32:52 - Hi Everyone Spent yesterday, December 4th birding Amherst Island. Overall, very = quiet, with few hawks and a small number of owls. In the Owl Woods = found two roosts of Long-eared Owls, 6 and 4 birds and no Northern = Saw-whets. On the KFN property at the east end 2 Snowy Owls were = observed sitting in the fields, one close to the road and the other near = the first pond. Drove around many of the roads and counted only 3 = Rough-legged, 1 Red-tailed, 2 Northern Harrier and one Northern Shrike. The biggest surprise was a Turkey Vulture along the Southshore Road = sitting low in a tree sheltered from the strong winds.=20 good birding Bruce Bruce Di Labio 400 Donald B. Munro Drive P.O.Box 538 Carp,Ontario,K0A 1L0 (613)839-4395 Home (613)715-2571 Cell Di Labio Birding Website Courses and Field Trips
[Ontbirds]
Please unsubscribe ontbirds. My computer will be down for a week. thanks Dale Ingrey From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Dec 5 13:58:02 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from smtp101.rog.mail.re2.yahoo.com (smtp101.rog.mail.re2.yahoo.com [206.190.36.79])by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 5E721496B6 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sun, 5 Dec 2004 13:58:02 -0500 (EST) Received: from unknown (HELO doug) ([EMAIL PROTECTED]@24.112.18.37 with login) by smtp101.rog.mail.re2.yahoo.com with SMTP; 5 Dec 2004 19:01:34 - Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Doug Lockrey [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds ontbirds@hwcn.org Date: Sun, 5 Dec 2004 14:03:28 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1409 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1409 Subject: [Ontbirds] Shrike, Barred Owl, Scoter vie for drawing attention away from day 30 for Golden-crowned Sparrow at Cranberry region-Dec.5 X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 05 Dec 2004 18:58:02 - A White-winged Scoter was in the Whitby Harbour, west of the Pringle Creek bridge on Brock St.S. in Whitby in the mid-AM hours A gorgeous sunny morning brought at least 70 people to Hall's Rd. in the morning of Dec.5. Along the north pathway, and later along Hall's Rd., a BARRED OWL was perched. House Finches abound at the feeding station near the roadside entry to the north pathway. Several of us on the platform enjoyed the aerial cavorting of an adult N.Shrike, trying to chase down a Tree Sparrow. Between 0830 and 1130 I saw Goldie 7 times, always coming out to feed on pathway millet not far from the platform. Indeed, twice I saw him come out unaccompanied; otherwise he tended to appear with 3 White-throated Sparrows. Visitors today came from all-over, including New York State, Stratford, Scarborough, Etobicoke and even Toronto!!! Thanks to all who assist those who are anxious to see this bird, a lifer for so very many. I shall continue daily reports as long as I can get down there. From the west exit 401 at Salem Rd. (in Ajax), south to Bayly, east through LakeRidge Rd. to the first street (Hall's Rd.), south to the FIRST roadside parking area (REMEMBER THAT IF GOLDIE DOES NOT SHOW ALONG THIS PATH HE MAY HAVE RETURNED TO THE SOUTH PATH). From the east exit 401 at Brock St. (Whitby), south to Victoria, west to Hall's Rd. Doug Lockrey, Whitby.
[Ontbirds]3 Owl Species, Merlin. Amherst Island
The Owl woods yielded 3 long-eareds this morning but unfortunately no saw-whets. The two juvenile Snowies were out and despite the clear blue skies, a short-eared was flushed from the path along the southern edge of the KFN trail. Red-tails (3), Roughies (3), and a male Harrier were observed as well as a Merlin plucking feathers from a kill on a roadside fence post allowing excellent views. 35 Tundra Swans and around 1000 scaup, both lesser and greater, were floating off the north-eastern tip of the Gravel bar. Iain Fleming
[Ontbirds]Tufted Titmouse, Selkirk Prov. Pk.
