[Ontbirds] Fwd: SARNIA to GRAND BEND BIRDING. SATURDAY.
Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:32:30 -0400 To: Ont Birds From: Alf Rider Subject: SARNIA to GRAND BEND BIRDING. Hello Everyone. Starting at 8.00am. at the Point Edward Lighthouse, a group of us located the PEREGRINES, one sitting on a blue light fitting on the Blue Water Bridge. A single RED-THROATED LOON, still in breeding plumage flew overhead and out of the lake on a SE direction. Below in the Lake, we were able to find a small group of BLACK SCOTERS and a couple of LONG-TAILED DUCKS were a long way out. HERRING, RING-BILLED, and BONAPARTE'S GULLS were flying around. We drove around the lake in Canatara Park but missed the BRANT GOOSE. There were two slightly smaller geese among the CANADAS which were possibly 'Richardson's' Geese. Also on Lake Chipican, were about fifty REDHEADS. This flock will spend much of the Fall building up to about 10,000 birds and be matched in numbers by CANVASBACKS out in Lake Huron before they move out, many to Lake St. Clair and Rondeau Park first before leaving for less icy waters. At Kettle Point we found an AMERICAN AVOCET, 34 DUNLIN and a Gt. YELLOWLEGS. It was later reported that another three Avocets were later seen there. After a good Lunch at CJ's Cafe in Thedford we proceeded to the Grand Bend sewage Lagoons down Mollard Line. (On Sundays the cafe closes at 11am.) There was heavy movement of SCAUP Sp. from the north down the Lake all day, involving a few thousand birds. At GBSL. we found that the N. SHOVELLERS had moved out, leaving MALLARD, Am. WIGEON, GADWALL --which gave us very good views of the wing patch both on the water and in flight. More REDHEADS but the male CANVASBACK was not there but a female remained. About 45 GREEN-WINGED TEAL were flying around but the BLUE-WINGED TEALS moved out early in October. Lots of BUFFLEHEADS and RUDDY DUCKS were reluctant to fly. About 70 SCAUP including about ten LESSER'S were accompanied by 2 male and a female RINGNECK. A single female-plumaged COMMON GOLDENEYE also flew around. She has been there for three days. The only hawk that was there was an Adult REDTAIL. The 'Merlin post' was empty. Quite a bird-filled day, especially for those welcome 'New' Birders. Good Birding. Alf. ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Hudsonian Godwit, Ajax
Hello Birders, After several hours of searching for the Godwit yesterday and coming up unsuccessful, at 7:00 AM this morning the Godwit was openly feeding in the mud flats in Duffin's Creek. I also spent about a half hour looking for the six Brant near the Water Treatment Plant at the end of Lake Driveway, but they were nowhere to be found. I saw them behind the treatment plant yesterday at about 4:15 PM, but they seem to appear and re-appear because at 1:30 PM yesterday they were not present. Directions: (Courtesy Geoff Carpentier) 401 to Westney Rd., exit south and follow until you reach Lake Driveway, then turn right and follow it to Rotary Park. The mudflats are to the west and the trail follows the shore. The bird was visible from the western end of the bridge over Duffin's Creek on the north side. Good Birding! Lev Frid Maple, ON ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Golden Eagle, Brant - Constance Bay near Ottawa
There appears to be a good migration going on along the Ottawa River today. We are stuck in the yard doing yard work, but nonetheless managed to see a flock of 400 Brant and a subadult Golden Eagle go over. There was an albino Brant in the flock with the others. Constance Bay is west of Ottawa. Take the March Road exit from Hwy 417 in Kanata. Turn off onto Dunrobin Road. Take this to Constance Bay Drive. Follow this to the river and start birding. Good birding, Jeff Jeff Skevington e-mail: jeff_skeving...@yahoo.ca __ Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail. Click on Options in Mail and switch to New Mail today or register for free at http://mail.yahoo.ca ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Sabine's Gull - Niagara River
