[Ontbirds] York Region Migrants
As with many parts of Ontario, York region benefited from balmy temps and southerly winds that ushered in a good variety of spring migrants this week. Killdeer, Red-winged Blackbirds, Cm. Grackles, Robins, Cowbirds, Horned Larks, and Song Sparrows moved in en masse over the past several days. Last Sunday Bruce Brydon had the first TUNDRA SWANS of the season for this area (three of them along Hochreiter Road near Holland Landing) but they went unobserved again until today when Gord Cameron and I observed three (same birds?) at that location. Between the vernal ponds along Hochreiter Road and the fully thawed West Holland River, 13 duck species have been observed since Tuesday: NORTHERN PINTAIL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, WOOD DUCK, NORTHERN SHOVELER, RING-NECKED DUCK, HOODED CM. MERGANSER, GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON, BUFFLEHEAD, CM. GOLDENEYE, BLACK DUCK, and, of course, MALLARD. Despite the good variety, waterfowl numbers have been lower than previous years (at least so far). Returning birds of prey have also moved in. The local population of Red-tailed Hawks appears to have doubled over the past week while the one or two NORTHERN HARRIERS reported sporadically through the winter months have been joined by several others in the Holland Marsh area (i.e. Bradford, Holland Landing, and Keswick) this week. The first TURKEY VULTURES of the season were observed by both Bruce Brydon and Kevin Shackleton in the Newmarket/Holland Landing area Thursday. On the same day Craig Corcoran reported the first RED-SHOULDERED HAWK of the year (for York Region) a few kms south of the Happy Valley forest NW of Nobleton. On both Monday and Wednesday an adult male SNOWY OWL was present in the Holland Marsh vegetable fields south of Bradford but I have not been able to rediscover him since. There have been no reports of Snowies along Bathurst St. N. or Ravenshoe Rd. this week. On Monday a BALD EAGLE flew over Silver Lakes Golf Course in north Holland Landing. The first EASTERN BLUEBIRDS of the year showed up at Craig Corcoran's rural property near Nobleton on Thursday while perhaps the last SNOW BUNTINGS of the season (a flock of 40+) were observed at the north end of Bathurst St. by Gord Cameron and I today. As reported by Chip Weseloh, GREAT BLUE HERONS are already back on territory in Richmond Hill; Bruce Brydon had the first one in the Holland Landing area Friday. Three WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS that wintered along Devald Rd. in the Holland Marsh were observed again today by Gord Cameron. Meadowlarks, Snipe, Woodcock, and Pied-billed Grebe - among others - should show up any day now...! Ron Fleming, Newmarket York Region is north of Toronto and south of Lake Simcoe. ___ 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]York Region Migrants
(Capitalization of bird names below is for quick scanning.) There have been several early arrival dates this spring, more being added this weekend. Yesterday (May 3), Keith Dunn observed WOOD THRUSH, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, OVENBIRD, YELLOW WARBLER and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER in Holland Landing. Kevin Shackleton and Keith had an EASTERN TOWHEE north of Pottageville later that morning. On a West Humber Naturalists' hike along the Oak Ridges Trail in King City the same day, Martin Chen and I had 60 species before the rain moved in around noon. Highlights included GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER (1), LEAST FLYCATCHER (2), WARBLING VIREO (1), OSPREY (a nesting pair), WINTER WREN (1), and EASTERN BLUEBIRD (2 pairs). We also had seven warbler species including BLK. THROATED GREEN (8), BLACK WHITE (2), NASHVILLE (3), N. WATERTHRUSH (6), and OVENBIRD (2). After Martin departed at 11:30, I did a quick walk on the west side of Keele Street and added HOUSE WREN (2), BALTIMORE ORIOLE (1), VEERY (1), BROWN CREEPER (2), and numerous WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS. On 17th Sdrd. east of Keele there were two Lesser Yellowlegs and a male Wood Duck keeping company in a flooded field. This morning along the wooded section of Hochreiter Road northwest of Holland Landing there was another Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a Pileated Woodpecker, a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, several White-Crowned Sparrows, Brown Creepers, RC Kinglets and N. Waterthrush, as well as one BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER and one PALM WARBLER. The wet fields on the south side of the road (farther west) yielded both BW and GW Teal, eight