Tufted Titmice have become regulars at the feeders beside the banding trailer in the SW part of the park. Up to 4 have been coming in together. There are upwards to at least 10 in the park as 10 were banded there this fall. Away from the feeders the titmice are secretative and often very quiet. It is recommend to bring some peanuts in the shell and put them in the hanging wooden feeder in case the feeders are empty. These titmouse seem to really like the peanuts in the shell. Then sit quietly on the picnic table. The titmice appear a few minutes after the mob of chickadees come in. Since the feeders are only being refilled about once a week in case the feeders are all empty there is bird seed in the oil drum behind the trailer at the edge of the pines but be sure to replace the lid securely other wise the racoons and squirrels will clean the drum out. Also of note the local Great Horned Owl has resumed using it's roost it used last winter. When crossing the Spring Creek marsh on the boardwalk. Stop about the middle and look NW. About 50 metres north of the west end of the bridge along the edge of the marsh is a Norway Spruce, another 50 metres further north is a second Norway Spruce that is more out in the open. Using your bins check out about half way up and in the middle of the north tree. There is a small opening to the trunk. The owl when roosting in the tree sits back in there. The grey-whitish plumage makes it look like the tree trunk but the owl often sits a few inches north of the trunk which is a dark brown. Without using your bins the owl blends in so well it is almost impossible to make out. Please do not try to get closer than the bridge as the owl will take off and head off to the NE where there are some large white pines several 100 metres away and will not return for the rest of the day. Selkirk Provimcial Park is located about 2 miles SW of the village of Selkirk off the Wheeler Rd. John Miles Jarvis, On 1-519-587-5223 Haldimand Bird Observatory
[Ontbirds]Northern Shrike Essex County
Hi Yall Sat. afternoon and Sun. afternoon Dec. 04th and 05th There is a juvenile Northern Shrike on the 6th Concession of the old Colchester South Township. The bird is staying in a small area of scrub brush just west of the McCormick side road and west of lot number 6790. The 6th is located in Essex County. Take County Road 23 south out of the town of Essex turn west on the first road south of County Road 18 [the road to the sanitary landfill]. This is the 6th Concession; continue until the McCormick Sideroad goes south [approx 3.5 kilos]. Continue to just past lot 6790 .The shrike was on the north side of the road hunting in the short trees. It often flew to the west end of the brush and landed in top of the tall trees in west fence line. Gary and Dorothy Balkwill Kingsville [EMAIL PROTECTED] From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Dec 5 16:22:58 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from tomts20-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts20.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.74]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 268CC4A178 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sun, 5 Dec 2004 16:22:58 -0500 (EST) Received: from tony ([67.70.30.95]) by tomts20-srv.bellnexxia.net (InterMail vM.5.01.06.10 201-253-122-130-110-20040306) with SMTP id [EMAIL PROTECTED] for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sun, 5 Dec 2004 16:26:31 -0500 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Tony Beck [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Date: Sun, 5 Dec 2004 16:41:07 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1437 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1441 Subject: [Ontbirds]Ottawa - Snowy Owl X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 05 Dec 2004 21:22:58 - Hello Ontbirders An adult male Snowy Owl was observed this morning, in a field along Earl Armstrong Road. The bird was hunkered in a dirt field southwest of the S curve (near Bowesville Rd.). Other birds of interest today include an adult Bald Eagle flying west over Fallowfield Road. And, this evening, a Northern Shrike chasing an unidentified passerine over Dick Bell Park. Cheerio Tony http://www3.sympatico.ca/beck.tony/ Directions to the Snowy Owl courtesy of Neily World http://members.rogers.com/larry.neily/birding.htm : From Highway 417 (The Queensway) take exit 121A (Bronson Avenue). Go SSE on Bronson for 3.6 km, crossing the Rideau River on the Dunbar Bridge and going over Riverside Drive, before bearing right to take the Brookfield Road exit. In 0.1 km merge right onto Brookfield Road and drive 0.5 km to Riverside Drive. Turn left onto Riverside Drive and go 5.9 km to Limebank Road on the left. Turn left or SSE onto Limebank and drive 5.0 km to Earl Armstrong Road. Turn left or ENE into the Earl Armstrong Road site.
[Ontbirds]White-rumped Sandpipers at Harrow sewage lagoons
I'm posting this on behalf of Randy and Robert Horvath who don't have access to a computer at this time. Early this afternoon they found two White-rumped Sandpipers in the second cell of Harrow sewage lagoons. One was an adult and one immature. No other shorebirds were present except a single Killdeer. This is an exceptionally late record for this species. Good Birding, Adam _ Powerful Parental Controls Let your child discover the best the Internet has to offer. http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-capage=byoa/premxAPID=1994DI=1034SU=http://hotmail.com/encaHL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines Start enjoying all the benefits of MSN® Premium right now and get the first two months FREE*.
