The beginning of December has yielded some noteworthy sightings in this area between Toronto and Barrie.
Ann Brokelman sent me an email on December 2nd reporting the return of SNOWY OWLS to Ravenshoe Road in southwest Keswick. Since then she, Kevin Shackleton, and Linda Hollinshead have all been in touch with updates. Numbers have ranged from 2 owls to 6. Most of these have been in the vegetable fields south of Ravenshoe Road and east of the dirt road that passes (poses?) as Yonge Street at the western end of Ravenshoe. I counted four Snowy Owls in the latter area this morning with a possible 5th being too far away to distinguish between "real Snowy Owl" and "real white plastic container". Like many birders, I am hesitant to post about owls as there are some overly zealous individuals who insist on getting too close to the birds but the Snowies seen here each winter are generally well away from the road and a fairly safe distance from observers of any stripe. Ann's Dec. 2nd visit to the Keswick area also turned up a female NORTHERN HARRIER that was taking some aggressive swoops at one of the Snowies. She also observed a large flock of SNOW BUNTINGS (approx. 1000), 200 COMMON REDPOLLS, a male AMERICAN KESTREL, one BALD EAGLE (north side of Ravenshoe), and a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. I rediscovered what is likely the same American Kestrel at the corner of Ravenshoe & Yonge this morning as well as two flocks of Snow Buntings (80 & 50 respectively) and a dozen Common Redpolls among the roadside weeds on Yonge. On the opposite side of the Holland River (and therefore in Simcoe County), Peter Wukasch had two seperate flocks of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS on Wednesday of this week. One group of 70 was near Earl Rowe Public School on the 12th Line of Bradford/West Gwillimbury west of Yonge Street and another flock of nearly 200 was feeding in a flowering crab east of the 20th Concession along County Road 89 in Gilford. On Monday Peter turned up a BELTED KINGFISHER along Canal Road just south of Bradford (specifically near Pumphouse Road) and, in the company of Doug Jagger, he also observed one NORTHERN FLICKER, a COMMON RAVEN, and both AMERICAN WIDGEON and GADWALL in the waters of Cook's Bay near Gilford and Lefroy. These are all birds that we hope will linger until our local CBC on Dec. 29th. In the Nobleton area west of Hwy. 400 and north of the King Road, Craig Corcoran had a flock of 50 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS on his property near the 17th Sdrd. of King this week. Further north, where 17th Sdrd. dead ends at the Happy Valley Forest, a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER has been joined at a local feeder by a rare northern visitor - a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER this week. (Lest there be cynics, rest assured that observers Ann and David Love are solid observers who know their birds quite well.) In the Holland Marsh vegetable fields west of Newmarket today I was unable to find any Snowy Owls (they often show up in this area too) but did find one AMERICAN KESTREL, a dark brown MERLIN, a small flock of COMMON REDPOLLS (approx. 15), and two WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS at the west end of Devald Road (where we have found the latter species wintering for several years now). Kevin Shackleton's quest for 300 species in Ontario this year was boosted by the appearance of a HOARY REDPOLL at his north Newmarket feeders this week but he is still four species away from that milestone with time quickly running out. If anyone happens upon a Lapland Longspur, Grey Partridge, Northern Hawk Owl or Boreal Owl (yes, even outside York Region), please fire off an email and I will immediately pass the info on to him. Ron Fleming, Newmarket _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
