[Ontbirds] Ingersoll Quarry Waterfowl and Gulls, Dec. 28
The large, ice-free deep water quarry just east of Ingersoll continues to provide a major roosting and overwintering site for gulls and waterfowl. A visit today yielded some excellent numbers and diversity - 5000 Canada Geese, 8000 Mallard, 400 Black Duck, two Northern Pintail, one American Wigeon, three Hooded Merganser and a single female Long-tailed Duck, with small numbers of Common Merganser and Common Goldeneye. The 400 Blacks sound good until compared to our historical max number of 4000 from December 1989! Gulls come in towards dusk, mostly from the Salford Landfill but probably from the London and Stratford dumps as well, judging by direction of flight and numbers. An early evening count of 9000 Herring Gull is exceptional for the county in mid-winter. This total likely represents a fraction of the true number, as birds continued to stream in by the hundred as I was leaving. Other species present included 7 Glaucous [mostly 1st / 2nd cycle], 3 Iceland [2 1st cycle, one basic adult], 2 Lesser Black-back [both 1st cycle] and 5 Great Black-backs, mostly adults. As with the Herring numbers, these numbers would no doubt go up a lot with a complete dusk count. This extensive and very deep quarry has become an absolute boon for local waterbirds in mid-winter [after most other sites have frozen], as it offers one of the very few ice-free roosting sites of sufficient size anywhere inland to accommodate such large numbers. All the typical, larger four-year gulls are regular, sometimes in surprisingly high numbers. Interesting, but in keeping with typical patterns, not a single Ring-billed Gull was among the 9000+ gulls counted. Despite being a fairly recently abandoned [and flooded] quarry, there must be sufficient food to entice overwintering of species like Long-tailed Duck, White-winged and Surf Scoter and various other divers - all of which have occurred in the past. Historically, many of Oxfords old records of mid-winter Killdeer come from adjacent quarries, so there seems to be a micro-climate effect, from the expanse of open water as well as the shielding from wind chills. >From Charles Street, take Pemberton north to the 35th Line, east to the north >curve. The quarry is posted of course, and ringed with razor-wire, so all >viewing must be done from outside the fences. Much of the quarry can be seen >from the 35th line, but you will need your HT's to get a decent view. Cheers, James Holdsworth, Biological Consulting Services 14 Marian St, RR#1 Woodstock, On, N4S-7V6 [519]537-2027 226-228-1428 [cell] - note - NEW jmholdswo...@rogers.com ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - 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
[Ontbirds] Linwood CBC, December 28th
The 8th annual Linwood CBC was held today, December 28, 2013. 31 participants participated in the count. Weather was mild (-4 to +3), with winds moderately strong from the west and southwest in the morning and afternoon, respectively. A total of 47 species (plus 1 CW species) were seen on count-day, of 10,068 individual birds. New species for the count: American Pipit - 2 birds near Millbank Northern Flicker - singles in Heidelberg, and near Wellesley Raptors: The Linwood count was created to document the high numbers of raptors utilizing the area. This year didn't disappoint, despite the freezing rain from the previous week. Bald Eagle - 7 (record high) Sharp-shinned Hawk - 4 Cooper's Hawk - 7 Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 the long-staying adult at Hawkesville (this is the 11th consecutive year its been here) Red-tailed Hawk - 104 (2nd highest count) Rough-legged Hawk - 119 (record high is 120; this area has exceptional numbers wintering in the area) American Kestrel - 15 (this is a good count for recent years) Snowy Owl - 25 (record high; not unlike other areas reporting similar numbers; previous high was 11) Other interesting sightings: Ring-necked Pheasant - 1 (2nd record) Common Raven - 4 birds (record high, 5th count its been recorded on) Purple Finch - 2 bird Good Birding, Ken Burrell ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - 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
[Ontbirds] Eastern Ontario: Snowy owl irruption continues
Hi Ontbirds The Snowy Owl southward movement continues with more sightings from various areas in eastern Ontario. Today I observed 10+ in the Winchester area and yesterday 5 were found behind the Ottawa Airport. On the Massena -Cornwall CBC at least 3 were found. The overall total for eastern Ontario is now reaching 150 birds. This is unprecedented as far as I know for this region. Over the years there has been concentrated areas or "hot spots" like Wolfe or Amherst Island. With all of the sighting south of eastern Ontario there must be 100's of Snowy Owls in Ontario. I have found the best time to look for these owls is late day or on overcast days. Check all the telephone poles, fence posts, buildings in open farm land areas and tree tops. Good birding, Bruce Directions: If you require additional information please email me privately. 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 Cell 613-715-2571 ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - 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