[Ontbirds]Owls Gyrfalcon - Kingston
On December 4/04 at Bath there was 1 WINTER WREN, 1 AMERICAN PIPIT and 2 PINE SISKINS in the park at the end of Heritage Drive. On Amherst Island on the KFN property there were 2 SNOWY OWLS, 32 TUNDRA SWANS, 1 NORTHERN SHRIKE and many species of ducks. In the Owl Woods there was 1 LONG-EARED OWL (10 all together Bruce DiLabio et al). On December 5/04 the KFN trip to Prince Edward Point produced 1 RED-THROATED LOON, 6 HORNED GREBES, 2 WINTER WRENS, 2 NORTHERN SHRIKES and many PINE SISKINS. At East Lake there at least 12 LITTLE GULLS and 2 MUTE SWANS. At Adolphustown there were 2 MUTE SWANS and 1 BROWN CREEPER. The highlight of the day was 1 GYRFALCON at the Dupont Plant in Kingston. Good Birding Bruce Justin Ripley 613-544-2872 Bath is located about 2 kilometres west of the Amherst Island ferry dock on the mainland. Look for Heritage Drive on the south side of the highway and drive to the end. There are feeders just on the right and the pipit was along the shoreline. Directions To Amherst Island - Ontario Road Atlas, MapArt Publishing [Pg. 36, E54 E55] Located 18 km. west of Kingston. Exit off Hwy. 401 at exit 593 (County Road 4, Camden East) and drive south to the very end (Millhaven). Turn right on Hwy. 33 and drive 100 metres until you see the sign for the Amherst Island ferry. The ferry (20 minute trip) leaves the mainland on the half hour and leaves the island on the hour. Cost is $5.00 Canadian round trip. There are no gas stations on the island. The East End K.F.N. property is at the easternmost part of the island. Enter through the gate at the south end of the Lower Forty-Foot Road. To reach the Owl Woods, turn left (east) at the four-way stop sign by the general store and drive 3.4 kilometres along Front Road to the (seasonal) Marshall Forty-Foot Road. Marshall Forty-Foot Road is across the road from house #2320. Drive along Marshall Road to the mid-way point, where there is an S in the road (1.2 kilometres , look for the K.F.N. kiosk). Park in the gravel lane or off the road edge. Prince Edward Point - Hwy #62 south from Belleville. Hwy #62 will take you right into Prince Edward County and into Bloomfield. Follow the road out of Bloomfield (which now becomes #33) for about 5 km and you will see a sign for County Rd. #1 (Sandy Beach Rd.), which lies between The Waringhouse Restaurant/Inn and a General Motors dealership. Make a right onto this road until you come to a stop sign and County Rd. #10. Turn right onto #10 and this will take you into Cherry Valley, where you will come to a Stop sign. Turn left and stay on #10, this will take you to Milford. Make a quick left, then right onto County Rd. #9 and head out of Milford. Within 5km you will come to a Stop sign and T junction. The Marine Museum will be to your left and you will make a right onto County Rd. #13. This road will take you all the way to the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area and the Bird Observatory. You will come across one Stop sign along the way, just keep to your left and the shoreline, and you will eventually notice the paved road becomes a dirt road. You will then have entered the Wildlife area and we are but a short 3km down the road. Areas to look for Little Gulls are from the Group Campground along County Road 18 at East Lake, or from the County Road 18 boat launch, exactly 1.2 km east from the park entrance intersection, or exactly .9 km west from the Outlet River Bridge, depending on the direction you are travelling. The Dupont Plant is at 255 Front St.. in Kingston. From the 401 hwy. exit south onto Sir John A. MacDonald (at exit 615 km.) and proceed south to King St. West and turn right (west). Proceed west past Portsmouth Ave. to Cataraqui Bay where King St.. becomes Front St.. and where the Dupont Plant property begins. The Penetentiary property is across the Front Rd. to the north.
