Migrant birds remain thin in the woods today. The best bird was a Louisiana Waterthrush that sang loudly at the beginning of Spicebush trail. A total of 10 other warbler species were seen. Rusty Blackbirds remain scattered throughout the wooded swamps.
At nearby Erieau an American Pipit was reported and species such as this may well be present but unreported along the infrequently visited South Beach of Rondeau. The Friends of Rondeau are sponsoring two guided hikes daily until May 23rd. For more information on activities and todays sightings check out their website at: www.rondeauprovincialpark.ca David Bree Friends of Rondeau Birder in Residence ------------------------------------------------- This mail sent through IMP: http://horde.org/imp/ From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed May 5 19:35:11 2004 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from outbox.allstream.net (outbox.allstream.net [207.245.244.41]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 925AF49456 for <ontbirds@hwcn.org>; Wed, 5 May 2004 19:35:11 -0400 (EDT) Received: from mcranford (trt-on56-132.dial.allstream.net [142.154.111.196]) by outbox.allstream.net (Allstream MTA) with SMTP id 3B5175D30 for <ontbirds@hwcn.org>; Wed, 5 May 2004 19:37:04 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.5 (32) Date: Wed, 05 May 2004 19:39:34 -0400 To: ontbirds@hwcn.org From: Mark Cranford <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Subject: [Ontbirds] FWD : ROCK WREN - Elk Lake X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 05 May 2004 23:35:11 -0000 Forwarding for Stan Phippen email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Whom that may be interested. I was at the Elk Lake Eco Resource Centre, at Elk Lake Ontario. We had a fairly substantial outfall of migrating birds due to the large amount of snow that came down (primarily Hermit Thrush and Robin). While at the Eco Centre (yesterday the 4th of May and today the 5th) I noticed a bird acting very strangely around the main centre. This bird was flying up into the overhanging canopies and appeared to feeding on insects?? I had a closer look and it first appeared to be either a warbler. On closer inspection, I noticed that it had a slightly down-curved bill and it was longer than any warbler bill that I had ever seen. I then noticed that it had white speckling on its back and that it was a fairly nondescript bird. The notes that I made this morning were as follows. The bird was approximately 4-5 inches long and it "pumped" its body almost every time it called, similar to an American Dipper. Slightly down curved bill and slender Head and nape was a greyish brown. Some speckling on the back It tails flicks upwards sometimes Dark legs Throat is whitish but slightly grayer than the under body The rump appears to be a tan colour, especially when it flies There appears to be a slight, white eye ring. Also, there was a slight tan section on its flanks, which appeared to be mostly covered by the wings (it only appeared near the wings) The call note was relatively short trill - about 4-5 seconds long, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter) (something like a cross between a Brown Thrasher (couplets) and a Bohemian Waxwing (raspy trill) The strange things were that when frightened, primarily by other birds it went for cover under the overhanging roof, up into the rafters, and disappeared for a short period of time. Once I saw it on top of the building (about 25 feet up) a Winter Wren began singing and this bird panicked and then flew very quickly down to the ground and went briefly into a 4 inch culvert beside the building (that was the farthest I saw it from the building). I never saw this bird anywhere else, including the adjacent woods, except around the building. I even saw it searching the ornamental rock piles for what I presumed was food. The building had two small ornamental rock piles, a patio deck around the building made of lock stone. The canopy was extending over three of lock stone areas and extended for about 10 feet in one spot. This was where the bird seem to favour. It also had a peculiar habit of scaling (hopping up the steep roof) and perching at the apex. Sometimes it would give the aforementioned call other times it just perched there. I did manage to get photos on a coworker's digital camera and hopefully he will send them to me tomorrow. I ruled out Winter, Carolina, Bewick, House, and Canyon Wrens as I have seen them before and they did not resemble any of them. Based on observations I strongly suspect this is a Rock Wren. If anyone is interested in calling me on this they can at work At: (705) 272- 7123 or at home at (705) 272-3312. Elk Lake is found north of North Bay and northwest of New Liskeard off Highway 11. The Elk Lake Eco Resource Centre is just on the edge of the town along the Montreal River. Cheers, Stan Phippen P.S. I just went onto a site http://www.junglewalk.com/frames.asp and the wav file rowr2 sounds identical to the bird I heard this morning!!!! --- Mark Cranford ONTBIRDS Coordinator Mississauga, Ontario [EMAIL PROTECTED] 905 279 9576 From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed May 5 20:57:01 2004 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from tomts10-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts10.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.54]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id D6EB448C44 for <ontbirds@hwcn.org>; Wed, 5 May 2004 20:57:00 -0400 (EDT) Received: from computer ([206.172.167.183]) by tomts10-srv.bellnexxia.net (InterMail vM.5.01.06.05 201-253-122-130-105-20030824) with SMTP id <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> for <ontbirds@hwcn.org>; Wed, 5 May 2004 20:58:36 -0400 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "Steve Charbonneau" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <ontbirds@hwcn.org> Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 20:58:08 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1106 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1106 Subject: [Ontbirds] RUFF at Blenheim Sewage Lagoons X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: Steve Charbonneau <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 00:57:01 -0000 Hi Everyone, At 5:30 this evening (Wed.), I found a RUFF at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons. It was wading around with the gulls and other shorebirds in the irrigation ponds to the north of the first pond on the north side. This particular individual has a black head and white throat. The "ruffled" feathers are not yet developed on this bird. An interesting individual nonetheless. After going through the gate (you need a permit from the Blenheim Town Office), walk left and follow the berm of the first large pond. There is a large building at the end of the pond and the 4 small irrigation cells are to the north side of it. When I was there, there was only one cell containing water but this can change daily. Directions: Blenheim is located between Chatham and Rondeau Park. Exit the 401 at what they used to call Hwy. 40. Go south to Blenheim. At the main street in Blenheim (the stop light) turn right or west. Go out of Blenheim on this road (what they used to call Hwy.3) for approx. 1.5 km. Turn right (north) on Lagoon Rd. and continue north 1 km. to the lagoons. I remind you that you must have a permit from the town office located in Blenheim. Steve Charbonneau Erie Beach in Chatham-Kent, Ontario [EMAIL PROTECTED]