N. SHOVELER drakes, and 16 Lesser Yellowlegs. Just west of Newmarket there were three SOLITARY SANDPIPERS in a wet field beside Dufferin Street 2 kms north of Miller Sdrd. Ron Fleming, Newmarket DIRECTIONS: York Region is just north of Toronto and south of Lake Simcoe. Hochreiter Road and the north end of Bathurst Street are accessed by taking Yonge St. northwest out of Newmarket. About halfway between Newmarket and Bradford there is a stoplight indicating Bathurst St. North. Turn right, then a quick left. Bathurst crosses the RR tracks then runs straight north. Take it to all the way up, continuing past Queensville Sdrd. Hochreiter Rd. is directly west of the road into Albert's Marina but bear in mind that it is a muddy, rutted dirt road. The Oak Ridges trail runs east-west along the moraine after which it is named. Just north of King City the trail crosses Keele Street about 1 km north of 15th Sdrd. There is a stile on the west side of Keele and a trail sign on the east side, as well as a gravel shoulder where you can pull off and park. By walking east you can check out the Mary Lake property and the Millar side trail (which is always a bit wet but can be good for birds). Walking west you will enter the Seneca College property, which has an excellent mix of open fields, a small lake, and a well-marked trail through mixed forest that eventually brings you to the beautiful Eaton estate, now used for receptions and weddings. Birding can be good all along this section of the Oak Ridges trail, as well as the eastern arc of the Millar side trail, which departs from the main trail and leads back to Keele. (The Millar side trail actually describes a circle, one semi-circle situated on the west side of Keele, one on the east.) ___ 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/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds]York Region Migrants
In response to a few queries regarding birds in York Region, here is an update: HOLLAND LANDING - Shorebird numbers at the lagoons have dropped off sharply through September, but sightings of Ruff elsewhere in the province prompted me to check today. Unfortunately, the only ruff' involved was the finding of birds. The usually productive 2nd cell has high water levels at this point and held no shorebirds whatsoever while the 4th cell, almost completely devoid of water now, held only 20 shorebirds. These were: PECTORAL SANDPIPER (5), SEMIPALMATED PLOVER (1 juv.), LSR. YELLOWLEGS (6 juv.), LEAST SANDPIPER (5), KILLDEER (3). The most interesting birds present at HL today were 15 AMERICAN PIPITS, all bobbing their tails and shining tawnily in the 4th lagoon. In the 3rd cell there are still about 50 Bonaparte's Gulls lingering, today accompanied by almost as many Ring-bills. There were also two PIED-BILLED GREBES in the this lagoon, plus three NORTHERN SHOVELERS and at least 35 WOOD DUCKS in various stages of molt. Some of the male Woodies are back into the striking alternate plumage loved by photographers, but most are only sporting white chin straps while the females are showing their white eye dots. There are still 100+ Teal lingering at the lagoons, all of them looking very non-descript in their basic plumage. Numerous nervous flights reveal mosts of them (i.e. 70%) to be Blue-wings. KESWICK AREA - The best shorebird seen recently in York was a single RED-NECKED PHALAROPE observed by Irving Himel Saturday morning in one of three small ponds that sit on the east side of Varney Road north of Keswick. I looked for it Sunday to no avail. Cook's Bay held scores of Caspian Terns, at least three Greater Black-backed Gulls, and over 1,000 DC Cormorants. NEWMARKET - On Saturday, Mike Van den Tillaart had two RUSTY BLACKBIRDS at the Cawthra Mulock Reserve west of Bathurst, then on Sunday he observed several migrant passerines along the Holland River Trail including RB GROSBEAK and PURPLE FINCH. KING CITY - The wooded northern part of the Seneca College property (between Dufferin and Keele Streets just north of King City proper) held several migrant passerines on Sunday, especially along the main trail that runs east-west on the northern property line. Best of these was a CANADA WARBLER (among 8 warbler species), three vireo sp. (Blue-headed, Red-eyed and a bright Philadelphia), two Brown Creepers, and two Swainson's Thrushes. (Many thanx to the couple I met who alerted me to the mini-wave along that Oak Ridges trail.) Also present was a juvenile COOPER'S HAWK that did several slow circles to allow excellent views near the beautiful Eaton chateau, and a rich brown female (or juvenile) NORTHERN HARRIER struggling with a large kill (muskrat? rabbit?) along the north shore of the lake. Ron Fleming, Newmarket York Region is directly north of Toronto and on the south side of Lake Simcoe. Because there are several locations listed here, please e-mail me privately if you require specific directions. ___ 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]York Region Migrants