[Ontbirds] Snowy Owl along Hwy 402
Towards dusk today (Dec. 28), Jennifer Templeton and I saw a Snowy Owl perched on top of a roadside sign along the north side of Hwy 402 (westbound). It was near exit 65, so roughly 60 km east of Sarnia. Jim Mountjoy Galesburg IL ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - 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
[Ontbirds] King Eider Burlington
A female King Eider was present at the Burlington Ship Canal on 27 Dec. It was loosely associated with the White-winged Scoters at the mouth of the canal. Declan ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - 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
[Ontbirds] Snowy OwlS
Today Ian Cannell and I went out to specifically find Snowy Owls in the Strongville area (along Hwy 26 SE of Wasaga Beach). the Holland Marsh area at Bradford and at the west end of Ravenshoe Road in Queensville and luck was with us. We came up with 19 Snowy Owls that included 17 female/juvenile types and 2 adult males plus Cooper’s and Rough-legged Hawks A. Kestrel, Wild Turkeys, red-bellied, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Common Raven, 3 Northern Shrikes, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Golden-crowned Kinglets and Snow Buntings. All in all a good day to be out there after the icy time I spent in the dark here at home. Sent from my Halleberry. Norm Murr Richmond Hill Ontario, Canada ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - 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
[Ontbirds] Pakenham-Arnprior CBC preliminary results
Pakenham-Arnprior CBC December 26 Historical Note: The first Arnprior CBC was held in 1913 by Charles Macnamara, which makes this the centennial year for CBCs in the Arnprior region (this count ran until the mid 1930s). The Pakenham CBC was initiated in 1925 by Edna Ross and ran under that name until 1969; in 1970 the count circle was shifted very slightly and the count name was changed to the current Pakenham-Arnprior CBC to recognize the two historic counts that its area currently incorporates. Despite popular rumours, I did not take part in the first Arnprior CBC but this was my 47th consecutive Pakenham/ Pakenham- Arnprior CBC. Unlike the situation for many counts held in southern Ontario this season, good weather prevailed. Wind was light (13 km northeast maximum) and temperatures were relatively mild (-16 to 9 deg C). Light overcast conditions all day with intermittent extremely light snow for the most part did not reduce visibility. All still water was frozen and even the mighty Madawaska River remained completely frozen (Hydro dam gates did not open that day). Thus, open water for waterfowl was at a minimum and no gulls were seen. Deep snow combined with a crust insufficiently hard to support a person reduced the amount of coverage in wooded areas. These conditions were factors in the total count of 48 species, our lowest in many years. However, the total species count will rise to 49 if a report of 30+ Pine Siskins submitted by a feeder watcher is confirmed. Interestingly, a flock of 30+ Pine Siskins turned up at the feeders of an excellent birder the day after the count, adding more credence to the report of count day. Apart from American Goldfinch and a few House Finches and Purple Finches (and those possible Pine Siskins), finches were noticeably (but not surprisingly) absent: there were no crossbills, redpolls, or Evening Grosbeaks. With a record number of highly skilled observers in the field, excellent coniferous habitat, and near-perfect hearing conditions, the paucity of finches could not have come in a worse year! Additionally there were no blackbirds on the count, a reflection of the severely cold temperatures that have dominated the early part of this winter. Significant birds/numbers were: Varied Thrush 1 (2nd record, ties record high) Snowy Owl 15 (new record high) Barred Owl 8 (new record high) Eastern Screech-Owl - 2 (new record high) Dark-eyed Junco 350 (new record high) Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 (6th count, ties record high) Belted Kingfisher 2 (10th count, ties record high) Also of note: American Robin 42 (not a record but still a very high count due to the abundance of wild fruit this year) House Sparrow 127 (very low count, their decline continues. I did not see even a single House Sparrow, making this the first time that I missed this species on this count). Count week birds (with one more day to go): Horned Lark, Yellow-rumped Warbler Happy Birding! Michael Runtz ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - 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
[Ontbirds] Snowy Owl on 3rd Street Louth St Catharines Ontario
There is a Snowy Owl near corner of 5th Ave Louth and 3rd Street Louth by new hospital in St. Catharines Ontario.The Owl is on the east side of 3rd Street Louth in the field. Good Birding Glenn ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - 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
