Hello folks: A productive late autumn day of birding along the north shore of Lake Ontario can best be described as a day of extreme contrasts: the snow(y)-named birds, a reptile, a dragonfly, a moth, warm sunshine, cold wind, sunny skies, dramatic skies and heavy snowfall made for the most unique November OFO outing to Cobourg Harbour, Presqu'ile Provincial Park and points between in the trip's fourth consecutive year.
At 8:30am, a group of birders that eventually numbered 25 collected at Cobourg Harbour to scan for gulls and waterfowl. Strong wind, breaking surf and nothing out of the ordinary bird-wise made this a quick visit. On a tip from Dave Milson's Peterborough contingent, we headed just north on Burnham Street N at Highway 401 exit 472 (Highway 18) where 6 SNOW GEESE roosted (and then quickly departed) with a group of CANADA GEESE. A quick stop at Chub Point in Grafton was unproductive, but 2 COMMON RAVENS flew over the Grafton exit (487) on the 401. We arrived at Presqu'ile Provincial Park mid-morning to find the 2 Snow Geese on Beach 1 that have been present for several days. Though one is noticeably smaller than the other, the consensus (with the aid of some nice photos) was that both birds are "Lesser" Snow Geese with no evident hybridization. The walk up to and back from Owen Point yielded an Eastern Gartersnake, an Autumn Meadowhawk and a noctuid moth in sheltered, sunlit parts of the trail. At the windy point, a lone DUNLIN fed with a small group of BONAPARTE'S GULLS. On Sebastopol Island north of Gull Island roosted a distant SNOWY OWL. Completing the "snowbird" trifecta were 2 SNOW BUNTINGS on a brief fly-by. All that was left was snow, but it was too sunny for that...right? None but the regular collection of ducks appeared at the Lighthouse and Calf Pasture in the early afternoon. The relatively new lookout across from the campground office had a fine selection of dabbling ducks. 4 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS were mixed in with common diving ducks at Salt Point along Bayshore Road. Two final stops in Gosport (a small Brighton sub-community south of Harbour Street) produced 4 TUNDRA SWANS, 2 SONG SPARROWS,1 COMMON LOON, 1 RED-NECKED GREBE, 1 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and a small flock of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS against some of the day's most dramatic skies. The final count was collectively 45 bird species. Special thank-yous go to Maureen Riggs and Dave Milsom for their tips and assistance. Cobourg Harbour is located south from Division Street at 401 exit 474; Presqu'ile Provincial Park is well-signed south of 401 exit 509. Good birding! Ian Shanahan Toronto (but a Northumberland boy at heart) _______________________________________________ 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 Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