Some expected but relatively early migrants moved into York Region this week. Three noteworthy species observed in Newmarket were a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD (not an easy get in this town), an EASTERN PHOEBE, and a HERMIT THRUSH. In northeastern Richmond Hill on Wednesday, Graham Leonard had five GREAT BLUE HERONS - the first ones to arrive back at the heronry north of Elgin Mills Rd. and east of Leslie St. this spring. On Thursday in the Holland Marsh south of Bradford, 26 TUNDRA SWANS were keeping company with Mallards and Canada Geese in a flooded field southeast of Jonkman's Corners but it wasn't until this afternoon that the first noteable push of waterfowl showed up. In the flooded fields on the north side of Hochreiter Rd. (west side of Bathurst St. North between Newmarket and Bradford), there were TUNDRA SWANS (52), N. PINTAILS (50+), N. SHOVELERS (5), GW TEAL (8), RING-NECKED DUCKS (2), WOOD DUCKS (4), BLACK DUCKS (10), and CANVASBACKS (2). There were also a few hundred Canada Geese and Mallards. At the Cawthra Mulock Reserve in NW Newmarket there was an influx of GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS (20+) and an always welcome PILEATED WOODPECKER. Yesterday, just before entering the Kortright Centre to see an excellent presentation by Dr. Daniel Mennill (Univ. of Windsor) about his search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Florida, Julia Marko had a pair of HOODED MERGANSERS in the West Humber River. Al Johnson had the same species at his pond east of Aurora. Ron Fleming, Newmarket York Region is north of Toronto and south of Lake Simcoe. For the record, Hochreiter Rd. is a bit of a driving nightmare. It can be navigated, but the mud and puddles on this one-lane dirt road could cause a vehicle to get stuck... and that would not be conducive to a good day's birding, so think twice before trying it. You can always walk in the 1.5 km... From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Mar 24 06:26:08 2007 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from an-out-0708.google.com (an-out-0708.google.com [209.85.132.244]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C8A1863476 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sat, 24 Mar 2007 05:26:07 -0500 (EST) Received: by an-out-0708.google.com with SMTP id c16so1667134ana for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sat, 24 Mar 2007 03:26:08 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=beta; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:message-id:date:from:to:subject:mime-version:content-type:content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition; b=qL/00YXIg8ruEMPmYVQKbJLE5tKYQc21jCDE55GuCdb/4inZi4jYSfL0rS4WxfKrZja60kYDgcSAx0WgMjqkQNS1djeenUS5v/3hqSoEn4zM0iS3k65MITpVcWAiHzcKN1OZQ5XftRGtgXnGgf4pbQ+RZyXPZH3kaQRuGUGS9Sg= DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws;d=gmail.com; s=beta; h=received:message-id:date:from:to:subject:mime-version:content-type:content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition; b=pwmBaVnDu3uRgnCipc1amhfpoPHLJnA949x0en9AU4jNFLd5+S1tQakXqb71rwLRz5lWCBZAno3DmwXD6aKkYbyndTajI4Iq203pv2TcbYhOEOaXUa1buxg6s1+jNF/UR2mQEoDsQAEh2dhZNKrjojrLbx0VoSZFtsBB2ODKUxE= Received: by 10.100.107.2 with SMTP id f2mr3421801anc.1174731967922; Sat, 24 Mar 2007 03:26:07 -0700 (PDT) Received: by 10.100.123.17 with HTTP; Sat, 24 Mar 2007 03:26:07 -0700 (PDT) Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 06:26:07 -0400 From: Mike Street [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ONTBIRDS ontbirds@hwcn.org, HMANA BIRDHAWK [EMAIL PROTECTED] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Subject: [Ontbirds]More than 1500 raptors at Beamer CA Friday 23 March 2007 X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 10:26:08 - After a relatively quiet first three weeks of the 2007 season, the dam finally broke. By 4PM Daylight Saving Time yesterday, Friday 23 March 2007, more than 1500 raptors had been tallied by Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch counters at Beamer Conservation Area in Grimsby, ON. It appeared that birds might fly until dusk. Official Counter George Meyers advises that as of 4PM DST the count was: Turkey Vulture 862 Bald Eagle 6 Northern Harrier 6 Sharp-shinned Hawk 37 Cooper's Hawk 25 Northern Goshawk 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 229 Red-tailed Hawk 349 Rough-legged Hawk 7 American Kestrel 3 Unidentified Buteo 6 Total as of 4PM DST 1533 It is possible that after the disturbance passes today, Saturday March 24, that a second wave of raptors may come through. A final report for Friday will be posted later. Posting on behalf of the NPH: Mike Street Ancaster, Ontario, Canada PLEASE NOTE NEW ADDRESS: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Mar 24 09:57:01 2007 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from smtp-05.primus.ca (mail5.primus.ca [216.254.141.172])
