I did an east-west sweep of four birding spots between Aurora and Beeton (north
of Toronto) this morning and found several interesting migrants.
I started at the MacKenzie Marsh in Aurora and observed 3 Pied-Billed Grebes,
3 Black-crowned Night Herons, 4 GB Herons, a dozen DC Cormorants, and two
Caspian Terns.
At the Holland Landing lagoons north of Newmarket, shorebirds are still
making a healthy showing with at least 500 birds of 12 species being present.
Best bird continues to be an AMERICAN AVOCET that has lingered there for about
a week now. Anna Russell e-mailed me to say she had observed two Avocets
Saturday morning, one in the first lagoon and another in the 4th. The
individual in the 4th lagoon was there yesterday evening and this morning, but
the second bird has not been rediscovered. There are still two juvenile
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS and at least four STILT SANDPIPERS at these lagoons.
Duck species include Mallard, Wood, Black, N. Shoveler and both teal. There
were about 200 Bonaparte's gulls and 400 swallows there yesterday and today.
The Schomberg lagoons have been much lighter in shorebird numbers: today
there were no more than 70 birds in total, but these included one Greater
Yellowlegs, two Stilt Sandpipers, and ten Semipalmated Plovers. The first two
lagoons at Schomberg have very high water levels with virtually no shorebird
habitat while the 3rd lagoon is almost completely dry. There was a
female/juvenile MERLIN (brown vs. the adult male's blue-grey) perched at the
top of one of the trees on the north side of the lagoons today at 10:30.
A little further north and west, I checked the Beeton sod farms that Dave
Milsom has often had good results at during fall migration. On the 10th Line
just west of 15th Sdrd. there were hundreds of gulls and at least 150 Killdeer,
but among this common rabble there were a few more interesting species: 6
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS in various stages of molt, ten Lesser yellowlegs, and one
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER. There was also a handsome male American Kestrel on
the roadside wires.
Since there are four different locations mentioned here, I will not include a
big long Directions appendix here. Please contact me if you'd like specific
directions to any of these places.
Ron Fleming, Newmarket
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From: "STAN LONG" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2006 20:30:43 +0000
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Subject: [Ontbirds]Reesor Pond
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A Merliin [I though it was a swallow at first] with uniformly black
topsides, not-so dark
underside with dark reddish-brown lower belly [dark morph I assume as
it is probably
too far east to be seeing one of the western sub-species], circled
Reesor three times
at top speed this afternoon taking a turn at a swallow but missing it
- interesting bird.
Three flocks of juvenile Lesser yellow-legs totalling over 150
birds stopped a short
time yesterday along with a few peeps. Today there were more, also a
flock of eleven
White-rumped sandpers plus a Great egret that shows up now and then.
Redheaded
ducks, Green-winged teal and a pair of Hooded mergansers were present
today. As
usual, favourable winds and dirty weather is driving this stream of
migrants.
Reesor Pond lies just North of Hwy 407 on the West side of Reesor Road
in Markham
- cheers - Stan Long
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To: Ontbirds <Ontbirds@hwcn.org>
From: Clive Goodwin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2006 16:53:50 -0400
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Subject: [Ontbirds]Pomarine Jaeger at Chub Pt., Northumberland Co.
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At 10.00 a.m. this morning a light adult Pomarine Jaeger flew east past
Chub Point.
Chub Point is on L. Ontario, at the south end of Station Rd., which
runs south from the centre of the village of Grafton on County Road 2.
The 401 Grafton exit is the first east of Cobourg.
Clive Goodwin
Cobourg, Ont.
