On a tip from Bruce Brydon, Mike Van den Tillaart and I checked the sod farm on the west side of Leslie St. south of Keswick. The road is without a road sign, but the intersection is marked and west of Leslie shows a "no exit" sign. East of Leslie it is closed for work on the extension of the 404. It is a dirt track with some deceptively deep potholes. Stay out of the ruts unless you are in an SUV. At the west end of the field on the north side of the track, close up against the woods, was a mixed flock of 17 Black-bellied Plovers, 1 Lesser Golden Plover, all in winter plumage, 2 Semi-palmated Plovers, 9 Pectoral Sandpipers, 6 White-rumped Sandpipers and 1 Semi-palmated Sandpiper. There were many Yellow-rumped Warblers in the woods as well as a Nashville and a Tennessee. There was a Blue-headed Vireo and many Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a Hermit Thrush for good measure. The track goes through the woods to the agricultural land of the Ravenshoe Flats where Snowy Owls are often found in winter so if one has time it is a pleasant walk. Mike observed a Sharp-shinned Hawk harassing various passerines and a female Pileated Woodpecker. We also saw a mangy looking coyote and after that no shorebirds, but Bruce's tip was a couple of days old so they have been around for a while. Kevin Shackleton _______________________________________________ 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/
