[Ontbirds]Varied Thrush/Snowy Owl - The Bruce
The Varied Thrush was seen again today at 3:30 P.M. sitting in a tree above the feeder On Grey Road No. 170 at fire sign 302087. (east from the town of Shallow Lake). An adult very white male Snowy Owl was seen at 4:30 P.M. today, sitting on a hydro pole on the 8th Concession of Elderslie, just east of Sideroad 15. (Take Bruce Road 3 north from Paisley and turn east.) Also we saw 30 Wild Turkeys on Bruce Rd. 8 (between Hepworth & Sauble Beach) just east of Bruce Rd. 14, in a field on the north side. Dennis & Gwen Lewington Dennis & Gwen Lewington Stoney Creek, Ontario [EMAIL PROTECTED] From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Jan 21 08:04:55 2006 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from smtp.vianet.ca (smtp.vianet.ca [209.91.128.40]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 04BF064B3C for ; Sat, 21 Jan 2006 08:04:55 -0500 (EST) Received: (qmail 6198 invoked from network); 21 Jan 2006 13:04:54 - Received: from unknown (HELO ?209.91.149.234?) (209.91.149.234) by smtp.vianet.ca with SMTP; 21 Jan 2006 13:04:54 - User-Agent: Microsoft-Entourage/10.1.0.2006 Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2006 08:03:15 -0500 From: Ron Tozer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: ontbirds Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Mime-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Subject: [Ontbirds]Great Gray Owl in Algonquin Park X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2006 13:04:55 - A Great Gray Owl was reported perched in the top of a spruce on the south side of Highway 60 near the km 5 marker in Algonquin Provincial Park at 4.45 p.m. yesterday, January 20. This is the first confirmed observation in Algonquin Park this winter. If it follows the pattern of all the Great Gray Owls seen here during last winter's irruption, this bird will not be seen again (but time will tell). Great Gray Owls appeared to move steadily through the Park last winter, probably in response to a shortage of available prey. As always, I would appreciate hearing about any subsequent sightings of this owl, and your other bird observations in Algonquin Park, for the Algonquin Visitor Centre database. Thanks. Good birding. Ron Tozer Dwight, Ontario Directions: Algonquin Park is three hours north of Toronto, via Highways 400, 11 and 60. Follow the signs, which start in Toronto on Highway 400. From Ottawa, take Highway 17 to Renfrew, then follow Highway 60 to the park. Kilometre markers on Highway 60 in the park go from the West Gate (km 0) to the East Gate (km 56). Permits and information are available daily at both gates throughout the winter. The Visitor Centre (km 43) is open weekends, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Birders are welcome to observe the Visitor Centre feeders and ask staff about recent sightings during the week, as well.
[Ontbirds]Evening Grosbeak Point Pelee
Around 1240 this afternoon while me and my brother were scoping the gulls and ducks in sanctuary pond near the entrance to Point Pelee an Evening Grosbeak flew over us flying south deeper into the park . Robert Horvath [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Yahoo! Photos Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars. Add photos, events, holidays, whatever. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Jan 20 20:47:20 2006 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from tomts40-srv.bellnexxia.net (unknown [209.226.175.97]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5EAAB63A70 for ; Fri, 20 Jan 2006 20:47:20 -0500 (EST) Received: from queens5kg564bn ([64.228.8.47]) by tomts40-srv.bellnexxia.net SMTP <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> for ; Fri, 20 Jan 2006 20:47:05 -0500 From: "Peter and Jane Good" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 20:46:42 -0500 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) Importance: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 Subject: [Ontbirds]Kingston area birds to Jan 20 X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2006 01:47:20 - Well, the mild weather continues and Lake Ontario remains ice-free except for a few sheltered inlets and bays. There is even considerable open water north of the city. A few sightings related to this were a Great Blue Heron on the Opinicon Rd. and three Bald Eagles; two at Jones Falls and one on Loughborough Lake. A few signs of spring also appeared this week: two cowbirds at a feeder in Barriefield , 21 robins in a red cedar tree at the south end of Varty Lake, and at least two feeders had Song Sparrows appear out of nowhere. Winter finches continue to make feeder watching interesting. Most report large numbers of goldfinches with fewer numbers of siskins and redpolls. Evening Grosbeaks and Purple Finches are particularly scarce. The concentrations of waterfowl mentioned last week continue: there are hundreds of ducks, geese and swans west of Conway although no unusual species were seen and the Dupont lagoon remains productive; several coots and Hooded Mergansers as well as a single Canvasback. Two trips to Amherst Island this week yielded very few birds: 2 Snowy Owls, 2 Redtails, 1 Rough-legged Hawk,a shrike, a kestrel and the Owl Woods' Barred Owl (it's been there since November). Two other Barred Owls were seen this week: one in the village of Camden East and the other at Lemoine Point. This makes a total of six already this month. Another phenomenom of this unusual winter is the large number of feeders reporting Red-breasted Nuthatches. They seem to fly in and out very quickly and are quite inconspicious compared to their White-breasted cousins. They also seem much quieter than when they are observed during migration. The final observation of the week was a flock of about 20 House Finches in Bath. One of the birds exhibited a peculiar hovering flight and when it finally landed in the top of a red cedar, we could clearly see that both eyes were badly infected; it might have been so blind that it could barely see to find a perch. I'm hoping winter returns for at least a few weeks; I'm almost as confused as the birds. Peter Good Kingston Field Naturalists (613) 378-6605