Sharon and Jeanne Skelly reported seeing the Sabine's Gull today. It was downstream of the Canadian Falls, but not quite even with the American Falls - flying and sitting with a couple large groups of Bonies. They had one adult Little Gull and one adult Lesser Black-backed Gull there as well. Good birding! Willie -- Willie D'Anna Betsy Potter Wilson, NY dannapotterATroadrunner.com http://www.betsypottersart.com ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] American Avocets - Oshawa Second Marsh - Sun Nov 1
A family outing to Oshawa's Second Marsh yielded the 8 American Avocets, 4 sitting/sleeping to the west of the viewing platform (between the leftmost log "island" and the cattails) - look to the right from the platform. The other 4 were actively feeding further to the right/north, 3 in a group and another singly, also here was a lone Greater Yellowlegs. Very good assortment of ducks here too but nothing out of the ordinary (incl. Hooded Mers, Northern Pintail, N Shoveler & American Wigeon, etc.) Along with 30+ Great Blue Heron and 30+ Double-crested Cormorant. At Ajax Rotary Park at the mouth of Duffin's Creek we missed the Hudsonian Godwit but it had been seen about 30 minutes earlier (there is a lot of good habitat down there and the bird could easily be out of sight behind cattails). There was a nice Merlin sitting in a bare tree near the children's playground and a Killdeer down on the mudflats near all the Green-winged Teal, Gadwall and others. Good birding, Frank Pinilla Richmond Hill, ON DIRECTIONS: Oshawa Second Marsh - exit Hwy 401 at Harmony Rd/Bloor St, head south along Farewell Drive and turn left/east at Colonel Sam Drive, go to the GM building and park down in the southwest corner, walking down the path to the viewing platform. Duffin's Creek/Ajax Rotary Park - exit Hwy 401 in Ajax at Westney Rd, go south to Lake Driveway and turn right follow until you see sign to entrance of Ajax Rotary Park, park in the lot overlooking the marsh for a good spot to scan. To see to the north better, walk down to the lakeshore and head along the trail to the bridge over the Creek. The bird could easily fly up to Corner Marsh which is only 500m north of here. -- Sent from my mobile device ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Aechmorphorus grebe -Haviland Bay, Algoma
Birders I had a good look at a Western type Grebe at about 1130 today (Nov. 1/09) off the small park on Haviland Bay about 35km N of Sault Ste. Marie on Hwy. 17. This bay is the first place you hit Lake Superior after leaving the Sault. You can scope from the small park as well as a couple spots further to the west along the road that skirts the south side of the bay. For some reason this bay always holds a lot of waterfowl up until freeze up. Most of the bays to the north of this are suprisingly empty. The Aechomorphorus grebe was not close enough to determine sp. for absolute certain but the bill seemed fairly dull yellowish-olive and there appeared to be black below the eye so it it was consistent with a Western. There were Red-necked Grebes and Horned Grebes nearby which made for a nice comparison. They had a Western Grebe across the bay at Whitefish Point, Michigan yesterday, maybe the same bird? Kirk Zufelt ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Golden Eagle - Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton
Hello Ontbirders, Evan Timusk and I birded the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton early this afternoon. The highlight of the outing was an immature GOLDEN EAGLE that was spotted soaring over the trail to Bull’s Point traveling southwest. The other notable raptor sighting was an adult male MERLIN, which put on a show by picking off a Cedar Waxwing in front of the Nature Interpretive Centre. Other sightings included the area’s more usual fare of Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, and Purple Finch. Cootes Paradise was filled with Green-winged Teal and Northern Shoveler. Good birding, Kevin Kerr Guelph, ON Directions (provided by the RBG website): >From Toronto and East Queen Elizabeth Way to Highway 403 West (Hamilton). Exit at Highway 6 North. NOTE: road construction has redirected traffic and signs are now dated: travel 800 metres north along Hwy 6 to York Road. Exit York Road, turn right and then turn left onto the new Plains Road and come south along Plains Road crossing over the 403. Turn left at the lights to continue on Plains Road West for about 1 km, passing the glass building. Turn right into the parking lot. >From Kitchener-Waterloo and West including Detroit (U.S.A.) Highway 401 East to Highway 6 South. Follow Highway 6 South for about 25 km. NOTE: road construction has redirected traffic and signs are now dated: exit onto York Road, make a left and then a right on the new Plains Road and drive south crossing over the 403. Turn left at the lights to continue on Plains Road West for about 1 km, passing the glass building. Turn right into the parking lot. -- Kevin C.R. Kerr Ph.D. Candidate Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph Guelph, ON, Canada Tel:(519)824-4120 x56212 E-mail: kk...