What was supposed to be a very quick lunch break from work (and Gull/Hawk/Owl cruise around the outskirts of the City Landfill in South London) turned out to be a Snowy Owl bonanza.
With the expection of one bird I found ~5 km from the dump (near Westminster Drive and Highbury Rd), there were *10 Snowy Owls* all less than 1km of the perimeter of the landfill, located on Manning Drive (between Wellington Road South and Wonderland Road South). This is just South of London and the 401. *5* Owls were seen with one binocular scan of the plowed fields (and small pasture) just East of the dump, off the North side of Manning Dr (there are two concrete silos at this location). The owls were ~3-400m from eachother. *3* more birds were observed off the North side of Manning as well (minutes later), only these were on the West side of the dump (West of White Oaks Road). Two were visible from Manning Drive and only 70-100m off the road. The third was best seen from White Oaks Road, .5km north of Manning and also on the West side of White Oaks Rd. *1* lone Owl was observed from White Oaks Road, just South of Manning Dr, on the East side of the road (400m from the road). The final Snowy Owl was observed from Westminster Drive (South side of the Road / North Side of the Dump), 200m off the road along a hedgerow snow drift. Sorry, that's mess of directions. Luckily the roads are not too busy, so one can relatively safely pull partly off the roads to scan. Make it easy on yourself and log on to eBird.....all these sightings are on there and will make sense on a map. *Directions:* *From either direction on the 401, take Wellington Road South exit at London, and conitinue to Manning Drive. Turning West takes you to the dump. You could always just follow the wiff, or the clouds of Gulls (5-6000 still, and 5-6 species)*. *Not a bad starting point. Work your way along area roads from here.* I'd say good luck, but you may not need any. take care, and have a safe and 'Snowy' holiday! Lucas Foerster _______________________________________________ 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