[Ontbirds]York Region Migrants
The migration that started as a trickle Sunday and Monday became a small flood on Tuesday and Wednesday. RW Blackbirds, Cm. Grackles, Cowbirds, Am. Robins, and Killdeer showed up in numerous locations across York Region. Even year-round residents like Wild Turkey, N. Cardinal, and Pileated Woodpecker were making themselves conspicuous in response to the springlike conditions. Typical of the season, a cold snap moved in right after that, stalling the migration, but there were still some interesting birds around and about at the end of the week: on Thursday morning a lingering SNOWY OWL (white adult) was easy to see against the brown soil of the Holland Marsh between Hwy. 400 and Jane St. (north side of Woodchopper's Lane). The first TURKEY VULTURE of the season was tilting northward on Bathurst St. between Aurora and Newmarket that same day, and today two more were following the same flight path at noon. This morning just north of the busy intersection at Bathurst and Davis Drive (west Newmarket), Keith Dunn found an early SONG SPARROW singing in a small cattail area, then observed another one on the northern extension of Bathurst near Queensville Sdrd. The 41 TUNDRA SWANS that were hooting their way along the frozen Holland River on Monday have not been seen since then, nor have the Snow Buntings that were in the same general area (west side of Bathurst St. North above Queensville Sdrd.), but Keith tallied ten tagged Trumpeters trumpeting tastefully on a frozen pond just south of Hwy. 9 on Dufferin Street today. Bathurst St. North was relatively quiet this morning except for a female NORTHERN HARRIER flying low over the reeds south of Hochreiter Rd.; Keith had a male there yesterday. This species has been scarce since the deep freeze that set in around mid-January. A second check of Bathurst St. North in the late afternoon yielded 50+ Canada Geese and about 200 Mallards - very common birds, but the gathering of this many Mallards suggests that they are not all birds that wintered here. Northern Pintail and other waterfowl will likely join these birds along Bathurst North as soon as temps rise and the fields flood. I have still heard no reports of Eastern Meadowlark, Great Blue Heron, American Woodcock or Eastern Phoebe in York region, but with warm weather coming (evenually), the next few weeks should yield these species and more. YORK BIRDERS who visit this website, please e-mail me some of your observations - more messages regarding birds would make for a much more comprehensive regional report - and that would be great! Ron Fleming, Newmarket All of the areas described here are in the general vicinity of Newmarket, which lies north of Toronto, about halfway to Barrie. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Mar 16 16:47:11 2007 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from bay0-omc1-s37.bay0.hotmail.com (bay0-omc1-s37.bay0.hotmail.com [65.54.246.109])by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0EF766347F for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Fri, 16 Mar 2007 15:47:11 -0500 (EST) Received: from bayc1-pasmtp05.bayc1.hotmail.com ([65.54.191.165]) by bay0-omc1-s37.bay0.hotmail.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.2668); Fri, 16 Mar 2007 13:47:10 -0700 X-Originating-IP: [64.229.222.122] X-Originating-Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from dianaoffice ([64.229.222.122]) by bayc1-pasmtp05.bayc1.hotmail.com over TLS secured channel with Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.1830); Fri, 16 Mar 2007 13:47:10 -0700 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Mike Williamson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 16:47:03 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; reply-type=original Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3028 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3028 X-OriginalArrivalTime: 16 Mar 2007 20:47:10.0303 (UTC) FILETIME=[449796F0:01C7680C] cc: Rayfield Pye [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Ontbirds]Great Blue Heron Durham Region X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 20:47:12 - Hello; Spring must just be around the corner ,as today March 16/07 I watched as 1 bird flew back forth with nesting material at the Heronry at York/Durham town line Taunton Rd. Cheers Mike Williamson Pckering Ontario