@uoguelph.ca http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kkerr/ ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Bohemian Waxwings at Constance Creek (Ottawa West)
Hello Ontbirders, On a beautifully sunny day in the Capital region, Tom Hanrahan and I decided to try our luck. We had 7 Bohemian Waxwings at Constance Creek. They were very active in the trees along the waterway. Having not seen a posting for this species yet this fall I thought I would mention it. Though there was one on the Ottawa fall bird count two weeks ago. Not a whole lot of activity otherwise. Two Long-Tailed Ducks are close to the shore in Andrew Haydon Park. No sign of the Brant today. There were Red-Breasted Mergansers, C Goldeneye, Lesser Scaup, White-Winged and one Black Scoter. Tom found us two Horned Grebes to the east of the boat launch at Shirley's Bay. We had fifteen American Pipits south of town and Tree Sparrows are becoming more abundant now. Good birding, Jay Peterson Ottawa Directions to Constance Creek : From Ottawa, take Highway 417 west to the Eagleson/March Road exit (#138). Turn right onto March Road and continue through Kanata and the village of South March. When you come to the Dunrobin Road, turn right at the lights and proceed to the village of Dunrobin, where the Thomas A. Dolan Parkway intersects with Dunrobin Road. Turning RIGHT on the Thomas A. Dolan Parkway leads to the huge Constance Creek wetland complex. ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] HSR: DRHW- Lake Erie Metropark (31 Oct 2009) 17 Raptors
DRHW- Lake Erie Metropark Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 31, 2009 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 13 53401 54147 Osprey 0 3 46 Bald Eagle 0 49 97 Northern Harrier 0 71146 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 1632 3204 Cooper's Hawk0193280 Northern Goshawk 0 16 16 Red-shouldered Hawk 0351352 Broad-winged Hawk0 82 20016 Red-tailed Hawk 1 1372 1488 Rough-legged Hawk0 5 5 Golden Eagle 0 63 63 American Kestrel 1133438 Merlin 1 17 39 Peregrine Falcon 0 18 32 Unknown Accipiter0 0 0 Unknown Buteo0 12 12 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Mississippi Kite 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 3 4 Total: 17 57421 80386 -- Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 13:45:00 Total observation time: 5.25 hours Official Counter:Seth Cutright Observers:Don Sherwood Visitors: Only around 3 people came by. Weather: Visibility was very clear most of the time, with one short rain. It was around 75% cloudy all of the time if not 100%. Wind was about 10-30mph all day, with most being around 15mph. Raptor Observations: Very fast wind from the Southwest most likely pushed the birds North, or else they did not move at all. Only 17 total were counted, and of that 13 were Turkey Vultures. Non-raptor Observations: Report submitted by Seth Cutright (seth.cutri...@gmail.com) SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark information may be found at: http://www.smrr.net/ ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Ottawa: Golden Eagles , Brant and migrants