[Ontbirds]Strange Chickadee
Yesterday while birding with some friends in the Niagara area, we took a jaunt around the trails in Dufferin Islands Park. At the west end of the trail, overlooking the 'duck' pond, we encountered the usual group of chickadees feeding on some seeds sprinkled beside the path. Among the chickadees there was an aberant looking chickadee which resembled a Mountain Chickadee. It had a distinctive white eyebrow on both sides of the head. The top of the head was slightly ruffled suggesting it might have been in a cage. Unfortunately, we did not have a camera with us. If anyone with a telephoto lens is in the area and could find the bird and photograph it, please send a copy of the picture to Jean Iron or Ron Pittaway at [EMAIL PROTECTED] / 9 Lichen Place / Toronto M3A 1X3 Thank you, Ron Scovell Thank you, Ron Scovell
[Ontbirds]2 Common Ravens - near Milton
Dear Fellow Birders, This afternoon around 230pm I saw two Common Ravens flying west along the 401 at the exit for Trafalger Rd, just east of Milton. Directions: Simply follow the 401 to exit 328, Trafalger Rd, west of Mississauga, east of Milton. Mike Boyd Oakville, Ontario From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Jan 20 15:23:29 2006 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from mail.osc.on.ca (mail.osc.on.ca [199.212.12.10]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 385B863B64 for ; Fri, 20 Jan 2006 15:23:29 -0500 (EST) Message-id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 15:23:27 -0500 X-FC-SERVER-TZ: 15729388 To: ontbirds@hwcn.org From: "Laura Murray" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Subject: [Ontbirds]Great Blue Heron, Toronto X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 20:23:29 - Hi everyone, Today at lunchtime, there was a Great Blue Heron on the ice of the wetland behind the Ontario Science Centre. It was stalking across the ice, and blending in very well with the dead cattail stalks and tree trunks. Also seen was a large flock of robins, and several Red-winged blackbirds were heard in the distance. Directions: Access to the wetland is from ET Seton park in the Don Valley system. The park is south of Eglinton, just west of Don Mills Road, and parking lots are accessible from Eglinton or from Thorncliffe Pk . Laura Murray, B.Sc. Ontario Science Centre Toronto
[Ontbirds]Eastern Ontario: Yellow-headed Blackbird, Snowy Owls
Hi Everyone Yesterday morning, Jan.19, I birded from Presqu'ile Provincial Park to Ottawa, making a number of stops along the way. At Presqu'ile the viewing conditions were very good with Presqu'ile Bay open to the Government Docks and both Popham Bay and Lake Ontario wide open. There were good numbers of Common Goldeneye 1000+, Long-tailed Duck 2000+ and 500+Greater Scaup mainly in Presqu'ile Bay along with only 2 Canvasback and 38 Redhead. Near Carrying Place between 12:15 to 12:45 the Yellow-headed Blackbird was feeding in the surrounding cornfields between #1772 and #1723 along CR 64 near the corner of Alyea Road. It was in a mixed flock of Red-winged Blackbirds, Rusty Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds and European Starling. There were still 2 American Coots present at Barcovan along with 350+ Mute Swans. I made a brief stop at the DuPont Plant near Kingston and there were 12 American Coots, 3 American Wigeon, 6 Hooded Merganser and 1 male Canvasback along with 250+ Ring-billed Gulls. At dusk in the Richmond area along Eagleson Road between Richmond and Fallowfield Roads, 5 Snowy Owls were perched up on fence post, telephone poles and 1 on a mound near the corner of Eagleson/Fallowfield Rds. good birding Bruce Directions: The blackbird is being seen along Cty. Rd 64, near the jct of Alyea Rd, about 2 km WSW of Carrying Place. Snowy Owl: From Ottawa take Hwy. 417 west to Eagleson/March Road exit. Turn left on Eagleson and follow south to Fallowfield Road. Continue south along Eagleson Road checking the open fields, fence posts and telephone poles. Once you reach Richmond Road turn around and check again. There are a few roads that intersect Eagleson that you can cover, Brownlee, Akins and Rushmore Roads. If you require additional information please email me privately. 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 http://www3.sympatico.ca/bruce.dilabio/
[Ontbirds]Grackle, White-crowned Sparrow, etc; Perth area