[Ontbirds]York Region Migrants
There were some migrants of at least local interest in the northwest part of York region this weekend. Yesterday afternoon on the west side of 2nd Concession just north of Newmarket, Bruce Brydon had two BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS. I drove up there this afternoon but the plovers were gone. As consolation there were three GREATER YELLOWLEGS and a dozen Killdeer. Since I was about halfway to Keswick at that point, I continued northward to check the west end of Ravenshoe Road, which runs along the southern perimeter of that town. Just west of property #562 in a big puddle on the north side of the road there was a surprisingly good selection of birds that included 18 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, 3 BLK.-BELLIED PLOVER, 16 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 13 DUNLIN, 2 LSR. YELLOWLEGS, and a flock of about 30 AMERICAN PIPITS. Further west, close to where Ravenshoe Rd. dead ends at the Holland River, I turned onto a desolate fragment of Yonge St. and drove to its muddy southern terminus. As I got out of my van I flushed an AMERICAN BITTERN. It flew south into the huge marsh area there. Returning to Newmarket via Holland Landing, I did a quick stop at the sewage lagoons. There was very little bird activity, but the last cell held 72 BONAPARTE'S GULLS and about 30 GW TEAL. As I was leaving I observed a COOPER'S HAWK circling high overhead. I stopped at the Cawthra Mulock reserve on Bathurst St. in northwest Newmarket and also found it to be quiet, but I did manage to find two GB HERONS, numerous kingets of both species, several White-throated Sparrows, a PILEATED WOODPECKER, and 7 HERMIT THRUSHES feeding on wild grapes with a flock of about 60 robins. Ron Fleming, Newmarket DIRECTIONS: The 2nd Concession is the northern extension of Main St. out of Newmarket. The puddle where Bruce had the plovers and I had the G. yellowlegs is on the west side of the road, about a km north of Queensville Sdrd. Ravenshoe Road, as mentioned, runs along the southern edge of the town of Keswick. It is accessed by taking Leslie St. north from Newmarket. At the stoplights where there is a gas station and a Country Style Donuts, turn left and follow Ravenshoe down the hill, past the ball diamonds, past Lake and Canal streets, and out into the flat expanse of the vegetable fields. (This area is a good place to check in winter for Snow buntings, Rough-legged hawks, and Snowy Owls.) The Holland Landing lagoons are at the eastern terminus of Cedar Ave., a short street that runs east from Yonge St. in the north part of Holland Landing. This section of Yonge Street runs south from Queensville Sdrd. The Cawthra Mulock reserve is on the west side of Bathurst, just north of Green Lane in NW Newmarket. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Oct 15 17:57:07 2006 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from taiga.com (mail.taiga.com [204.11.32.182]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id BF90A63919 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sun, 15 Oct 2006 17:57:06 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 25491 invoked by uid 30); 15 Oct 2006 21:52:15 - Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 15 Oct 2006 17:10:15 -0400 Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch (14 Oct 2006) 1450 Raptors X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 21:57:07 - Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 14, 2006 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture1358 8524 9615 Osprey 2 48265 Bald Eagle 4 69284 Northern Harrier 3369 1320 Sharp-shinned Hawk 51 2915 8574 Cooper's Hawk3164316 Northern Goshawk 1 16 24 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 34 41 Broad-winged Hawk0 1095 43080 Red-tailed Hawk 17724856 Rough-legged Hawk0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 3574 4972 Merlin 3 19205 Peregrine Falcon 4 21 98 Unknown 5 30 Total:1450 14577 69680 -- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time:
[Ontbirds]York Region Migrants