Hello Ontbirders There was a good movement of birds along the Ottawa River this morning as earlier mentioned by Jeff Skevington. We birded from Shirley's Bay to Britannia. Off Andrew Haydon Park we observed 9 Cackling Geese, 56 Brant and 75+ (mainly males) Long-tailed Duck. All 3 scoters were noted along with Red-necked and Horned Grebe. We had a small movement of raptors including 2 Golden Eagle (1ad. and 1 immature), 14 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 imm. Northern Goshawk, 1 Cooper's Hawk and an immature Peregrine Falcon at the Moodie Drive Ponds. Later in the afternoon I observed 200+ Brant flying south over Britannia. Good birding, Bruce Directions: AHP/DBP: From Ottawa take Hwy. 417 west to Greenbank Road exit. Turn north and follow to Carling Ave. Turn left and follow past Andrew Haydon Park (Holly Acres Road) and watch for Dick Bell Park on your right. Directions: Moodie Drive pons: From Ottawa take Hwy 417 west to Hwy 416. South on the 416 to exit 66 (Fallowfield Rd.) Right (west) on Fallowfield to Moodie Dr. Left (south) on Moodie, go past Trail Rd. on your left and Cambrian Rd. on your right until you come to a very large sand & gravel operation on the left (east) side of the road. ***PLEASE NOTE*** - do NOT cross the gate to the sand & gravel operation. This is private property, and most of the birds can be well-viewed from the road.The landfill site is located on Trail Road. There is no access but the gulls can be viewed from Trail Road just south of the main entrance. Directions: Shirley's Bay: From Ottawa take Hwy. 417 west to the Moodie Drive exit and turn north (right) on Moodie Drive and continue to Carling Ave. Turn left at Carling Ave. and follow Carling to Rifle Road. Turn right (north) on Rifle Rd. Park at the lot at the end (boat launch). Walk back to the road, and continue through the gate on the Department of National Defense property. There is a trail on your right (clearly marked with vehicle "No Entry" signs) which heads into the woods, and, eventually to the dyke. There is lots of POISON IVY along the dyke. PLEASE NOTE YOU MUST OBTAIN PERMISSION FROM THE RANGE CONTROL OFFICE BEFORE ENTERING THE DYKE AREA-- Call (613) 991-5740 and request permission to visit the dyke area for birding. Di Labio Birding Website Courses and Field Trips http://www.dilabiobirding.ca http://www.brucedilabio.blogspot.com Bruce Di Labio 400 Donald B. Munro Drive P.O. Box 538 Carp, Ontario K0A 1L0 Office 613-839-4395 Mobile 613-715-2571 ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] 40 migrating RAPTORs at CRANBERRY in SW Whitby, ON--Nov.1/09
Alas, we had "reasonable" weather at the Cranberry platform, albeit no thermals. Light westerly wind brought 50 or more people to enjoy the hawks and the non-raptors, such as 3 FOX SPARROWS, RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, CEDAR WAXWINGS, PURPLE FINCH, etc. We had wonderful views of a light morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, adult PEREGRINE FALCON and a NORTHERN GOSHAWK. 40 migrating raptors for Nov.1--1 Turkey Vulture, 7 Sharp-shinned, 3 Cooper's, 1 N.Goshawk, 21 Red-taileds, 1 Rough-legged, 2 Am.Kestrel, 3 Peregrines, 1 Unidentified raptorSEE TABLE BELOW Cranberry Marsh, sw Whitby, ON--south roadside parking area on Hall's Rd. SUNDAY, Nov.1/09 Observation time--0900-1400 Official counter- Rayfield Pye Observers- Dan Kaczynski, Jerry Ball, Greg Stuart, Karl Jennewein, Alex Dobson, Joyce Collier-Brown, Doug Lockrey, Don Lloyd, Jim McKnight, Dave Shilman, Ron Stephenson and many others. Weather: light W wind; BP=102 rising; TUV=0; 12C From the 401 eastbound, exit at Salem Rd. in Ajax, south to Bayly, then east through LakeRidge Rd. to the first street beyond---Hall's Rd.--south toward the lake to the second roadside parking area. Raptor speciesDay Total-Month Total--Season Total -Nov.1 --- Black Vulture0---0--0 Turkey Vulture--1-1- 3944 Osprey--0---0--- 136 Bald Eagle---0-0 52 Northern Harrier---0-0-- 93 Sharp-shinned Hawk--771441 Cooper's Hawk--- 3 3 --95 Northern Goshawk 11-- 15 Red-shouldered Hawk-0 --- 0 ---39 Broad-winged Hawk-- 0 0 --416 Red-tailed Hawk21--21--988 Rough-legged Hawk-1 ---16 Golden Eagle-- 0 0 1 American Kestrel- 2 - 2-- 479 Merlin- 0 --0 ---34 Peregrine Falcon--3 3-- 44 Unidentified Accipiter- 0 0 --11 Unidentified Buteo 0 - 0-- 25 Unidentified Falcon--- 0 - 0 ---2 Unidentified Eagle-0-- 0-- 1 Unidentified Raptor --- 11- 35 TOTAL--40-40 7857 HOURS--55--311.5 Doug Lockrey-- coordinator CMRW, Whitby, ON ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Iroquois Shoreline Nov. 1st / 09