Reporting for Rideau Valley Field Naturalists - Perth On Jan 18 - a Common Grackle was at a feeder on Munro Sideroad, Maberly. On Jan 15 - a report was received of a White-crowned Sparrow coming to a feeder in Newboro. Approx. Jan 9th on Richmond's Sideroad - a bird identified by occupants as a Northern Mockingbird was seen briefly - this in an area where a Mockingbird was last summer. Jan 17 - No less than 5 Bald Eagles were seen circling over Murphy's Point Prov. Park - 2 adult, 3 immatures. Common Redpolls are in some areas but not others. Barred Owl - 1 seen on Tennyson Road, east of Perth onDec 30th, one on Christie Lake Road, west of Perth on Jan 18th - both of these in the daytime near bird feeders. Another was killed by a car on Highway 7 west of Perth about Jan 14th. Cooper's Hawk was watching bird feeders on Jan 10th - Armstrong line, Maberly. Anyone wishing further information or more complete directions please email me privately. Jean Griffin From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Jan 20 11:26:12 2006 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from BAYC1-PASMTP12.CEZ.ICE (bayc1-pasmtp12.bayc1.hotmail.com [65.54.191.172])by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4C787639FF for ; Fri, 20 Jan 2006 11:26:11 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-Originating-IP: [69.159.192.214] X-Originating-Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from wzbeebkl102fuq ([69.159.192.214]) by BAYC1-PASMTP12.CEZ.ICE over TLS secured channel with Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.1830); Fri, 20 Jan 2006 08:28:54 -0800 From: "Vivian Bessel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'Jean Griffin'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "'ontbirds'" Subject: RE: [Ontbirds]Grackle, White-crowned Sparrow, etc; Perth area Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 11:26:07 -0500 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.6626 Importance: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 In-Reply-To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-OriginalArrivalTime: 20 Jan 2006 16:28:54.0328 (UTC) FILETIME=[9AC67380:01C61DDE] X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 16:26:12 - -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jean Griffin Sent: January 20, 2006 10:18 AM To: ontbirds Subject: [Ontbirds]Grackle, White-crowned Sparrow, etc; Perth area Reporting for Rideau Valley Field Naturalists - Perth On Jan 18 - a Common Grackle was at a feeder on Munro Sideroad, Maberly. On Jan 15 - a report was received of a White-crowned Sparrow coming to a feeder in Newboro. Approx. Jan 9th on Richmond's Sideroad - a bird identified by occupants as a Northern Mockingbird was seen briefly - this in an area where a Mockingbird was last summer. Jan 17 - No less than 5 Bald Eagles were seen circling over Murphy's Point Prov. Park - 2 adult, 3 immatures. Common Redpolls are in some areas but not others. Barred Owl - 1 seen on Tennyson Road, east of Perth onDec 30th, one on Christie Lake Road, west of Perth on Jan 18th - both of these in the daytime near bird feeders. Another was killed by a car on Highway 7 west of Perth about Jan 14th. Cooper's Hawk was watching bird feeders on Jan 10th - Armstrong line, Maberly. Anyone wishing further information or more complete directions please email me privately. Jean Griffin ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdshow.htm ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm
[Ontbirds]White-winged Crossbills, near Limoges, east of Ottawa
Yesterday here in Ottawa the weather finally turned more pleasant (although the wind was stronger than ideal), and I headed out for another crack at the yellow-headed blackbird. I'd seen it in brutally cold weather on Sunday. Of course any birder would prefer to see a rarity in bad weather than not see it in good weather. You guessed it. Despite spending almost three hours (from about 9:45 till 12:45) waiting at the feeder at 23 Manitou and looking around the neighbourhood, accompanied by a small changing cast of other birders, the blackbird could not be located. Neither could the boreal chickadee or grackle. Indeed bird activity was generally low, especially compared to last Sunday. A young SHARP-SHINNED HAWK spent time perched low-down and well-hidden in a tree on the opposite side of the street from #23, which could conceivably help to explain the lack of birds. The blackbird has often been seen hanging around with a group of starlings. No flocks of the latter were noted, only ones and twos. As mentioned above, a group of a half-dozen or so WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS was an excellent consolation. They were in a conifer with plenty of cones in the property behind the backyard of #23. Most (all but one?) were in female plumage. They flew away but could come back. A scope would be needed to make them out in this tree from #23 Manitou. After leaving Manitou, I visited the Larose forest, but it was generally quiet except for a flock of about 30 EVENING GROSBEAKS coming to the active feeder at the east end of Clarence-Cambridge Rd. A leisurely drive through back roads east of Ottawa yielded few birds, but there was another SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, a much warier adult, on Dunning Rd. A search for the hawk owl that had been in the Innes and Frank Kenny area did not produce the bird, but there were a dozen or so HORNED LARKS off Trim just north of Perrault. Finally, I did not see any short-eared owls in their traditional spot on Armstrong Rd, south of the airport, but there was a fairly lightly-barred SNOWY OWL perched on a post on the south side of the road, just west of the famous S curve. Incidentally, Armstrong was disgusting, a real mud bowl, and there were several large trucks driving it. My car was filthy when I got home. DIRECTIONS (from Chris Lewis's original message): Take Hwy 417 east from Ottawa, take exit #79 and turn right (south) on Hwy 5 (Limoges Rd.) Turn left onto Route 500 at the Petro-Canada gas station and proceed past Cambridge School. Turn right on Manitou which is the 4th street past the school. Please park on the road and do not block the laneways. The property owner of 23 Manitou asks that birders wishing to view the feeders, which are near a small clump of cedars on the property, do not go beyond the trailer at the end of the laneway beside the house. Paul Matthews, Ottawa