In York region, which is north of Toronto and south of Lake Simcoe, the flooded fields at the northern terminus of Bathurst Street constitute a sort of poor man's Long Point. The spectacle of seeing literally thousands of swans, ducks and geese staging along the northern shore of Lake Erie is one of the great draws of that marvellous location but, for those who cannot always get down there, some consolation lies in knowing that many (though by no means all) of the species that migrate through Long Point also occur here, though in much smaller numbers and for a shorter period of time. Due to last weekend's balmy temperatures, a great deal of snow and ice has melted to form vast puddles in the fields on the west side of Bathurst and the north side of Hochreiter Lane. Tundra Swan numbers went from four on Saturday to thirteen on Sunday and up to 70 today. Northern Pintails, which showed up in small numbers last weekend, were up to approx. 300 today. Also present, of course, were thousands of Canada Geese and several hundred Mallards accompanied today by 30+ Green-winged Teal, 30+ Black Ducks, a pair of Wood Ducks, and one Greater-black Backed Gull. A pair of Northern Harriers was actively hunting on the west side of Bathurst and local Red-tail Hawks in several locations were busy doing flight displays and interactions. In the now thawed canal south of Bradford there were two different groups of Hooded Mergansers, the males in fine form with crests raised handsomely for their female escorts. Ron Fleming, Newmarket From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thu Mar 16 17:57:28 2006 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from out1.mondenet.com (out1.mondenet.com [209.167.90.41]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DE71663B92 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Thu, 16 Mar 2006 17:57:03 -0500 (EST) Received: from barclay.mondenet.com ([EMAIL PROTECTED] [192.168.0.134]) by out1.mondenet.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id k2GMv23i001718 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Thu, 16 Mar 2006 17:57:02 -0500 Received: from paul1r5oai2xm9 (host-209.167.194.104.mondenet.com [209.167.194.104] (may be forged)) by barclay.mondenet.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with SMTP id k2GMuxg4007245 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Thu, 16 Mar 2006 17:57:00 -0500 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Elsa_Su=E1rez__Paul_Matthews?= [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 17:55:21 -0500 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]Northern Goshawk, Clyde Ave woods, Ottawa X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Elsa_Su=E1rez__Paul_Matthews?= [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 22:57:28 - This morning a very vocal immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK was in the Clyde Ave = woods. I don't know what all the squawking was about. There was no sign = of any of the owls that have recently been reported from this location, = but a small (4 to 6) group of WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS briefly dropped in = before departing again. Further out of town, there was an early EASTERN = BLUEBIRD at the corner of Fifth Line and Berry Side Rd. Paul Matthews, Ottawa Clyde Ave woods can be accessed from either the west end of Morisset Ave = (which is off Merivale between Carling and Baseline) or the north end of = the southern section of Clyde Ave (for example, from the Clyde and = Baseline intersection go north on Clyde and exit straight to stay on = Clyde (rather than bearing left with all the traffic to Maitland Ave); = go to end of Clyde to find woods on right/east). From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thu Mar 16 18:44:39 2006 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from taiga.com (mail.taiga.com [204.11.32.182]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 3EFD663AB2 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Thu, 16 Mar 2006 18:44:09 -0500 (EST) Received: (qmail 21794 invoked by uid 30); 16 Mar 2006 23:43:26 - Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 16 Mar 2006 18:03:26 -0400 Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: Beamer Conservation Area (12 Mar 2006) 39 Raptors X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 23:44:39 - Beamer Conservation Area Grimsby, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 12, 2006 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture
[Ontbirds]York Region Migrants