ISRW Heberdown C.A. North, Whitby,Ont.,Canada Nov. 1st /2009 Totals Day Season Turkey Vulture 0 1458 Osprey 0 33 Bald Eagle0 39 N.Harrier 4 43 Sharp-Shinned 5530 Coopers 0 42 N.Goshawk 03 Red-Shoulder 19 42 Broad-Winged 0 1648 Red-Tailed 134 285 Rough-Legged 2 2 Golden Eagle 0 11 A.Kestrel 3 76 Merlin 0 16 Peregrine 0 7 UA0 3 UB0 8 UR0 21 Total 1674267 "Hrs. 3.5121.5 Observers; Mike Williamson , Martin Bence , Alfred Adamo. Non Raptors 5 Common Loon 1 Fox Sparrow 6 A. Pipits & 1 probable Jaeger either Parasitic or Pomarine . This bird was spotted by Alfred & I got a fleeting look through my scope , Martin was also on this bird with bino's ! Report submitted by Mike Williamson coordinator for ISRW Info. on Iroquois can be found at thegreatertorontohawkwatch.com site . ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] 1st cycle LITTLE GULL, Sandbanks PP. Quinte
The Little Gull was seen around 8am this morning on the water from the Loyalist Parkway (Hwy 33) west of the Cairns Winery and Vineyard in the NW section of the lagoon. There were also ~30 Bonaparte's gulls in that area. Also present in the same general corner: 3 tundra swans. ~400 greater Scaup with a few redhead, ring-necked ducks and a pair of canvasbacks mixed in. Good birding, Gerard Phillips. Merrickville ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] HSR: Holiday Beach (01 Nov 2009) 57 Raptors
Holiday Beach Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 01, 2009 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Turkey Vulture 31 31 43038 Osprey 0 0 94 Bald Eagle 4 4153 Northern Harrier 2 2591 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 1 9521 Cooper's Hawk2 2812 Northern Goshawk 0 0 18 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0758 Broad-winged Hawk0 0 18292 Red-tailed Hawk 17 17 4075 Rough-legged Hawk0 0 5 Golden Eagle 0 0 45 American Kestrel 0 0 1733 Merlin 0 0120 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 99 Unknown Accipiter0 0 7 Unknown Buteo0 0 11 Unknown Eagle0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 2 Total: 57 57 79376 -- Observation start time: 09:30:00 Observation end time: 14:30:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter:Cindy Isenhoff Observers:Cramer, Jeanice Seals, Karen Padbury, Phyllis Coble, Teresa Lindsey Visitors: Our friends from Tennesse are visiting -- Theresa Lindsey, Phyllis Cober and Jeanece Seals will be spending the next few days on the tower. We had multiple visitors and thanks to all for helping to find those scarce raptors today. Weather: The morning was cool and cloudy. Winds were variable thru the day, but very light. Temps from 7.9 C to 9.2 C, cloud cover began to break up about noon, and by afternoon we had mainly sunny skies. Raptor Observations: Very slow raptor day--less than 30 raptors for the day, excluding Turkey Vultures. Many birds were very high by noon Non-raptor Observations: Today was American Crow day. We had one huge movement during the 11 o'clock hour that was conservatively 10,500 crows. Additionally there were another 1000 that migrated the remainder of the afternoon. Report submitted by Cindy Isenhoff (akahawkla...@aol.com) Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at: http://hbmo.org/ ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] HSR: Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch (01 Nov 2009) 678 Raptors
Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 01, 2009 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 290290 22094 Osprey 0 0137 Bald Eagle 2 2235 Northern Harrier 9 9585 Sharp-shinned Hawk 21 21 10237 Cooper's Hawk9 9301 Northern Goshawk 9 9 39 Red-shouldered Hawk 17 17357 Broad-winged Hawk0 0 22166 Red-tailed Hawk304304 2667 Rough-legged Hawk3 3 7 Golden Eagle12 12 62 American Kestrel 2 2 2765 Merlin 0 0 69 Peregrine Falcon 0 0122 Unknown Accipiter0 0 0 Unknown Buteo0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 678678 61843 -- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter:Colin Horstead Observers:Beth Wigle, Clive Hodder, Dave Brown, Dave Verkley, Dave Weare, Don Wigle, Eric Single, Ernie Gribble, Jason McGuire, Jim Longhurst, John Potticary, Kathy, Keith Sealy, Mac McAlpine, Mark Cunningham, Mary Carnahan, Shay Redmond, Su Ross-Redmond, Wayne Parnall Visitors: Lots of folks out today...including Barbara Henderson and Peter Yoerg (Buffalo NY), Beth and Don Wigle (Ottawa), Vince Giuliani (Waterloo), Tim McFarlane, Dave Weare, Clive Hodder and many of the usual crew. Weather: The day started with a bit of clear skies that were soon replaced by