[Ontbirds]Hawk Owl - Bruce Peninsula (near Dyers Bay) - Sun Dec. 5
Hello Birders, I found a Northern Hawk Owl today on the Bruce Peninsula near the hamlet of Dyers Bay, south of the town of Tobermory. The bird was actively hunting in the same area from late morning to dusk. Directions: Take Highway 6 north up the Bruce Peninsula. Turn right (east) on Dyers Bay Road and go 2.1km to the junction of McNair Road. The bird was in this vicinity of this junction, moving between Dyers Bay Road and McNair Road. I will try to keep tabs on the owl, and send updates to Ontbirds if it hangs around. Some other sightings from today: Red-necked Grebe (6) - Dyers Bay from the dock. Common Merganser (300) - Gauley's Bay (adjacent to Stokes Bay) Hooded Merganser (70) - Gauley's Bay Double-crested Cormorant (2) - Gauley's Bay Great Black-backed Gull (1) - Gauley's Bay Bald Eagle (1 imm) - Stokes Bay Northern Shrike (2) - Dyers Bay Road, Stokes Bay Bruce Peninsula National Park (Tobermory) Christmas Bird Count If you're interested in joining this fun CBC up here on the Bruce, send me an email at [EMAIL PROTECTED] . The count, sponsored by the national park, is on Wed Dec 15. We feed you breakfast and dinner on the day, and rustic accoms are available if you need a place to stay the night before. Just let me know. Happy birding! Ethan Meleg (Tobermory) [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[Ontbirds]Iroquios Shoreline Raptor Watch Season end Report 2004
IROQUOIS SHORELINE RAPTOR WATCH WHITBY ONT., CANADA. Below I have recored the monthly totals , migrating Raptors hours at site . Sept.2004Oct.2004 Nov.2004 Season Total 2004 Turkey Vulture = 250=1,046 = 1 =1,297 Osprey = 3= 3 = 0 = 6 Bald Eagle = 8 = 0 = 0 = 8 N/Harrier = 8= 5 = 1 = 14 Sharp Shinned=64= 140 =9= 213 Coopers Hawk=9 =18 = 6 = 33 N/Goshawk=0 = 2 = 1 = 3 Red Shoulder =8 = 44 =2 = 54 Broad Wing=457 = 0 =0 =457 Red Tail =37= 318 = 38 =393 Roughlegged =0 = 6 =7 = 13 Golden Eagle =0 = 23 =2 = 25 A/Kestrill =12 = 3 = 0 = 15 Merlin =3 = 6 = 2 = 11 Peragrine =2 = 0 = 0 = 2 Total Raptors=864 =1,608 = 69 =2,541 Total Hours =25.5=37 = 15 = 80.5 Avg per hr=33.8= 43.5 = 4.6 = 31.5 This year was disappointing , the weather did not co-operate as our site is manned only on the weekend thats when the rain seemed to fall ! The 3 R`s Red Tail, Red Shoulder Rough Legged were well below our normal count . I don`t know what kind of magnet Doug Lockery used but his crew had a record year for Rouhlegged`s well over 300 !! Our best day of the year wasOctober 13th when we recorded a record for our site 13 Golden Eagles ! Well once again it has been thrill to participate in THE GREAT ESCAPE !! Report submitted by; Mike Williamson Info on Iroquios can be found at Torontobirding.ca Click on Greater Toronto Raptor Watch . From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Dec 5 23:37:46 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from pop-a065d01.pas.sa.earthlink.net (pop-a065d01.pas.sa.earthlink.net [207.217.121.248]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C6AFD48F41 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sun, 5 Dec 2004 23:37:46 -0500 (EST) Received: from dialup-4.229.159.9.dial1.detroit1.level3.net ([4.229.159.9] helo=localhost) by pop-a065d01.pas.sa.earthlink.net with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 1CbAgb-0002YA-00 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sun, 05 Dec 2004 20:41:21 -0800 Date: Sun, 5 Dec 2004 23:43:39 -0500 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v482) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed From: Karl Overman [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.482) Subject: [Ontbirds]Eurasian Wigeon at Rondeau, Niagara trip etc. X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2004 04:37:47 - Detroit Audubon had a field trip to Niagara on December 3-5, lead by Alan Wormington. We cherry picked a number of Ontario birds that had previously been seen plus finding a few of our own. Here are some of the highlights at least as to birds not previously mentioned in postings during this most recent weekend: Red-throated Loon: Alan Wormington counted 62 fly-bys at Niagara-on-the-lake on the morning of December 4th. Eurasian Wigeon:Alan pointed out a male of this species, which he had previously located, out of a large flock of American Wigeon at Eireau in the Rondeau area, Kent County, on December 3rd. King Eider On December 5th myself and Alan Wormington saw an adultmale of this species flying in a line of a dozen White-winged Scoters off of Niagara-on-the-lake with the birds flying east and disappearing into New York air space. On December 5th Alan Wormington located for the rest of the group a female King Eider in with scoters and goldeneyes in Lake Ontario off of