An interesting migration overlap on Friday featured a GRAY CATBIRD along the John F. Smith Trail in southwest Newmarket in the morning and a light-phase ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK hunting near Green Lane (west of Yonge Street) in the afternoon. The former bird will almost surely be heading south into the U.S. any day now whereas the latter may choose to make York region the southern limit of its migration. On Saturday the Holland Landing lagoons still held a dozen juvenile PECTORAL SANDPIPERS with bright braces down the back, one adult DUNLIN, 70+ Green-winged Teal, 40 Mallards, 3 Northern Shovelers, 3 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Black Ducks and one Lesser Scaup. There were also numerous Ring-billed and Bonaparte's Gulls. The most interesting bird at the lagoons was a textbook BLACK DUCK x MALLARD HYBRID (adult male) in alternate plumage (see Sibley's illustration on pg. 83 of his excellent field guide). It was in the third lagoon late Saturday afternoon, looking like a Green-winged Teal on steroids. This morning (Sunday) there were 22 HOODED MERGANSERS at the MacKenzie Marsh in north Aurora, two of them adult males in full display, strutting their stuff for an audience of impressionable females and juveniles. A lingering Great Blue Heron observed the proceedings with indifference. A late afternoon hike through the Cawthra-Mulock nature reserve this afternoon yielded very few birds, though there were about 120 Richardson's Geese in the pond and, in the wooded ravine that traces an east-west line through the middle of the property, there were a few notable resident birds: RUFFED GROUSE (1), GREAT HORNED OWL (1) and BROWN CREEPER (1). Ron Fleming, Newmarket The Holland Landing lagoons are at the eastern terminus of Cedar Avenue, a short street which runs east from Yonge Street in the town of Holland Landing (look for the white wagon wheels in the driveway at the corner of Yonge Cedar). Holland Landing is just north of Newmarket. The CW Nature Reserve is just north of Green Lane in northwest Newmarket, on the west side of Bathurst Street. It is not specifically public, but rather a reserve intended for those who contribute to Ontario Nature, the organization to whom this land was granted by the property owners. Newmarket and Holland Landing are about halfway between Toronto and Barrie.
[Ontbirds]York Region Migrants
Mike Van den Tillaart, Fritz Fisher and I enjoyed a good morning of birding at the Holland Landing lagoons just north of Newmarket today. Highlights included 40+ Lesser Yellowlegs, one juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher, 20+ Least Sandpipers, about 15 Pectoral Sandpipers, three Semipalmated Plover, two Solitary Sandpipers, over a dozen Spotted Sandpipers, and several Killdeer. There will still numerous Bonaparte's Gulls (approx. 80), lots of Mallards and about a dozen each of Green-winged Teal, Blue-winged Teal and Wood Duck. Walking the perimeter of the lagoons we also had one Brown Thrasher, one Warbling Vireo, Cuckoo (more likely Black-billed than Yellow-billed for this area), a pair of Red-tailed Hawks, an Osprey and about 20 Chimney Swifts. I checked the Schomberg Lagoons in the early afternoon and observed 30 Lesser Yellowlegs, one Greater Yellowlegs, one Snipe, one Short-billed Dowitcher, 15 Least Sandpipers, 5 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 12 Spotted Sandpipers, one Solitary Sandpiper, 12 Killdeer, and two Bonaparte's Gulls. Ron Fleming, Newmarket Directions: The Holland Landing lagoons are at the end of Cedar Street in the north part of Holland Landing, accessed by turning east from Yonge Street (look for the white wagon wheels in front of the house on the corner of Yonge and Cedar). Cedar St. is between Doane Road (on the south) and Queensville Sdrd. (on the north). There are four cells, the first two (particularly the second one) offering the best shorebird habitat. You can walk around the whole property by going all the way to the farthest pond, then taking the slightly overgrown (but still quite passable) path south, then turning west along the southern perimeter of the ponds to the also slightly overgrown (but still quite passable) path that goes north and back to the secondary gate. Holland Landing is north of Newmarket and southeast of Bradford. The Schomberg lagoons are west of Hwy. 400. Take Hwy. 9 west to Hwy. 27 (which runs north out of Nobleton). Turn south and take the next left, which is Proctor Road (you will see a Harvest House furniture place on the east side of 27). As you approach the end of Proctor, turn right (south) just before the Schomberg Fire Hall. Park out of the way at the bend in the short gravel road. There is a gate, beyond which are three lagoons. The muddy perimeter of the second pond is best for shorebirds. For specific entry suggestions, contact me. If any one happens to try either of these lagoons, I'd be curious to know what you find. Many thanks to Ron Pittiway for his tips on shorebird ID, particularly his excellent article from OFO News in June 1999 entitled Soutbound Shorebirds.