heavy low cloud threatening rain. However, the rain held off and eventually the cloud cover broke and the day brightenend. The wind was light and variable from nearly every direction (though never north!!). Temp was actually quite warm once the sun peeked through hitting a high of 12C. Raptor Observations: Very slow for the first three hours then picking up just before noon. As the afternoon wore on the flight improved quite nicely and we ended the day with a total of xxz birds. Highlights today were another 12 Golden Eagles...three of which were the last birds of the day...definitely a nice way to finish. Also had Roughlegs (1 DM and 2 LM) and more Goshawks (9) including a couple of adults. A decent flight of Redtails (304) and more Red-shoulders (17). Non-raptor Observations: Highlights for today included Several flocks of Tundra Swans (60+), Pine Siskins, Am. Pipits, Rusty Blackbirds, Red-throated Loon (1) and several Common Loons, Brown Creeper, E. Bluebird, Purple Finch, W-t Sparrow, A. Tree Sparrow, RC Kinglet, DE Juncos, Yellow-rumps, Hermit Thrush, Cedar Waxwings, N. Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker...along with more flocks of mixed Blackbirds, Am. Goldefinch and Am. Robin. Predictions: Monday looks like a nice mix of sun and cloud and E winds to start then swinging back to SW (it's been over 2 weeks now since we've had any kind of N component winds!!)...Tuesday is calling for moderate to strong W winds and again sun and cloud so it may be the more productive day. Report submitted by Dave Brown (thebro...@ezlink.on.ca) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Grand Bend area OFO Field Trip
About 35 OFO members enjoyed a cool but dry day of birding the 'West Coast of Ontario'. During the first hour at the beach we saw many waterfowl, including all 3 Scoter species, both Common and Red-breasted Merganser flocks mostly flying downlake, ~40 Common Loon in various groupings of 3 to 20 mostly overhead angling inland. A few Horned Grebe, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye and Scaup kept us busy. We walked around the first 3 lagoons seeing many more waterfowl including a male Wood Duck and 5 American Coot plus 3 White-rumped Sandpiper, ~20 Dunlin and a Greater Yellowlegs. An Eastern Phoebe, Song, American Tree, White-crowned, Fox and Vesper Sparrow were also seen. At Pinery P.P. we had lunch at the Visitor's Centre whilst birding(everyone saw several Tufted Titmouse). Downy, Hairy and Red-bellied Woodpecker plus Field, Fox and White-throated Sparrow and a female Purple Finch added interest. Along the river we saw several Am. Robin and Cedar Waxwing and an adult Bald Eagle before driving to Burley bridge, where ~40/50 Hooded Mergansers and 3 Pied-billed Grebe were seen along with a Red-tailed Hawk. At Kettle Point the American Avocet was seen by all and 4 Red-necked Grebe played hide and seek in the bay and we saw 7 Mute Swan and a great Black-backed Gull southwest of the point. Our last stop was at Cedar Cove marina where we watched ~10 Double-crested Cormorant, ~15 Horned Grebe, both Tundra and Mute Swan and a Great Blue Heron. A flock of ~100 Tundra Swan turned inland as they flew over us. A fitting end to a nice day and as most of the cars were heading up the hill a few of us heard and then saw a flock of 9 Sandhill Crane fly right over us and down the lake(one carload had seen 2 of these earlier in a field and as we returned north we stopped to have a closer view). During this day we had seen 23 Ducks, Geese and Swans, 3 Grebes, 4 Raptors, 3 Woodpeckers and 8 Sparrows for a total # of species of 77 tallied by the group to-day.(I'm including a Northern Shrike at Army Camp Road seen by Donald Pye on his way back towards the Pinery - e-mail advice). Thanks to all the participants and especially my 'helpers' who found so many good birds to-day - it's such a pleasure to 'lead' a group that is so willing to share and help each other with finding and identifying the birds we see. Cheers!Maris Maris Apse 10094 Red Pine Road, Box 22, RR #2 Grand Bend ON N0M 1T0 (519) 238 - 8415 _ Ready for a deal-of-a-lifetime? See fantastic offers on Windows 7, in one convenient place. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9691634___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
